A driving instructor from Chadderton is on a mission to make learning to drive more affordable.
Jason Horsfield, who has been teaching learners to drive for 18 years, said it has been his “dream” to help more people to drive in a much more cost effective way.
He wants to be able to reach a wide variety of learners. He said: “We’ve got over two million people learning to drive every year. We’ve got probably countless more people who just don’t do it because they can’t afford to do it.
“Some people do it because they want to just tick off a box. Other people, it’s needed for a job or whether you’re a carer, a mum, whatever, and you need a vehicle to get around.”
Mr Horsfield charges £40 per one-hour, in-person lesson, with most learners having one lesson per week.
But with the new online course, learner drivers pay £6.71 per month (although it will appear as $9 as the platform is US-based), which they can renew for as long as they need, which provides them with access to more than 90 videos, weekly live sessions with Mr Horsfield and a learner community, where people can ask questions.
The videos cover various areas of learning to drive, including roundabouts, manoeuvres, junctions, observations, as well as how to deal with test nerves and examiners’ expectation.
The course is aimed at learners who already have access to a car to practice on.
Mr Horsfield said: “People could be learning for up to a year and then when you factor in driving test delays and stuff like that, then it can get really, really stupidly long.
“Yet if you’re doing it with mum and dad, mum and dad might be able to invest maybe five, 10, 15, even 20 hours in a week, which will get you to the finish line a damn sight quicker.
“And rather than paying £40 an hour, you’re paying literally £6.71 for a month. If you want to do it more, you just do it for another month.”
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Having only recently released the online course, Mr Horsfield is exploring ways to develop the course further and is in the process of creating an AI chatbot to accompany it.
Even after almost 20 years in the business, Mr Horsfield is more passionate about his work than ever.
He said: “I love it to bits. I love the fact that when someone asks me what I do for a career and I say, ‘I change people’s lives’. People then ask: ‘What do you mean?’
“I say, ‘Well, I empower them, I make them feel great about themselves. I give them a life skill that they’re going to carry for the rest of their lives and I give them a situation where they can make decisions and they grow up in front of me.’”
More information about Mr Horsfield’s ‘Driving Test Accelerator’ course can be found via the Skool platform website.
He also runs a popular TikTok page, where you can understand more about the work he does.
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