Driving lessons for my 17 year old?

[tsobo]

Hi all, been looking at driving lessons for my son and just thought I would ask on here. Looking online, can see that the 2 main driving schools especially in the Essex area is red driving and AA. Has anyone had any recent experience with using any of these 2?. Also I'm quite surprised that in terms of cost comparison, the aa actually charge far less than most smaller driving schools, so would have thought they would cost more, what's the catch with aa charging less?

 

[peterwalkley]

Can't comment on the specific schools, but for comparison we're paying £30 per lesson up here with a local firm. I'm expecting that to go up though as I can't see how they're making money at that price with the cost of fuel.

 

[Delvis]

I know someone who works with RED and they're decent, naturally it will depend on each instructor so you're better off going by word of mouth.

Sometimes you can buy but lessons in bulk, or if you really want you can send them off to a training camp and pass in like a week or two

 

[tsobo]

Can't comment on the specific schools, but for comparison we're paying £30 per lesson up here with a local firm. I'm expecting that to go up though as I can't see how they're making money at that price with the cost of fuel.

Hmm thanks. Most local firms were I am in Essex charge a lot more than aa which is meant to be a big brand

 

[Freddie1980]

I'm surprised AA are charging less, when I was learning they were the most expensive by far. With all these things it depends on the instructor rather then the franchise name, go by word of mouth.

Where in Essex do you live? Is Hornchurch a long way for you? To give your son some experience you could take him to Cardrome Learner Centre and he can practice driving on a realistic road network with roundabouts and junctions all on private land.

 

[diamount]

As above, it's driver dependent and the thing is with the big driving schools (who franchises their name out) it's hard to find reviews for specefic drivers as if you search it it generally clumps them together. Defnitely go the independent route and check their name out on https://www.gov.uk/find-driving-schools-and-lessons to make sure they are accredited.

 

[tsobo]

I know someone who works with RED and they're decent, naturally it will depend on each instructor so you're better off going by word of mouth.

Sometimes you can buy but lessons in bulk, or if you really want you can send them off to a training camp and pass in like a week or two

Yes definitely depends on the instructor, but just surprised though at the cost of the aa. Have you had any experience with the training camps?

 

[VincentHanna]

Where in Essex?

 

[Delvis]

I say training camp, it's more of a speedy pass.

Not personally but a friend did one (couldn't tell you where), and i guess he can drive

 

[tsobo]

As above, it's driver dependent and the thing is with the big driving schools (who franchises their name out) it's hard to find reviews for specefic drivers as if you search it it generally clumps them together. Defnitely go the independent route and check their name out on https://www.gov.uk/find-driving-schools-and-lessons to make sure they are accredited.

Thanks. I would assume all aa drivers would be accredited though?

 

[tsobo]

Where in Essex?

Hi in Harlow...

 

[Deleted User 298457]

Give one or the other a go. My wife had to change instructor as she simply didn't get on with him.

 

[tsobo]

I say training camp, it's more of a speedy pass.

Not personally but a friend did one (couldn't tell you where), and i guess he can drive

Hmm thinking if this would be best for my 17 year old, or he may pass but come out without any experience .

 

[tsobo]

I'm surprised AA are charging less, when I was learning they were the most expensive by far. With all these things it depends on the instructor rather then the franchise name, go by word of mouth.

Where in Essex do you live? Is Hornchurch a long way for you? To give your son some experience you could take him to Cardrome Learner Centre and he can practice driving on a realistic road network with roundabouts and junctions all on private land.

That cardrome looks amazing, never new about this one. Would have been good for him, when he was still new but he now has an idea, might still take him there as well cheap. Many thanks.

 

[Chris Wilson]

Driving competently and passing any national vehicle licence test are two entirely different things, do not take him anywhere or under anyon's well meant instruction that will give him "bad habits" that will need breaking in order to satisfy an examiner. That's my humble take.

When I was taking lessons for my HGV test I was put in a dirty big truck and the instructor just said "Drive this thing to Shrewsbury"
I did so, without him uttering a word, and I didn't hit anything or get into any incidents. He then said "OK, you could get this thing through Londom in the rush hour without alarming anyone, but the chances of passing your test are exactly zero. We have a LOT of work to do to break you of what in all honesty are totally harmless long term habits in order to pass. You'll find the lessons painful, sometimes even annoying, they'll cost you a grand, but when you pass you can clear your brain of the chaff you don't really need".

 

[Werewolf]

I'll move this over to the Motors subsection as it's more a topic for there

 

[Gilbert89]

Back when I was 17 I used an independent who actually retired a couple of lessons in (Annoyingly)

I then contacted Red and in comparison this instructor was much more “By the book” it felt more structured but also felt very slow pace… for various reasons I decided to stop lessons and re-visit it when I urgently needed to drive.

Fast forwarding a couple of years later I decided to go ahead and pass my theory test before starting lessons. I then contacted Bill Plant after explaining my ideal lesson frequency (2 x 2 hour long lessons per week) I was pointed in the direction of one of their instructors who they knew preferred this style of doing things.

This way I tailored how intensive I wanted it and as I was eager a weekly 1 hour lesson just wouldn’t have cut it for me.

Based on my previous instructors he was certainly leagues above, I do believe I got lucky as he was a popular independent prior but due to his personal circumstances with a partner who became ill and quite dependant on him he joined a Franchise to reduce his overall admin hours of the job.

So I suppose based off my previous experience it is quite a lottery, not one fits all and perhaps I got lucky and ended up with a good instructor who suited me as 4 weeks later I passed my driving test.

 

[K.C. Leblanc]

One thing to bare in mind with big schools like Red or AA is their instructors tend to be less experienced. They will help instructors get trained and help them get business. In return the instructor has to pay quite a large franchise fee.

If you go with an independent you may be offered a discount for block booking and paying upfront. Don't do this until you've had a few lessons and know your son gets on with the instructor.