i found mine extremely helpfull if only to gain a bit of experiance with somone who taught me how to drive in the first place, i also was taught to drive quickly on national speed limit roads without being a danger and was taught how to drive sensibly at night. Before i started it i wasnt sure if it was gonna be any help and was mainly doing it for cheaper insurance but the first day i was driving to college, on the motorway the heavens opened and nobody could see a thing. The whole of the m61 was litterally travelling at 30mph it was that bad but because id already been on the motorway and more importantly been taught how to drive on it properly (im amazed at how many "experianced" drivers still dab there brakes every 5 mins) i was fine, stayed calm and didnt get wound up. But then again my instructor was a bit of a ledge and had a real passion for what he was doing. I know first hand that more often than not driving instructors are just out to swindle you for as much cash a possible and dont actually care about wether you can drive properly or not. I put this single reason down the the fact that in 4 years and over 80,000 miles ive had 0 accidents and 0 speeding tickets. Lets hope i can continue on like this eh? *touches all the wood i can find..................giggaty*