FAQs

We're called the safe driving school because we'll teach you safe driving habits for life.

We want young drivers to adopt safe driving techniques so that they're the safest generation to ever be on the road.

Even if you think you're a pretty good behind the wheel, there's plenty of statistics to prove that you're still at the most risk of an accident.

A 17-year-old driver with a P1 licence is about four times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a driver aged 26 or older. In fact, people under 26 comprise only 15 per cent of driver licences but are involved in 36 per cent of road fatalities. 

Education and attitude are critical to safe driving, and we want to provide as much useful information as possible so that you can avoid the frequent traps that occur without warning.

For more information, call 1300 696 762 to book your driving lessons and improve your driving skills.

Frequently asked questions

• Why should I create an account on the NRMA Safer Driving School website?
• When should I organise professional driver training for my son or daughter?
• Why is the NRMA setting up driving schools?
• What makes NRMA Safer Driving Schools different?
• How do we create better, safer drivers?
• How many lessons will my child require?
• What feedback do you get from potential customers?
• Will an Advanced Driving Course help my Learner Driver?
• Do you just train Learner drivers?
• Are there any NRMA Member Offers? 
• How Do Customers Access The Service?

Why should I create an account on the NRMA Safer Driving School website?

To book an NRMA Safer Driving School lesson and make payments online you need to log in.

The NRMA Safer Driving School website allows booking, re-booking, paying, viewing your details and tracking of driving lessons online.

Once logged in you can

• Book driving and driving simulator lessons
• Change to lesson bookings
• Cancel lesson bookings
• View all lesson booking details including completed lessons, cancellations and future lesson bookings
• Make payments by credit card
• View your personal Lesson Log
• Pre-pay for future lesson bookings
• Deposit funds that can be used in future bookings.
• Create an account now!

When should I organise professional driver training for my son or daughter?

NRMA Safer Driving School recommends that professional driving education be undertaken as soon as possible after a customer has obtained his or her Learner Licence. In this way we can teach the essential principles of low-risk driving before a customer is accompanied by a supervising driver. This is particularly important given the RTA's new rules for L-plate drivers including 120 log book hours and the RTA's tough new licence testing procedures.

Customers are more at risk in the early stages of learning to drive and professional training in a dual-control car will help keep them safe.

Supervising drivers will feel more at ease if a customer has had professional training with the NRMA. No-one expects parents to be professional driving instructors.

NRMA Safer Driving Schools becomes an essential third partner in the training of customer drivers. It is recommended that NRMA Safer Driving School takes responsibility for the early training to ensure customers have a good grounding in the basics of car set up and control, and the essentials of lowrisk driving.

The School will then recommend a balance between professional instruction and on-road experience with the supervising driver/s.

The school recognises that parents and supervising drivers lead busy lives and the training program is designed to meet the needs of all concerned. Parents or supervising drivers are kept regularly up-to-date with a customer's progress and receive tips on how to assist customers with their on-road training.

Why has the NRMA set up driving schools?

In a recent survey, NRMA Members voiced dismay at the growing road toll among young drivers and listed as one of their key concerns the need to improve driver training standards in NSW.

Directors and senior management responded by visiting driver training institutions around the world and bringing back valuable feedback which was incorporated into a unique NRMA training curriculum that represents world's best practice.

This program is now available to all NSW motorists through NRMA Safer Driving Schools which are found throughout the State.

P-platers represent 16 per cent of licence holders in NSW yet they account for around 30 per cent of serious road trauma. Some of the underlying causes of road crashes and fatalities among young people are: inexperience, poor cognitive skills, overconfidence, poor hazard perception, risk taking behaviours and alcohol.

NRMA Safer Driving School can make a difference and our aim is to develop the current generation of young drivers as the safest yet.

What makes NRMA Safer Driving School different?

The NRMA has been the State's leading advocacy group for motorists since 1920. It has always been passionate about road safety - safer cars, safer roads and equally important, safer drivers!

The current practice of many driving instructors is to train the applicant how to pass the driving test by rote learning of test routes. Consequently, when those applicants are driving solo, they lack the necessary skills in order to continue learning and to develop a self-improvement process. More importantly, they lack the behaviours and attitudes needed to protect themselves and other motorists.

The teaching of safe driving techniques is a key differentiator from our competitors. Our cutting edge curriculum is specifically designed to help young people survive on the roads by building a lifetime of good driving habits. All lessons are structured and offer quality education outcomes.

An NRMA Driver training program guarantees quality and consistency. Our instructors have undergone a rigorous selection process to meet rigid quality standards and intensive re-training by the NRMA to make them experts in their field. Elsewhere, the quality of lesson delivery varies markedly from school to school as instructors are usually independent contractors who teach as they see fit, without the benefit of the NRMA Curriculum and without the same opportunity to update their skills. Unlike other schools, NRMA Safer Driving School instructors are required to undertake regular re-training and are subject to periodic quality assessment checks.

The NRMA Safer Driving Curriculum is also unique in that it was designed from the ground up with the RTA's new tougher licence testing in mind - we're the experts in buffering, hazard perception, crash avoidance and low risk driving.

When comparing driving schools, be aware of the lesson time. Many schools provide only a 45 & 50-minute lesson. This can be deceiving when comparing value for money. Ensure your child's lesson is a one-on-one lesson and not shared between 2 - 4 other customers. At NRMA Safer Driving Schools, we provide a minimum full hour of individual tuition.

We offer a balanced training program that is presented in a logical and progressive way. Each component is delivered with detailed explanation and demonstration by an NRMA instructor, prior to the customer practically applying the lesson. Through engaging young people in a friendly and nurturing manner, we create a positive learning environment.

How do we create better, safer drivers?

There are many factors contributing to the P-plate crash statistics, however, a major component is inexperience and an inability to anticipate what could go wrong in any situation. P-plate drivers place a lot of faith in the road rules and stand by what should happen and are therefore unprepared for the unexpected. We educate them in what can happen to prepare them for their solo experience.

We have ensured that our Curriculum addresses the skills needed to avoid the five major crash types by providing the learner with the underpinning knowledge of why and how these collisions happen and the strategies they can implement to avoid being involved in them. If the learner implements these skills in their everyday driving, they will be better prepared to avoid 89% of P-plate collisions.

Unfortunately many Australians view professional driver training only as a step towards passing the licence test. In most overseas countries, it is seen as an essential safety pre-requisite before any young driver takes control of a car.

NRMA Safer Driving School aims to:

• Improve the quality of driving instruction in NSW
• Promote quality driver training as a worthwhile investment in young people and increase the number of learner licence holders that take lessons and the number of lessons per customer
• Promote an awareness of driver training in high schools
• Change consumer attitudes towards safer, low risk driving, not just test passing
• Have a positive impact on the crash statistics for young licensed drivers.

How many lessons will my child require?

Every customer is unique and learns at a different pace. Once your child has completed their first lesson the instructor will have assessed their ability and will be in a position to structure an individual program tailored to your child's training needs. The NRMA Safer Driving School instructor will then be in a position to estimate the number of lessons required.

We offer a comprehensive curriculum covering over 40 topics to ensure each aspect of low risk driving is introduced in a sensible manner. Delivering the full curriculum will take approximately 14 hours. Individual adaptability to driving varies considerably and the level of support provided in the way of home practice and supervising driver involvement in the process will be instrumental to the rate of progress. Depending on the customer's ability and existing knowledge the need to deliver the full curriculum will vary.

After the initial assessment is conducted we will be able to tailor a cost effective program that meets your child's needs.

What feedback do you get from potential customers?

Recent research undertaken by the NRMA indicated several key elements customers look for in a Driving School:

• Trustworthy operator
• Convenience
• Professional endorsement
• A high chance of passing the test
• A better than standard level of driver training.

We address each of these needs through the following key attributes of our business:

• A constantly updated safety-based curriculum, individually tailored to each customer's needs
• A focus beyond passing the test
• We focus on genuine low risk driving techniques; crash avoidance, hazard perception, buffering
• Free Roadside Assistance & other benefits to 17 and 18 year olds through NRMA's Free2go
• Exclusive Member discounts for bulk lesson purchases
• The sharing of more than 90 years of motoring knowledge and experience
• Extensive initial and on-going instructor training
• Minimum instructor conduct standards - annual 'Working With Children' Checks
• Our schools use only current model dual-control cars (auto and manual) that carry at least a 3-star ANCAP Rating
• A state of the art lesson booking system linked to our Call Centre
• Pick up and drop off from locations convenient to customers.

Will an advanced driving course help my learner driver?

Advanced driving courses are usually one day events located away from public roads. The NRMA does not recommend these courses for anyone under 25 years of age as they build over-confidence, with a resulting increase in crash statistics.

The courses often claim to make drivers safer, but they can have the opposite effect. Male drivers under 25 years of age, who are already over-represented in road fatality figures, are particularly at risk after attending such courses.

Many young people come to grief when they try to apply newly-learned high end car control skills on public roads. Drivers often become overconfident and more aggressive after attending these courses.

Racetracks and public roads are two completely different driving environments and young people often have difficulty drawing a distinction between the two.

Advanced driving courses can be fun but are better suited to mature drivers over 25 or those who are keen on amateur motor sport.

Defensive driving techniques are built into the NRMA Safer Driving Program. We teach young drivers how to react in all real world driving situations so they don't have to rely on emotional responses and undeveloped skills.

Do you just train learner drivers?

No. We offer driving tuition to a number of other market segments:

• Training in conversion from auto to manual vehicles
• Preparatory training for senior drivers entering the re-testing phase beyond 85 years of age
• General driving assessments for licensed drivers looking for an objective assessment of their driving competence
• Assisting learner drivers through the RTA provisional licence testing regime
• Driver assessments for Corporations and Small Business.

Are there any NRMA Member offers?

Yes. From October 1 2011, all NRMA Members receive a free 1-hour driving lesson for every 9 hours of paid and completed lessons taken from this date.

How do customers access the service?

Customers simply call 1300 696 762 (1300 MYNRMA). This is a centralised booking and administration service.

Payments are made through the call centre prior to lesson commencement, primarily through credit card (cheque and EFT payments are possible with some conditions applying) and no payments are taken directly by the instructor, or in cash. This has a number of benefits. Firstly the customer receives true value in their on-road tuition as no part of the lesson booking is taken up with payment administration. The customer also receives the peace of mind in knowing there is a proper administrative trail for their payments.

It also allows instructors to focus their time and energy on their most important responsibility - delivering quality driving tuition.