AA driving instructor

Danceswithfishes

Hello.  My 17yo is having driving lessons with the AA (I'm paying).  He's done 2 lessons, out of the 10 lesson block I already paid. Now the instructor has texted me offering further lessons at a discount rate, but not through AA. He says it would be cheaper to hire him privately.
Is this normal practice? For an instructor to want to circumvent the AA? Would my son get the rate treatment and instruction?  Also, I'm concerned.  What if he does not turn up, goes on holiday, or move away?

Car_54

Danceswithfishes said:

Hello.  My 17yo is having driving lessons with the AA (I'm paying).  He's done 2 lessons, out of the 10 lesson block I already paid. Now the instructor has texted me offering further lessons at a discount rate, but not through AA. He says it would be cheaper to hire him privately.
Is this normal practice? For an instructor to want to circumvent the AA? Would my son get the rate treatment and instruction?  Also, I'm concerned.  What if he does not turn up, goes on holiday, or move away?

That sounds normal. Every instructor is self-employed. Your kid's current contract is with the instructor, not the AA: the AA just collect payment, and pass it on to the instructor (minus commission). It's better financially for both instructor and customer to deal direct.

Brie

Will he need more than 10 lessons?  Obviously the instructor will tell you he does and he's the one that knows but I'd wait until he's had a few more lessons before agreeing to pay more.  

WellKnownSid

Brie said:

Will he need more than 10 lessons?  Obviously the instructor will tell you he does and he's the one that knows but I'd wait until he's had a few more lessons before agreeing to pay more.  

I believe the average number of lessons is around 40 these days.  That doesn't include practice with a parent (not the same as a lesson).  Yes we all know people who had 3 hours with an instructor and learned the rest in a combine harvester, but we also know what kind of drivers they've turned out to be...

The biggest thing is 'do they get on with the instructor'... which might only become apparent after completing the first block of ten lessons...

Arunmor

My daughter had 4 x 2 hour lessons during Covid (2 in December 2020 and 2 in May 2021 she passed her test within a week of tests restarting in May), I picked up the slack when lessons were banned.

If someone needs 40 hours I would be more likely to question their ability.  The important thing is road time and most parents should be able to do that.

WellKnownSid

Arunmor said:

If someone needs 40 hours I would be more likely to question their ability.  The important thing is road time and most parents should be able to do that.

My daughter learned to drive in a city - it ended up being around 40 hours of instruction with COVID in the middle.  Two years on she's driven through most of the cities of England and Scotland including London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, etc and is a very confident driver, completely unfazed by traffic, complex road systems, city-centre navigation, roadworks, bus lanes, etc.

I think a lot of people just want a licence to go from A to B in a ten mile radius and that's fine - but I would argue that it's not a badge of honour to pass with the minimum of instruction, and that the time/money pays for itself the first time you are faced with a challenging situation in a completely new location.

Arunmor

That maybe the case if they are coming to driving cold.  But I find if you can cover the basics from an earlier age in fields or private roads, driving all sorts of vehicles eg Cars, ATVs etc it gives you a great start.

Car_54

WellKnownSid said:

Arunmor said:

If someone needs 40 hours I would be more likely to question their ability.  The important thing is road time and most parents should be able to do that.

My daughter learned to drive in a city - it ended up being around 40 hours of instruction with COVID in the middle.  Two years on she's driven through most of the cities of England and Scotland including London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, etc and is a very confident driver, completely unfazed by traffic, complex road systems, city-centre navigation, roadworks, bus lanes, etc.

I think a lot of people just want a licence to go from A to B in a ten mile radius and that's fine - but I would argue that it's not a badge of honour to pass with the minimum of instruction, and that the time/money pays for itself the first time you are faced with a challenging situation in a completely new location.

Those stats need to carry a health warning.

They were published by DVSA, following a survey of recently-passed drivers.

However, in my experience, most learners don't know accurately haw many lessons they've had - particularly if someone else has paid for them, as with most teenagers.

As for hours of practice, even less chance! No-one keeps a record.

WellKnownSid

Car_54 said:

WellKnownSid said:

Arunmor said:

If someone needs 40 hours I would be more likely to question their ability.  The important thing is road time and most parents should be able to do that.

My daughter learned to drive in a city - it ended up being around 40 hours of instruction with COVID in the middle.  Two years on she's driven through most of the cities of England and Scotland including London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, etc and is a very confident driver, completely unfazed by traffic, complex road systems, city-centre navigation, roadworks, bus lanes, etc.

I think a lot of people just want a licence to go from A to B in a ten mile radius and that's fine - but I would argue that it's not a badge of honour to pass with the minimum of instruction, and that the time/money pays for itself the first time you are faced with a challenging situation in a completely new location.

Those stats need to carry a health warning.

They were published by DVSA, following a survey of recently-passed drivers.

However, in my experience, most learners don't know accurately haw many lessons they've had - particularly if someone else has paid for them, as with most teenagers.

As for hours of practice, even less chance! No-one keeps a record.

We used Veygo temporary insurance so I have hours of practice to the nearest minute for both kids.

Danceswithfishes

Brie said:

Will he need more than 10 lessons?  Obviously the instructor will tell you he does and he's the one that knows but I'd wait until he's had a few more lessons before agreeing to pay more.  

We'll see. He's starting from zero and I don't have a car so he can't practice outside of his lessons.

Danceswithfishes

Arunmor said:

My daughter had 4 x 2 hour lessons during Covid (2 in December 2020 and 2 in May 2021 she passed her test within a week of tests restarting in May), I picked up the slack when lessons were banned.

If someone needs 40 hours I would be more likely to question their ability.  The important thing is road time and most parents should be able to do that.

I should have said I don't have a car, so junior won't get any practice outside of his lessons