Helsinki Driving Instructor Taught Students While Banned from Driving

A driving instructor in Helsinki's Meilahti district taught students for two months in early 2025 despite having his driving license suspended.

The instructor, who operated through his own company for Suomen Ajoinfo Oy, the operator of Meilahden Autokoulu, was banned from driving until June 2025 due to traffic violations. He had a valid driving instructor's license, but his driving privileges were revoked.

The situation came to light during a Traficom inspection on May 23, 2025. The instructor had begun teaching in mid-March. Meilahden Autokoulu's CEO, Tomi Turkkelin, stated that the instructor's presented documents, including his physical driver's license, appeared to be in order during the hiring process.

The driving ban stemmed from a May 2024 incident in Kirkkonummi where the instructor, while intoxicated, took a car without permission and drove at excessive speeds. He swerved erratically, endangering pedestrians and colliding with an oncoming vehicle. His blood alcohol level was 0.9 per mille. He was convicted of aggravated endangerment, drunk driving, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, receiving a 50-day suspended prison sentence in January 2026.

Turkkelin described the situation as embarrassing for the driving school, as the instructor's role was to teach traffic rules and safe driving. The collaboration with the instructor ended immediately after the driving ban was discovered. Turkkelin reported the instructor to the Helsinki police in May 2025 for fraud and driving without a license, but the court ultimately dismissed the driving school's claim. Traficom's Jussi Pohjonen emphasized that driving instructors are considered drivers during lessons and cannot teach without a valid license.