Driver's licence classes in English in Madrid

Getting a driver's licence in Spain is a pain! Well, it's pain in any European country. Compared to the US, Central- and South America it is basically a science getting to drive a car legally in Europe. If in doubt you might be convinced when holding the 320 pages book, or an average need of 30 driving classes before you can call yourself a certified driver.

Official driving exam in English, German and Chinese

Getting a driver's licence in Spain is an expensive and hideous experience, and you do not want to complicate this by choosing the official New Driver's book in Spanish when you have an alternative. There are official books and exams in English, German and Chinese.

But here is the thing, if you start phoning different driving schools you will soon get the impression that that's not the case! Most will claim that the exam and book is only available in Spanish - not true!

I know what I'm talking about because I've been through the above, but I found a reasonable priced driving school offering classes in English, and when I went to the theoretical exam at DGT in Móstoles I was given the choice to do it in English - by the way, check their website for test exams.

The school I found is called Venecia and it's located on Calle de Mesonero Romanos 6 in Madrid (between metro Sol and Callao).

The fastest way to get your driver's licence

Getting that little pink European driver's licence is a pain; you are expected to read and memorize 320 pages of theory covering everything from the breaking distance in different weather situations, detailed description of the engine, signals etc. All people are different but here's what worked well for me, as in saving me a lot of time:

• Study the book at home
  
  The school will offer you unlimited and free access to the theoretical classes, but you will soon realise just how slow these progress as there will always be a few "short" people who slow down the whole class significantly.
• Make exercises at home
  
  Passing the theoretical exam is a matter of memorizing, as such make all the exercises at home, again and again. Read a chapter and answer the 30 - 60 questions; once you are down to 0 - 2 mistakes you can move on to the next chapter.
• Go to class once or twice
  
  Unfortunately there are typos in the book! In other words, when making exercises at home you will experience that a few right answers are listed as being wrong - write down any doubt you might have, go to class once or twice to clarify with the teacher.

When you are down to a maximum of 5 mistakes when doing exercises for the entire book and having cleared any doubt with the teacher it's time to sign up for the theoretical exam, which takes place at DGT in Móstoles (South Madrid). Note, due to holidays you cannot take the exam in August.

The theoretical exam

The format is multiple choice. At the exam you can choose an English, German or Chinese version of the 30 questions. You will be given 30 minutes to complete the test and be allowed a maximum of 3 wrong answers. The result of the exam will be published online 1 - 3 days later.

Type of questions

Most of the questions are straight forward (if you have read the book) but some of them can be a bit tricky and if you are too confident and in a hurry you might make a mistake (take your time, you don't get awarded for being the first to hand in your answers).

• Here's an example of a 'tricky' question. You know from reading the book that seatbelts save lives!
  
  Question: What is the benefit of using the seatbelt?
  
  Answer 1: In case of an accident it improves your survival rate by 87%.
  
  Answer 2: It doesn't really make any difference as long as I drive within the speed limits.
  
  Answer 3: It lowers the risk of lethal accidents.
  
  The theoretical exam is to some extend technical and you might be fooled into believing that the benefit of the seatbelt can be measured exactly, it cannot! The basic function of the seatbelt is to lower the risk of lethal accidents (answer 3). Take your time during the exam, you really don't want to take it more than once.

Once you have passed the theoretical exam you are ready to hit the road, with your driving instructor at your side.

How many driving classes will you need?

That totally depends! It depends e.g. on how fast you learn, how nervous you are, if you have some previous driving experience etc. The school typically offers you a package of 20 hours, but discuss this with your driving instructor, he or she will quickly have a pretty good feeling of your need and progress.

I know of people who needed up to 100 hours but this is the exception, an extreme - the average is 30 hours.

Then doing the practical exam (also in Móstoles) make sure to drive exactly as described in the book! The examiner will not be impressed by a fancy and fast driving style, he will fail you! Failing the exam will set you back another 100 - 200 euro!

Good luck and I hope seeing you cruising around Madrid soonest (without a driving instructor next to you).