Vital Drive

My time with Vital Drive can be expressed in one word: THOROUGH! Having commenced a complete novice Bill taught me everything I could possibly need to know to drive safely in the future including me passing my test for the first time.  Bill's "no nonsense" approach certainly kept me on track (even when you take the wrong lane!) and made me realise that there was more to driving than just "getting behind the wheel."  I now realise that there were time when I personally pushed Bill's patience beyond belief, but his remarkably calm attitude and pointed approach enabled me to focus and would inspire anyone to reach the required standard for test purposes.

The car used by Vital Drive all be it a larger than the average car certainly prepared me for the future in much the same way as Bill's teaching method.  Learning to the higher standard than that being tested is certainly something I can identfy with and has made me much more competent than what I anticipated.  I would certainly recommend Vital Drive to anyone wishing to learn the required skills for driving in todays traffic conditions.  JB Fyfe.

For me Bill at Vital Drive was a great choice of Instructor to teach me to drive.  His experience as an instructor and with the Police driving means that he is calm with learner drivers and I always felt I could trust his judgement whilst I was driving.

The driving lessons were always pitched at ability level, meaning that I was constantly challenged, Bill will never present you with something he doesn't believe you can do.  This method does give you a real feeling of making progress and improvement.

On the whole, I found I came away from lessons feeling more confident and always looking forward to the next lesson. Bill was always easy to get on with - hi will not let you away with mistakes when you should know better, but when you receive praise you know he is sincere with it.  The driving lessons prepared me well for the test, given a vast experience of different roads both urban and rural and I really did feel well prepared for the test. Bill incorporates many advanced concepts into driving lessons, meaning that you are prepared for driving post test.

I found the car to be great for learning and whilst practicing the manoeuvres in the larger car means that I am well prepared for driving any size of vehicle in the future.  The fact that it is a diesel means that it is much more forgiving when you are still getting the hang of the controls.

Overall, I found learning with Bill at Vital Drive to be a fantastic experience which I would highly recommend to anyone wishing to learn to drive well and not just pass a test.  Many thanks Bill.  Kirsteen

I am from India and from the outset I was looking for quality driving instruction with someone who could understand me and teach me the necessary driving skills according to the standards required here in the U.K.

On reading the Vital Drive website, I found Bill to have a vast experience and I chose to arrange my lessons with Vital Drive.  I found Bill to be an excellent instructor who is incredibly patient, friendly and down to earth with a very practical approach.

From the beginning, Bill was so encouraging and very quickly increased my confidence regarding driving.  He always explained everything a a simple way which I was able to understand and could remember for my next lesson.

I really liked Bill's approach to the required manouvres, steering e.t.c. which enabled me to realise how many bad habits I had from my experience driving in India.  I thoroughly enjoyed my driving lessons and with Bill's in-depth teaching methods and associated skills, this left me assured and a reasonable level of confidence that I could approach my test positively and pass on my first attempt.

Bill was always punctual and I really enjoyed driving the Vital Drive car which has prepared me and given me a level of confidence to go on and drive bigger cars in the future.  I would recommend Vital Drive to everyone who is looking to learn in an efficient, methodical and enjoyable manner.  Prasanna

I've had some experience with another driving school and it just seemed that I was going nowhere.  Having decided to change driving schools, my aunt recomended Vital Drive to me.  On my first lesson, I remember being a bit nervous about driving the bigger car, but after a few lessons, I found the car fairly easy to drive and actually felt very secure within it whilst driving.  The car was always clean and tidy and Bill always there on time as arranged.  I found Bill extremely good, a real stickler for detail, but alwasy polite and patient, friendly and always explaining aspects about driving situations we encountered during lessons.  What I also found with Bill whilst he takes time to explain things, we were not spending much time stationery by the roadside and it was always very much "hand on" experience in almost every situation one could encounter on busy roads, quieter roads urband and rural.

I did not pass my test the first time, but this was entirely my own fault due to my attitude and carlessness.  I passed on my second attempt and you can imagine my delight when the examiner informed me that I had a "clean sheet" yes zero faults and that was on a route which required me to negotiate the Haudigan roundabout (voted the worst roundabout in Eutope) on two occasions.

In my opinion Bill MacLelland taught me skills that I will require for the future and beyond with many extras relating to his vast experience of being an advanced Police instructor.  There is no question from what I experienced with my initial lessons and from what I have heard from friends the level of teaching I was given is of the highest quality and always a challenge which helped me learn many driving skills.  Elidh

At the age of 42 plus years I never thought that I would have the confidence to take up driving.  However Bill very quickly had me feeling more comfortable behind the wheel and his teaching regarding awareness and safety enabled me gain confidence with each lesson I took enabling me deal with varying situations as and when they arose.  During my earlier lessons, Bill would speak me through tighter situations and would then discuss with me as to how I handled it and made use of the experience as to how I approach such situations in future.  I always found Bill to be calm, patient giving clear and concise instruction and directions where necessary and he always took the opportunity to address mistakes I made always affording me encouragement.  I always found Bill an excellent instructor and he anabled me to learn all aspects of driving in a reasonably short period of time.  Bill was always on good time, had a very clean car and lessons with Vital Drive are very much "hands on" with clear and precise debriefs at the end.  Thanks Bill for a challenging but enjoyable time learning with Vital Drive.  Vital Drive provides an excellent service and good value for money.  Collin

Bill MacLelland has everything you need in a quality driving instructor.  I was very nervous for my first lesson, however Bill being the calm and reassuring person he is made me feel relaxed and I had an extremely enjoyable first lesson.  From there things only went up until I had the self confidence, skills and backing of Bill to take my practical test.  The size of the car threw me when I first saw it, however once inside I felt very safe and I felt learning in that size of car that was highly beneficial as It prepared me for various sizes of cars in the future.  Bill is extremely patient, friendly and competent and nobody should have any doubts about learning with the exceedingly high standard that is Vital Drive. FANTASTIC!!

My experience of Vital Drive has been nothing but positive. The calm, professional and thorough nature of Bill MacLelland’s tuition is exactly what a learner needs to acclimatise to the sometimes unpredictable nature of driving on UK roads. His step-by-step approach to the complexities of driving makes him ideal for anybody who wants to learn and others who believe they can’t.  James Camilleri ~ Aberdeen

My name is Lorena, I am from Argentina and I had a great experience learning with Bill. I had my driving licence from Argentina, but it is completely different when you try to drive on the other side of the road! I was quite scared at the beginning but Bill was very patient with me, not only when he was giving me the driving instructions but also with my English, that it is not my first language. Bill was always very punctual and flexible when scheduling the time and dates of the lessons. It was a huge challenge for me and I am very proud of my achievement!

I felt very pleased and excited after passing my driving test. One thing about my instructor is that he is thorough and he believes in the pupil getting it right. Towards my test period, I found out that the manoeuvres that appear to be difficult were quite easy to me. Bill will not only prepare you for your test but he will ensure that the student develops to be a good and safe driver.
Bill is friendly, firm and very fair. Even when I was making mistakes during my lesson, He corrected and encouraged me. I would definitely recommend him to people that wish to be good and safe drivers.

Amanze ~ March 2011

Vital Drive is an exellent driving school, Bill teaches you how to drive safely and confidently.
I passed my test with two minors and my driving was complimented by the examiner.
I would recommend Vital Drive to anyone wishing to learn.  November 2010

My Instructor, Bill was EXCELLENT! He was very patient with me, assertive yes, but his teaching manner was great. I was pretty nervous learning at first, but the lessons were very comprehensive, and challenged me to face my fears, and made me find confidence driving on themain road.
Bill was very reliable, always on time, and he took me to lots of different areas of potential test routes. Bill is really nice, and has a friendly approach. He really knows how to teach and understand learner drivers.   Overall I consider Vital Drive to provide very good value for money, great driving school, excellent instructor, highly recommended from my experience!  Eva 26 September 2010

Changing instructor was for me quite a big step. Not only was I going to be driving a bigger car, but I was also going to be learning in the City of Aberdeen. Originally I wasn’t being taught key elements of driving such as how to use mirrors and how to position a car on the road. Having a bigger car was beneficial as it increased my confidence when doing manoeuvres and made me concentrate more as I was very aware of my vehicle’s size. I would recommend learning in a bigger car to anyone as it gives you the confidence of jumping into any other vehicle without any reservations. Getting used to the additional power of a bigger car was also very beneficial and made me more aware of my speed particularly in the built up area.

When I began learning with Bill, he explained everything clearly so I knew why certain actions were carried out and why. He built up my confidence quickly and made me feel good about my driving. Even though my concentration would let me down at times he still believed I had the ability to pass and was very encouraging. The way in which I was taught was very thorough. I understood what I had to do to pass the test, but more importantly how to drive. Rather than just deal with elements of the driving test, he taught me how to deal with difficult situations and therefore expanded my knowledge of how to drive a car. I passed first time and this was undoubtedly down to the way in which I was taught.

During my lessons, Bill often spoke about skid training and Pass Plus. I felt by doing them, the additional driving experiences would benefit me in the future and Bill was very enthusiastic about both.

I did Pass Plus and skid training as soon as I could, and as the skid training was in Elgin, driving there was an experience in itself as it was the longest distance I had driven since passing my test. The skid training lasted for over an hour, and I was taught how to recognise a skid,

"It had been over a year since I had last driving lesson with another instructor. I was initially nervous to get started again, but Bill quickly had me driving and building up my confidence behind the wheel.
I found Bill much more thorough than my previous instructor,  concentrating more on all aspects of driving, not just what I needed to pass the test.

Details of the inspection visit by Quality Assurance from the Institue of Advanced Motorists (IAM) in March 2009