I almost got into an accident and it's been on my mind all day...

[robvalue]

I'm very sorry to hear that

I think the instructor's words were unecessary and unprofessional. You're still learning. I was hopeless, my instructor had to engage his brake and saved our lives about 20 times a lesson. It's exactly what it's there for.

Sometimes people drive like loonies, and even when you've done all the safety checks it can still go sideways. It sounds like he just happened to see the car coming quicker than you did and so reacted faster.

My advice is don't be too hard on yourself, but I know what the feeling is like. Sure, you "could" have killed people, if the situation was totally different and he wasn't in the car. But if he wasn't in the car, you'd have passed your test already and you'd have much more experience and confidence. So in that particular situation, the only danger was the instructor failing to react.