Should you choose a private instructor or a driving school

So you've decided to learn driving a car. Probably the first question you will be asking yourself is whether you should go with a private instructor or a driving school.

Private driving instructors

Private instructors will usually charge you less than driving schools because they need an incentive for people to actually book driving lessons with them. Nowadays they charge £18 or more while driving schools charge about £24 on average. So when you think about it, private instructors are more appealing because of the money you are going to save in the long run as people don't just have only 1 lesson before taking their test but have a mininum of 10 driving lessons.

However many dodgy private instructors will take advantage of the low cost they are offering. They may delay your learning cycle so that they can make more money from you. Some people have had like 50 lessons but still their instructors say they were not ready to sit the driving test. Other instructors might say you need to master one particular thing first (for example, reverse parking) before moving to something new and therefore this acts as a hindrance to your learning process. You will get more frustrated because you're not learning anything new and you're stuck with whatever your teacher wants you to excel at.

Of course, there are some genuine private driving instructors out there but all we are saying is to be careful. All instructors should have an ADI (Approved Driving Instructor) number which you can use when calling the DSA to check whether that person is really an approved instructor or just faking it to scam learners.

Driving schools

Driving Schools tend to charge a bit more than private instructors and it may not really appeal to you initially as a result. However the facilities they offer far outweigh the costs. Being with a driving school, say like BSM, means you can use the resources in their branch to learn your theory test - practice the multiple choice questions and hazard perception clips. Not just that, because they have a structured way of teaching you to drive, you can easily see your progress and spot your weaknesses and strengths. You can easily report their driving instructors for bad behaviour in case it happens or change them if you think they are not teaching you very well. If you were with a private teacher, it's going to be your word against them and if you'd like to get a refund for your money, they may not be readily willing to do so. With a reputable driving school, you will be able to make an official complaint against that instructor and request to have another one to teach you if they won't reimburse you.

The verdict

Learning to drive should be something that you actually enjoy because it's going to be a skill for life. To avoid any deception and frustration, it is advised that you find an instructor who has been recommended by people you know (friends/family) so that they can vouch for him. If in doubt, please check online reviews for the instructor you're thinking of going with and if you're still not sure then go with a reputable driving school instead.