Review : Karan Motor Driving School, Delhi

Though I have been riding around almost half of the north India on my Royal Enfield, consider myself pretty good when it comes to motorcycles, I however was never really very good at driving a car. Primary reason for this was that I never had a car of my own and the occasional driving I did was in someone else car, that too once in months. So when I bought a Thar of my own, It seriously made me think if it was a good idea to take it out in Delhi’s crazy traffic on my own with my current driving skills so in order to brush up a bit, I decided to take a practice course with a motor driving school. After a little research and calling several people, I narrowed down on Karan Motor driving school located in west Delhi and I must admit that the overall experience was a disappointing one. Here is a short review of my dealings with these guys.

Cost: They charged me Rs. 2000 for a 15 day course, half an hour every day. Now the half an hour practice class is a standard one across almost all driving schools in Delhi unless you specifically request them for a longer session each day, for which they will of course charge you more. The price however differs at every driving school. Some of the people I called quoted me Rs. 3000, some Rs. 3500 and one particular person even asked for Rs. 5000 for 15 days, 7 and a half hours in total. Karan Motor Driving however asked me Rs. 2000 which was lowest among all the people I called and this was the reason I immediately booked them.

Car: The next day when their driver showed up at my place, I was surprised by the condition of the car he brought. It was a Wagon R and I wondered if it even moved. Nevertheless, I got in and disappointment increased even more. The gear felt like I was driving a truck and the car rattled like a child’s toy at every speed-breaker. At every turn I took, I first had to turn the steering to take the turn and then turn it back to straighten the car. It just wouldn’t move back on its own. The most shocking part was that there was nothing on the car indicating that the person on the wheel is a learner. Usually the driving schools have their names written all over the cars, some have a huge block kind of thing on the roof but there was nothing at all on this car, see the picture below.

Drivers: This was the fun part. I was tutored by two different drivers, first one for three days and the other one for remaining 12 days. The first driver taught how to drive like we were in a chess game where every piece was moving with an intention of killing. This guy spoke non-stop. He would start talking the moment I got in the car and then would talk continuously until I got out. I suppose his intention was to make the person understand how traffic moved and how you can be cautious but he really overdid it. An instance for example was when we got closer to a petrol pump on my first day. He immediately warned me and went on explaining how I should be careful around gas stations, how everyone just drives in and out of gas stations with no common sense, how the highest chance of getting hit by another car is near a gas station and I just wondered to myself, “really”?

On fourth day of my classes I found out that the first driver left and I will now be tutored by another. The second driver overdid it not only with his mouth but also with his hands and feet. He made the first driver look like a first class tutor. This guy kept his one hand on the steering all the time and literally made every turn himself, as if I was incapable of turning the wheel. His feet would constantly stay on the clutch and brake pedals and he would apply brakes even before I did. What is worse was that he was so full of himself that for the entire half hour I was with him, he will just keep singing songs in his own praise. I told him multiple times to let me drive on my own, to take his hand off the steering and feet of the pedals but he just wouldn’t, as if he believed that I was there with the sole intention of getting him killed and not to learn driving.

At the end of 15 days, the only thing I was thankful for was that it was over.