Think carefully before you commit yourself to lessons - you want to ensure you are getting the best quality training so that you have the best possible chance of success in your driving tests but more importantly you will have learnt how to drive safely and confidently for the rest of your driving life. There are about 30,000 driving instructors in the U.K. make sure that you get the right one for you.

Your local paper and yellow pages will have dozens of driving instructors and driving schools advertising their businesses and many of them will be very good instructors but will they be the right one for you? You'll want someone who is familiar with your area, that you can get along with and is able to provide lessons when you want them (some instructors do not work weekends for example. One of the best ways to choose a driving instructor is by having one recommended by a member of your family or a friend who has taken driving lessons recently with a good instructor. Often the most popular instructors do not advertise because they don't need to!

Only instructors approved by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) are allowed charge for giving driving tuition - you can check and instructors' status by asking to see his identification certificate which should be displayed in the tuition vehicle windscreen when the driving instructor is giving lessons. A green certificate means the instructor is fully qualified and has passed a demanding 3 part examintation process - trainee instructors are allowed to give lessons for payment in some circumstances and some driving schools use part trained instructors to teach. It is entirely up to you whether you would be happy with a partly trained instructor but consider whether you think you ought to pay the same rate as you would for a qualified instructor and be aware that if a trainee fails their exams they will no longer be allowed to instruct - will there be another one available to continue with your training?

Once you know what type of instructor you need consider a few other things - look at the instructor and his car and then ask some questions:
Does the instructor act in a professional manner?
Does the training vehicle look clean and well looked after - does it have dual controls?
Will I always have the same instructor for my lessons and is the instructor generally available to work when I want to take them?
What is the price of the driving lessons?
Will you tailor the training to suit my needs?
Do I have to pay for lessons in advance or can I "pay as I go"?
What handouts and learning aids does the instructor use - can I see some?
Will I get help with the theory test?
Do you abide by the approved code of practice for Driving Instructors?
Do you guarentee that I'll pass the driving test?
What discounts do you offer?