Driving lessons: Am i being scammed or not?

Dubgirl92

I got my provisional license before april 2011 and have only started driving about 6 months ago. I dont have to do the EDT lessons so just been doing normal ones.

Ive gotten about 12 lessons (one a week) and dont feel i've been progressing. We have just been doing the same stuff over and over. Im just wondering if this is the norm or am i being scammed out of money? I've looked at the EDT lesson plans on different schools websites and I havnt covered a good lot of them.

I also have been practicing loads in the hope of doing my test but my instructor said i wont be ready for at least 2 months. Everyone else says im a good driver except him so im unsure.

The lessons are quite expensive so dont want to continue with this school if im being ripped off. Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks:D

foreversky

how much you paying.i think they are surposed teach you something new every week.if u are not happy go a different instruter

66dunaras

Hi Op.

I have had about 12 lessons too (like you, i dont have to do the log book) and we usually do the same thing each lesson. IMO, a lot of instructors aim to cover the stuff which is guaranteed to be tested in your test (e.g. three point turn, reversing round corners, correct observation). I find that we do these things each week repeatedly - I feel I am being taught how to pass the test rather than to be a good driver. You can be a good , natural driver but still have bad habits which will lead you to fail your test, something which the instructor is trying to prevent. However, of course, all the lessons have led to an improvement in my overall driving too.

Have you considered just getting one lesson with someone else? If you are unsure about the current school you are using, and whether they are just after the money, it may be of benefit to try out someone else? You can always go back to that school if you didnt like the new tester

Ps if your instructor says you wont be ready for 2 months have you applied for your test? Looking at the waiting times on RSA website, it will be at least 2 months before you will get a date anyway. My test is on 31st of july and i applied way before easter :mad:

Chris_Heilong

When I first learned to drive my instructor brought me somewhere we could do stopping and starting and then drive myself home, 2nd lesson was drive up howth hill and do some hill starts, 3rd lesson was drive around and he advised on when to indicate and roundabouts. So you should have at least learned all these by now IMO.

ashl

Dubgirl92 wrote: »

I got my provisional license before april 2011 and have only started driving about 6 months ago. I dont have to do the EDT lessons so just been doing normal ones.

Ive gotten about 12 lessons (one a week) and dont feel i've been progressing. We have just been doing the same stuff over and over. Im just wondering if this is the norm or am i being scammed out of money? I've looked at the EDT lesson plans on different schools websites and I havnt covered a good lot of them.

I also have been practicing loads in the hope of doing my test but my instructor said i wont be ready for at least 2 months. Everyone else says im a good driver except him so im unsure.

The lessons are quite expensive so dont want to continue with this school if im being ripped off. Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks:D

Hi Dubgirl92,

That sounds very frustrating to be honest. I have heard of people doing 6 lessons and being able to pass their test but others take a lot longer (myself included). One thing I will say though is I went to 1 of the larger well known schools in Dublin and spent 1500 on lessons but most of my driving was done in or around industrial estates!!! I could do the reverse around the corner, hill starts, turn about in my sleep but they never thought me to drive in traffic or plan a journey through the city. I failed my first test on basic stuff that they had never said was an issue. My instructor now is teaching everything from scratch including bay and parallel parking so that I gain confidence in all areas of driving. If you are being shown the same thing over and over ask them why.If you are not happy with the answer move to another instructor. Best of luck!

Regards

Ashl

ITS_A_BADGER

yea ive had 5-6 lessons now myself and tbh it seems like the same things over and over, but it was my fault as i always fecked upon the same things, i think my instrutor is trying to make sure i do these things right before i progess to other areas, For some reason i cant drill the correct observeation techniques into my head and forget to check the mirrors before i signall, gets me EVERY time :but thats seems to be my only fault at the moment, i had a bad habit of coasting, but ive stopped that now.

TL;DR The instructor is trying to drill these areas into you to make sure you're doing them right before you move on- BUT if you feel like you have been taken the same lessons over and over and feel that you've learned it already well enough, then ask him can we try out more stuff today or if you want to get a lesson from another instrutor to see how they feel about your driving

ADIDriving

DubGirl92 and 66Dunaras: There should be some variety. There should be some lesson plan. There should be some progress.
Most good instructors had lesson plans before the RSA designed the EDT (and many were better then the EDT, but that is a different rant). You should still be progressing in some vague way similar to the EDT lesson plans.
Try get one lesson from a different ADI instructor. Ask them to assess your driving. If you get a response like, 'What?! You have had that many lessons and you have not done xyz?' Then you have a problem and perhaps a sub standard instructor.
The other alternatives are challange your instructor.
Or you might not be that good at driving. It is a possibility that would be unfair of me to ignore. But still try another ADI.
PS. Badger, sounds like you will get there. Nothing is easy, though.

Dubgirl92

Hi guys im paying €35 a lesson

ADIDriving

Dubgirl92 wrote: »

Hi guys im paying €35 a lesson

A fair and common price in Dublin. You can pay less and you can pay more. Although price can indicate quality it is nowhere near 100% reliable. Otherwise the most expensive school in Dublin would not have its own thread of dissatisfied customers in another part of the forum.

Dubgirl92

Just booked an assesment with another driving school which has gotten good reviews and are a lot cheaper so gonna see how that goes.

I understand there is a lot of practicing and repeating involoved but after €350 im starting to get weary of my instructor that it is money based.

Really appreciate all your advice guys. Best of luck to anyone doing their test

Lon Dubh

I think it is a good idea to try another instructor, good luck with it . I had a similar situation, tried a lesson with another instructor that had been recommended to me, and it made a huge difference.

I still took a lot of lessons with the new instructor but I felt I was learning a lot in every lesson and the progress was more obvious.

Edit: He might not be deliberately scamming you (I am pretty sure mine wasn't) he just might not be a good instructor, or you he might not suit you, or maybe you are expecting too much for your stage of driving.

Though I think if you are not happy there is most likely a good reason and your gut instinct is telling you something. If the instruction was going well I think you would feel generally happy and that you were making progress. I've had 3 instructors so should know (2 good and one not so good, and the difference was very noticable straight away).

Dubgirl92

Thanks for the advice guys,

Had 2 lessons with a new instructor this week and feel it has made a big difference. Difference style and more honest to the point instructor. He said I'm ready to book my test soon. Fingers crossed it goes ok from here!