There are rumours that the DSA will be introducing changes to the way driving tests are conducted before the end of the year 2010 that could signal the end of cheap driving lessons offers in the UK.
The proposed change is that there might me a minimum requirement to have taken professional driving lessons over 12 months and a DSA approved and registered instructor will have to sign a declaration to that effect as well as physically present their trained candidate to the examiner at the test centre on their test appointment day. This would bring the UK in line with most other EU countries.
One of the reasons why there are a lot of cheap driving lesson offers like £15 per hour in places like London, Birmingham, Leeds, etc is that you currently don't need to prove to the examiner that you have had any training, you can just book a practical appointment once you've passed the theory test. This means that there are a lot of illegal driving instructors operating who have not gone through the required training, don't have the appropriate insurance for tuition, use sub-standard cars without dual controls and just give you experience driving a car without knowing how to prepare you for the DSA test. Anyone using these people for learning to drive will obviously fail their first attempt, then have to seek proper help from a fully qualified instructor, and will probably save some money in the process, so it is a popular way of doing things.
This new DSA test requirement will effectively mean learners will not be able to take driving lessons with family anymore (private practise after the minimum required professional tuition will still be allowed), and provisional licence holders will now have to be 100% sure that anyone teaching them is DSA qualified, registered and keeping the required records that will be presented to the examiner at the test centre (bearing in mind there will be checks in place to verify instructors qualifications).
These new changes which will erradicate bogus cowboys offering discount driving lessons are being introduced as a measure to improve the safety of new drivers, by making sure that they are being trained to the correct standard before being allowed to drive un-supervised on the roads, and has been welcomed by most instructor representation bodies in the UK.
