recommendations for a driving school for a beginner?

[21Rouge]

My son has his intro license (G1) i.e. he has passed the written test but has yet to take the driving test. So as you know, here in Ontario, he is permitted to drive a vehicle as long as he is accompanied by a licensed driver i.e. mom or I .He has time this August to enroll in a driving school in prep. for the in car/driving test. One hears lots of advertising for "Young Drivers of Canada" but it is so much more expensive than other places. Any thoughts on these schools? I know it is a shot in the dark but any recommendations re a school or instructor in the Richmond Hill. Markham area in Ontario?

[AKLGT]

i don't have a clue, however, you should get him into autocross or solo 2 (same thing, just different name). i know our local SCCA chapter holds a school, but it's usually in the beginning of the season/summer. great place to learn how to DRIVE your car, not just about rules and regs, but understanding how a car works, looking ahead, knowing where you're going, and how to maneuver the car/control it. plus, it's fun and might be something you can enjoy together.i just took my dad to one this past sunday and co-shared my car with him. he'd never done autocross before and had a blast! plus, it was just a lot of fun to spend some time together like that.

[engineertwin2]

When I did it years ago, I was in school and they had a program through my high school called "Behind the Wheel"...you might check to see if they have any programs like that. Also, my younger brother went through the Sears driving school, and I think that turned out fine. I believe it's more the student at this point...

[Mavrik]

when I got my G1 I took the graduated driver's license course through a local school in Simcoe Ontario. 8 months later I got my G2 and two years later got my G. The young driver's of canada thing is pretty good course to take. It reduces cost of insurance for the driver as well. The school I took wasn't as expensive as the one your talking about though... but I have no idea on prices these days. I'm sure they changed from when I took mine almost 10 years ago.

[chevelle_lover]

Check with the highschool see if they offer one after school. Mine (before graduated liscences) set up a thing where all of us got a discount because the school was able to fill a full class and provide a classrooom for the inclass. I don't know if they still do this but it did help with mine and it reduced the cost of lessons by 20%

[kevera]

I was wondering where "Hockey Town" was in you avatar,now I know.It's funny you should ask about this as the wife is going for her final road test on Friday.I took young drivers when I got my license about 18 years ago.So,I enrolled her in young drivers also.It's worth the money,they build confidence and awareness that most drivers lack.Plus the discount on insurance that you'll probably have to pay for.So,for you to rest at ease when he's out driving your car,I would send him to Young Drivers.

[21Rouge]

Quote, originally posted by kevera »I was wondering where "Hockey Town" was in you avatar,now I know.I consider TO and the GTA "Hockey Town" Quote, originally posted by kevera »So,I enrolled her in young drivers also.It's worth the money,they build confidence and awareness that most drivers lack.Plus the discount on insurance that you'll probably have to pay for.The insurance discount is the same regardless of the driving school...assuming it is an Ontario certified school.But thanks for the input. I guess the value of the lessons is most dependent on the particular in car driving instructor. Kind of 'hit and miss'.

[WaveAction]

i took my driving school at this school in mississauga right beside south common mall..i forget the title of the company but they were awesome and very cheap in price

[Sputnik]

Spring for the Young Drivers. Seriously, its your sons life. I took it and its fantastic. I see all these people with these cars from "no name" driving schools (by no name it means I can't remember their names - something like Joe's driving school) and honestly its painful to watch them on the roads learning.

[21Rouge]

Quote, originally posted by Sputnik »Spring for the Young Drivers. Seriously, its your sons life. Hey dont make me feel guilty . I am looking at different options...doing my best.I am sure there are reputable driving schools besides YD. And as I mentioned earlier one's impression of a school as a whole is so dependent on the the quality of that one driving instructor that a student is assigned.

[kevera]

There is also CSS Driver training.Had a few buddies who used them,they had good things to say about them and are much cheaper than Young Drivers.Good luck

[chevelle_lover]

I took my drivers training through CAA. They were contracted by my highschool to do the training. Since I took it in the winter months the instructors were told to take us to parking lots that had not been plowed. We spent about 1.5 hours total putting the cars into skids so we knew what it felt like and how to recover. They used the hand brake.

[Sputnik]

Quote, originally posted by 21Rouge »Hey dont make me feel guilty . I am looking at different options...doing my best.I am sure there are reputable driving schools besides YD. And as I mentioned earlier one's impression of a school as a whole is so dependent on the the quality of that one driving instructor that a student is assigned.Sorry didn't mean to make you feel guilty. Just don't discount YD because of its price and go for the cheapy is all I meant. Make sure whoever you pick its because they will teach your son to drive properly and not just get the license... which is what I think a lot of those other places do (not all of course).

[Sputnik]

Quote, originally posted by chevelle_lover »I took my drivers training through CAA. They were contracted by my highschool to do the training. Since I took it in the winter months the instructors were told to take us to parking lots that had not been plowed. We spent about 1.5 hours total putting the cars into skids so we knew what it felt like and how to recover. They used the hand brake.Ooo that sounds fun! My brake and avoid and skid recovery was all taught in the summer.

[chevelle_lover]

It was fun but the young lady in the car of three started doing her lessons without me and the other student (guy) since we liked the donuts so much she got scared when we kept upping the speed in the parking lot. I think that the other guy's name was Mark and he had it up to about 80 km/h during some of the skid practise. We also intentionally agitated the spinning by turning in the wrong direction.