Improving Your Automobile

Driving School Versus Learning to Drive at Home

25 January 2016

Addison Morris

With the road toll in some states of Australia being the highest it's been in many years, many Australians, young and old, are wondering exactly who it is they can trust to teach them the driving techniques they need to know to survive on the road.  And whilst cost is often listed as a factor to choose the 'home or parental' school option over proper driver lessons, it turns out the benefits of attending driving school can far outweigh the costs.  So why exactly, then, should you choose driving school over learning to drive at home? 

Driving school teachers are available whenever you need them 

Despite everyone's best intentions, sometimes the people that have promised to teach us how to drive may not have the time to do so! If you choose to attend driving school, however, you can be assured that your driving teacher will be available to you whenever you need a lesson, and more importantly, at a time convenient to you.  

You can reliably search for pass rates for driving schools

It is a little-known fact, but, with a bit of digging you can surface the pass rates of various driving schools around Australia.  This information is key, as it allows you to gauge exactly how good various driving schools are at teaching you how to drive.  If you learn to drive at home, it is near on impossible for you to gauge the skills of your teacher, or the chance you will pass your test, making your eventual driving test somewhat more stressful! 

You don't have to fear that you'll have a volatile relationship with your driving teacher

Learning to drive can be stressful -- for both the teacher and the student.  However, at driving school the teacher is a qualified professional, who is used to the stresses of inexperienced drivers.  If you are home-schooled, however, the stress can most certainly affect your teacher, which is problematic if you have a personal relationship with that person, especially if you live with, or regularly socialise, with them. 

Driving school cars have double controls

For inexperienced drivers, unfortunately, small accidents or near-misses are quite common.  To help prevent these, cars used by driving schools have double controls so that if you panic and aren't able to take control of the situation, the driving teacher can do so for you.  If you learn to drive at home, this isn't an option.  So, to avoid your mum grabbing the handbrake inadvertently every time you approach an oncoming car, consider driving school!

Learning to drive at home may indeed be cheaper, but the many benefits of driving school far outweigh any potential costs. 

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