Now it’s time to choose your instructor. You have weighed up the pros and cons of choosing a school over a solo instructor or maybe where you’re located you have fewer options. How do you decide who is best to teach you to drive?

Well it’s worth remembering that whilst word of mouth is best amongst people you know, we don’t all share the same needs. For example, someone might require an instructor who will really challenge them and push them through the syllabus whilst someone else might need someone who will slow things right down and enable them to learn at a much slower pace.

Similarly, to use an example we have mentioned earlier one person might prefer a female instructor whilst someone else may prefer male. There are any number of requirements that some people may consider of the up most importance. Again, others might think different and simply be more concerned with the nearest instructor.

Word of mouth in 2017 has a whole new meaning to what it meant let’s say 10 years ago. Nowadays, social media plays a huge role in our decision making in everything we do. Discussions on Facebook, not to mention driving schools and instructors can now take advantage of advertising on Facebook and limit to your local community.

We have already mentioned Customer Reviews as another method of Word of Mouth. It’s always best to ensure there are a healthy number of reviews already left to ensure you receive a fair & balanced overall review.

Don’t leave everything to other people’s opinion though, there is going to be a point where you are going to have to consider other options and make a decision based on other factors. Students should consider structured lessons, level of first time pass rate, flexibility, patience of the instructor.

Answers to these questions are probably easier to obtain from schools rather than sole trader instructors. Schools will probably offer more varied options given they have multiple instructors. It’s more difficult to find out about sole traders if the questions are of a more personal nature. You can’t simply come out & ask an instructor if they are a good fit for you.

Trying to gauge a sole trader probably means you are better off relying on word of mouth whether that be reviews or other forms. Availability is obviously an important factor for all students not to mention reliability. School’s have staff available to handle bookings but sole traders might be unavailable when you call to book if they are out on lessons.

Deciding who to choose as your instructor is an important decision so it shouldn’t be taken lightly. By all means consider other people’s experiences but don’t overlook your own needs or you could find that learning to drive is not only costly but a bad experience.

Once you feel that you are ready to start learning to drive, then it’s time to apply for your provisional licence.