[Nebs]

Hello. My son will soon be 17, so i am planning driving lessons. In all honesty though, if he goes to University, there wont be much chance of him actually driving anything once he has his licence.

Is there any advantage in him learning asap, or shall we may as well wait until he gets the chance to drive in a few years?

[Santa]

I would wait until he really wants to learn. The way things are going he may not ever want or need to drive, and in any case, things are changing so fast now that delay may be a good thing. I read that today's youngsters do not have the same desire to get behind the wheel as we did.

You are looking at a potential cost of £1500 to £2000, so it's not trivial. Why not put the money aside until it's needed - or not as the case may be?

[Drivingforfun]

I agree with Santa, I learnt in my 20s because I wanted to. When I was 17 I considered driving as a pointless expense with little or no benefits. I could get a taxi everywhere I needed to go and still have money left over from the budget required for insurance alone, let alone the car itself or maintenance etc.!!

I am glad I learnt to drive, but I still think I was right - you don’t really need to be able to drive at 17 unless you are going straight into work and need a license for that. If he is going to university I’d suggest thinking about it when he has finished there.

[Rolebama]

I know of two people who learnt to drive whilst at uni. They were then added on parents insurance as second drivers. They did both drive when home on holidays and when they got their own cars after graduating they were given a 'starter bonus' as a result of their previous driving with different insurers.