For American teens who are 16, around 20-30% of them have their driver’s license; for those who are 19, that number jumps to around 70%.
Clearly, driving is an important thing for young adults in this country. Because of that, your own teenage kids may have been begging you for driving lessons.
Driving’s a huge responsibility, so you want to make sure your children get the best education possible to stay safe on the roads.
Are you wondering how to choose from all the driving school for teens? Then read on. We’ll give you the best tips to pick the right school for your children.
Read Online Reviews
We live in a great era where we can access prior customer reviews with a simple Google search. So after you do a search for local driving schools, you’ll want to look at the list of results and take a look at their overall rating from their previous students.
In general, you’ll want to eliminate any driving school that doesn’t have a rating or has one that’s below 4 out of 5 stars. If the majority of them are over that rating, feel free to bump that up to 4.5 out of 5 stars to narrow it down further.
As with every business, it’s inevitable that there will be bad reviews. You should take some time to sort by worst to best to see what negative aspects there are to a driving school. Of course, there will always be unreasonable and disgruntled customers, so take all bad reviews with a grain of salt.
Avoid DUI Driving Schools
We’re not saying that DUI driving schools aren’t good, but the demographic isn’t quite right. While they can go over the basics with your teenagers, their specialty is in teaching people how to handle alcohol and driving responsibly.
Considering your children aren’t even legally allowed to drink yet, this won’t be relevant for them.
Instead, you’ll want to find driving schools that specialize in teaching new drivers; if their specialty is teen drivers, even better! This means the instructors know how to teach in a way that’s digestible to people who have never been behind the wheel before.
Plus, this means the instructors know how to speak to teenagers so they don’t alienate them, but instead, engage with them effectively.
Look for One-on-One Lessons
Some driving schools will try to do group lessons to accommodate more than one student at once. But this isn’t always effective, considering each student driver has to split the time behind the wheel.
Not many schools will do this, but you still have to keep an eye out. The best driving school will have one-on-one driving lessons for teens. This ensures your kids get the best education possible, as well as maximum hands-on experience before they have to do the real test.
Look at Their Packages
Teenagers usually lead very busy lives, and so do you. If you’re sharing a vehicle, then you want to ensure their driving lessons are when you don’t need the car.
Most driving schools should have their available schedules and packages online. All you have to do is take a look at their website to see if what they offer is compatible with your family’s schedule.
Make sure they offer 5-hour prelicensing classes, as this is mandatory for any drivers under 18 in the state of New York.
Get a Feel for the Facilities
If your teen needs both class lessons and hands-on experience, you’ll want to go tour the facilities. That way, you can see for yourself if the classrooms are good for your kids.
Take note of all the small details.
For example, are the classrooms tidy and clean? Are the books new? Can all the students see the blackboard and TV screens clearly?
During your tour of the facilities, make sure to ask questions. How the staff answer can be very telling.
A good and reputable driving school will be accommodating of your questions and concerns, and they’ll answer them confidently. If your gut feeling is off about a driving school, don’t ignore it. It’s better to be safe than to be sorry.
Speak to the Instructor
Another way to get a good read of the driving school is to have an appointment with the driving instructor. They should be able to tell you all the details of the class with no problem. And if you have any questions, they should be open and friendly about answering them.
If English isn’t your first language (and neither is it for your kids), you’ll want to pick a driving school that has instructors who speak your native language. If your children can’t understand the teacher, then that’ll be money down the drain, as they’ll barely learn anything.
Again, if you don’t feel like the instructor values your time, or you get a bad vibe from them, don’t be afraid to walk away and consider other options. It’s your hard-earned money you’re spending, after all.
Check out Their Pass Rate
One of the most important things a driving school is if they can help your teens pass their tests. The higher their pass rate, the better.
If the school is reluctant to tell you their pass rate, or they straight up refuse, then that’s a red flag. If the driving school is any good, then they should be more than willing to disclose that information.
Make sure to cross off not only the schools that have bad pass rates, but also ones that won’t disclose them.
Pick the Best Driving School for Teens
By knowing how to pick the best driving school for teens, you’ll ensure that your kids learn everything necessary to observe safety properly while on the road.
So don’t just go for the cheapest driving school around. Make sure you choose one with a great reputation and proven results so you get peace of mind about your teens driving.
Are you ready to enroll your teen in driving school? Then get in touch with us now. We’ll get back to you to schedule their lessons.