I Need a Driving School

Yes, you need a driving school if you are serious about learning to drive a car in the UK and want to pass the driving test first time.



The DSA who conduct the full UK licence test does not require you to use a driving school to prepare, neither do they specify that you need a minimum number of lessons with a qualified approved driving instructor or to even use their school car which has dual controls before you are eligible to go on a test, infact there is nothing that will be checked apart from your provisional licence to confirm your identity and that you are able to sign an insurance declaration that your car is insured for the test.

So why do you need a driving school to learn to drive and prepare for the full UK licence practical road test?

Driving Schools know what is required by the DSA

Your approved DSA registred instructor (ADI) will know every single thing required by you not only to pass the driving test, but to be a safe driver and live a long life after getting your full UK driving licence.
Any learner driver can download the test syllabus from the DSA Website, not all do, but even those that do, will not know from the document the fine details that the DSA examiner will be marking you on while out on the road in the car (driving school car or not).

Many people who learn to drive a car in the UK without the help of a Driving School Instructor fail their full driving licence tests because they have left out some safety aspects which they consider to be minor (eg failing to use a handbrake to secure a car while stopped at a pedestrian crossing), and would not be marked on.

The DSA test requires a high driving skill standard, and only an approved instructor from a school can teach you these finer details that will allow you to pass the test first time or on your next attempt. Whether you believe in what is required or not, just being able to drive a car from A to B (as is the case with many foreign licence holders) will not get you that highly coveted pass certificate.

Using a Driving School also means that you won't be breaking the law because you will be supervised by the right person, the school car will be fully insured, taxed and be road worthy, something you can say if you are taking driving lessons with a family or friends car. Another thing that you benefit from if you are using a driving school for your lessons is your safety is pretty much guranteed. Your instructor is highly trained, experienced and the knowledge gained from teaching many varied learner drivers over the years will mean that her or she could easily predict what you would do in certain situations and can prevent these either by using a question to prompt you or taking corrective action by using the steering or dual controls on the their side of the car, a luxury not available on a non driving school car!
Finally if you are taking your first driving lesson, you can relax in the knowledge that the dual controls on the ADI's car will keep even the most nervous pupil safe.

Not all driving schools are very expensive

While learning to drive a car and preparing for the driving test with a professional driving instructor from a school is not cheap, it doesn't have to be very expensive especially if you make your choice after considerable research, take advice and recommedations from friends or family who have used ADIs to pass their test, and you are prepared to work very hard to achieve your driving dream. One word of advice don't just go for the cheapest driving lessons in your area, you could end up paying more in the long run if you are not trained properly and have developed bad habits which could fail you and you then have to change instructors who then has to carry out remidial work with you. No matter what driving age or experience you have, unless you have been taught the DSA way, you don't have much a chance of being among the 40% pass rate of the current test.

As I've mentioned, there are quite a few reasons why you should consider using a driving school to learn to drive and pass the UK driving test, but at the end of the day, the choice is yours and if you've taken the time to read this article, I hope you make the right one by going with a DSA registered ADI.

Driving school Car

Once you've qualified as a driving instructor, you will obviously want to start working in your new career as an ADI, and might have decided that you want to run an independent driving school instead of taking up a franchise with a company like AA, BSM or Red driving school.



The choice of a car, how you obtain one, the model, make, engine size are all things that could at the end of the day affect your profit margin in the business of being a driving instructor.

Buy or Lease driving school car

Your individual circumstances will probably determine which route you take in this matter, do you already have a family car that you need to keep, do you have the money to buy a car for your driving tuition business, even if you have the lump sum money required to purchase a vehicle, should you be buying rather than leasing driving school car? You might want to contact your accountant and see what advice he gives you. Your decision should be made more from a business point of view, rather than anything else, especially when you know that it is going to be a while for your driving school to get established with pupils.

Personally I chose to lease my driving school car, because it was a second car in the house, and I could off set all the cost including insurance (I didn't have a second no claims discount to use) against tax, and I didn't have a lump sum to buy a car anyway.

What Model/Make and Engine Size for Instructor Car?

Your car needs to be reliable, as anytime the car is in the garage, you are not earning money. Personally from my experience, I will never use a Vauxhall Corsa or Ford Fiesta as a driving school car, I've had both, and they've not proved reliable. The Corsa was a 1999 model, and suffered from clutch and exhaust problems! The Ford Fiesta was a 2006 model, and had issues with the bonnet lid not shutting, Car seats tilting mechanism problems and gear box issues. For these reasons, I will never use a Vauxhall or Ford Model car for either personal or driving car purposes.

If you are looking for a car, then bear these matters in mind. The larger the engine size, the more will be your fuel running costs, especially with learners revving the car, and the lots of milleage that you will cover while teaching learners to drive with the car. A friend of mine once complained that he could not bear a small engine sized car because they were too sluggish moving off at traffic lights, and he liked to have some power! As I mentioned earlier, think about the business, is it worth a little inconvienience to get your drivng school up and running?

I hope I've been able to help you with some information that would make your job as an instructor choosing a driving school car much easier.

While you will always have to offer AA driving lessons in a Ford Focus, Red driving school have a half franchise option where you can choose the car you want and just have a branded roof sign, so that might be an option for newly qualified ADIs who don't want to go independent.

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