New survey names Doncaster as one of worst places in UK for learner drivers

The UK’s top ten cities for learner drivers have been revealed - including where has the most reliable instructors, along with the places considered the worst for a learner to drive.

Manchester was crowned the nation’s winner as the best place to learn, while Plymouth came out as the worst. Doncaster was ranked eighth out of the worst places.

The findings followed an analysis of more than 125,000 nationwide reviews left for driving schools and instructors.

Researchers at A-Plan Insurance analysed reviews left for driving instructors and schools in major cities and assigned each a score out of 10 based on how customers rated their price, patience, confidence, reliability, quality, and performance.

The results show Manchester is the city with the best driving instructors, as it scored highest at 6.1 points out of 10.

The top 10 cities overall are:

Manchester - 6.1 /10

Leicester - 5.8 /10

Southampton - 5.7 /10

Leeds - 5.6 /10

London - 5.4 /10

Peterborough - 5.2 /10

Oxford - 5 /10

Cardiff - 4.5 /10

Westminster - 4.3 /10

Sheffield - 3.9 /10

The worst 10 cities overall are:

Plymouth - 1.5 /10

Newcastle - 1.7 /10

Wakefield - 1.8 /10

Lincoln - 1.9 /10

Sunderland - 2 /10

Lancaster - 2.1 /10

Cambridge - 2.2 /10

Doncaster - 2.3 /10

Stoke on Trent - 2.4 /10

Exeter - 2.5 /10

Speaking on the findings, a spokesperson from A-Plan Insurance said: “Learning to drive can be daunting, and unfortunately it’s easy to head into lessons without scoping out how well an instructor can meet your individual needs.

“Rushing into lessons with an incompatible instructor will make learning to drive a more stressful experience than necessary, and even significantly delay when you pass.

“The data shows that there’s vast fluctuations in the reliability and quality of instructors, depending on where they’re based - as well as how long they’ve been teaching. However, many learner drivers wind up choosing their instructor solely based on price or availability.

“It’s important to give the same thought to picking a driving instructor as you would when selecting a university, estate agent or bank account, as it’s a pretty important investment.”