Should a driving instructor take learner drivers out on the road for lessons in snowy and icy conditions?
Many full licence holders will say no because they are going to slow us down, and just be a nuisance to us.

The snow that fell in parts of the UK on Friday was perfect for giving driving lessons to some learner drivers on how to handle a car in icy conditions and also deal with other unsafe road users who might be ignoring the conditions.

I could demonstrate ABS kicking in, how stopping distances are greatly multipled, skidding when going round junctions, we even witnessed a car braking too harshly and running into parked car, not to talk of going round a junction to face a taxi reversing into the road and failing to stop even after using our horn to warn it of our presence. I had just been telling the pupil the importance of being extra slow at junctions in icy conditions!

As a provisional licence holder, you should take advantage of any driving lessons in snowy or icy conditions that may come your way (I havs had to cancel tution of conditions were too dangerous), as you don’t want to find yourself driving a car in snow for the first time after passing your test with no previous experience.

If you are thinking of using cheap driving lessons to learn to drive, you might want to think again about your choice.

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Many of you currently learning to drive will be keeping a running total of the cost of driving lessons and how many attempts you’ve had at the practical DSA car driving test, the current economic climate also means that this money is hitting learner driver’s pockets really hard, so I wonder why newly qualified drivers are not doing their best to keep thier full UK licences clean from penalty points and the resultant driving licence revocation that follows under the new drivers act.
It is not just new learner drivers that can be penalised for driving offences, as any driver prosecuted under the road traffic act could be banned or ordered to re-take a driving test by a magistrate and there is also the automatic ban you get under the totting up system if you get 12 or more penalty points on your licence (provisional or full) within a 3 year period.

The cost of any driving conviction can add up, it starts with higher insurance premiums, there could be a need for more driving lessons, especially if you are asked to take an extended driving test which is longer than the normal 40 minutes ‘L’ test, there could be fines to pay and finally you might need to pay for taxi or cab fares while serving your driving licence ban (I know some of you still drive while banned).

As a provisional licence holder you know that any penalty points are valid for 3 years from the date of conviction, so it is important that you abide by the law in order to avoid these going on your full British driving license, and don’t get into the mind set that it won’t happen to you. Every day people get penalised for one traffic offence or the other, and every month the DVLA revokes the driving licence of thousands of new drivers under the new drivers act so if you break the law you will be caught sooner than later.

Even if you are under the current driving licence age of 17, you can still get points accumulated in your name if you are convited of an offence under the road traffic act such as driving without a licence which many 15 and 16 year olds do all the time! These points will be added to your provisional licence when you are 17 and apply for one, so don’t think you can get away with under aged driving.

Dealing with traffic offences

Prevention is always better than finding a cure, so rather than trying to find a solicitor who will help you avoid a driving licence ban, it is best for you to lay down your own rules that will keep you within the law.
No drink driving no matter the circumstances, you either have the drink and leave the car alone or get a friend or taxi to take you home after drinking. If you do it once and get away with it, you will do it again.
Speeding doesn’t save you alot of time, and you won’t always get just 3 points (SP30) for all speeding traffic offences, so gamble with the law at your own risk.
Other offences such as driving without insurance, unsupervised, not displaying ‘L’ plates all add up and you will be caught if you keep breaking the law!

Retaking your driving test

If you happpened to pass your driving test first time, and your licence was revoked under the new drivers act, don’t think that you will be able to automatically repeat the same feat, especially if you decide not to have driving lessons. Depending on how long ago your test was, you woud have built up some very bad habits, which will not be easy to get rid of, and if you have been ordered by a magistrate to take an extended driving test you will definately not be able to put on a show for the DSA examiner.

Value your full driving licence and don’t get penalised for any traffic offences.

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Dont drink drive but be Cabwise after a night out.

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Learn to Drive

There are 2 types of people that would normally be learning to drive a car and preparing for the DSA practical driving test with the hope of getting a full UK driving licence either for a manual or automatic transmission car. One is a foreign or international licence holder from a country that the UK DVLA authorities does not exchange driving documents, and the other is an absolute beginner learning to drive in Britain for the very first time. These 2 driving test candidates will need to approach their learning in different ways due to their individual circumstances.

Foreign Licence Holder learning to drive in the UK

This class of learner drivers are the most difficult to teach to drive according to the UK system because they believe they know how to drive and most of these learners will only consult a professional driving instructor after failing to pass the DSA driving test after a couple of attempts.

The reason Foreign Licence Holders find the UK driving test difficult to pass is first of all they don’t know what the DSA examiner is looking for, and secondly they have built up a lot of bad driving habits which are both unsafe and are hard to get rid of without help from an ADI.

Learning to drive as a complete beginner

There are 2 routes that a learner can take here, use a driving instructor or choose to go with family or friends using your own private car. Using a DSA approved driving instructor (ADI) means that from the beginning you will be learning to drive according to the required DSA standard (if you have chosen the right person, cheap driving lessons could end up biting you in the tail), following a structured drivers record and building up good habits.

If on the other hand you decide to learn to drive with your Dad, Mum, other family, friend, fiancee, then you’ve got to ask yourself is the person teaching me got the right skills and knowledge to give me a safe learning environment, and actually prepare me for the DSA driving test. The person teaching you would have passed their driving test a least 3 years ago, so do they know what the current driving test entails? Will they actually remember everything they were taught while they were learning to drive? What about the bad habits that they have picked up since passing and gaining their full UK driving licence? Are you going to wait until you’ve failed the DSA practical driving test a couple of times before you seek the advice of a driving instructor? Obviously the choice is yours, but it is important that you know the pros and cons of each method of learning to drive a car in the UK, especially if you want to pass the driving test at your first attempt.

Here is a short video showing a pupil learning to drive a car with me in London, UK. This indidivual had previous driving lessons, took a long break, and was now ready to restart aquiring the skills necessary to pass the driving test and be a safe driver for life.

It is important when learning to drive, that you choose the right person to give you driving lessons, dont just go for a driving instructor because he is offering the cheapest tuition near where you live, because you want to make sure that you are being taught the correct and safe way of doing things, and that your teacher is giving you the best quality tuition, and not just taking you out for a drive.

Learn to drive the correct way, develop the right habits, have the safe attitude towards other road users and most importantly choose a current DSA qualified driving instructor, come to UK driving school if you are in the North West of London, call 07956233032 for affordable quality manual driving tuition.

More Reading

Learning to drive step by step
Cheap driving lessons from a fully qualified, CRB checked, DSA approved instructor.
Driving manual or automatic?

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Recently I had a call from a potential learner driver client who told me that I had been recommended as an Instructor to him by someone who passed their practical car test when I was still giving AA Driving Lessons.

According to the caller, the person who recommended me could not speak highly enough of me, because they had been very impressed with the services I had offered them as an AA Driving instructor, the quality of learner driver tuition had been first class, I was never late for driving lessons, nor did I cancel training sessions booked which they said had been very structured, tailored to their individual ability and most importantly I had been able to record onto DVD their mock driving test and the last few AA driving lessons they had taken before the test which had been very helpful in making sure that they not only understood what they were doing wrong, but the remedy that we had used on the post mock lessons. All this according to the caller meant that the recommending person passed their driving test with flying colors (3 minors according to the caller, as I don’t remember how many driving errors were committed).
All this the learner driver caller said had made them decide that they were going to use me as their instructor beginning January 2009 to achieve their new year’s resolution of getting the full UK driving licence.

I checked with the caller what area of London they lived, whether they wanted manual or automatic driving lessons and informed them of the current hourly rate of tuition, checked that they were in possesion of a current and valid UK provisional licence, all of which they were happy with, and I was about to book a date in my diary for the first appointment, when they asked if AA driving Lessons were still conducted in the airconditioned Ford Focus car, to which I said yes, but that I was now an independent driving instructor, and while I no longer held a franchise with the AA organisation, I still offered all the services mentioned earlier and currently was using a Ford Fiesta as school car.

To my surprise, the caller said they would not be willing to take any tuition with me, because they specifically wanted AA Driving lessons. To cut a long story short, the person hung up the phone, and I did not secure the pupil because they were looking for lessons from a particular driving school.

Tuition with branded National Driving Schools

So the question is this, are you guranteed better quality tuition from the likes of AA Driving School, BSM, RED, LDC, Bill Plant just because they have a strong national presence and are established as a brand? The simple answer is no.
What many people don’t know is that Driving Instructors are all self-employed and hold franchises from these national driving schools, are not employed, nor report to a boss at these organisations. In fact the driving instructors pay these organisations money to ‘work’ for them!

What this means is that the experience one gets when taking AA driving lessons for example depends solely on the instructor one gets, and has nothing to do with the brand name, which is why you see so many varied reviews of these motoring organisations. Some have good experiences, while others don’t.
The only consolation you have when using a national driving school, is that you can complain, and get an instructor changed, and sometimes a token compensation for your troubles. Don’t get me wrong, you will be paying a premium for taking Tuition with an organisation such as the AA driving school, BSM or RED, and usually the quality will follow, but it is never guaranteed, and you can get the same or better quality of driving tuition if you choose the right local independent ADI.

If you are one of those people who likes to stick with brand names, don’t be surprised if you don’t get the quality you are paying for, as you are dealing with human beings, and should request a change as soon as possible, on the other hand, you can find very good driving instructors working in your locality who will not cost you an arm and a leg, provide the service you desire, and will work their socks off to help you pass the driving test!
AA Driving Lessons are not just the only way of getting quality learner driving tuition nor does a brand guarantee you will pass or give the DSA examiner a better impression of you as a test candidate.

If you would like affordable quality manual driving lessons in North West London, then call me on 07956233032. I don’t offer automatic lessons

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More reading
The truth about driving school franchises.
Where to find cheap driving lessons.

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

As the christmas season begins to pick up pace, Transport for London (TFL) would like to remind those of you young female non drivers or provisional licence holders yet to pass their practical car test to be CabWise this festive season (some people might find this video upsetting).

While this Cabwise Advert might be directed at young females, it is good advice for everyone especially if you’ve had a couple of drinks and are trying to avoid being caught drink driving, then make sure you only get into a taxi, mini-cab that you have booked yourself to avoid being a victim of any form of crime.

For those of you learning to drive who might not have passed their test this year, don’t give up and stop taking driving lessons, while 2009 might nearly be over, 2010 is another year, and it is still possible to achieve your dream, and not have to rely on taxis or mini-cabs.

Thinking about becoming an instructor? Don’t just make a decision based on the red driving school TV advertisement, do the proper research and know all the ADI training options available to you.

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

At the moment a learner driver can decide if they want their instructor to sit in the back of the car during their practical driving test or have a friend accompany them if they are using their own car on the test, that choice may soon be removed, and if the goverment gets it’s way, all candidates will have to have an accompaning driver with them during the 40 minutes practical assessment.

This new change could be introduced in october of 2010, and is as a result of the learning to drive consultation that the driving standards agency carried out early on this year. According to them, they said that the study revealed having an accompaning driver in the back sit (either your ADI or family member or friend who taught you) was very beneficial to the test candidate!

So how would you as a learner driver react if your instructor, dad, mum, fiancee had to go out in the car with you while you tried to keep your wits about you to pass an already tough driving test?
It would be interesting to hear your comments and views on what could not only be a major change to the UK driving test, but another way of affecting the current low pass rate.

One thing I do know is that the pass rate is probably initially going to rapidly fall below the current 40% as all those nervous test candidates make more mistakes with those additional prying eyes looking over their shoulder.
Another effect is that all those foriegn licence holders who drive themselves to the driving test centre put ‘L’ plates on their car, will now have to find someone to go with them. I don’t know if the dsa examiner will be checking the particulars of these passengers (probably not, but I don’t know for sure at the moment).

The move has been backed by the minister for transport, so it looks likely to go ahead.
There is currently a petition by some driving instructors who are opposed to this compulsary requirement to sit in on their clients test, on the number 10 downing street website, which other ADI’s are welcome to sign.

I believe learner drivers who are residents of the UK can also add their names to the petition as well. While October 2010 is still a few months away, this is probably a good reason for a lot of you to get that practical driving test out of the way, if you leave it till tomorrow, you might just be one of the first candidates who will have to carry passengers in the car on the dsa practical car assessment!

More Reading
ADI number not required to book test.

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

If you want to pass the UK driving test, then you need to understand that it is your good or bad habits that you exhibit while in the car with the DSA examiner that will eventually determine whether you pass or fail the driving test.

I have mentioned this before many times in my blog, if you want to pass the driving test, you first need to know what is required of you by the DSA, attain that driving skill standard on a consistent basis (level 5 in the drivers record) without help from your instructor, then you can be confident that you are ready to book your driving test.

If you’ve learnt to drive or prepared for the dsa assessment without the help of a dsa approved driving instructor (ADI), then you are most likely to have picked up some bad driving habits which could fail you on the test. Over the years that I’ve taught learner drivers, I’ve seen many people who have followed this route, taken a driving test failed and then sought the help of an instructor before their next attempt. Typical bad driving habits exhibited include not taking effective observation before moving off, failure to use the handbrake when appropriate, with the car always rolling back slightly when moving off up hill. Other bad habits include putting the car into neutral gear just before the car stops when stopping either at junctions, traffic lights or even pedestrian crossings!
Many of these bad driving skills are done automatically because they haven’t been corrected by the family or friends who supervised them, and because they haven’t had any incidents in the run up to the driving test and they can successfully get from point A to B, they think they are ready to present themselves to the DSA examiner, but are surprised when the hear those dreaded words ‘I’m sorry but you haven’t passed”.

Even if you are learning to drive with a driving instructor, you still need to put in the effort to build good driving habits and you must not do anything on a driving lesson that wouldn’t be acceptable on the test. The number of times I’ve had to caution pupils for doing something on a lesson that they knew was wrong and they say “I won’t do that on the test, but that car driver pressurised me into doing it”! If you don’t develop a habit of dealing with situations the proper way during your lessons, you will not be able to ‘put on a show’ for the dsa driving examiner, especially with all those test nerves. This is one of the reasons why a lot of people fail the test, they have not had enough practice and developed those good driving skills that they can automatically apply under pressure!

The purpose of your driving lessons are two fold. You learn the required driving skill at the DSA standard, and then practice that skill until it becomes a habit! You must not take short cuts either because you want to save time on lessons or because you are finding the skill hard. If you can’t automatically demonstrate a particular driving skill at the dsa standard over and over again without thinking too hard about it, you aren’t ready for the test!

Remember the bad habits I mentioned at the beginning which a lot of learners especially foreign licence holders come to me with? When we start working on correcting these bad habits even with me prompting them, they still would automatically put the gear into neutral while stopping despite me saying ‘keep your hands on the wheel until the car stops’. We could spend the whole lesson working on correcting this driving error, and if the instructor is not vigilant, the learner will go back to his/her old ways by the next lesson because it is a habit that has been formed over a period of months! You need to be that way with your good driving habits – always taking effective observations before moving off, using the handbrake when waiting at junctions, stopped at a traffic light or pedestrian crossings, be able to perform a reverse round the corner slowly under control while still taking effective observations and reacting properly to other road users (remembering that pedestrians are road users).

All these skills require time to become a habit, so because your instructor introduced it in the last driving lesson, and you were able to do it sucessfully without any errors doesn’t mean you’ve mastered the skill and will be able to do always without problems, especially on the driving test. Many learner drivers think their driving instructor just wants to rip them off when her/she says you still need more practise before taking the DSA driving test, when what the ADI is trying to achieve is a level of consistency with your driving skills especially when you don’t have the option of private practice with your own private car.

The current DSA driving test is of a high standard, and is going to be hard for you to pass if you don’t put in the time, effort and money (yes I know that is one of the factors that makes us want to take the test sooner than later) to develop the good driving habits at the required DSA standard and there is a lot that is required of today’s learner drivers by the driving examiner, so the better prepared you are, the more likely you are to be among the 40% pass rate. You will also find out that if your good driving skills are habits rather than concious efforts, test nerves will have less effect on you on the day.

Have a look at the following video which illustrates why you need to build up good driving habits during lessons.

Some people would say the DSA driving examiner was harsh if a test candidate was failed for not using that bus lane if the test was at 11am, but the information you needed was displayed, but you didn’t notice it. Don’t be a lazy learner driver, work on being an A class candidate and not just do the bare minimum hoping to pass!

Are you building good or bad driving habits for the test?

More Driving test advice
Nerves on test day.
Automatic on driving test.
Bad lesson day before driving test.
Failed pratical car test.

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