TO START WITH
You must posses a valid provisional driving licence. You can apply for this on line: go to the Links page and click on “Apply on line for a first provisional driving licence.” I will need to see your licence before you start your first lesson so please make sure you have it with you.
Your eyesight must be up to scratch. You must be able to read a vehicle number plate, in good daylight, from a distance of 20 metres (20.5 metres for the old style number plate). If you need to wear glasses or contact lenses to do this you must wear them to drive. I will need to check your eyesight before your first lesson and, if you do not pass this test, you will not be able to drive.
OKAY, LET’S GO
If it is your very first driving lesson I will drive us to a quiet location where we will initially talk about the things you, as a driver, must do every time you get behind the wheel, before you start to drive the car. We’ll also talk about the various controls (clutch, gear lever, hand brake and so on) and what they do. I’ll get through these bits as quickly as possible because what I want is to get you driving the car. The best way to learn anything is by doing it for yourself. So, next, you will learn to move off and stop and, if time allows, go on to making left and right turns. That, in a nutshell, will be your first lesson.
With each further lesson you will learn new things, progressing at a pace that suits you and building on the knowledge and expertise that you have previously learnt. In the early days we will mainly keep to fairly quiet roads to allow you to gain confidence in handling the car and using the controls. Part of my job is to carefully observe what you are doing so that I can help you to avoid making mistakes. I know it is said that one learns by one’s mistakes but, in reality, too many mistakes leads to a loss of confidence which delays progress.
MIRROR SIGNAL MANEUVer
Correct use of the mirrors is vital to good driving. I shall be talking to you lots about this and watching you very carefully to see that you use the mirrors when it is necessary to.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
Well that is something that varies greatly. However, to give you some idea, on average, it takes around 40 hours of professional tuition to achieve a standard of driving test readiness. But, remember that you are not being taught simply to pass the driving test. You are being taught to be a safe and competent driver for the sake of your own safety and the safety of other road users. Or, in other words, you are being taught safe driving for life.
PRIVATE PRACTISE
I would strongly recommend that, if possible, you obtain as much driving practise as you can between lessons, say with a parent or somebody that you know. This will greatly help in building your confidence and should speed your progress towards reaching the standard of driving test readiness. Just a few things to bear in mind though.
If you are practising with a parent, the chances are that some of the techniques they were taught, when they learnt to drive, were different to the modern techniques that I shall be teaching you. So, you may need to be firm (but tactful) and assure them that what you are doing is the correct and up to date way of doing things. I shall always be pleased to discuss such matters with parents.
You should be aware that anybody who supervises a learner driver must be at least 21 years of age and must have held a full driving licence for at least 3 years.
Buy the Driving Standards Agency Book: “Helping Learners to Practise - The Official Guide.” You can get this from a good bookseller or on line from the DVSA section of TSO website. Give the book to whoever will be accompanying you and ask them to read it.