Drive me up the wall sometimes (Driving Schools in General)

Member Name: justathought

Product:	Driving Schools in General
Date:	24/08/09 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: learning to drive with support and a structured approach

Disadvantages: expensive, can be annoying at times

Choosing a good driving school to take your lessons from can be difficult as if you choose a big driving school, the lessons can be quite expensive, and if you choose a smaller one, you can sometimes have trouble, then have to sort it out with the instructor themself, rather than through the driving school.

As I find driving quite difficult, I deemed it important to find an instructor I would be comfortable with. The first one I went with was recommended by someone else and, being female, I thought I would be quite comfortable. I think the driving school was Happy Hour.The instructor was quite nice but didn't seem to understand why I wasn't getting much better, and I didn't make much progress. She was also quite chatty, which could be distracting sometimes. And once, when I was really ill, she said that if I didn't take the lesson, I would still have to pay. Also, her car had a really weird smell - weird and musty, combined with flash wipes.

My second instructor is a BSM instructor. At first I was wary about having a male instructor as I thought it might be uncomfortable, but he is really patient and professional. I still pay £22.50 per lesson as that is the amount I paid when I started, but I think they are more expensive now. I can recommend my instructor but I think with such a big driving school, it's hit and miss whether you will get a good instructor.

BSM can also be quite sneaky in that when you first phone up for lessons, they will assume you want double lessons, so you have to make sure you correct them if this is not what you want. Also, they kept phoning me to ask if I had booked my theory test, which I found intrusive and irritating. Eventually, I just ignored their calls (I have now passed my theory test by the way!). Some BSM centres have a driving simulator, which you have to pay about £15 or £20 for 45 minutes I think. I was quite disappointed as it did not work very well, and was so expensive. Some centres also have machines which you can practise theory test questions on. I never used this facility.

Overall, I would say when choosing an instructor, it is good to get a few recommendations, then try and work out which one sounds like it would be good for you. I would also recommend only buying a block of lessons (for a discount) once you have taken a couple of lessons with your instructor and feel that you are comfortable, and that you will progress with them.

Thanks for reading!

Summary: Be careful who you choose