In a recent study conducted by Click4reg.co.uk, it was revealed that 31% of 17 to 25 year olds are steering clear of learning to drive due to the high costs involved. However, this hasn’t been the first time the costs of learning to drive have affected the number of new drivers in the UK. We even conducted our own research back in 2017 to find out what people thought about the costs of learning to drive. We found that 56% of 17-20 year olds we asked believed they would never learn to drive due to cost related issues. We’re not going to sugar-coat it and say that the costs of learning to drive are a myth, but there are definitely ways to reduce them and still get the driving experience you need to pass as a safe driver.  

Don’t be Discouraged

If you’re a young person, it is easy to be discouraged by the costs of learning to drive – especially since it’s very unlikely you’re on a footballer’s salary! The most important thing to consider is whether or not you’ll run into obstacles later on in life if you choose not to learn to drive now. We can’t speak for everyone when we say that you will need to learn to drive, right here, right now. However, for many people it’s an investment in a life skill that pays off in the future. Here’s what some of our driving instructor followers on Twitter had to say on the matter: We can’t make your mind up for you, only you can decide whether or not learning to drive is a worthy investment. Just make sure to weigh up the pros and cons of your decision!

Consider Your Driving Lessons

If you’ve decided you do need to drive but want to reduce the costs, you can start with carefully considering your driving instructor. This doesn’t mean you go for the cheapest instructor around – it means you find an instructor that suits your specific learning style, as Ollie from Totally Driving pointed out: You can lose on a lot of money by picking an instructor at random and having to switch afterwards. For more advice when it comes to picking the right instructor for you, click here.

Private Practice

At face value, forking out for learner driver insurance so you can practice outside of your lessons may be seem like an unnecessary cost on top of everything else. However, private practice can actually reduce the amount of time spent in lessons recapping the same things over and over again. If you spend your time practising what you’ve learnt previously, you can spend the time in your lessons moving onto something new. Which means you could reduce the amount of total driving lessons you need. With the right policy, it can cost as little as £2* per day for insurance with InsureLearnerDriver, or £22 (on average) for a 2 hour driving lesson with an instructor. Click here to get a quote for learner driver insurance *Subject to customer criteria.

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Learning to drive can be expensive, however, remember that you will only have to go through this process once (hopefully). By having excellent quality lessons and taking the time to practise, you’ll become an experienced and safe driver in no time. For more tips on staying safe on the roads or for regular driving test tips, follow us on social media: InsureLearnerDriver Facebook | InsureLearnerDriver Twitter | InsureLearnerDriver Instagram