8 February 2012

Recommendations for Driving Instructor

| Megstar
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Hi All

I am looking for recommendations on good driving schools/instructors. My almost 17 year old daughter is very keen to get her licence next month and I must admit that we have been a bit slow on the uptake to get her driving lessons. She drives regularly but we have only really taught her the basics, haven’t really done much in teaching her the finer points of driving like parallel parking, reverse parking, three point turns and all that other fun stuff that requires that extra patience 🙂

So… any recommendations, including who not to use, would be most welcome. And an idea of what we can expect to pay would be good too.

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sampaththeman4:52 pm 06 Mar 15

Although I was really nervous about learning to drive, Don put me at ease straight away and built my confidence a lot as well as making the lessons enjoyable! He always kept calm when I didn’t; he was always punctual, helpful and knowledgeable. I’ve already got two of my friends learning to drive with him by my recommendation and I would really recommend this Driving School to anybody.”
http://canberradrivinginstructor.com/

supreet said :

Hi I recently had my driving lessons,and I can assure you that my driving
instructor is really great..his name is Don Friend and
his driving school is L2bsafe…..He only charge $60 for a lesson which is really worth you
will not only learn to drive but will know how to drive safe..I
recommend Don as he is very-2 good.

I think the kid has retired by now…

Hi I recently had my driving lessons,and I can assure you that my driving
instructor is really great..his name is Don Friend and
his driving school is L2bsafe…..He only charge $60 for a lesson which is really worth you
will not only learn to drive but will know how to drive safe..I
recommend Don as he is very-2 good.

Driving School Canberra: http://www.atomdrivingschool.com.au/
They offer lessons in Chinese and Cantonese also.

justoneopinion11:20 am 13 Feb 12

Monomyth said :

Grant at Pinnacle is great for auto learbners. He taught me and I would recommend him to ANYONE! I’d given up on learning to drive after a previous instructor suggested there were ‘other ways’ I could get my licence, and this turned me off driving completely – Luckily Grant got me behind the wheel again and taught me habits that still stay with me!

I hope your reported them!

Grant at Pinnacle is great for auto learbners. He taught me and I would recommend him to ANYONE! I’d given up on learning to drive after a previous instructor suggested there were ‘other ways’ I could get my licence, and this turned me off driving completely – Luckily Grant got me behind the wheel again and taught me habits that still stay with me!

justoneopinion9:07 am 09 Feb 12

Agree with many of the above. Fifth Gear Motoring are great. Their instructors also work on Defensive and Advanced driving courses so their knowledge is up there and they are a really good group of trainers.

Harriet Vane2:30 pm 08 Feb 12

Ron from Pinnacle Driving School taught me to drive a few years ago (I was a very late learner!) and did a fantastic job – was thoroughly likable, knowledgable and a lovely overall manner.

Pooks said :

NRMA driving school are very VERY good. They will teach your daughter everything she needs to know for the test. I learnt how to reverse parallel park in 10 mins. (I then taught my partner and father the technique.)

I met an NRMA driving instructor at the scene of a head-on car accident last month, and his complete lack of visual awareness made me genuinely question how he managed to cross the street, let alone instruct someone on how to drive.

Holden Caulfield12:37 pm 08 Feb 12

Pooks said :

…I learnt how to reverse parallel park in 10 mins. (I then taught my partner and father the technique.)

Keep at it Pooks, with a bit more practice you should be able to reverse park in as little as 30 seconds. 😉

Holden Caulfield12:36 pm 08 Feb 12

I have only dealt with Dereck at 5th Gear and would certainly recommend him. Plus I reckon it would be fun learning to drive in a MINI, which they seem to use for learner lessons.

Back in 1989 when I was getting driving lessons the knob in the metallic beige/brown Civic with City Cross almost put me off driving altogether. Thankfully his counterpart in the white Laser TX3 put things right.

NRMA driving school are very VERY good. They will teach your daughter everything she needs to know for the test. I learnt how to reverse parallel park in 10 mins. (I then taught my partner and father the technique.)

Yes, 5th gear. My son got his P’s last year and went through them – they were very good indeed. Also happy to have a chat with me about what I needed to be doing when teaching my son between lessons. Cost was $75 per lesson.

I know that both 5th gear Motor Sport and Panache driving school are very good. They both use late model Mini Coopers and there trainers are very high quality with a lot of years experience. Good luck!

alicerusselwallace10:54 am 08 Feb 12

Fifth Gear is brilliant (http://www.fifthgear.com.au/index.php). I came to the driving game late (due to an early bad experience) and learned with an amazing instructor – she really helped me get over my nervousness over my ability to interpret the behaviour of other drivers. Lessons cost $75 for an hour, which I understand is pretty standard. One fun thing is that all lessons are conducted in Mini Coopers – I found this to be a great motivator. In addition, learning on a virtually new car meant that I could focus on driving craft – my practice with family and friends was what got me used to the quirks of other cars.

CrocodileGandhi10:37 am 08 Feb 12

When I used a driving instructor in 2007 it was about $55 for an hour lesson. The quality of the driving instructors themselves will be variable, so I would suggest that you enquire about what car your daughter would be driving. Some instructors have very old cars (no power steering etc). Probably best if they learn on something similar to what they have at home/what they will be driving once they get their own.

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