Many people cite overconfidence as the number one source of driving accidents. After all, what else could give people the mistaken impression that they’re capable of driving while applying makeup, shaving, or carrying on a conversation on their phones? However, one truism that many don’t grasp is that fearful driving can be just as serious a problem as overconfident driving. Think about this logically; when you take a turn at an intersection, isn’t it just as dangerous to hesitate too long as it is to go too early? Driving is in many ways all about balance, so if you’re experiencing feelings of fear or hesitation as you get behind the wheel, then perhaps it’s time to seek out help from a qualified driving instruction center.

One of the things that professional driving schools are equipped for is helping people to gradually overcome their feelings of fear when driving, so that they can become confident and capable motorists. There are several ways that they can go about doing this.

Firstly, they can help you pinpoint exactly what it is that’s causing your anxiety. Many people have a terrible experience when driving where they nearly get into an accident or experience some kind of small wreck that they feel lucky to walk away from. However, just as many people suddenly develop a fear of driving for reasons that they can’t identify specifically. The sad fact is that unless they can identify the source of their fear, they will never be able to overcome it. This is one of the main values that a driving teacher can offer.

Secondly, a driving teacher can help you to get comfortable behind the wheel. Often when driving alone we can feel intimidated, or when driving with friends we can worry about becoming distracted. However, when driving with a professional dedicated to helping us, we can more easily relax and fall into the role of a competent, safe driver. This is because driving instructors are trained to be able to keep up a natural flow of instruction that is neither taxing and irritating, or droning. You’ll be able to focus clearly on the advice they give without being overwhelmed by it, and you just can’t get this kind of professional touch from a friend or on your own.

Thirdly, a driving teacher will know what you can handle and remove from you the burden of deciding how much is too much or how little is too little when you’re trying to acclimate yourself to the road. You can trust a driving instructor not to put you in a situation that you can’t handle, and to talk you carefully through any tight spots that you find yourself in. This kind of trusting relationship is good, because you can simply focus on the mechanical aspects of driving until your confidence naturally begins to return.

When you’re seeking out a driving school to help you with fear of driving, you might want to call around and ask if certain schools specialize in this area. Many schools, especially those in more urban areas, employ teachers who are specifically trained to help fearful drivers overcome their phobias and get back on the road as soon as possible.

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What is the most important thing you look for when choosing a driving instructor? Almost 90% of the people who call me asking about driving lessons make their decisions based on the hourly tuition price!

Choosing a driving instructor just because they can provide you with cheap driving lessons is not necessarily the wisest move you can make if you are learning to drive a car. What is the quality of tuition that you are going to get from the driving instructor? Is the person actually a qualified current DSA ADI? Just because the driving school car has a roof sign and there are instructor pedals on the passenger side doesn’t mean they are operating a legal learner driver teaching business.

What is the atitude of the instructor you are choosing going to be towards their pupils? Are they going to be shouting at you during a driving lesson when you have difficulties understanding a principle or driving skill? Will they hold you back from making progress in order to recoup the money they lost discounting your hourly driving lesson price?

You must know what the average price is that is being charged by driving instructors in your area, and when choosing the one that is going to be preparing your for your driving test you must remember if it is too good to be true, then it probably is.

Focus Media’s Driving Test simulator A driving test simulator based on the DSA exam.

Choose your driving instructor wisely, dont just go for cheap tuition.

Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at
http://www.ukadi.co.uk

If you are preparing for the DSA theory test, then you are probably looking for mock test questions to help you practice so you can pass the theory examination.

Before you start looking for mock theory test questions, it is important that you have actually studied all of the highway code and the relevant books to acquire the knowledge that will not only help you with the mock theory test, but also this information is what you will need for the practical driving test.

Many people use mock theory test question banks to prepare for the real theory test by trial and error, and memorising the answers as they go through the questions over and over again. While you will pass the mock theory test, and could even pass the DSA test, this is not a good way of preparing for the practical driving test.

As a driving instructor, I regularly see learner drivers who have passed the theory test including the hazard perception video clips, and yet they fail to recognise simple traffic signs, road markings or approach hazards without due caution.

Passing the driving test and obtaining a full UK licence is not a matter of play games of chance. Getting a licence is just the beginning of developing a life long skill, which is why those mock theory tests are there to test your preparedness and not to be used as a study tool to acquire the initial knowledge.

Mock Driving Theory Test Websites

There are quite a lot of websites out there with various mock theory tests, and a quick google search will reveal most of them. As I’ve mentioned earlier on, use online mock theory tests to check you’ve got the knowledge to pass the DSA examination, not to acquire it.

Driving Test Success Hazard Perception Test Software

Many people don’t have a problem with the mock theory test questions, but where they really struggle is with the hazard perception video clips and the scoring window in which to click the mouse. I’ve given some detailed help on this in my hazard perception post, and I would recommend you use Focus Media Driving Test Success CD Rom to study for this portion. The Driving Test Success CD/Roms/DVDs has the highest pass rate for hazard perception candidates on the DSA theory test, and is the most popular product recommended to not only pass the HPT, but the whole theory test.

If you aren’t looking for online driving mock theory test websites, then the Focus Media DVD is a good product that will help you pass the theory driving test.

dvla theory test booking

You can not book the theory test through the DVLA, as they don’t administer this programme, all test booking is conducted by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) on behalf of the DVLA.
The current cost of the DSA theory test is £30.

Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at
http://www.ukadi.co.uk

Driving Test Tip 1

I see this all the time with driving test candidates, I’m not sure if it is test nerves or learner drivers just want to get the whole affair over and done with, but a lot of pupils just seem to be in a rush in the days running up to the driving test, and on the day.

If you’ve got a driving test, it is important that you train yourself to be calm so that you are able to focus on the skills you need to demonstrate to the DSA examiner during your driving assessment. It only takes a split second to fail the driving test, how many times have you heard ‘if only I had waiting a second longer or I thought I had a safe gap’, if in doubt, you should ask yourself is it safe?

Driving Test Manoeuvres

This is where quite a few driving test candidates fail, and it is not because they can’t do the manoeuvre, but they don’t take effective observations and miss a potential danger. It is not just enough to go through the motions of turning the head and looking in the direction that you are expected to, you need to make sure your eyes are observing and allowing your head to register what you have seen. Many on a driving test have looked but failed to see a car, pedestian or other obstacle that is a hazard while doing the manoeuvre.

I know many of you might be saying it is easy for you as a driving instructor to say these things, but the truth is if you train yourself and practice what you’ve been taught, then you would develop the right habits required to pass the driving test. Always take effective observations during manoeuvres, if you have to stop for any reason, check all round before you move off again, if there is any possibility of the car rolling in the opposite direction of which you are travelling, use the handbrake to secure the car, find the biting point and then do your observations before moving off again.

Junctions on the driving test

Approach them at the right speed, selecting the right gear to match, if in doubt that it is safe to proceed, wait but always be attentive looking for the gap and be ready to go (this is where lots of practice comes in and gives you experience). If approaching a closed junction, then stop at the give way, check before proceeding, don’t just copy the car in front that just went without looking, remember you are the one on the driving test, not them!

Practice your roundabouts over and over again, knowing how to spot gaps, which lanes to use, when to indicate coming off, and the appropriate speed required. The DSA driving test is not a walk in the park, but if you put in the right amount of work combined with the correct training, then you stand a very good chance of passing. The examiners are not expecting a perfect drive, just a high standard and safe one.

Take your time without hesistating, view your driving test as an opportunity to demonstrate to the examiner that you are ready to drive on the roads without supervision.

Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at
http://www.ukadi.co.uk

Your driving test is not over till the DSA driving examiner says so!

If you are on test, you should remember that it is not over until you have driven back to the test centre, stopped the car, and the examiner says the words ‘that’s the end of the test’.

You should therefore keep at your best driving skills at all times till then, I’ve heard of so many people who have failed their tests either within sight of the driving test centre or in the actual car park.

While you might think that it is unfair to have driven well for 35 minutes and then be failed by the DSA examiner for a serious driving error committed in the last minute of the test, they have to abide by the rules and assess every aspect of the drive up until the very end.

So if you are on a driving test, you need to stay on your best behaviour till the examiner tells you the test is over.

Mistakes on the driving test

If you commit a driving test mistake while out on your assessment to get a full UK licence, not matter how serious you might think it was (hitting the kerb, not checking a mirror or forgetting to signal), you should not give up hope and therefore driving anyhow. The examiner might not have seen it as a serious error, so don’t take your driving test cap off and resign to the fact that you have failed. I’ve had many learner drivers who said they thought they had failed their driving test because of an error only to be told they had passed, and that the mistake was just a minor!

So whatever the case maybe, the result of your driving test will be determined by everything you do up till the point in the test centre car park and the examiner tells you the assessment is over. Untill then you have every chance of passing the driving test if you give it your best shot!

Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at
http://www.ukadi.co.uk

Have you recently passed your UK driving test and was wondering what to do next, or thought it is finally over, and I don’t have any more driving learning to do.

Well first of all, you are still a learner driver, and while you don’t have to display those ‘L Plates‘ on your car while driving (green P plates are optional), there is still a lot of learning to do if you want to remain safe and stay alive. You also need to know that because of the new driver’s act, you are on probation for 2 years, and if you get 6 points on your driving licence, you will have to take the driving test again!

Passed Driving Test Knowledge Acquired

If you’ve passed the driving test, then you should have all the knowledge you need to be a responsible car owner/driver, and therefore you have no excuse for any offences you commit, or failure to carry out some required actions.

You know that you need to be insured to drive a car, that the car must be taxed, road worthy, must display legal number plates, speed limits must be obeyed just like on the driving test, and that road signs and markings are there for a reason.

Two of the most common things that happen to new drivers is they get points on their new driving licence for breaking the law (knowingly or not), and they get parking fines for illegal parking of their car on the council streets. As if learning to drive was not hard and expensive enough, there are financial penalties that follow these things. Your cost of insurance will go up more if as someone who has just passed their test you get points on your licence (you know to inform the insurance company of these points, right?), and each time you get a parking ticket it is going to cost you money to pay the penalty charge notice (PCN).

Basically what I’m saying is that the learning process still continues, and it takes time to gain experience as a new driver, there will be the first time of renewing your car insurance, your first MOT for your car, getting your car road tax, your first visit to the motor dealer or garage to get your car serviced, you 1st drive on the 70MPH multi-lane motorway.

Don’t wait until you have to do these things before you learn (or remind yourself of what is required), it is no fun suffering your first breakdown only to find that you haven’t got breakdown cover, or don’t know what number to call.

What about if you are involved in a car accident, do you know what to do?

I’d like to congratulate you on passing the driving test, but this is just the beginning, you need to know how to recognise parking restrictions, understand a few basic mechanical things about your car, as well as gain more practical driving experience as a new driver. All the best with your driving career, stay safe, and remember it is better to be late, than to be the late.

Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at
http://www.ukadi.co.uk

As a learner driver you would have had to deal with many aggressive and impatient drivers who can’t stand the sight of an ‘L’ plate being displayed on the car in front of them irrespective of how good or bad it is being driven, and you would be saying when I pass my driving test I won’t be like them!

While not all full British licence holders are inconsiderate of learner drivers, there are far too many of them out there making their life on the road very difficult, and the thing is every single one of these aggressive drivers were once learners themselves and they all had to endure the same abuse while preparing for their driving test.

So the question is when you get that coveted pass certificate, and your full pink license has arrived in the post from the DVLA 3 weeks after the DSA examiner posted your provisional and you are riding along in your lovely automobile, are you within a few months going to join the ranks of the many drivers out there who can’t bear to see a driving school car or a private vehicle displaying ‘L’ plates and treat them like second citizens just because you are in a hurry to get to somewhere that might not be that important, and start to intimidate them by tailgating, overtaking dangerously, beeping your horn, etc.

What type of driver are you going to be when you pass your driving test?

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Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at
http://www.ukadi.co.uk

One of the most important aspects of learning to drive is gaining an all important sense of confidence. Note, however, that this is vitally different from arrogance or presumptuousness. Many drivers, immediately upon passing their tests, suddenly feel as if they can take on any situation. They’ll think nothing of immediately going out and driving long distances or in new and unfamiliar situations such as the highway or during a rainstorm, or at night. However, this confidence is very often unfounded, and results in the person becoming “overconfident” and getting into an accident. Instead of this overzealousness, what is really needed to be a good driver is a solid sense of the rules of the road, and an accurate knowledge of one’s own ability to adhere to them.

One of the best ways to gain confidence as a driver then, is to receive profession driving instruction. When you learn to drive from a qualified professional, the grasp you will get on the rules of the road and on safe driving practices far exceeds that which you would gain through other means such as learning from a friend or family member. This isn’t to say, of course, that your friends and family are unsafe drivers, it’s just the case that only professional driving instructors can instill the immense degree of confidence in a driver that comes with total mastery of the road.

Getting behind the wheel can sometimes be a scary thing, to be sure. This is especially true when driving on the highway at high speeds or practicing certain maneuvers such as merging into a high speed lane. The real problem, though, is that nervousness in such situations leads to inaction, which can be dangerous. When you’re driving, it’s often the case that hesitating is just as dangerous to proceeding too recklessly. It’s only with a calm and smooth sense of assurance that you can operate a vehicle at maximum effectiveness.

Of course, it goes without saying that having confidence in your driving isn’t a permanent thing. Many drivers start out confident but then get into a collision or have a dangerous near miss that suddenly robs them of all their preconceptions of their ability. They might suddenly feel as if they’re an unsafe driver and fear getting behind the wheel at all. When this happens, certain steps are needed, and chief among them is getting back on the road as soon as possible.

This is something else that a professional driving teacher can help you with. By refreshing you on the rules of the road, and renewing your ability to adhere to them consciously, driving coaches are often able to help people regain faith in their own driving ability, including those who have gone through some form of trauma.

Whether you’re learning to drive for the first time and want your first solo drive to be one of supreme and total confidence, or you’re trying to regain confidence that you once had, trust in a qualified driving coach to give you the self-assuredness that you need.

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