FT/D/2025/0451/FPP - [2025] UKFTT 01248 (GRC)

The Tribunal considered carefully all the evidence and papers before it. Including both the written submissions by the Appellant concerning their long and impressive driving record and experience prior to the speeding offences that are at the centre of this appeal. As well as the submissions of the Registrar as regards the harm caused by excessive speed and why such incidents damage the credibility and purpose of the Register.

Teaching people of all ages to drive safely, carefully, and competently is a professional vocation requiring a significant degree of responsibility. Such a demanding task should only be entrusted to those with high personal and professional standards and who themselves have demonstrated a keen regard for road safety and compliance with the law. Which this Appellant will have been well aware of whilst applying to become an ADI and from his previous experience of being an ADI.

ADIs are rightly held to a higher standard than ordinary motorists. The public has the right to expect that those who are registered as ADIs will act professionally, reliably, and with integrity. ADIs must adhere to the highest standards of motoring, which they themselves should be teaching to their pupils. This Appellant knows this expectation and standard better than most, having until recently been one of the enforcement team for the DVSA.

The Registrar has a duty to ensure that only those of appropriate standing are allowed entry on to the Register, and that those who are on it understand their responsibilities to not only know the rules but to scrupulously follow them as well.

The Registrar’s decision does not mean that the Appellant will never be considered to be a fit and proper person to become an ADI.

Speeding is a very serious driving offence which often will justify removal from the Register (especially where there are multiple incidents). Such conduct can and frequently does cause serious accidents. It endangers the lives of other road users, pedestrians and the driver themselves, or risks causing serious injury.

While the Appellant has offered explanations and expressed regret, we do not find that there are any exceptional circumstances in what was presented.

We therefore find that the Appellant does not currently meet the statutory requirement to be a fit and proper person. In all the circumstances, we conclude that the Registrar’s decision to remove the Appellant’s name from the Register as he was not a fit and proper person was correct. We dismiss this appeal.