Point dancing: how the Ministry of Internal Affairs will make a rating of driving schools

The government has approved criteria by which the Ministry of Internal Affairs will evaluate the effectiveness of driving schools. It is assumed that this rating, which will be publicly available, will become a guideline for people when choosing an educational institution. Industry experts and specialists are ambivalent about the indicators on the basis of which the rating will be formed. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

How will driving schools be rated?

Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree establishing indicators, criteria and frequency of evaluation of the effectiveness of driving schools. The document is published on the portal pravo.gov.ru . The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia will evaluate the activities of educational institutions that train future drivers.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev

According to the decree, the rating of driving schools will be compiled based on "the results of passing exams for granting a special right to drive vehicles of the appropriate category and (or) subcategory."..> candidates for drivers who have completed professional training in organizations engaged in educational activities." The second assessment criterion is "information about accidents in which participants in these accidents were killed or injured, caused by drivers who have a special right to drive a vehicle of the appropriate category and/or subcategory for less than two years from the date of obtaining such a right."

Who was run over: a rating of driving schools will appear in Russia

It is planned that the measure will help train young drivers better.

When will the rating appear?

The head of government announced the introduction of such a rating at the end of last winter. Mikhail Mishustin then noted that data on the effectiveness of driving schools will be posted on a regularly updated publicly available special information resource.

"The quality of such educational institutions will be assessed according to certain indicators, including the results of students' exams, as well as emergency situations faced by graduates of a particular school," the prime minister said at a government meeting in late February 2025.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Eduard Kornienko

The government decree comes into force at the end of May, simultaneously with the amendments to the Law on Road Safety adopted in November last year. However, since the activities of driving schools will be evaluated based on data from the previous year, the first rating will appear only in early 2027.

Few criteria

Experts and representatives of driving schools interviewed by Izvestia are ambivalent about the criteria that will form the basis of the future rating. According to Alexander Lytkin, the chief expert of the National Expert Council for the Training and Testing of Drivers of Vehicles, the proposed indicators are not enough to actually assess the effectiveness of the driving school and the level of training of its students.

— It is incorrect to compile such a rating based only on the results of exams and the number of accidents caused by graduates of the driving school, since neither the specifics of the region nor the number of students graduated from one institution or another are taken into account. If, for example, 200 people passed through one driving school in a year, ten of whom were involved in an accident, and another graduated a thousand students in a year, 50 of whom were responsible for accidents, this does not mean that the first educational institution trains future drivers better," Alexander Lytkin told Izvestia.

Practice is the criterion of truth: drivers will be taught how to drive on carpool

New training programs at driving schools have been approved

According to him, with this approach, "driving schools in Chukotka will have the highest ratings, where it is easier to pass the exam in conditions of minimal traffic, and the risk of an accident for a novice driver is lower than in Moscow or another major city."

Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev

The proposed criteria are quite subjective, and they are not enough for a real assessment of the work of an educational institution. The criteria approved by the government should be supplemented with indicators reflecting the level of the material and technical base of a particular driving school, as well as the professional skills of its teachers and instructors, believes Elena Zaitseva, president of the National Union of Driving School Associations. Igor Morzharetto, a member of the Presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, also recognizes the need to take these criteria into account.

As previously reported by Izvestia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has prepared a draft order according to which the assessment criteria include the proportion of graduates from the total number in a particular driving school who successfully passed theory and practice on the first attempt, as well as the proportion of theoretical and practical exams not passed by its graduates. In addition, it is planned to take into account accident rates due to traffic violations by graduates of driving schools with up to two years of driving experience, taking into account the number of accidents in which people were killed or injured per 1,000 graduates.

Instead of word of mouth

"The rating of driving schools is primarily a guideline for those who want to get a license, allowing them to choose an educational institution that will really give them the necessary knowledge and skills to manage a particular type of transport," Valery Soldunov, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and chairman of the All—Russian Society of Motorists, told Izvestia. — However, it makes sense to refine the criteria of such a rating.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

Now, when choosing a driving school, the future driver is guided either by the convenience of its location and work schedule, or by word of mouth, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine. In the vast majority of cases, the decision about where to go to study law is made based on the advice of friends from the category "I passed there the first time" or "I liked the instructor who taught me to drive," says the expert. The appearance of a rating of driving schools will make it possible to take into account not only the recommendations of friends, but also to independently assess the place of study, according to the editor-in-chief of Za Rulem.

— It should be understood that this rating will work only in large cities, where there is an opportunity to choose from several driving schools at once. If there is only one driving school in a district, then it is obvious that its residents, as well as those who live in the nearest villages and villages, will go to study at this educational institution, regardless of its rating," Maxim Kadakov emphasized.