You have arrived at the age of 17 and want to learn to drive (UK). It is costly and you need to be as confident as you can that the money you spend on the driving lessons is not wasted. You first need to find a driving school and then ask appropriate questions of him/her.

There are many directories on the web that have listings of driving schools and driving instructors. The biggest I have found is the Driving Schools Directory who literally cover many thousands of UK towns. Insert your town name in the ’search box’ and you will be presented with a listing instructors that cover your area. Make a note of those that are interesting to you.

When you make contact, you will want to be certain that they are fully qualified and not ‘trainee’ instructors. You can tell this by the type of badge (licence) they display in their car. A fully qualified driving instructor will have a green octagonal licence showing in heir car whereas a learner ADI will have a pink triangular badge.

Most driving schools will offer money off for booking multiple lessons or if you are a student. Some will also offer money off of lessons based on your profession e.g. nurses. Be sure to ask about these deals.

Don’t forget though that cheap isn’t always the best and you could end up taking more driving lessons than needed, thereby costing you more cash in the long run. So, once you start your lessons, do not be shy to change or try out another driving instructor if you are not delighted for any reason.

Some of these reasons could be a personality clash, shouting, turning up late, using the lesson time to stop off at shops/do errands, stopping to use their mobile (illegal whilst driving), a dirty (smelly!) car etc.

Remember, you are paying good money and should therefore receive a top service.