A constant presence in the anti-TOP — Driving school Gross. The school consistently ranked 2nd place in the anti-TOP in 2015, 2016 and 2017, continuing to hold the 1st place obtained in 2018.
Gross theory results in 2019 were good, with 96.8% of students passing the CSDD exam on the first attempt, but B category results were below the industry average, with 39.4% of students passing the CSDD driving exam on the first attempt. Results in category A were also low — only 45% of students successfully passed the exams.
According to statistical data, in 2020 the driving school maintained a similar level of performance in theory exams — in category B, 96.77% passed on the first attempt. However, driving results dropped significantly — in category B performance fell well below the average, reaching only 33.56%. In category A the result was nearly twice as low as the previous year — 28.57%.
This is one of the driving schools that has been attracting new students for several years, ever since autoskolas.com has been conducting research in the industry, with a constant promotion. It promises theory training at half the usual price. However, the misleading advertisement hides the fact that the theory price has never actually been as high as the crossed-out promotional value.
A significant drawback is the requirement to choose a single instructor — in order to use the initial mandatory payment, a specific instructor must first be selected. Until this is done, each instructor must be paid separately for an introductory lesson. Once the one preferred instructor is chosen, a contract is signed specifically for cooperation with that instructor. Although it is possible to change the instructor later in case of a justified complaint, this requires additional effort from the client and explanations to the administration.
Transparency unfortunately is not a value here — it is not possible to review the contract online. It is sent to the client only after payment has been made. Although the administration politely assures that the contract contains no unfavorable terms and no penalties, why then is it not made publicly available?
Driving school Mustangs — a постоянный leader in our anti-TOP, taking 1st place in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and maintaining the 2nd place obtained in 2018.
In addition to the usual marketing tricks, the training level at Driving school Mustangs is low — in 2019, 89.8% of students passed the theory exam on the first attempt, 37.8% passed the B category CSDD exam, and in category A only 21.6% of students passed the CSDD exam on the first attempt.
In 2020 the results improved slightly overall — 91.64% passed the theory exam on the first attempt, while in the B category driving exam the success rate was 37.25%.
Despite many stories about customer deception and unnecessarily prolonged lessons, the educational channel created by “Mustangs”, where road safety issues are discussed, deserves recognition. However, the large number of comments about particularly difficult internal driving school exams is concerning — these often have to be retaken not due to lack of student knowledge, but because the school’s exam questions differ significantly from those used in practice tests.
Discounts on training were offered both in 2019 and 2020. This remains the main way to attract new students. However, the discount is misleading because it later has to be compensated through driving lessons. Customer experiences often reveal that instructors are instructed to conduct at least 30 driving lessons before allowing a student to take the exam. The motivation to prolong training is quite strong — if driving training is completed faster, the instructor may have to cover the penalty from their own pocket. This is one example of how the granted “discount” ultimately ends up being paid for by the student through a larger number of driving lessons.
Driving school Fortūna showed low results in all positions in 2019:
- Theory: 88.9% passed the CSDD exam on the first attempt
- Driving (very low results):
- 32.1% passed the B category CSDD exam on the first attempt;
- 36.2% passed the B category CSDD exam on the first attempt.
Since the driving school cannot boast objective achievements, customers are attracted by offering significant discounts. The favorable price is therefore presented as the main benefit for a new student. However, as the saying goes, the stingy person pays twice — here too the cost becomes higher because approximately 7 out of 10 students must retake the driving exam. Such low results indicate that many students are not properly prepared for the final exam and have not acquired the necessary skills. At the same time, the terms indicate that even these prices cannot be fully trusted — the driving school cannot guarantee that the prices indicated at the time of ordering will be correct.
The school’s training culture, however, deserves praise — here students are prepared not only as new drivers, but can also learn professions such as locksmith or auto mechanic. Training is also offered for forklift operators and chainsaw/brush cutter operators, as well as a range of other courses: firearm permits, self-defense, and even courses for clerks and nannies. This is also one of the rare driving schools where it is possible to learn to operate water transport — jet skis, cutters or motorboats.
The wide range of services offered by the driving school attracts attention, but at the same time it is not an objective indicator of quality. On its website “Fortūna” advertises itself as providing the best education in Latvia and states that 90% pass the CSDD exams — however, this number is misleading for prospective drivers, as this result applies only to the theory exam and not the driving exam.
Although the driving school has been operating in the industry for more than 20 years, it is clear that it has not developed significantly in terms of digital solutions. While it is possible to make payment online when signing the contract, booking lessons is quite inconvenient — students must contact the instructor by phone. This means that someone will not always be able to answer immediately. There is still room for improvement in implementing more modern solutions.
Driving school Eksperts stands out for its extremely low driving results — in 2019 only 25.9% of students successfully passed the CSDD driving exam (category B) on the first attempt. Results in category A were slightly better — 40.07%. The theory success rate corresponded to the industry average — 93.78%.
In 2020 the driving school’s students again showed extremely low driving results — 24.91% in category B, while category A results worsened significantly to 25%. The performance in the theory exam that year also dropped below the industry average — only 88%, which is even weaker than the previous year.
Such alarmingly low success rates indicate that when studying at this driving school, only about 2 out of 10 new students obtain a license after the driving exam, while about 8 out of 10 celebrate success after the theory exam.
A positive aspect is the possibility to freely change instructors. However, an inconvenience for clients is the requirement that after completing the mandatory 10 lessons, further payments to the instructor must be made in cash. Not only is it inconvenient to carry large amounts of cash when modern IT solutions provide non-cash payment options, but lessons are also not organized electronically. As a result, students must call or send text messages, which requires additional time and effort both for the student and the instructor.
In terms of transparency, Eksperts also shows a positive aspect — the driving school’s contract is freely available after filling out the application form. This means that students cannot later complain about hidden costs. However, several contract clauses are not very accommodating. At the same time motivating but also restrictive is the condition that the theory exam at CSDD must be taken within 15 days after passing the driving school’s internal exam — if this deadline is missed, the school exam must be taken again.
It should also be noted that if training continues with an instructor from another driving school, the previously paid money is not refunded. In addition, if required payments are delayed by more than 10 days, the contract is terminated and the client has no right to reclaim the paid funds. For some people such strict conditions may help keep them on schedule, but for others in unexpected situations this may prove far from the supportive approach they might have hoped for.
A new entry in the anti-TOP — Driving school Erkos. Its results in 2019 were even lower than those of Driving school Eksperts:
- In 2019 only 82% of students passed the CSDD theory exam on the first attempt;
- Only 16.6% of students passed the B category CSDD driving exam on the first attempt (!)
In 2020 the driving school’s performance improved — 92.96% of students successfully passed the theory exam, which approaches the industry average. Driving results also improved, but the performance remains very low — only 24.14% passed the driving exam on the first attempt.
The improvement shown by the driving school is commendable, but it is clear that something in the training model needs to change so that those who choose Driving school Erkos can obtain their licenses more successfully and efficiently. If the B category results were as strong as those in category A, Erkos would have a real chance of reaching the top five. In 2019, 53.33% passed the A category exam on the first attempt, and in 2020 — 60%.