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romanosdrivingschool.com

What is one thing you can’t run away from when you want to get a driver’s license in Zimbabwe? Driving school! Even if your dad, your boyfriend, mom or whoever teaches you to drive – everyone states that enrolling to a Driving School in Zimbabwe is the smartest option.

Why? Because you need a qualified Instructor to teach you everything there is about driving.

Driving schools are also very knowledgeable about what students get tested on to be registered drivers. But wait! – Why can’t you do that with all those other options? Isn’t my mom’s car enough to learn how to drive? Why add a driving school into the equation? It is because you cannot take just any other car. So driving schools as a business model is here to stay.

How to start a successful driving school in Zimbabwe.

There are some procedures you have to follow just like registering any other business. You need a valid Insurance cover and license. Your company has to be registered with the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe. Once that is done, you need to get valid Insurance cover specific to the driving school business.

Insurance & Zinara license for driving school vehicles

After you acquire your insurance cover, you need to get the ZINARA Road license disc according to the Laws of Zimbabwe. Insurance and road license are the standard requirements of Zimbabwe every car should have if it will travel on public roads. The reason why driving school vehicles should have Insurance is Obvious. They are driven by learners and learners pose a greater risk to third parties.

Driving school vehicles fitness Test

The next step will be to take the car to the VID for fitness test. At the writing of this article, fitness test was at $70.00 per car. Once you are done with this stage, you are set. Your business is ready to row.

The need for a driving school Instructor

Probably one big reason why you can’t tack your dad to a road test is because he is not an instructor. For one to be an instructor he has to be a holder of a defensive driving certificate then go through the Instructors coarse which is offered at the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe. After that s/he will be issued with an Instructor’s ID.

Adjustments to a driving school Car

A learner’s car should have double braking pedals. The normal brake pedal remains but is supported by an extension on the Instructor’s seat. The Instructor acts as an assistant driver and will usually step on the brake pedal from his side as he dim fit.

Setting it up and getting started

Once all the above steps are followed, you are ready to roll. The business can be set up anywhere. The market is insatiable. Most driving schools are set up in the CBD but a lot of companies are moving away to out of town office arrangements like business parks. As such, you can even set up your driving school business out of town. However, most people prefer to learn driving in town to be acquainted with city driving which is heavily characterized by heavy traffic and a lot of intersections.

Capital Employed

Probably the highest capital expenditure is on the vehicle. I have dealt with Ruth Bakari who is in the business of importing cars. She can import for you. You can use your other contacts too or simply buy locally from car dealers. You can even look up cars on sail online or through the classified section of the Zimbabwean daily papers.

Draw Backs of a driving school business

This business model like any other has drawbacks. It strikes more or less as a family business. It is hard to manage the business in the absence of the owner or an interested party. I have seen the driving school business flourishing were either the owner or owner’s children are in the office doing the bookings and sometimes the owner is one of the instructors.