Here's How To Choose the Right Driving School

Driving skillfully is an art, and good art takes some guidance: you can read all the books you want, watch all the reruns of Top Gear, play Gran Turismo until your eyes bleed, and do as many handbrake turns in the high school parking lot as you can, but there's nothing like an actual driving school to really make you feel like Andretti. If it's time to get serious about your skills, here's what to look out for.

Open wheel or sports cars? Gymkhana or road courses? Or even something more special, like drag racing, or rallying, or Bondurant's Executive Protection Program? Do you have your sights set all the way to the top? Or do you just want to bond with your own sports car? Figure out what your goals are, and the experience will pay off even more—and may lead to a desire for even more thrills.

Admire Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca's hilly, twisted challenges? The storied history of New England's Lime Rock Park? Or Nevada's Spring Mountain for that post-Vegas hangover? It's not just about proximity to your own garage, it's about what the track holds for you, and a potential vacation in the making.

There are thousands of talented, kind, hardworking instructors, and they have their own personalities. What's their teaching style like—are they forgiving, impatient, confidence-inspiring or full of frustration? Are they actually interested in helping you go faster? Or are they there to pad their egos? If you can't speak with an instructor before you book, reviews from past students will give plenty of insight.

...Or is it an ego boost for a former racing driver, who never even shows up? If you're paying thousands of dollars to attend Joe Schmo's racing school, you had better meet Joe Schmo—and maybe get him to sign your t-shirt. Make sure that the guy whose name is on the trailer actually stands behind the business he's built.

You can fly in for a fun-filled weekend, or you can enroll your way towards that competition license. Some schools and their instructors can tailor a program around your timeframe, but it'll cost money. Check your own calendar accordingly. Because rescheduling and refunding is less than ideal.

Seems like anyone can lay down some cones in a parking lot and get into business. But schools like Bondurant—which kicked of the whole racing school thing, really—have been around long enough to hire the best instructors, develop the most comprehensive curriculums, and tailor their expertise around their students. And the successful drivers who come out of these programs will almost always heap praise upon their schools.

You wouldn't get your car's oil changed without at least browsing eighteen pages of Yelp reviews. Be sure you do the same with a racing school before you write them the check. Make sure their refund and rescheduling policies make sense as well. A disgruntled customer may be an anomaly, but dozens of complaints speak volumes.

Remember: no school guarantees that you'll definitely be faster. But you'll certainly learn something, either about yourself or about the wonderful world of car control—and if you don't have fun in the process, then what's the point?