Chair — KADDIA
I chair the Kettering & District Driving Instructors Association, bringing local instructors together for professional development, shared standards, and a stronger collective voice with the bodies that shape our industry.
Confidence. Safety. Results.
Calm instruction.
Calm instruction.
Uncompromising standards.
I’m Daryl Keightley — a DVSA Approved Driving Instructor in Northampton. I teach people to drive well, not just to pass. And I work to raise the standard of the profession that trains them.
Sessions are subject to availability. Payment reserves your place, not a fixed date — and if I can’t offer you a time that works, you get a full refund.
DVSA Approved Driving Instructor
Chair — KADDIA
Head of Operations — Mind The Road
DVSA Pass Plus registered
Director — Verulo Group Ltd
Registered, accredited and accountable
Who I am
An instructor first. An advocate second.
Most people arrive at their first lesson carrying something. Nerves. A bad experience with a previous instructor. Pressure from family. A test date creeping closer than their ability. My job is to take the noise out of it and build real capability underneath.
That means honest feedback, clear explanations and no shortcuts. I won’t tell you what you want to hear, and I won’t sell you lessons you don’t need. I’d rather you left me a competent, self-aware driver than a fast pass with gaps you’ll find out about on your own, at seventy, in the rain.
Away from the car I chair my local instructors’ association and run operations for a road safety education project. The quality of driver training in this country is decided by the people delivering it — so that is where I spend the rest of my time.
How I work
- Client-centred, not scripted. The session is built around what you actually need, not the next page of a syllabus.
- Honest assessment. You will know exactly where you stand and what to do next. Including when the answer is “not yet”.
- Calm under pressure. No shouting, no sighing, no making you feel small.
- Beyond the test. Real-world risk, judgement and decision-making — what keeps you safe in year five, not just on test day.
- No fear-based selling. No guaranteed-pass claims, no artificial urgency, no pressure.
- Everyone is welcome. Whoever you are, however long it takes you.
Current work
Leadership
Operations
Community
Where I put my time outside the car
Roads get safer when instructors are supported, standards are defended, and communities get honest information without being sold to. These are the three places I work on that.
Head of Operations — Mind The Road
I run operations for Mind The Road, an integrity-led community education project delivering ADI-led theory workshops and honest road safety guidance across Northamptonshire. Knowledge is the first mile.
Free public drop-in sessions
Free, informal sessions run in partnership with local libraries — open to learners, parents and returning drivers who want to ask real questions without booking anything or paying a penny.
What I actually teach
Ten things that decide whether you get home
Passing the test proves you can drive on your best day. What follows is what decides the rest. I deliver The Honest Truth in lessons because these ten behaviours account for the overwhelming majority of harm to young drivers — and every one of them is a choice.
The Honest Truth™ — small changes save lives. Delivered under partnership.
Free — no booking, no catch
Community drop-in sessions
Turn up, ask anything. Learning to drive, choosing an instructor, supporting a teenager who is learning, getting back behind the wheel after a break, or a question you think is too silly to ask. There is no charge and nothing is sold.
14Mar
Drop-in session Free
Saturday, 12:00pm – 2:00pm. In partnership with Weston Favell Library.
Weston Favell Library, Northampton NN3 8JZ
21Mar
Drop-in session Free
Saturday, 12:00pm – 2:00pm. In partnership with Weston Favell Library.
Weston Favell Library, Northampton NN3 8JZ
Sessions run regularly. New dates are announced by email first.
Get the next dates first
One short email when new free sessions are announced. Nothing else, ever. Unsubscribe in one click.
The session
Two hours, one-to-one, built around you
A single two-hour block of my time. What we do in it is decided by what you need — there is no fixed script and no upsell at the end.
Learner drivers
Focused work on whatever is holding you back, an honest read on test readiness, and a clear plan for what to practise next.
Full licence holders
Confidence building, motorway and dual carriageway work, refreshers after a break, or sharpening habits that have quietly drifted.
Instructors & trainees
Standards check preparation, coaching and client-centred technique, lesson structure, and straight peer feedback from someone who does the job.
Booking
Book a session
Pay securely online. I’ll contact you within one working day to agree a date, a time and a starting point.
Availability, plainly: I deliver every session personally, so dates are limited.
Paying reserves your place in the diary — it does not reserve a specific date.
If I can’t offer you a time you can accept, you get a full refund.
How it works
- Confirm and pay Tick the acknowledgements, sign, and pay by card. Handled by Stripe — I never see your card details.
- I contact you Within one working day, by email or phone.
- We agree the plan A short conversation about what you want from the two hours.
- We drive Two focused hours, then a written summary of what to work on next.
Rather talk first? Entirely reasonable — email me before paying and we’ll work out whether it’s the right fit.
Other ways to work with me
Groups
Instructors
Speaking
Groups, instructors and organisations
One-to-one time is limited by the number of hours in a week. These are not — and they reach more people per hour, which is the point.
Theory & road safety workshops
ADI-delivered group sessions for schools, colleges, youth groups and community organisations. Built on understanding, not memorising answers.
ADI & PDI development
Standards check preparation, coaching technique, and small-group CPD for instructors who want to be better at the job rather than just compliant.
Talks & events
Road safety talks for schools, employers, community groups and industry events. Honest, evidence-led, and free of scare tactics.
In their words
What people say
“Replace with a real learner testimonial.”First name, town
“Replace with a real testimonial from a nervous or returning driver.”First name, town
“Replace with a real testimonial from an instructor or association member.”First name, role
Delete this section until you have three real quotes. Empty proof is worse than no proof.
Partners & projects
Who I work alongside
Organisations that care about doing this properly, and whose standards I am willing to be judged against.
Mind The Road
Integrity-led community road safety education in Northamptonshire. I serve as Head of Operations.
The Honest Truth
A road safety programme that brings honest conversations about real risk into driving lessons.
My Learner Driver
Structured learning resources for learners and the families supporting them, written by humans.
Get in touch
Email
Questions before you book?
Ask me anything — whether a session is right for you, what to expect, or how I work. No pressure and no sales pitch.
daryl@instructordaryl.co.uk
I aim to reply within one working day.
Area covered
Northampton, Kettering and the wider Northamptonshire area. Ask if you’re just outside — it is often workable.
Free community sessions
Regular free drop-ins with local libraries. Get the next dates before they’re announced anywhere else.