SMART Driving School

 My parents have been pushing me to learn how to drive, but refuses to let me learn from any experienced driver at home. They claimed that they want me to an "educated driver"! So after researching, I agreed to enter driving school for the sole reason that once I graduate from their program, I will NO LONGER have to take the actual driving test at the Land Transport Office (LTO).

 But why did I chose SMART Driving School?

• They provide licensing assistance.
• Good reputation.
• They have very convenient locations. 
• They have the cheapest rates.
• Free orientation and lecture on driving and defensive driving.

SMART Brochure of the all branches, addresses and numbers.

 General Tips when Enrolling:

• You need to be at least 16 years old. To learn, you need a students permit from the government and the basic requirement is to be 16 years old. SMART can assist you to get the students permit or you can do it yourself. 
• Find the branch nearest you. Because if you are late for class, those minutes will be lost. 
• Know your schedule. Before enrolling at any branch, make sure you know your schedule so the person in charge could schedule you immediately.
• Schedule different times. Don't get the same times every time, because you want to experience morning traffic, the afternoon breeze, and night driving.
• Take the orientation and lectures seriously. In other driving school, you have to pay for these. Take advantage of the fact that this comes free when you enroll. 
• Bring 2 copies of your 1x1. I honestly don't know what it is for, but you need it to enroll for driving school. 
• You can bring a companion when you drive...if you're a girl. However, the boys are not allowed to have a companion in the car. Safety reasons, I guess.
• Keep the receipt. According to my instructor, if you have the receipt with you, you can keep coming back to the orientations free of charge. 

Among the entire of list of branches, I enrolled myself with St. Francis Square because it was conveniently located near my house. Shane Mallane (631-1663) graciously assisted me through the whole thing. And thanks to this blog, I knew which driver I wanted to take... Sir Clifford.

RATES

The system of how much you will pay depends on the total hours you want to drive, how long you want to drive in a day, if you want to have a specific instructor, or what car you would drive. The best selling lesson, according to Ms. Shane, is 10 hours for 2 hours per day. This costs a total of Php 5,500.

Although I did enrolled myself for 2 hours per day for 10 hours total,  I wanted Sir Clifford as my instructor all through out. So I had to pay extra and spent a total of Php 7,000.
Click here for the all the rates!

ORIENTATION
Before you consume your hours, you will need to go to orientation. I took my orientation at SMART Shaw Blvd. cor Pioneer Pasig. It was in front of Caltex. They said it would take 3 hours, but it was only 2 hours. They just added the extra hour to pad for the late comers or for the questions.

Schedule
Monday: 3:00-6:00 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 - 12:00 NN
Saturday: 9:00 - 12:00 NN

We had Sir Vincent orient us and boy was he energetic on an early Saturday morning. He actually articulated the information very well. He was clear, and added anecdotes to make us remember how to drive. He seems like a very capable instructor.

DRIVING CLASSES
Classes begin depending on what time you scheduled it. So again, make sure you be there on time because if you are late, you lost those minutes. Here's the lessons you will learn more or less:

The lessons you will learn.

I heard that they don't limit you to the structure in the image above. If they feel like you can U-Turn on the first day, they will teach you even if it's initially for the 4th day. (that's what happened to me!)

Oh, and... Sir Clifford was great! He reviewed all the things I learned at orientation, and let me drive right after. He did not shout at me, nor did he get mad. He knew when to let go of the breaks and when to grab the stirring wheel when necessary. He easily broke the awkwardness by cracking jokes - some were funny, some weren't. Haha! I also appreciated that gave me extra tips and tricks when driving. I really felt like paying extra was worth it to have him as my instructor all though out.

(We took a picture at the end of classes but it got erased! So sad.)

LECTURE
After you have completed your driving hours,  you will receiving a lecture at the same place you did your orientation. Luckily, I had Sir Vincent again to instruct us.

Schedule
Wednesday: 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 1:00 - 5:00 PM

 It was around 4 hours in deed. Or maybe 3hours and 30 minutes? It was LONG. But it was okay. Because it was really informative and the presentation included a lot of videos so we could visualize what he was saying.

ASSISTANCE
This is an entirely different blog entry because it deals with LTO and not so much SMART driving school. Check it out here.

OVERALL
My experience with SMART Driving School was good. No regrets whatsoever. I am probably more paranoid that ever to drive but, I really felt like I learned how to drive. I'm officially an educated driver! Haha.