How To Find A Good Driving School

While some driving instructors are independent, many belong to a Driving School. The School takes care of the business side of things, allowing the instructor to concentrate on teaching driving.

There are so many driving schools out there clamoring for attention with advertisements that it isn’t always easy to work out which are the best. Personal recommendation helps a lot, especially if you can select the particular instructor that you learn with. Looking at User Reviews also gives a good indication of how other learners have found the school and their reputation. If reviewers are commenting about instructors regularly turning up late, including grocery stops or not having the instructor’s full attention, then this probably isn’t a school you’ll want to use. Pass rates are not all that helpful, as they aren’t standardized and there are so many variables involved that they can’t really be compared.

Think about the type of learning you want to undertake – do you want to undertake one hour long lesson per week, a two hour lesson per week, or an intensive course? Check which driving schools offer what you want. Once you have a shortlist, don’t be afraid to ask them questions. You’re going to be giving them a lot of money, so you need to be sure that you’re getting what you need out of the arrangement. Some of the questions you should ask include:

    What cars do you use? (Model and age – most will use smaller cars under three years old)
    Are the cars dual control?
    Will I have the same instructor for all my lessons? This is helpful, as they will know you, will know what your skills are and what you need to work on.
    And the same car? Also helpful as you will gauge how much space you have when manoeuvrings.
    Do you have female instructors? This may or may not be important to you.
    Do any of your instructors specialize in nervous drivers? A useful question if you are one.
    Are all your instructors fully qualified? Trainee instructors doesn’t mean poorer quality, but they do have less experience and should charge less.
    How much are your lessons? Price isn’t everything, but it is useful to know.
    Am I entirely 1:1 or does the instructor pick up the next pupil during my lesson? This can be distracting, and will also mean that you may be spending less time practicing the test route, because some of your lesson time will be taken up traveling to the next pupil, but it saves the instructor/school money because they don’t have uncharged time between pupils.
    Do you offer a discount for booking a block of lessons in advance? If they do, then book a small block to begin with, to make sure that you’re happy with the instruction before you commit to a longer block.
    Which test center do you use? Also find out whether practice on driving test routes used by that center is included in lessons.
    What’s your pass rate for first attempts? This tells you if they try to put people through their tests too soon.
    Can I have lessons early morning / evening / weekend / weekdays (whatever your preference)?