Learner drivers turn to YouTube and TikTok to cut costs - but instructors warn of risks

Learner drivers say they are turning to online tutorials to help with the cost of obtaining a driving licence.

Driving lessons in the UK are now about £35 to £50, according to the RAC, with the average learner needing 45 hours of lessons and a further 22 hours of practice.

Megan Kielthy, who passed her driving test in August, said social media videos "definitely" saved her money, but she also had seen AI-generated images and misinformation that she had warned could confuse learners.

The Driving Instructors Association (DIA) said while digital education could be "excellent" it should go "hand in hand" with practical lessons, and that road safety was a matter of "life and death".

Megan, 18, opted for a trainee instructor to save money but said learning to drive had still cost her more than £1,000.

She earns £10 an hour babysitting, which she said had gone towards her £30 lessons alongside help from her parents.

"I don't think that I would have been able to do it without the financial support from my parents," she said.

"I would learn all the content with my instructor but then I was able to revisit content and then if there was something in a YouTube video that I didn't know, that I didn't fully understand, I was able to go back to my instructor and ask him."

She added: "I had part of high school online because of Covid so I already knew how to use recorded content for learning so it felt very natural for me."

Megan warned that not all of the content she had seen online had been helpful.

"I stumbled across an AI image of a roundabout showing which lane to be in for the exit and it just made no sense. I showed it to my driving instructor and he agreed it was ridiculous.

"If people solely relied on online content it could lead to people going on their test unprepared or misinformed of what they're going to experience on their test and driving after."

The total cost of learning to drive is about £2,460, according to the DIA, a rise of more than £570 since 2020 , external .

Learners also need to pay for a theory test at £23, a practical test at £65 and temporary driving insurance in personal cars which can cost £40-£50 a month.