Quality driving instructors do not come cheap

I got a call recently from someone who was looking for a good driving school instructor, had seen my business website and decided to contact me, but he only had one question: was I willing to offer him £15 driving lessons? I said to him that there was no way I could run a legal profitable operation charging that kind of prices for tuition where I live, and that was the end, I didn't get his custom because he obviously was looking for something else which I couldn't offer to him as a learner driver.

This made me think, what kind of characteristics do you actually look for in a good instructor. I've listed mine below, I wonder what yours are, especially if you are learning to drive a car, and need professional help which you will be spending your money on.

1. A good driving instructor will be fully qualified, approved by the DSA and undergone the necessary training required to deliver tuition at the standard a learner drver needs to pass the current DSA practical car test. Evidence of this will be by their officially issued green registration badge which they have to display on their driving school car windscreen when giving paid instruction. If your instructor has a pink badge, that means they are a trainee, and have not fully completed the 3 part qualifying process. While being a trainee doesn't necessarily mean they are not going to be a good instructor, personally, it is my opinion that they would not have the necessary experience behind them yet to prove they are.

2. Good quality driving instructors do not come cheap. This is a very important fact that you have to consider when choosing an individual that is going to help you learn to drive and pass the hard uk driving test, as a lot of people quite easily ignore it, thinking that as long as the person has a driving school roof sign or displays 'L' plates on the car, then they will be able to do the job. Currently in London the price for lessons is from £20-£32 per hour depending on where you live and who you take them with either national driving schools like AA, BSM, LDC, RED or Bill Plant charging the premium rates and local independent operations in the lower range. However there are many learner drivers who seek and find driving instructors offering £15 driving lessons in London, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that they are not getting good value for their money because there is no way a legally operating driving instructor can make a profit and earn a living in London charging those prices. Good and dirt cheap driving lessons do not go together.
Now don't think that all expensive instructors are going to be good (even AA, BSM and Red have bad apples in the fold), but you can safely assume that anyone charging peanuts for lessons will have some skeletons in their cupboard.

3. Good driving instructors always act in a professional manner and abide by the DSA code of conduct during all your lessons. Your ADI should not change their behaviour after your first few lessons because they have now let thier guard down and only wanted to impress you and get you hooked to them providing your driver tuition services and hope that would stay till you have passed your practical test. The good driving instructor will always offer the best quality of tuition even if you are only interested in one lesson (motorway, refresher, mock test, pass plus) and not withhold information hoping you will fail the dsa practical assessment and comeback for more driving lessons.

4. A good driving instructor will offer tuition at an individual's level, and not a one solution fits all teaching method (all 17 year old males need 35 lessons before they are ready for the test). The instructor will not always insist that things are done his/her way when a learner has been taught another safe way of carrying out the reverse parallel parking exercise

5. A good driving instructor MUST be able to advice and explain to a learner driver why you have to do things in a particular way, will not consider any questions his/her pupil asks as dumb or stupid, and will be patient with a slower learner helping them to overcome any learning plateaus.

6. The good ADI is always puntual with their driving lesson appointments, don't cancel on short notice and will usually call you if they are running late, give you as much notice as possible if they have to cancel and might even offer compensation even if it is only a 30 minute extra training session.

7. Most good driving instructors are usually very busy due to recommendations from former pupils or friends, so might have waiting lists especially in the summer months.