Which is the best driving school in the Lismore Region and why?
First: Before You Learn to Drive
Q. Before I choose the best ‘driving school Lismore’, what should I have already done before I get behind the wheel?
A. You’ll have needed, at your local Services NSW contact centre, to have passed the NSW Roads and Maritime Services’ (RMS) computer-based Driver Knowledge Test (DKT). You’ll also then have needed to submit an RMS Licence Application form. And pay for a NSW Learners Licence (which you must have with you any time you’re driving).
If you haven’t yet got your NSW Learners Licence, you can practise the RMS DKT here.
The RMS has provided additional information here.
Private or Professional Driving Lessons?
Q. I’ve (finally!) got my Learners Licence. Who am I best off starting my learning to drive with – parents, relatives, friends or a driving school?
A. A professional (as compared with a commercial) driving school.
Professional driving schools treat their clients respectfully as colleagues, as equals. Commercial driving schools do not.
That’s one of many reasons why the Professional Driving Consultancy is the best ‘driving school Lismore’.
It’s true that parents, relatives and/or friends can’t legally ask for payment to help you learn to drive. (They might ask for a case of beer, though!). Ask yourself, however, whether they
. have an unrestricted (gold or magenta) licence;
. have been relatively crash-free;
. are willing to let you drive with them sitting next to you – believing that you and they will be comfortable and safe. And that they can tolerate your level of driving efficiency.
. are likely to help you deepen your comfort levels when you drive with them.
On the other hand, they may well have habits and/or attitudes which may limit the depth of your own driving skills.
How to Choose the Best Driving School for You.
Q. Hey – hang on! Aren’t driving schools’ driving lessons expensive?
A. Driving lessons can indeed be expensive. Try getting quotes from the big Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane driving schools: they’re not cheap!
This is where the net can be really helpful.
1. Enter ‘driving school [your suburb/town]’ into your search engine (e. g. ‘driving school Lismore’).
2. Look for its ‘review’ rating (e. g. in Google’s ‘My Business’ listings) and read several reviews. If they say that their driving instructors are patient, calm and friendly – terrific!
3. If those reviews also say that the listed driving school is great value for money – even better!
4. Ring those driving schools which seem to reflect points 2. and 3.
Ask:
. (yourself): does the contact person sound patient, calm and friendly?
. what are their rates per hour?
. do they have ‘package deals’?
. what payment arrangements do they accept?
. do they offer other side benefits (e. g. a free drive to a quiet and easy start-off place, free pick up and drop off, a written assessment as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the driving test, (private) ‘supervising drivers’ in the back seat etc).
Bear in mind that almost all driving schools regard themselves as ‘commercial’, not necessarily ‘professional’.
‘Driving Schools Lismore’: Which Offers the Best Value for Money?
Q. Just how expensive are Professional Driving Consultancy’s (PDC’s) driving lessons?
A. Not very expensive at all, actually.
Rates per hour vary from $85 down to $55, depending on which package you select. ‘One-off’ 1 hour sessions are the dearest but five 2 hour sessions (in Lismore) get the rate per hour down to $62.50.
Q. 2 hours sounds like a really long time to be behind the wheel. Will I feel tired afterwards?
A. Very unlikely (providing you’re older than 16.5 years). The reason is that PDC uses a WorkSheet. PDC’s WorkSheet breaks up the driving; it means that 2 hours feels more like 1 hour!
PDC’s ‘Dynamic Defensive Driving (3D) WorkSheet
Q. What exactly is this ‘PDC WorkSheet’?
A. It’s a copyrighted 4 A4 page foldable sheet of thicker paper designed to
. deepen your learning during driving lessons;
. act as an objective and trustworthy reference in private practice;
. save you money in your learn to drive;
. help incentivise ‘facilitators’ (people the NSW RMS calls ‘supervising drivers’) to provide you with private practice;
. and, as said already, makes the time pass far too quickly!
PDC’s Package Deals
Q. What if I’ve just turned 16 – does PDC offer ‘package deals’ for me?
A. Of course! Either 4 x or 7 x 1.5 hour sessions; if the latter, the rate is $70/hour.
Q. Do I have to pay for the whole package deal up front?
A. No! Very few PDC clients have that sort of money!!
PDC simply asks for 2 session fees at the end of the first session; the second session fee acts as a ‘bond’ to better assure you giving at least 3 days notice of any postponement; it (usually) means that the last session we have is free.
Q. How many paid hours am I likely to need?
A. That’s going to depend on the length and nature of your prior driving experience. PDC offers a wide variety of ‘package deals’ each designed to suit each learner driver’s needs at least cost.
Conservatively speaking, 80% of PDC learner driver clients will have an 80% chance of scoring at least 80% in an RMS driving test by the end of 10 paid hours. You get a bonus if you’re on a log book: 10 paid hours gives you a triple credit – of 30 loggable hours!
And PDC does all it can to encourage facilitators to provide relevant private practice.
Any Further Benefits?
1. A deeply experienced driving instructor.
Charles (me) has some 36 years of full-time continuous commitment as a single instructor/proprietor in five locations (mostly) in the Northern Rivers of NSW, particularly in Lismore, Ballina and Casino. That’s let me match exactly the choice of routes to the content of each session.
Add to that a collective experience of some 19 years of full-time equivalent relief taxi driving in two Metro and one Regional locations.
2. A deeply qualified driving instructor.
Years before becoming a driving instructor, I had graduated from the University of Melbourne as a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with Politics (i. e. psychosociology) – arguably the most relevant University qualification to becoming a driving instructor!.
One of my Philosophy subjects was ‘Ethics’. I act ethically. Conforming with both Transport4NSW Guidelines and those of the NSW Driver Trainers Association.
I first became a ‘senior instructor’ way back in 1992 through the then ‘Basic Methods of Instruction’ TAFE qualification and the ‘In-Car Assessment’ TAFE qualification (having completed the TAFE qualification of the then newly-introduced ‘Commercial Driving Instructors Certificate in 1991).
In 2010 I upgraded those qualifications to their contemporary equivalents: Cert IV in Car Driving Instruction and Cert IV in Training and Assessment.
Thereby I was able to work with the nationwide Keys2Drive team from 2011 to 2023. It also enabled me to be contracted by NSW RMS as an Older Driver Assessor, also in 2010.
All of this means that I can help you learn so much more – particularly deeply – in the available paid time.
3. High quality reliable vehicles.
PDC’s automatic is a 2015 Toyota Prius iTech (ANCAP used car 5 star safety rating); a hybrid petrol-electric which lets the air conditioning work even when the petrol engine is not running.
PDC’s manual is a Subaru AWD Impreza – promoting great ‘form’ in trainees’ driving styles.
Amazing driving school cars.
4. A franchisable business.
Everything PDC does is accountable and repeatable – by any other qualified and personally trained driving instructor.
5. I can be contacted at any time.
If you ring and leave a message, I will ring you back – usually within four business hours. I read my emails twice a day. I look up my FB Page at least once per day. And advice is free!
CONTACT ME NOW!
To start building your platform of deep driving skills with the best ‘driving school Lismore’, ring me on 0412 22 3333 (best). If I don’t answer directly, please leave a message. I will ring you back (normally) within 4 business hours.
Text me on 0412 22 3333.
Email me at ‘charles@professionaldrivingconsultancy.com.au’
FB message me at ‘Professional.Driving.Consultancy.’
