BSM like to advertise the fact that someone passes with them every 2 minutes. This may or may not be true, but, taking into consideration the national driving test pass rate is around 43% this means someone fails with them every 1minute 30seconds.
Hence because of their misleading advertising I would not choose to use them. Unfortunately for the BSM Instructors the problem does not lie with them, but rather with the management, or should I say mis-management. Whether this misleading statement was used in error of judgement, or it was used with full knowledge of the facts is immaterial. The fact is it was used by BSM in their attempt to possibly discredit other instructors or schools.
I did complain to the advertising authority but it seems that, as they were not paying for the advertising, they could say what they liked. (This advertisement only appears on the rear windscreen of the school cars)
Whenever you ask an instructor what his pass rate is he/she is likely to inflate it or as BSM does, try and cover up the true facts. For every 100 test candidates 57 are going to fail!
The majority, if not all driving instructors are self employed. As with the larger schools (i.e. BSM and AA The Driving School) the instructors are running a franchise and are not employed by the schools, in fact if anything the schools should be working for the instructors.
My Driving Instructor is Grade 6 so he must be good! This statement may be true, but, it may also be false. I know of instructors who 'Put on an act' for their instructional ability test. They get a good mark on the test, then teach people in a completely different way to that they used on the test. This of course does make a farce of the instructional ability test, but currently there is no way of improving on the methodology used. Don't get me wrong these instructors are a small minority.
If you want a good instructor then get some personal recommendations from friends or relatives already learning or who have recently learnt to drive. If you don't get on with the instructor for any reason then change to another one. It doesn't matter if it is a personality clash or a simple dislike of the person. If you are not happy with the instructor you are not going to apply your best efforts and you will be wasting your, (or your parents), money.
There are some very good Instructors out there who do have an 80% + pass rate, but of course there are also those with a rate well below the 43% average. So remember you need to be with an instructor that you get on with, and you must also like the way they teach.
How many lessons do I need to take? My answer to that is how long is a piece of string? There is no definitive answer to how long it will take or how many lessons you are going to need, but on average you will need at least 2 hours of professional instruction for every year of your life.
When it comes to my Dad only needed 10 hours, my answer is well that's what I did to take my test, but the roads were much quieter and life generally was lived at a slower pace. Times have changed and so have the driving skills needed to stay safe.
From personal experience (both as an instructor and an examiner) I find those that have had 40+ hours professional tuition and have also been able to get driving experience with a family member do best when it comes to the driving test. Notice I say driving experience with a family member. Anybody other than a professional instructor may be giving you false or out of date information. The professional instructor knows what the examiners are looking for in your driving when it comes to the driving test
Some people pick up things quicker than others, so the figures are for the average. You may need less or you may need a lot more.
|
Statement |
Answer |
| The driving examiner can only pass a certain number of candidates per day, week, month or year | FALSE |
| The examiner is out to get you | FALSE |
| You are marked on your driving ability | TRUE |
| You are going to pass if you take the last test on a Friday | FALSE |
| You will get a better driving instructor if you go to a big school | FALSE |
| I failed because my examiner was in a bad mood | FALSE |