DLA Driving School Reviews 

Instructor cancelled a lesson then didn’t turn up for the next one
My 18 year old thinks they have done something wrong, it’s wasn’t nice to do to a young person at all
Will not use DLA again

Started driving with an instructor with DLA in luton as recommended from my friends. The first few lessons were alright except i was driven for 20 minutes to houghton regis to start when there was a cul de sac approx one minute from my house which many learners use so in a 1 hour lesson i would only be driving for 20 minutes.

As i kept going on more roads it only got worse with constant wheel grabbing and swearing and shouting which ultimately destroyed my confidence when driving. I began to freeze during lessons on the road and my ears hurt after lessons due to the constant shouting, no way to teach someone how to drive.

One time i had a lesson after college which was planned ahead with a pick up spot and was left stranded for an hour with no contact for 45 minutes from my instructor that they would be late or was even on the way.

Finally once i got the courage to say i was finished with lessons with them, they kept messaging me to ask why i was having a break from lessons almost as if they realised they had treated me terribly and trying to suck up for it. They also repeatedly called me on my phone when i wasn’t comfortable picking up up to a week after i said i was finished.

I was also being taught on non luton test route roads which seems a bit pointless as i was wasting time learning roads which i wouldn’t have to do in my actual test.

I finally changed instructors to a different driving school and that made me realise how horrible my DLA instructor was. Lessons changed from feeling like a chore where i got shouted at for an hour to being able to actually enjoy driving and developing my skills. Overall im sure there’s some great instructors with DLA like my friends had however the 5 months i was with my instructor from DLA was arguably the worst months ever, so its quite a risk to take.

I used to have an instructor from this company, her name is Shantelle Johnson.

I have passed my second driving test today, but not with Shantelle. I'm leaving this one-star review to share my experience and maybe help someone make a more informed decision when searching for an instructor while on their learning journey.

I was with this instructor for probably around two years and did around 100 hours of lessons with her and still failed my first driving test. While I can't put the blame 100% on her, that blame sits with me and only me, her teaching style is flawed and did nothing to raise my confidence as a driver. Here are a few things she used to do while I was her student:

1. She used to lecture me on the side of the road for 15 minutes or more, multiple times per lesson every time I made even the smallest of mistakes. We would stop, she'd pull out her teaching material and we'd go over basic stuff over and over again, treating me like a child and wasting my time and money going over stuff we already went over hundreds of times before. Instead, she could have explained it as we were driving and got me to do the thing I did wrong again to see if it was a one-time thing or not. Even experienced drivers make the mistakes I made and they sure as hell don't get a 15-minute lecture every time they do.

2. On the same topic, every time I made a mistake, she would stop me on the side of the road, again, and tell me how that could have killed, hurt, maimed etc. somebody. You don't understand how much of an impact this had on my confidence and on my mental health. I think we can all agree that none of that is necessary. All drivers understand that an accident of any kind can possibly result in injury or death. It's something we all accept as soon as we get behind the wheel of a car. Shantelle almost made it a point to bring this up multiple times per lesson. I even told her to stop because it wasn't doing me any favours and she just didn't listen and kept doing it.

3. She will waste your time and money on basic stuff like lefts and rights even with 50-60 hours under your belt, just because you took a turn and cut the corner one time in a previous lesson. That is completely unacceptable and a huge waste of time and money.

4. She recommended I use a site that uses bots to book earlier driving tests, this was before the new rules went in effect earlier this year. This was after almost 100 hours of lessons, so I agreed because I wanted to be done with her faster. I got an earlier test, it cost me £120, and then on one lesson I made a mistake, minor one and she started going on and on about how I'm "not ready" and "you should rebook your test". After spending £120 on this stupid service, she now asks me to change my test over a small mistake. I said no but she was adamant that I still postpone my test. I didn't and went ahead with the test and my confidence, once again was very low because of her behaviour and complete lack of trust. I was going through a tough period at the time as well and that didn't make things any easier.

5. She likes grabbing the wheel. A lot. Often in a very sudden manner. Sometimes she’d just jerk the wheel out of my hand. It got so bad, when I was on my test and the examiner extended his hand to take the GPS off the dashboard, I jumped thinking he was reaching for the wheel. Most of the time the intervention from the instructor was unwarranted. Now, with my new instructor, she never touched the wheel unless absolutely necessary and I don’t drive much differently than I did when Shantelle was my instructor.

Now, if you're thinking, "Why haven't you stopped seeing her as soon as these problems became apparent?" simple answer is, complacency and laziness. I didn't feel like going through the hassle of finding a new instructor, changing cars and all that. In hindsight, I should have, would have spared me a lot of wasted time probably. I know this review is long, but now that I've passed, no thanks to Shantelle, I feel confident enough to say, please find a different instructor if she's still doing things as described above. You'll be doing yourself, and your wallet, a huge favour.

Ignore the date of experience, my first test was in Feb 2025 but I've had some health issues since then and only recently I started learning again. I held off on writing this review until I passed

Edit: I'm replying to whoever replied to my review. I said why I stuck with Shantell for so long, I got complacent. I really thought that I could make it through the lessons with her and get my licence, but I was obviously wrong. If her teaching has improved, IF, then good for her, but I could never recommend her to anyone due to my experience. No need to be condescending to me either "why on earth did you stick with her" literally said why in the review, maybe read it. People do shit they don't enjoy all the time, like a job, and they stick with it.

Two of our daughters used DLA (Darren in 2022 and Angela in 2024). The instructors are excellent, very clear and easy to understand, which makes the learner more confident.
Book your course in advance to avoid delay.
Thoroughly recommend!