http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR OR PRIVATE PRACTICE?
This does not necessarily need to be a one or the other decision. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) advise that the best way to learn to drive is to take driving lessons with a qualified ADI plus, where practical, private practice with family or friends (see practical driving and e-book sections). Even if you are unable to undertake practice with family or friends they may still be able to help with the learning process (please see the section on driving practice e-book). It is unlikely that anyone other than a fully qualified ADI will have the expertise to teach the full learning to drive syllabus and prepare the learner fully for the driving test. I would therefore always advise someone wishing to learn to drive to seek professional tuition from an ADI.
CHOOSING A DRIVING INSTRUCTOR (ADI)
I would suggest that the first question should be how do I want to learn? Do I want to learn over a period of time possibly having 1 or 2 hours of paid tuition a week, or do I want to learn on an intensive or semi intensive course over a much shorter period of time? There are plus and minus points for both. Learning over a period of possibly 20 to 30 weeks will give you plenty of time to take in all the new skills you will be learning and give you time to gain more experience with practice with family and friends, even if this is only talking through lessons with your parents both before and after lessons. This is how most people learn, it will also spread the cost and time needed for lessons over a longer period of time. The next option is an intensive course, sometimes over as little as a week or 10 days. This often sounds great, as particularly a lot of 17 year olds cannot wait to pass their test and be out driving on the road. This way of learning is becoming increasingly popular and does suit many people. You should however think very carefully about whether or not this will be the best course of action. Many people find it very difficult or impossible to take on such a large amount of information and practice in such a short time. Normally you will need to pay the full amount for the course in advance. If you then find it does not suit you it may prove to be a very expensive experience. You will also not have the opportunity to gain as much experience as someone learning over a longer period of time, which is so important when it comes to your driving test, but even more importantly after the test when driving on the road on your own. Finally there is a third choice of a semi intensive course. This is often the best way for many people. You can agree with the ADI prior to starting lessons how many hours you will do each week, anywhere between 3 and 6 hours, and then plan and book the driving test for when your instructor suggests you should be ready. This will mean that you will know the date that you are working too, as in an intensive course, but will also give you more time to gain the experience, and practice that is so important.Now that you have decided how you wish to learn you now need to find an instructor. I would suggest that the best way is by recommendation. If you know of someone learning or has learnt with a particular instructor then if they have recieved good tuition and have got on well with the instructor then it is likely that you will too. Phone or email the instructor and ask them if they instruct in the way you wish to learn, it is also worth considering their comments if they feel that this way may not be the best for you. Always try and arrange lessons well before you wish to start. Doing all of the above only to find your chosen instructor cannot start lessons with you because they have no spaces at suitable times can be disappointing. Remember a good instructor will often also be a busy instructor so contact them well in advance. It may also be worth waiting a short time until the instructor has a space rather than changing to an instructor that you don't know. A good instructor will clearly make a huge difference to you successfully learning to drive and passing your driving test. Please remember only a qualified ADI may charge for driving lessons. The instructor must display their ADI licence clearly when providing paid tuition. If in doubt ask to see the licence which will have a valid to date on the front and their photo and ADI number on the back. Further details can be found on the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) website.
Lesson Costs
Driving lesson costs will vary between different instructors and areas of the country. Normally you can expect to pay £20-£25 per hour for an experienced instructor. Compared to many other services such as plumbers etc this is not a high hourly rate. Trying too save money by using a cheaper instructor is often a false economy. More lessons at a cheaper cost still normally mean you paying more money in total. Instead I would suggest looking at the section on practical driving and driving practice e-book to see if there are ways you can, with private practice etc help reduce the overall number of hours paid tuition needed and possibly the number of tests needed to pass!
How Many lessons
This is an extremely difficult question and one that instructors hate being asked. This is because it all depends on the person learning to drive (you). We all learn at different rates and find different subjects easy or difficult to understand and perfect. The DSA's website (October 2008) suggest that the average number of hours taken to pass the driving test is 45hours paid tuition, plus 22hours private practice, normally this will be less for younger learners and possibly more for anyone learning later in life. From my own experience I would suggest the better the tuition the less lessons will be needed. This is clearly a lot of paid hours of tuition. If however the learner can receive good quality assistance from family or friends then the total number of paid hours needed may be noticeably reduced. Unfortunately again from personal experience the quality of private practise varies greatly, from very good to extremely poor! This can then often lead the learner into bad habits, which will normally require more paid tuition to correct. Making the right decisions and preparation will help in keeping the number of lessons and therefore costs down.
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