DAVID Cao, 20, decided to postpone plans to take a driver’s education course this winter after regulations for getting a license were changed.

The requirement that a license applicant had to attend driving school has been scrapped and replaced with a new system allowing individuals to learn to drive by whatever means they choose, as long as their “teacher” is a qualified driver and they can pass a driver’s test in the end.

“I am not sure whether it’s still necessary for me to spend all that money on a driving school,” said Cao. “Maybe I can just ask my father to teach me.”

The regulatory change came amid a public outcry about the monopoly and large profits driving schools enjoyed in the licensing process. There were also complaints about corruption in drivers’ tests and bad-tempered instructors.

The new rules look good on paper, but some wonder whether significant changes will really occur. They worry that the new policy will have trouble wedging itself into a system heavily dependent on schools teaching potential drivers the exact rules and driving conditions they face on tests. Then, too, Shanghai’s traffic congestion doesn’t provide a very fertile environment for learning to drive from a friend or relative.

According to the Public Security Bureau and Transport Ministry, residents can now directly apply to take driving-license exams without attending courses. However, there are conditions.

Conditions

The applicant must show that he or she was taught by someone qualified in motor vehicle driving and safety, and by someone who didn’t charge for the lessons.

Applicants can now access application forms through the Internet as well as official motor vehicle offices. They can also pay application fees online and have a choice in exam sites so that they can become familiar with a particular area before taking the road test.

Theoretically, any driver with five or more years of experience on the road can qualify as a teacher, as long as he or she has passed particular exams.

“It is so good to know that I might be able to learn to drive without having to endure the scowls of driving teachers at schools,” said university student Silvia Li, 21.

She said expensive drivers’ education fees and the legendary bad tempers of school instructors were major reasons holding her back.

“My friends who attended driving courses told me that most of the instructors were mean and constantly scolding students,” she said. “I have even heard of instances of personal abuse. I want to learn driving without being scolded all the time. I will definitely wait for the actual implement of the new system and ask my father to teach me how to drive.”

Li has even discussed with classmates the idea of pooling their money to buy a second-hand car modified for use in driving lessons. She figured it wouldn’t cost any more than 17,000 yuan (US$2,576).

“The car can be sold again when we get our licenses,” she said. “It would be much cheaper than attending a driving school.”

In Western countries, family members commonly teach spouses, sons or daughters to drive. But there are also many stories about the frayed nerves and family frustrations such a close relationship between trainee and teacher can cause.

Catherine Zhang, 31, a white collar worker, just got her driver’s license last month.

“I had joked about having my husband teach me even before the amended policy announced,” she said, “but I realized that would never work when I attended a driving school and my instructor told me about backing the car precisely into the parking lot with no pause.”

The current exam for a driver’s license requires a mistake-free driving test. Examinees have to show their competence in not only road driving but also in parallel parking, backing up and S-curve driving.

“I watched my husband driving for years,” Zhang said. “He’s adept at parallel parking with pausing. But if you pause and take too much time on the driving test, you fail.”

Teachers at driver’s education schools may have a bad reputation, but they do know how to put trainees through the paces of what will be on the exam, according to interviews with people who have obtained driver’s licenses. In essence, a school’s curriculum is geared to the exam and the exam site, said Zhu Wei, an experienced teacher at a driving school in the Baoshan District.

“What works at one site won’t necessarily work at another,” Zhu said. “So we drill them on what to expect in the actual driving test at the actual site.”

When rumors circulated that the official exam sites would be changed, many teachers ran through exam requirements at different sites. Only two in 10 “passed” the first time they tried, Zhu said.

Those who want to learn driving from friends or family members may have trouble obtaining vehicles that will qualify for personal lessons, according to a vice general manger surnamed Sun at a driving school in the Yangpu District. He said it costs about 2,000 yuan to modify an ordinary vehicle and get it approved for teaching purposes.

Most driving schools have specific training areas for varied road conditions.

“How could an individual have all these resources? It’s unfeasible,” said Sun. “If people actually do start learning to drive on actual streets, it will be a disaster for the already terrible traffic.”

For the moment, the new system is in a wait-and-see pattern for many wannabe drivers. Yet, it already has influenced the business of driving schools.

According to Zhu, professional driving instructors are under pressure to get more students as enrollment starts to taper off.

The average fee for a packaged training course at a driving school dropped to around 7,000 yuan recently from 9,000 yuan in August. And some driving schools are already trialing an hourly fee-based education course.

“Many applicants may be waiting for further drops in fees,” said Zhu.

Still, Sun remains optimistic that there will always be a market for driving schools. He said the recent decline in enrollment always occurs before the annual Spring Festival holiday.

“I am not worried,” he said. “As long as we keep improving our services and the passing rate of our students, candidates will see driving schools as their best bet for learning how to drive.”