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To pass the practical driving test you, or your parents, could
be spending about £1000 on driving lessons from a professional
instructor.
To get the most out of your money you'll want to make sure
you pick an instructor that is right for you.
So, how do you go about picking the right instructor?
If you're young and in education then without a doubt the
best method of finding a good instructor is word of mouth.
The majority of learner drivers are students. This puts you
in a situation where all the best teachers are already teaching
people you probably know. So go round and ask people. Ask them
who teaches them, how many lessons they have had, did they pass
on their first attempt and would they recommend their instructor.
This way you will get direct feedback and opinions from people
who are still currently taking lessons or, even better, have just
passed their test.
It's also worth pointing out that the best and most popular
instructors may not have adverts on directories or local news
papers as they get fully booked just by word of mouth. So it 's
definitely worth asking around.
The next best method is an online
directory of driving schools. Thanks to the Internet it's
very easy to get a list of instructors in your area and, on some
websites, see the opinions and reviews of people who've had lessons
with these instructors.
At the direct.gov.uk website you can type in your postcode
to find your nearest
approved driving instructors (ADI) although it's not compulsory
for them to be on this list. Some instructors don't want to be
on it as they don't want their details made public.
On the left of some names you will see an *. These instructors
have signed up to the DSA's voluntary Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) scheme and the Code of Practice (CoP) which
means they spend at least seven hours every year updating and
refreshing their skills and knowledge.
So now you have some methods for finding instructors, what
next?
Once you have a list of instructors that you think are potentially
good for you, it's time to try them out!
Now the key thing to remember here is that just because you
have a lesson with one, you don't have to keep having lessons
with them! It's definitely worth trying a lesson with a few instructors
until you find the right one. You may end up spending more money
due to having to take the "First Lesson" multiple times with different
instructors, but in the long run it will help you tremendously.
Of course, you may get lucky and feel perfectly happy and relaxed
with the first one.
When you're on your first lesson with an instructor, there's
a few things you will want to ask and look out for.
The first and easiest thing is to check whether they are an
ADI or PDI, and possibly find out what grade they are. We have
a page explaining ADIs and PDIs, but to
summarise: an ADI is an Approved Driving Instructor, a PDI is
a Potential Driving Instructor - an instructor in training. In
nearly all cases it's better to have an ADI. To tell the difference
an ADI should have a green badge on the windscreen of their car
and a PDI will have a pink one - they are legally obliged to display
their badges in their windscreens when giving lessons for payment.
If you can't see it then don't use that instructor.
When contacting an instructor you may want to check what grade
they are. There are 6 different grades. Anything between 1 to
3 is unacceptable - they are not an ADI. 4 is "adequate" (the
majority are 4). 5 is "good" and 6 is "excellent". Now although
you obviously want a grade 6 instructor they are quite hard to
come by and can be fully booked nearly all the time. To find out
what grade your instructor is you can simply ask them to show
you their last grade report.
The next thing you'll want to pay attention to when on the
first lesson is the car. The car your driving instructor uses
will be the car you will spend the next couple of months learning
in, and eventually taking your test in. So if it doesn't feel
right or you find it harder to drive than another instructor's
car, it may not be the instructor for you.
And the last things to look out for are just obvious things
that any good instructor should do. Like not being late, not stopping
during your lesson for their own personal reasons, whether or
not their style of teaching feels effective for you and making
sure the lessons aren't being needlessly dragged out so they can
make more money.
Hopefully, with this information you'll be able to pick the
most effective instructor for you and end up saving a lot of money
in the long run.
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