You have reached the ripe old age of 17 and want to start to drive (United Kingdom). It is not a cheap affair and you want to be as certain as you can that the the cost of the driving lessons is not wasted. You first need to find a driving school and then ask suitable questions of him/her.
There are many directories on the internet that have listings of driving instructors and schools. The biggest I have found is the Driving Schools Directory who cover so many towns in the UK, it’s hard to believe. Insert your town name in the ’search box’ and you will be presented with a list of instructors that cover your area. Make a note of those that sound of interest to you.
When you contact them, you will want to be sure that they are fully qualified and not ‘trainee’ instructors. You can tell this by the type of badge (licence) they hold. A fully qualified driving instructor will have a green octagonal licence showing in heir car whereas a trainee will have a pink triangular licence.
Most instructors will offer money off for booking a number of lessons or if you are a student. Some will also offer discounts based on your profession e.g. students. Be sure to ask about these deals.
Don’t forget though that cheap isn’t always the best and you could end up taking more driving lessons than required, thereby costing you more cash overall. So, once you start your training, do not be shy to change or try out another school if you are not happy for whatever reason.
Some of these reasons could be a personality clash, shouting, turning up late, using the lesson time to stop off at shops/do errands, stopping to use their mobile (illegal whilst driving), a dirty (smelly!) car etc.
Don’t forget, you are spending a lot of money and should therefore receive a high level of service.
