Who are they? =========== BSM began in 1910 and has grown to be a nationally recognised driving school. They claim to teach over 170,000 new learners to drive every year. There are over 100 BSM Centres and over 3000 instructors located all around the country. They use modern cars - Vauxhall Astras and Corsas - to teach learners.
Booking lessons ============= This is pretty straightforward. You can use the online booking form if you wish, whereby you fill in a few details and someone from the BSM Centre nearest you will call you back to arrange the specific times and dates of as many lessons as you desire. You can just phone them yourself, this would be much quicker.
I used the online form though, and asked to be called back in the next 24 hours. This didn't happen, and I recieved a phone call after about 3 days, but I put that down to excessive internet use that week by me and my family (we don't have broadband), so I can't criticise them! The woman that phoned was very friendly, and although she did try to make me buy some hours on the Simulator. The Simulator allows you to practice moving off, stopping, changing gear and steering whilst not actually on the road. It may be useful to some, but I had already had one previous driving lesson with another company so I didn't feel the need. I told her this and she was fine, and didn't try to pressurise me into anything.
When
choosing dates, I asked for two lessons per week. Each lesson lasts 2 hours with BSM, which I prefer to the one hour lessons I would have had to have if I had stuck with my original driving instructor. She read out some dates and times and I agreed to them, but she was going quite fast and obviously encouraging me to book loads of lessons. I told her to stop after I had arranged 6 lessons! She then said I would have to pay by credit card, but I was able to get my dad to phone them back with his details later on, as I haven't got a credit card. When paying, if you pay for a block of 10 hours you get a discount. In my area a block booking of 10 hours costs £210. If you pay for each lesson individually it costs £22/hr, so we saved £10.
After it had all been arranged, I received an appointment card through the post. This had all the lesson dates and times I had booked, including the name of the instructor.
Instructor ======== On the day of my first lesson I was worried about whether I was going to be another victim of a BSM horror story, especially after the clock ticked past 10.30am, the time when my lesson was supposed to start. A few minutes later, though, I saw a BSM car come round the corner and knew it was for me. Phew! My instructor is fine; no complaints so far.
One of the first things I noticed was that he had a green badge on the windscreen, meaning he is a fully-qualified ADI (Approved Driving Instructor). My previous instructor had been a PDI (Provisional Driving Instructor); he had not passed all his exams yet. I was a bit wary of this, as I know that they can only teach for a few months. However, BSM DO use PDIs. The AA Driving School is the only one to exclusively use ADIs. I had tried to book lessons with the AA before BSM, in fact, but they did not have any instructors in my area!
My ADI has years of experience, and knows my area extremely well (again, unlike my previous instructor). I found out he had taught many people from my town, and even people from my road.
My lessons so far ============== #1 I had had 2 hours of tuition with a different driving instructor, as I have mentioned already. This meant I already knew the drills for moving off and stopping, and I was aware of all the controls, etc. My instructor drove me to the Forest, where the roads are quiet during the day and the speed limit is 40mph. I did many things in the lesson, including a U-turn, reversing in a straight line and navigating through cattle. I liked the fact that he was willing to at least introduce me to things that people usually do in their later lessons (reversing), but I didn't feel at all overstretched. Overall, it was an excellent first lesson with him. At the end, he gave me a Track Record and Passport 'magazine.' I had seen some of my friends' TRs (Track Records) before, and I thought they were a good idea. To quote their brochure: "Track Record' is a learner friendly logbook in which you and your instructor monitor your progress, showing you where your strengths are and what skills you'll need to improve to pass your Test. By keeping track of the way you learn, 'Track Record' helps build up your confidence in all aspects of your Test as you prepare for the big day." In the magazine there are lots of vouchers and competitions. I have entered a competition to win a year's supply of Haribo! Yum!
#2 I had my second lesson the day after my first one, and I also received a phone call from BSM to check that I had had a good first lesson. My mum thought this was a bit weird, but I suppose it is a nice touch. Apparently you can change your instructor whenever you like if you don't get on with them
I wasn't in the best of moods for this lesson, and I felt like I was going to burst into tears all the time. It had nothing to do with the driving or anything, just sister stuff!! Literally as soon as I sat in the car it started raining too! I was driven to the same place as in lesson 1 and then I drove to some random place to do hill starts. I was absolutely rubbish at them, so I got annoyed with myself. Apparently I am too much of a perfectionist! There were loads of cyclist about that day, which held me up for ages. Overall, it was not a great lesson, but that had NOTHING to do with my instructor or anything like that.
Theory test ========== To practice for your theory test, you can access various facilities for free at any BSM centre. They have a range of software , including a 'Pass Your Driving Theory Test' book, 'Theory Test Question' book, and 'Theory Test - the complete guide' CD-ROM. You can also do access theory test questions online, for a small fee. I'd rather have a book to be honest, but I don't have the BSM ones! I've never actually looked at them, so it would be unfair for me to comment on their usefulness. Another place you can get help with the theory side of things, is, of course, your instructor. Mine asks me various questions relating to theory throughout the lesson.
Practical test =========== If you wish, you can take a mock test with a different BSM instructor. This sounds like a good opportunity, and is therefore one which I am likely to take advantage of, if I ever get that far!
Conclusion ========= I'll try to keep this updated as I progress from the early stages of learning through to my tests. So far so good though! I can find no real faults with BSM - my only problem is my perfectionist tendencies! I really like the idea of the Track Record in particular. There has been much negative press over BSM, but many positive stories too. I think this reflects the fact that it is the quality of your instructor that matters most, and I'm sure most BSM staff are nice really. They are a large company though, and they probably do want your money quite a bit, but if I have any problems with them then they will know about it and I will not be walked over! I'll get what I (well, my dad!) pay for!
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Advantages: 10 driving lessons for £220 + 1st lesson for free! Professional tuition & no time wasting! Disadvantages: Every Driving Instructor will want to get MORE £££ out of you no matter what Motoring Company you use
yours_ilze 15.10.2006 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of BSM, London
Advantages: Sharp Responsive, Forgiving, Nippy, Good Looking, Back Seats Fold Away Disadvantages: Interior is a bit lame, Audio could be better, Not For The Very Tall I Suppose!
Jul 29th, 2005
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