Choosing a Driving Instructor how hard can it be?  They’re all the same aren’t they? 

 

Make sure your Instructor is a fully qualified DVSA Instructor. A fully qualified Instructor will display a Green Badge in their car. Some Driving Schools (including National Schools like RED) use Trainee Instructors (who have to display a Pink Badge) & will charge you the same price for a lesson even though the Instructor is not fully qualified & has very limited experience in teaching pupils to drive.

 

 

Get recommendations from family or friends or ask the Driving School if they have past pupils who would be willing to recommend them

 

Have a trial lesson to start with, lots of driving schools offer you big block booking discounts to tie you in, I don’t do this as I’m confident in my skills. Paying for a course of Lessons before you’ve even met the Instructor is a risk – How do you get your money back if you are unhappy. Taking Driving Lessons is like learning at school, if you get on with the teacher & enjoy the lessons you will progress faster & learn more.

 

A good indication on the trial lesson is did the Instructor take interest in you? Did they get you driving or did they spend the whole lesson sat at the side of the road talking?

 

Don’t assume that the cheapest quote for lessons offer the best value for money!!!

 

Half of my new starters have never driven before and half actually come from other instructors. 

 

Take one of my pupils from Hanham for example, they were paying for a 2 hour lesson before switching to me doing a 1.5 hour lesson for an equivalent price. The text message i received from his mum after his first lesson is as follows,

 

“Sounds like ***** got on really well last night driving with you. He said it was a very intense lesson and he was tired after but I said it shows he was busy learning a lot, which is great. It also infuriated me to hear that the previous instructor was spending quite a big chunk of the lesson talking to his wife on the phone or telling ***** what he did on the weekend. So glad he’s switched over to you and he’s even booked his test in which gives him (and you) something to aim for. Thanks.

 

The pupil said to me at the end of the the lesson he felt like he had done more than 5 lessons with his previous instructor.

 

So be wary of Driving Schools that are cheaper than the average price for your area – this really can be false economy:

 

How and why are they cheaper?

 

• Is the Instructor Fully Qualified or DSA Registered?

• How old is the Car you will be Learning in?

• Will you be spending half of your Lesson sat at the side of the road talking instead of actually driving?

• Do they limit the amount of miles you do per lesson? This will ultimately lead to you having to take a lot more lessons than you actually might need.

• Is the Driving School struggling for work for some reason that they have to undercharge?

• Are they a School just starting out with limited experience?

• Do they have a good reputation? Are they reliable?

• The general point is that you get what you pay for. At Mini Adventure Driving School we provide quality, value for money, full Driving Lessons at a competitive price. 👍🏻