At the time of writing this, the AA’s average cost of a lesson is £24 per hour. I think this is a reasonable rate, adjusted for inflation, fuel and maintenance costs.

At ABL Driving we are totally transparent with our costs and the services we offer. I don’t know about you, but it really puts me off when you have to fill out forms and give details to receive a call-back from a pushy sales person to understand what services they offer and their prices. I think it’s a much better experience for the customer, to see all the services and prices on the website and if they have further questions or want further information, to contact you directly or fill out a call back form.

The customers that want the lessons, direct the price that driving schools can charge. Let me explain, if a driving school can offer a great quality service for £10 per lesson, for every lesson, and afford to live on that…I would pack up my bags and would not be able to compete with that. I would also not be mad in the slightest; in fact I would send my friends and family to that company. They will have reduced the cost for lessons…. for all of us. We all like a bargain J So therefore, the supply and demand for lessons and the competitive market decide what the price is.

At ABL Driving, we think that the service and experience should be imperative and the price competitive and attractive for you guys out there.

Please don’t be put off by people saying that driving schools that give FREE lessons or charge lower rates, that their services are poor, as that may not be the case. It may just be that they are passionate and want to give YOU the best possible price they can give, while earning a living. That’s what we try to do here.

Hope this info helps.

Have a great day

Alan 

It’s easy to forget that there are quite large expenses involved, that a driving instructors’ face.    

One being, the cost of becoming an instructor can cost anywhere from £3000-£5000. This enables them to legally teach for profit.  

So what do driving instructors really earn?  

Well, based on a 30 hour week (remember travel times to and from lessons and breaks) with an average ‘ABL Driving’ lesson price of £18 (average of offers, block bookings etc). The average instructor would earn about £9 per hour, before tax!

OK, so how did we come to this figure:

Lessons  £540                       

Fuel        £120

Insurance £13

Franchise fee £60

Car Hire £80

So, based on these figures, we arrive at about £9 per hour. Please remember, this is also before tax. Some things to bear in mind though; instructors can claim back tax for their outlays, the figures above do not include any holiday pay, also, travel time to lessons (this could put the 30 hours too nearly 40 hours, which would reduce the overall instructor wage), commodity price increases (fuel, tyres etc). 

As self-employed instructors, they do not have the luxury of sick pay, or, for example, if bad weather strikes they may have to cancel lessons for their and the pupils safety.

Hopefully this article will help people understand the real costs of what you are paying for, as a customer. Driving a car is very serious, thousands of people die each year on the UK  roads, and driving instructors that teach safe driving, are helping to reduce these numbers.

Driving is a life long skill, and just ask yourself; is learning to drive worth about £9 per lesson, or, perhaps even less. Especially when you think about the reality of being in a dangerous environment where your ability to act safely, could perhaps, save your life – Is £9 per lesson worth it!! Something to think about!!

Take care :)

Why do people get angry at other peoples poor driving?

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggressive_driving

These are two questions that I have given much thought over the last few years and I have overcome road aggression issues. 

Imagine, you are driving along a road, and someone from a side road cuts you up! First of all, you have every right to be annoyed, as this individual could have endangered your life, and your family’s life. 

When you get angry your brain produces adrenaline, a hormone that explains the fight or flight mechanism. So people will react differently to the situation. 

So, the person cuts you up, and you go ballistic at them, flashing your lights, tailgating and generally driving erratic yourself. When something has already happened, it happened, there is nothing we do can to change that particular instance that happened, at that moment. The person that cut you up may not have done it intentionally, they could have been completely unaware of your presence. Perhaps they had a disability, a family member was in need, pregnant wife and so on. Here is an interesting point though; would you of been as annoyed if an emergency service vehicle had cut you up, say a Fire Engine, racing to a house fire…what would your reaction of been then?

These kind of questions fascinate me. The cause is the same, whether a fire engine or a person in a car, or bike cuts you up, but we react differently based on what the type of vehicle it is, rather than the event itself. How interesting?

If someone cuts me up, I am totally fine, calm and relaxed. My reason is because, if I get irritated, then that is clearly my own issue and problem for being angry. Also, by becoming irate, you then act, in a similar behaviour, to that of the other driver – by driving irate yourself. For example, in a different scenario, if a baby is crying and you get angry at that baby for crying, it is not the baby’s problem, but your own self-ability to deal with the situation. I hope that makes sense :) So in theory you then become an aggressive driver yourself!

So, how would this of helped the situation? If you agree, I would say it has created another dangerous and aggressive situation on the road. One that we could do without perhaps!

Stay safe out there :)

Alan 

At ABL we feel that driving is not just about ‘passing a test’, to satisfy the Driving Standards Agency. Let’s face it, the roads are getting more congested and, although safety features in cars are more efficient, there are still lots of collisions on the UK roads. In fact, the number of reported casualties in 2010 was 208,648 and fatalities were 1,850. This is still too high, as we need to strive to get better. Would you agree? http://www.theclaimsconnection.co.uk/road-accident-claims1.html

 As a driver and a pedestrian myself, I see the dangers day to day. Some people just don’t realise the associated dangers with driving a large piece of metal at high speed – it is in essence, a deadly weapon, unless used safely.

 Now, I think we, as individuals, have a right to live in peace, harmony and happiness; and not be subjected to harm or loss by other individuals. Now, of course, accidents happen – fair enough. But we should strive to minimise these accidents if not ELIMINATE.

 At ABL we understand that you are our customers and we strive to try and make you happy by delivering catered and enthusing driving tuition to whomever wants them. Then, by a way a friendly coaching we will help the individual understand how to use the vehicle in a safe and convenient manner. As people can be unpredictable on the roads, we try to explain how to plan and assess these dangers to enable them to avoid confrontation and hazards. Life is all about planning and awareness – it’s no different with driving.

 I suppose you could look at driving as two simple steps; 1) How to use the piece of machinery (car). 2) How to plan, assess and decide while using the machinery.

 I feel that constantly critiquing your driving ability is fundamental to your development. Driving with a question in your mind of ‘am I in control of this situation and will I cause any harm to another person or animal’, are things you may want to ask yourself.

Imagine how you would feel if you hit an animal or a child? Plus, can you imagine the repercussions? I think we would all agree that this would not be a nice feeling.

 Now not everyone learns the same, or have the same thought processes. So, we can only give you our experience and knowledge, that we think, will help you to stay ‘safe’, in your driving career. We consider ourselves good at being adaptable to every individual – that’s not to say that we are perfect by any means J

 Two-way communication is very important, and we hope we make our pupils’ feel comfortable and that they can approach us and ask questions at any point, either in lessons or outside lessons.

Our role is to make you (the customer) happy and we think we have the ability to do this, based on our previous feedback. Reputation means everything to us.

Stay safe

Alan

We have decided to accept methods of payment other than the normal method – CASH!

Under negotiation, we will accept payment by the following:

Gold coins, Silver Coins, Jewellery or anything else you may feel is value to US!

Of course, this will have to decided by the two parties and agreed on the number of lessons, courses etc. that the commodity will be set against.

Also, if you feel you have a service or product that you feel we may find of value, I would be happy to hear this and again, off – set this against the cost of driving lessons. 

At ABL Driving we are completely approachable, so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions :)

I wanted to talk about a topic that can crop up from time to time…… motivation and enthusiasm. 

I have coached many pupils with different reasons for WANTING TO LEARN.

Some, are in the form of, " I want to pass so I can have more freedom", "I need to drive to take the kids to school", "my husband wants me to drive".

As you can see there are many different motivational reasons to learn here. 

I believe that if you commit, work hard and are enthused by a situation….then you can achieve the desired outcome.

Being witness to many reasons why people decide to learn to drive, I can honestly say, that, you must want to learn to drive FOR YOU…. to succeed and become a safe, responsible motorist.

If your reasons are not for yourself, you will not have the core elements as mentioned. 

To help people understand some of the benefits of driving, here are a few reasons:

freedom, to save money, not having to use public transportation, travel, not getting cold or wet in the winter waiting for a bus:), career.

These are to name a few, I’m sure people have many more reasons why!

To summarise, when you have a REASON for your-self to learn to drive and are; committed, determined and enthusiastic…you will SUCCEED

Have a wonderful day :)

Alan 

The average premium paid by 17-to-22-year-old men is £2,872 and for women it is £1,671 (Moneysavingexpert.com)

The average cost of learning to drive is about £1300 (http://www.confused.com/car-insurance/articles/the-real-cost-of-learning-to-drive)

So it costs over double the amount to insure a vehicle than to learn a skill for life that lasts for decades and will keep you safe.!!!! 

Can you imagine paying just £1300 for your car insurance for life? Now can you imagine paying £1300 to be coached on how to develop to become a safe, forward planning, organised and skilled driver. Believe me, the costs of paying a reputable driving instructor will pay you dividends in the future and, COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.

No money could be exchanged for ones life!

After the horrific crash that occurred on the M5 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058558/M5-crash-victims-Boyfriends-vigil-Emma-Barton-lost-family.html I can only give you my views on how important it is to strive to not just learn to pass a test…..but to practice safe driving ever time you get into any vehicle.

Keep safe

Alan

I wanted to talk about the ‘Trainee Driving Instructor PINK Licence’

The PINK trainee licence basically means that the PDI (Potential Driving Instructor) has passed the 1st two parts of the Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) process, but has yet to pass the Part 3 – Ability ot instruct. 

This allows the Trainee Instructor to charge for instruction, even though they are not qualified – kind of like, they are using the paid pupils as practice for their Part 3 exam. 

Personally, I think this system is fine, as long as the pupil is made aware, prior to booking their lesson, that the instructor is a Trainee. 

The problem is, not many pupils out there today know about this PINK licence, and many instructors do not show them their badge today. If I was made aware that my instructor was a trainee, I would want highly reduced lessons, or, I’d go elsewhere. I think that’s totally fine to do – Remember your the customers and you want the best service for the lowest price :)

So, my point is – make sure you find out whether or not your driving instructor is actually qualified, if not, and their giving instruction under a PINK licence, ask for a reduced price…unless your totally happy, of course and you are aware.

Hope this has been useful. See the images below of the Trainee Licence (PINK) and the Qualified (GREEN).

Have a great day 

Alan

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Now, before you’ve even stepped into the DSA test centre it’s important to remember to bring your photo driving licence (both parts) and your theory test pass certificate with you, as these are need for identification purposes and failure to provide them will result in you not being allowed to take your test. When your allotted test time is due, you will be greeted by your test examiner. They will then ask you to sign for the test and whether or not you would like your driving instructor or accompanying driver to come with you on your test; this is to put some learner drivers at ease and is an opportunity for instructor’s to monitor your overall development and provide you with feedback, although most learners don’t feel this is necessary.

The overall test itself lasts an average of 40 minutes, it sounds like a long time but believe me, it goes by really quickly. You’ll firstly be asked to do an Eyesight check and some ‘Show Me Tell Me’ questions (safety vehicle questions) before the actual driving test commences. Now comes the practical driving test (approximately 30 mins)

It’s really important to listen to your test examiner but, don’t feel alarmed if you get something wrong as you can simply ask the examiner to repeat him/her self (they won’t bite…honestly). In the event that you take an incorrect turning or ‘mess something up’, it’s ok, but make sure you correct it and the examiner might mark you down with a minor fault but, will see that you have realised your mistake and corrected it.

The driving test is designed to give you a realistic driving experience during various road and traffic conditions. You will be asked to drive independently for a duration of about 10 minutes so, you have to follow your examiners directions as well as the traffic signs along the way. 

During your test the examiner will ask you to perform one of three driving manoeuvres, these are selected at random and can include any of the following:                                                                                                            

•       Parallel parking                                                                            

•      Turning in the road (3 point turn)                                                    

•     Left-hand reverse

You will also be asked to pull over a number of times to perform, what’s affectionately known as a Controlled Stop. You will be asked to pull over to the left in a safe place and then, to safely move off again. Your examiner may also ask you to carry out an Emergency Stop (1 out of 3 tests require this), so good practice beforehand is essential.

To achieve a pass you will need to drive to the legal required standard, with no more than 15 driving faults (minors) and no serious faults (majors) whatsoever. If you achieve a pass you’ll be able to legally drive but, do
bear in mind that this is just the beginning of your driving journey and safe driving should always be your first priority when behind the wheel.

That said, driving can be a fun experience, enabling you to become more independent and visit many wonderful places. We wish you the best of luck with your practical driving test and always remember to have fun but stay safe : )