Hi I am looking to book driving lessons for my teenage son. Any recommendations out there – do I stick with the established players like BSM and the AA or should I be looking at others?

Any one to avoid?

(Malvern / WR14 area BTW)

Stay away from RED if the ones round our way are any indication of the instructors ability they are very poor. This is the instructors driving on their own in the car between lessons. In the bus lane, right turn on no right turn junction that sort of thing.

There are many excellent independents. Get the yellow pages out and call around for the best price.

No to BSM and AA. Recommendation, and high grade instructor (most are still graded under the old system, so grade 6 is the highest, would not touch an instructor lower than a grade 5 under the old system).

Some driving instructors are not just ADIs but also fleet trainers (my husband is a grade 6 fleet trainer), which means they are higher qualified.

Then again, recommendation, make sure your son does a 2 hour trail lesson and gets on with the instructor and the way he/she works.

You get what you pay for, cheapest per hour is probably rubbish. Cheapest way to learn to drive in the long run is to get a good instructor. This should also make your son a safer driver, not just pass his test.

Be consistent and take regular lessons, and find out what length lesson will suit your son best.

Feel free to get in touch with my husband if you need more advise (although we won’t know anyone local to you).

Good luck!

Some driving instructors are not just ADIs but also fleet trainers (my husband is a grade 6 fleet trainer), which means they are higher qualified.

It does not mean that they are higher qualified at all, it means that they are qualified to do different things which you don’t need the extra qualifications to do, same as ORDIT.

moniex – Member

No to BSM and AA. Recommendation…

I’d recommend my old AA instructor. 😆

I used the AA and the instructor I had was brill..

Thanks all! Reliable as ever.

As far as I know you have to be an ADI first, before you can become a fleet driver trainer (pretty sure you used to when my husband did it 10 years ago). Not sure if that makes it a ‘higher’ qualification, but it does expand an instructors knowledge, experience and ability. Doing fleet work as well as Learners has definitely made my husband a better instructor. I don’t know, but wouldn’t experience of where people go wrong later on in their driving career make you a better instructor for Learners?

Also watch out for instructors teaching on their training licence. Trainee ADIs used to be able to teach for a certain amount of time before passing the 3rd part of their test, they probably still are.

Again, ask for their current grade, decent indication (but don’t go on this alone).

I’m both a ADI and Fleet Instructor and no one has ever asked my Grade or asked to see my badges ever. ( grade 5 last check test 2011 )

All they want round here is cheap lessons.

You will get good instructors and bad instructors no matter who they work for or what grade they have. There are many an instructor who, in the past system, would get a grade 6 by prepping the student previous and the entire check test is an act.

The DVSA have seen through this now and the standards check should eliminate this.

Best advice is recommendation. This could be an instructor who is independent or on a franchise but that’s the best way of choosing.

I’m independent and most of my work is recommendations so I must be doing something right 😉

BSM were plain bad for me- not the instructor (who never turned up for the 2 appointments we made, leaving me hanging around at home, and wasn’t shy about lying about it) but the organisation too- they dragged their heels and tried to avoid refunding me for the skipped lessons. I’m sure they have great instructors as well as lying scoundrels but the central stuff is the same for everyone, not to be trusted.

As an ADI my advice would be the same as Simmy’s.
With a popular instructor you’ll probably have yo go on a waiting list.
Never pay upfront until you know you get on and have a lesson every week.
Simmy – loved the new grading system 🙂

ADI too and simmy/deano8 are spot on.

My advice is to find someone your teenage son can build a good relationship with that enables him to be himself and gives him confidence to try things and not feel he’ll get a hard time if he makes mistakes.

Don’t be afraid to change instructors if the relationship doesn’t work out.

I also think an instructor should be looking to teach overall driving skills, not just to pass a test. It costs more initially, but the winner isn’t the first to pass the test, it’s the last one to have an accident……

Rich.

As an ex ADI I agree with Simmy and Rich’s comments. Not sure how the new instructor check test works but an examiner I know (ex instructor himself) said it allows more scope for the instructor to evidence their teaching skills as the old system was too rigid. The ADI’s grade can also be misleading as there are excellent grade 4s who struggle with nerves during their check test and poor grade 6s who prepared the pupil beforehand. I was grade 5 and I was never ask by any prospective pupils or their parents.
Personality also plays a factor and if pupil and instructor get on well then it makes the experience more enjoyable for both parties. My advice would be to get some recommendations from your sons friends or their parents.

Look for the green badge in the windscreen not a red one. Green is a passed ADI. Get your theory test out the way ASAP. Be aware of instructors making little progress, so making more money out of you, saying you need more time. Also watch for driving to the next students house and wasting time that way. Wife is an ex ADI and knows the tricks some others used to use. Word of mouth is better recommendation than just randomly picking someone out the book.

I’d go with an independent. although try and go on recommendations.

Mrshora had one indie bloke – £200+ and he hadn’t even shown her to put the handbrake on at lights. Whereas my instructor was VERY intense- stared at you constantly and questioned you a thousand times over about every aspect of car/road.

I imagine AA etc have rules on how many lessons each learner should have/benchmarks etc so if your proving to be a natural etc you may have to have money wasted?..