Clarification from the RSA regarding payment to Sponsors

MascotDec85

On Saturday this thread was posted:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058170509

It was subsequently edited and all posts, except the OP, deleted by agreement of Board mods.

The 2nd post in the thread suggested that sponsors could be paid a fee for their time in sitting with a pupil practising their EDT or preparing for test. I pointed out paying anyone other than a driving instructor for practice/lessons was illegal. The was refuted by some posters and a lengthy discussion ensued. After a number of posts I said I'd seek clarity from the RSA given there was confusion by some and their interpretation of the law.

Yesterday evening I received a telephone call from Billy in the RSA ADI Unit. He confirmed my understanding of the law was correct. I asked him to confirm this in writing, in plain English, so that there could be no ambiguity.

I'd like to make it clear that this thread is only being posted to clarify an issue that has cropped up in various threads over the years so that everyone knows where they stand and people don't inadvertently get themselves in trouble.

Below is Billy's detailed reply:

Dear Andy,

Thank you for your email which I have read and noted.

The Sponsor

Your Sponsor supervises your driving practice between sessions. To get the most from your driving lessons, you must practice, practice, practice, and the best person to do this with is your Sponsor. This is a responsible role so you should choose someone that you feel comfortable with. This might be a family member, such as a parent, aunt, or uncle. Your Sponsor must be able to give you the time and effort to help you to learn, without payment. Sponsors must hold a full car driving licence for at least two years but more importantly should have lots of driving experience that you can benefit from.

Your Sponsor should:

Understand and support the work of your Approved Driving Instructor (ADI)

Understand the difficulties you face while learning, Stay calm and patient under pressure

Demonstrate good driving behaviour themselves.

Appreciate how important their role is.

Take time to meet your ADI to discuss your progress.

One further point to bear in mind is that no one other than a registered ADI could fulfil this role, in a professional capacity. (That is; be paid for providing the service).

It would be illegal to employ someone in this role who is not an RSA approved driving instructor.

I hope you find this information helpful and if you have any remaining queries regarding the above, do not hesitate to contact us further.

If you are responding to this email with a further query, please ensure that you reference the query case number *removed* in the subject line of your email.

For further information on Road Safety please visit our website at https://www.rsa.ie.

Kind regards,

Billy *Surname removed*

As I said above, I'm posting this for information only and don't wish to drawn into an extended discussion. I thanked Billy for taking the time to reply to us all in such a detailed manner.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

That email clearly confirms the role of a sponsor which is perfectly fine. The role of a sponsor is for someone other than an ADI that you can continuously practice what you are thought with.

What the OP in the previous thread was looking for was just for someone to sit in on regular driving (such as driving to/from work) to be legal on the road. That email does not answer the legality on that.

The sponsor in this case is irrelevant, and thus I believe this situation to be still unanswered. If this person from the RSA can answer exactly the following:

Is it illegal to reward someone for their time, to just sit in a car as a passenger to legitimate the purpose of driving a car in public as a learner. Not to act as a sponsor or instructor.

The same as paying someone for their time for their company or for a talk. A driving companion as such, while reiterating, not for the purpose of instruction or to be a sponsor.

MascotDec85

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

That email clearly confirms the role of a sponsor which is perfectly fine. The role of a sponsor is for someone other than an ADI that you can continuously practice what you are thought with.

What the OP in the previous thread was looking for was just for someone to sit in on regular driving (such as driving to/from work) to be legal on the road. That email does not answer the legality on that.

The sponsor in this case is irrelevant, and thus I believe this situation to be still unanswered. If this person from the RSA can answer exactly the following:

Is it illegal to reward someone for their time, to just sit in a car as a passenger to legitimate the purpose of driving a car in public as a learner. Not to act as a sponsor or instructor.

The same as paying someone for their time for their company or for a talk. A driving companion as such, while reiterating, not for the purpose of instruction or to be a sponsor.

Any payment for sitting with someone as you describe is illegal. Once a payment takes place it would be deemed a professional relationship. He covered that in his reply. You will have to forgive me though, I’m sure you can imagine he’s a busy guy. I can’t keep going back to him for further clarity. I do think his reply is pretty clear.

Edit: an ADI can also act as sponsor but only ADIs can receive payment for doing so.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

MascotDec85 wrote: »

Any payment for sitting with someone as you describe is illegal. Once a payment takes place it would be deemed a professional relationship. He covered that in his reply. You will have to forgive me though, I’m sure you can imagine he’s a busy guy. I can’t keep going back to him for further clarity. I do think his reply is pretty clear.

Edit: an ADI can also act as sponsor but only ADIs can receive payment for doing so.

Your response to my comment is not acceptable and I do not believe what we are describing is covered by that email.

I don't want to discuss the issue in this manner, i was simply asking for clearer clarification that we clearly require, I agree the RSA are busy people but at the end of it all it is about educating our drivers, learner's and fully licenced.

The fact you are refusing to seek further clarification is showing me that you got an answer that suited you and won't tolerate anything other than that.

I'm not discussing this any further with you.

MascotDec85

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

Your response to my comment is not acceptable and I do not believe what we are describing is covered by that email.

I don't want to discuss the issue in this manner, i was simply asking for clearer clarification that we clearly require, I agree the RSA are busy people but at the end of it all it is about educating our drivers, learner's and fully licenced.

The fact you are refusing to seek further clarification is showing me that you got an answer that suited you and won't tolerate anything other than that.

I'm not discussing this any further with you.

I'm simply not going to waste the man's time by entering protracted email correspondence with him.

You can always contact the RSA yourself with your specific point if you wish.
For sponsor read accompanying driver, they're one in the same.

biko

Anyone can PM the OP of the other thread to volunteer their time to sit with him/her for free as they drive.
That person must have insurance to cover should they need to take over as driver.

ohnonotgmail

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

That email clearly confirms the role of a sponsor which is perfectly fine. The role of a sponsor is for someone other than an ADI that you can continuously practice what you are thought with.

What the OP in the previous thread was looking for was just for someone to sit in on regular driving (such as driving to/from work) to be legal on the road. That email does not answer the legality on that.

The sponsor in this case is irrelevant, and thus I believe this situation to be still unanswered. If this person from the RSA can answer exactly the following:

Is it illegal to reward someone for their time, to just sit in a car as a passenger to legitimate the purpose of driving a car in public as a learner. Not to act as a sponsor or instructor.

The same as paying someone for their time for their company or for a talk. A driving companion as such, while reiterating, not for the purpose of instruction or to be a sponsor.

If someone is sitting in on regular driving they are acting as a sponsor. as the email says "Your Sponsor supervises your driving practice between sessions." If a fully qualified driving in sitting in on your regular driving they are supervising your driving and this acting as a sponsor.