You have reached the magic age of seventeen and want to learn to drive (United Kingdom). It is costly and you need to be as certain as you can that the money you spend on your driving lessons is not wasted. You first need to locate a driving instructor and then ask suitable questions of him/her.
There are many directories on the internet that have listings of driving schools and driving instructors. The largest 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 listing schools that cover your area. Make a note of those that may be of interest to you.
When you make contact, you will want to be certain that they are fully qualified and not ‘trainee’ instructors. You can tell this by the type of badge (licence) they display in their car. A fully qualified driving instructor will have a green octagonal badge displayed whereas a trainee will have a pink triangular badge.
Most schools 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. nurses. Be sure to ask about these discounts.
Don’t forget though that cheap isn’t always the best and you could end up taking more lessons than required, thereby costing you more money overall. So, once you start your lessons, do not be afraid to change or try out another driving instructor 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.
Remember, you are spending a lot of money and should therefore receive a high level of service.