WRIGHT START: EXPERT INTERVIEW

The WrightStart gives any child the opportunity to learn how to drive, however young they are. With a minimum age of 2 - this really is an excellent way to learn the basics of driving! Continue reading to find out more about this crazy idea and how it all began…

Q1. Could you tell us a little more about the Junior driving experiences?

The project started when my fiancé’s cousin, Holly, who was aged two at the time, decided to jump into my car on private land. We assembled a video of her driving for fun and posted it on social media. Within four days, we had nearly 15,000 hits.

Our current, more mature learner pupils wanted to know where their brothers and sisters could drive off-road, to which our response was ‘they can’t’. This is when we found a niche in the market and set upon finding suitable off-road facilities that could accommodate our requirements.

We use only fully qualified and insured instructors at our events and, where possible, tailor the driving experience to the individual. We have a gigantic area in Derby at our disposal so that anyone under 17 can get a head start in their driving careers with a fun and safe first driving experience. The idea is to teach them car basics, meaning people will save time and money when they start driving lessons at 17.

The experiences, run on weekends from March through to October, are divided into three age groups – as well as the minis, there is a junior group for seven- to twelve-year-olds and one for teens aged 13 to 17.

Q2. What is your favourite thing about running these driving experiences?

There are many things we all love about delivering Pre-17 Driving Experiences. If we had to pick just one it would probably be the fact that we can be part of introducing and providing a fun and safe first driving experience that will change the young driver’s life forever. Driving is such a key part of growing up and the working world and to be able to deliver that from such an early age is quite special, especially when you see the look on the parents and grandparents faces when they realise their little ones are actually driving and doing all the work.

Q3. Do you have any funny stories to share about your young drivers?

Surprisingly we don’t have any funny stories that we can recollect however most young drivers do try to persuade their parents if they can drive home, unfortunately they usually need to wait a few years.

Q4. What is the youngest age driver you’ve taught?

3 years old is the youngest we’ve had in the car. Alfie was one of the first customers we had and he absolutely loved it. We see him regularly throughout the year and he can’t get enough of steering around our coned course. There is an article in our local paper!

Q5. Do you have any plans for expansion in the future?

We are always looking to grow and keep the business moving forwards. We’ve brought some new features to the course and venue we operate in this year and have also introduced our new rewards and referral scheme. In regards to expansion, well, we are constantly looking to add new venues to our list and hope to spread into larger cities soon making us more accessible to everyone.

Q6. How would you say you differ from other driving experience companies?

WrightStart and WrightStart Experiences has always been different right from the start. As you’d expect we offer exceptional customer service to all of our customers and that is because we are a small family run business. Our two main instructors; Andy & Lewis are a father and son duo and this dynamic works really well. Not only this but what driving experience company do you know that can offer young driving experiences from such a young age and in real cars!

Q7. Lastly, is there anything you would like to add or share with your Experience Day customers?

We would love for all Experience Days customers to come down and visit us and see what is going on for yourselves.

We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone at the WrightStart for taking the time to answer our questions. What an excellent way to start learning how to drive!