Recently, Mr. Liang from Shenzhen filed a complaint, alleging that while learning to drive at a driving school in Shenzhen, the instructor asked him to sit in an empty car and directly face the camera to simulate training hours, without actually starting or driving the vehicle. This news has raised concerns among the public regarding the quality of driving school training.
According to Mr. Liang’s complaint to the Pengpai Qality Watch platform, in October 2023, he paid 3680 RMB to enroll in motor vehicle driving training at a driving school in Shenzhen. After successfully passing the first and second subjects, he started training for the third subject in April this year.
However, the instructor instructed him to sit in the car, occasionally move it a bit, and then simulate driving practice in front of the camera inside the car, before leaving himself. Mr. Liang stated that according to regulations, the practical training hours required for a motor vehicle driving license subject three should be 24 hours, with no more than 4 hours per day. This meant that he had to sit in the car for at least 6 days, wasting time and affecting the examination.
In order not to hinder his certification process, Mr. Liang reluctantly followed the instructor’s instructions and simulated training for over a week, eventually “successfully passing the subject three exam”.
Prior to the exam, the instructor only practiced with him for 4 hours. When Mr. Liang requested more practice, the instructor informed him that the 3680 RMB fee stated in the contract was only a service fee and did not include simulation fees. If he wanted to extend practice time, he would have to pay an additional fee of 300 RMB per hour for simulations. Moreover, the 3680 RMB fee did not cover exam fees, as he had to pay an additional 70 RMB for the subject one exam and 130 RMB for the subject two exam.
Mr. Liang emphasized that his situation was not isolated, as he encountered many examinees facing similar issues during the subject three exam. These examinees were from various driving schools in Shenzhen.
On social media platforms, netizens from different regions also shared similar experiences, mentioning situations where they had to simulate training hours inside rundown cars, practice for exams with insufficient time, and use simulators for both subject two and three practice.
Mr. Liang questioned the safety implications of such inadequate training before hitting the road. However, his complaints to the 12345 hotline did not result in any changes.
Furthermore, according to reporters from Pengpai News, some driving schools, in pursuit of profit, offer services like “proxy simulation” for 200 RMB, or package deals such as the “out-of-town class” to evade regulations. Some learners even mentioned that for a fee of 300 RMB, they could take the “VIP channel” to automatically fulfill the training hours through a machine to avoid spending 48 hours in a hot car for simulation.