Latest news with #drivinglessons
Telegraph
20-07-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
‘My electric car costs have surged now my son is learning to drive'
I've been through a lot with my electric and hybrid cars. Making the switch to an electric vehicle (EV) and installing a charge point at home for my second-hand electric Renault Zoe took months, and I've recently battled to find any insurer to cover my battered hybrid Toyota Auris. We opted for these cars because we were keen to reduce our environmental impact, while reducing our fuel costs at the same time. What I hadn't considered was what would happen when my children wanted to learn to drive – something that, it turns out, could cost us thousands because of the pricier driving lessons and expensive insurance required to get them behind the wheel of these vehicles. We live in Hadleigh, Suffolk – my husband, Josh, a charity fundraiser, and I, a personal finance journalist, along with 17-year-old Finn, and 15-year-old George. Public transport is limited, so we're keen for them to pass their driving tests – but I had no idea how much more expensive we'd made it by opting for two automatic, environmentally friendly cars. Pricier driving lessons Manual cars are rapidly disappearing from our roads. In 2024, only 22pc of new car registrations were manual, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and more young people are taking their practical driving test in an automatic as a result. Already, almost 21pc of all passes in 2023-24 were in automatic vehicles, according to data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), compared with 17pc the previous year and just 5pc a decade earlier. Much of this is being fuelled by the switch to EVs, according to the AA Driving School, which predicts that one in four driving test passes will be in automatic cars by 2026. Seb Goldin, of Red Driver Training, said there had been a 16pc increase in automatic driving lesson hours at his firm between 2023 and 2024. 'This is likely accelerated by the accessibility when it comes to learning and the advent of electric cars,' he said. This trend is set to pick up pace over the next few years, due to the planned 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars – but, as we've discovered, it's adding extra costs for learner drivers. More expensive driving lessons are the first thing you'll notice. While specific prices vary depending on the area and the individual instructor, the AA Driving School quoted typical prices per hour for driving lessons as £40 for a manual car and £42 for an automatic in London, with respective prices at £38 and £40 in Edinburgh, and £35 and £36.50 in Cardiff. Just a couple of pounds difference may not sound like much, but given it takes an average of 45 hours of driving lessons (if you can access an additional 22 hours of private practice) to pass your test, learning in an automatic could add around £100 before you can even ditch the L-plates. Higher insurance costs Once you're on the road as a new driver, the real costs kick in – particularly if you're driving an EV. The average annual premium for 17 to 24-year-olds driving manual vehicles was £1,260 in April 2025, according to data from comparison website Compare the Market, but it was £1,642 for electric vehicles – a chunky 30pc more. Insurance premiums take into account the risk based on both the driver and the car they are driving, so younger drivers of EVs get clobbered both ways. Julie Daniels, motor insurance expert at Compare the Market, said: 'Younger drivers face higher premiums because they are statistically more likely to be involved in a claim – and the expense of repairing EVs can amplify that risk'. One in five new drivers crash within the first 12 months after passing their test, according to research by Ocean Finance, while around 37pc of 18 to 24-year-olds had at least one near miss in 2024. Automatic and electric cars also tend to cost more to purchase and repair, which again increases insurance costs. EVs are generally newer cars, with fewer second-hand models on the market compared to internal combustion engine cars. Newer cars of whatever engine type tend to have more technical functionality than older vehicles, which affects their value and repair costs. The type of driving licence you have can also push up insurance premiums. Craig Codell, electric vehicle product manager at Admiral, one of the UK's largest motor insurers, said this is because drivers with an automatic licence are more likely to make a claim than a driver with a manual one. Given the continued shift towards EVs, I worry that younger people are being priced out of learning to drive, particularly if they only have access to an EV, and their parents can't spare the extra cash. Finn has been looking for a summer job to help fund his driving, but if we weren't willing to cover the insurance and lessons he couldn't just magic up hundreds of pounds out of nowhere. 'Our car insurance leapt from £406 to £2,019' Back at home, it appears I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either way, it seems we'll have to fork out more. We face higher costs of car insurance, and for each driving lesson if Finn goes for an automatic-only driving licence. Or, we'll potentially need to stump up for extra driving lessons if Finn learns in a manual car, but doesn't have access to a manual for practice. It's frustrating that opting for more environmentally friendly vehicles should also land us with higher costs. Plus, with our car insurance up for renewal, it became apparent that our current insurers were not exactly keen to add a 17-year-old with a provisional licence to our policies. The renewal quote for our electric car with LV car insurance leapt from £392 a year to £1,134. Meanwhile, Churchill, the insurer for our hybrid car, pushed the annual premium up from £406 to £2,019. If we'd stuck with a manual Volkswagen Polo, of the same age and mileage as our electric car, the quotes after adding Finn started from £587 for a standard policy. The price rises seemed huge and made me think twice about whether we could afford to add Finn to our insurance. There's certainly no question of being able to cover him on both cars. Both companies suggested using their temporary insurance policies to cut costs – where, for example, you can insure an additional driver for up to 90 days in the policy year, split across up to five separate occasions. But this didn't sound ideal for weekend driving practice. Tech to bring prices down Thankfully, plugging our details into comparison websites revealed some less eye-watering prices. The cheapest option for both cars were telematics policies with Hastings Direct, often know as 'black box' insurance. Hastings Direct YouDrive came in at £569 for the electric car, and £490 for the hybrid. With a telematics policy, the insurer monitors your driving, either by fitting an electronic monitoring device, providing a monitoring device to plug in yourself or using an app on your smartphone. The device or app then tracks aspects of your driving, such as when, where, how far and how fast you drive, and how aggressively you brake, corner and accelerate. Drive safely, and your insurer could potentially cut your premiums. For the pleasure of driving without an insurer looking over our shoulders, I was quoted £610 for a stripped-down essentials policy for the hybrid, or £626 for a higher-rated policy with a lower excess. Premiums for the electric car rose to £749 and £802 for the same policies, but there were cheaper options elsewhere from around £650. Based on the insurance costs, I've added Finn to the hybrid policy rather than the electric. It's a shame, because the electric car is smaller, and therefore easier for a learner to park – and it has lower running costs.
South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Hongkongers use driving schools over border to get cheap licences illegally
Mainland Chinese middlemen are offering Hongkongers driving lessons and tests at nearly half the price of city rates and showing them how to convert permits into local licences, a practice that authorities have deemed illegal. Checks by the Post on popular mainland social media platform RedNote have found that a driving school in Shenzhen is offering tailor-made packages for Hong Kong residents, including ways to circumvent legal requirements. It charges 6,800 yuan (HK$7,422) for a driving course to obtain a licence in Shenzhen, including five test retakes within three years. In Hong Kong, it costs learner drivers at least HK$15,000 for lessons and other fees before taking the test. The process is also much faster in Shenzhen, where a licence can be attained within three months, compared with at least a year in Hong Kong, assuming a learner passes written and road tests. 'We will lend you our employees' addresses. They are real and reliable,' an agent with the driving school told a Post reporter pretending to be a potential customer. 'More than 1,000 Hongkongers have successfully used our service to obtain mainland driving licences and get them converted in Hong Kong in the past two years.
The Drive
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
He Turned His Miata Into a Side Hustle by Teaching Enthusiasts to Drive Stick. He'll Pay You to Do the Same.
The latest car news, reviews, and features. When Ahmed Raza bought his stick-shift car just a few years ago, he'd never before driven one. He figured out the basics right then and there, with the benefit of a parking lot and some patience, and eventually worked up the confidence to drive himself home. Today, he's the CEO of Manual Driving Academy—an in-person program that is teaching a new generation of drivers how to row their own all over the country. And he's looking for more drivers who might want to make a buck doing the same. Like many good enthusiast stories, this one starts with a Miata. Raza's secondhand 2012 NC2 with the power retractable hard top was all the inspiration he needed to learn how to drive a manual. And once he'd gotten the hang of it, he was eager to share his newfound enthusiasm with friends and family. Raza enjoyed the process so much that he got the itch to expand it into a business. He approached the individual who would later become his partner with a simple pitch: Let's teach folks how to drive stick for money as a side hustle. Just like that, Manual Driving Lessons Houston was born. The business flourished, and soon expanded to other cities in Texas. Within months, it was clear there was demand nationwide for stick-shift lessons, and the pair decided to rebrand as the Manual Driving Academy. That was in 2023; today, the academy offers lessons in 47 metro areas, with more expansion on the horizon. That's pretty rapid growth for just two years, and it's only possible because the Manual Driving Academy doesn't exist—not physically. Instead, it contracts with local instructors who provide their own vehicles. Yep, that's the catch. In exchange, the academy provides its 200-some-odd contractors with commercial insurance coverage, so that's one less thing to worry about when subjecting your personal car to the abuses of novice sick-shift drivers. That's not to say there aren't other criteria for becoming an instructor. Most are referred by existing Academy contractors, and Raza says the pool is made up almost entirely of fellow enthusiasts. Some of his best sources of new instructors are local motorsports associations, where word of mouth spreads somewhat quickly. There's an interview process and you can expect your driving record to be checked, but it's all conducted remotely. Just how much can you make as an instructor? That's largely determined by your availability and the number of local requests, but it's also influenced by the package chosen by the student. Courses come in three flavors, in ascending order of price: The Basics, The Standard, and The Works. The price for each is fixed, but since not all students learn at the same pace, they may not always take the prescribed amount of time to complete. Raza says instructors should expect to earn between $50 and $60 per hour, depending on how quickly students pick it up. 'The Basics' is just what it sounds like. By the end of it, students are expected to be able to get themselves around a parking lot without any additional help. The Academy suggests this should take 1-2 hours to complete, which sounds about right to us. 'The Standard' includes gear shifting techniques, hill starts and parallel parking, bumping the prescribed completion time to between 1.5 and 3 hours. Spring for 'The Works' and your student should walk away with a grasp of advanced clutch control, including rev-matched down-shifts. Completion time: 2 to 4 hours. The Academy suggests 'The Works' for customers who want to drive a higher-output sports car, since it teaches a bit more finesse. And what sort of students might you expect? Per Raza, they're often a lot like his typical instructors. They're young (between 18 and 34) and usually car enthusiasts. The Academy also sees a decent number of soon-to-be overseas travelers, along with members of the military who have recently learned they're going to be stationed abroad, where manual transmissions tend to be more commonplace. So, if you've got the manual car sitting around and taking up garage space rather than earning its keep, consider this your call to action. And even if you don't need the cash, just think of it as a way to help keep the hobby alive, one upstart enthusiast at a time. Got a tip? Send it our way at tips@
Khaleej Times
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Can 17-year-olds start driving lessons yet? Parents rue lack of clarity
Parents looking to enrol their teenage child for driving lessons this summer are facing a roadblock. Despite a new rule that youngsters aged 17 and above can apply for their driving licence, most institutes in the UAE still require that applicants be at least 17.5 years old before they can register for classes. Several parents shared that this was a 'missed opportunity' for many teenagers. Dubai-based parent Lilli was hoping that the summer break would be a good opportunity for her daughter to start driving lessons. 'I called five institutes in Dubai, but they all turned me down,' she said. 'They said that although the rule had been announced, they had not received any directive to start offering classes to 17-year-olds. I had thought it would be great for my daughter to have the full two months of summer break to practice her driving. The roads would be relatively empty, and she would be off school, so it would have been a great chance for her to get comfortable driving. It is truly a missed opportunity.' Lilli, whose daughter turned 17 in May, said that most of the institutes offered to open her daughter's file but she would be allowed inside a car only by January once she was 17 years and six months. 'I am guessing it is going to take time for rules to be actually actioned, but it was very disappointing for us to expect something and not have it happen,' she said. 'Hopefully the law will be enforced soon.' It was in March this year that the UAE lowered the minimum age limit for obtaining a driving licence to 17. Earlier, youngsters could start learning driving once they were 17 years and six months but would be issued a licence only once they turned 18. This was changed when a new federal decree law on traffic regulations was passed in October 2024. 'No information yet on new rule' A telephone operator at Galadari Driving Institute confirmed that it was not yet possible for 17-year-olds to apply for their licence. 'Students can open a file with us now,' the operator confirmed. 'They can start learning either when they turn 17.5 years or when the new rule is implemented." She added that there was no clarity on when the new rules will be implemented. Her comments were confirmed by another telephone operator at Sharjah Driving Institute. 'We know about the new federal rule, but it has not been put in place as yet,' the operator said. 'We are yet to receive any information about when it will be rolled out.' Several parents took to social media to share similar experiences with other driving institutes. 'My son was so excited by the law change but we keep calling and they tell us it is not in Dubai yet,' wrote one parent.
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Disabled people's independence stalled by driving lessons wait
Disabled people are facing long waits for driving lessons due to a lack of instructors with suitable to the Association of Disability Driving Instructors (ADDI), less than one percent of the 39,500 driving instructors in the UK have specially adapted vehicles which can be used by those with additional organisation added that only 20 of those instructors are available to disabled learners across the entire South Rogers, chief executive of the ADDI, called the situation "frustrating", adding it was "vitally important" to resolve it. One of those affected is Chelsea Moon, 24, who has atypical osteogenesis imperfecta – a bone condition that stunts just over four feet tall, her additional needs mean she has waited a year for lessons."In a normal car I can't see out the windscreen very well, and I need specially adapted steering and braking."But I really want my independence, instead of relying on public transport." Her instructor Emma Hallett bemoaned the UK-wide lack of those, like her, who have specialist training. "It can be very rewarding, whether you're giving lessons to new learners or existing licence holders who've been taken off the road by an accident or medical incident," she said. Having qualified as a disability driving instructor in 2015, Ms Hallett said the shortage had "always been an issue".However, as a part-time employee at Cornwall Motability in Exeter - an organisation helping disabled people tackle mobility challenges - she said that "measures are underway to address it".Ms Hallett added that the organisation has been given a grant by the Motability Foundation to set up a driving school with two adapted vehicles, which local driving instructors would be trained to use and take wherever said the pilot project is due for completion in 2027 before being rolled out across their other centres in Truro and Plymouth. Mr Rogers said while interested in training, many instructors were either already "too busy" or put off by the cost of adapting their cars - a process which can cost "thousands, even with the discounted manufacturers prices available".In a statement, the Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency (DVSA) said it was "working hard to provide a level playing field for learner drivers with disabilities".
