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Driving instructors in Kent unite to help learners get lessons through Rated Driving Instructors site and app

11:30, 06 July 2021

updated: 11:32, 06 July 2021

Fed up trying to find a driving instructor since lockdown restrictions eased? Then a new app and website could help you finally get into gear and on the road.

After driving lessons were able to resume in April, there has been a huge demand for both lessons and tests - with many having to wait months to be able to try and secure a full driver's licence.

Learners have struggled to find instructors since the lockdown lifted
Learners have struggled to find instructors since the lockdown lifted

But now a number of instructors from Kent, Essex, Surrey and London have united in a bid to help new drivers get behind the wheel with an instructor.

Maidstone-based Rated Driving Instructors assembled 114 independent instructors to help develop a one-stop shop for learners.

The website and app allows learner drivers to contact all local driving instructors in their area and check for availability with just one online enquiry rather than having to ring round each and every one.

The app - which is due to launch next month - also allows drivers to organise their lessons through their phone and even be notified when their instructor is waiting for them.

Explains Oliver Tuffney, CEO of the firm he co-founded with his brother Kevin: "Driving instructors have the on-the-ground knowledge and we have the tech. It was really important that we all put our heads together to take on such a mammoth task."

Could a new app and website help solve the struggles of learner drivers?
Could a new app and website help solve the struggles of learner drivers?

Driving instructor, Steve Bryan, who was a part of the team to develop the site believes the technology will make a difference to the industry. He said: “The quicker learners can find an available instructor and the more time instructors can spend on the road, the quicker we will get back to normal.”

The site now has more than 230 driving instructors from across the South East signed up.

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