As a learner driver taking professional driving lessons with an instructor, it is very unlikely that you will be involved in a car accident, and if you do (I’ve had three so far in my ADI career, and in all cases have been hit from behind), it is most probably going to be the 3rd party driver’s fault, however the day will come when you pass the driving test and you will be in charge of a car un-supervised, making decisions by yourself and if you don’t make the right ones, then you could be involved in a car accident which could also be your fault.

By definition an accident is ‘a specific, identifiable, unexpected, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, without apparent or deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative probabilistic outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence.’ Wikipedia.
For this very reason almost all road traffic collisions in the UK are not driving accidents as they could have been prevented.

For the benefit of provisional licence holders, here are some of the top reasons for vehicles being involved in driving accidents.

1. Inappropriate speed for the conditions.
2. Driving too close to the car in front of you.
3. Lack of or poor observations at junctions.
4. Poorly maintained vehicles (brakes, tyres, lights, suspension, etc).
5. Driver impairment via alcohol, drugs, fatigue.
6. Inexperience on the road or motorways.

As a learner driver you might be saying that I will always be safe once I get my full british licence, but the truth is once you have passed the test, bought your own car have driven it for a couple of months, you start to feel very confident, and start to take risks (going faster than is necesssary for example because you are in a hurry to get somewhere or late), and if you get away with it the first time, you are sure to do it again.

Any driver you ask out on the road will say they are safe, until they are involved in a car collision.

Can you do anything about other road user’s mistakes? Yes you can, it is called defensive driving. When driving late at night for example, I always assume someone might run a red light as I approach a junction when my lights have just turned green.
If i’m being tailgated on the motorway or dual carriageway, I give the car in fron of me extra space so I can brake more slowly to avoid being hit from behind.

I would rather appear stupid in the sight of another ‘expert’ driver, avoid an incident, than have to go through the process of claiming on my car insurance policy even if the other party is at fault, wasting my time, causing a lot of inconvinience and hassle.

Sometimes your car is never the same after being involved in a car accident, or it might even be you or someone close to you that is scared by the incident. At the end of the day, the cost of trying to save a few minutes is not worth it, nor is being too proud to allow another foolish driver to get in front of you. Be safe, vehicle accidents are caused by human error!

If you require high quality driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and full qualified instructor, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032

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

There are 2 important radical changes being made to the UK driving test by the DSA which come into effect from Oct 2010. While you might be thinking october 2010 is a long way off, so do many people who take their driving theory test, pass and have 2 years to take the practical assessment but somehow allow the pass certificate to lapse!

1. I have already mentioned the change that will require all candidates to have an accompanying driver in the car in addition to the dsa examiner, a move which could see pass rate drop as many nervous learner drivers now have 2 or even 3 extra passengers watching their every move.

2. The other change is the introduction of independent driving where the test candidate will have to navigate their way to a set direction using only road signs, no directions will be given by the examiner, not only will you have to know how to get there, you will still have to do it safely, signalling at the right time, being in the correct lane for a roundabout, take the right exit, stick to the speed limit, and still not make a serious or dangerous driving errors.

In order to facilitate independent driving on the practical test, the DSA will cut the number of reversing manoeuvers to one, but since you don’t know which one, you still have to learn all for, so preparation time will not be cut, but rather increase as you would need more driving lessons to learn independent driving and have a good chance of passing.

My advice to those of you currently learning to drive is to make haste, put in all the effort into passing, because from october 2010 one of the world’s hardest driving tests is about to get even tougher and there is nothing you can do about it if you wait till oct. next year before getting your full british licence. If you need help with passing the test before the october 2010 changes and are in London, then I’d be happy to offer you some affordable driving lessons.

To have an idea of what you might be asked to do, check out my independent driving test video.

More Reading
Learning DSA driving test routes

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Have you been ripped off by a driving instructor? Here is a question for you, how do you know that the person is actually a real ADI, and not a cowboy/girl?

I have been operating as an independent instructor for about 2 years since leaving AA driving school, some of that time using a dual controlled car that had no roof headboard or any tuition signage on the car, just ‘L’ plates and only once has any of my learner drivers asked to see and checked my ADI badge to make sure my credentials are correct and in order (the DSA word is fit and proper person).

I always display my instructor registration certificate on the windscreen of my car as required by law when giving paid tuition, but the expiry date can only be viewed from outside, so it is possible for your ADI to be no longer displaying a valid badge especially if the tax disc is strategically placed to cover the valid till date (there is currently no law that requires an instructor to leave their badge in the car during a driving test, so even examiners can’t easily tell if the badge has been removed).

Now don’t think that you can’t be ripped off by a genuine, fully qualified, current instructor, but with the amount of trust given to ADIs (lump sum money in advance, long times alone with him/her, possible invitation into your house), isn’t it worth checking their identity and validity (the car could have fake registration plates, and how many people know where their instructors live)? Following the DSA introducing CRB checks, there have been a few (not a large number though) people who have been removed from the register of those allowed to teach for money or reward, and while they might have surrended their current badge, who would know if they continued to teach either without displaying a grren badge, or just used an expired one?

As a provisional licence holder, you do have some responsibilities as the driver in charge of a vehicle, but more importantly don’t you think you deserve to give your money only to a qualified instructor who is more likely to be honest in the way they treat you?

More Reading
Changing driving instructors

If you require high quality driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and full qualified instructor, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032

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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While most driving instructors in the Mill Hill area will know that most of the minor roads in the NW7 area have now thawed out and can be used for teaching or practising test maneuvers, the local manager at the DSA test centre in Mill Hill has cancelled all morning tests for today Friday 15th January 2010 as the conditions are still not deemed safe enough.

With the rain still falling, there is a chance that the afternoon driving test appoitments might still go ahead as the snow and ice continues to be washed away. You should however phone the centre first to confirm.

More Reading
DSA test centre contact phone numbers

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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Many of my pupils choose to take driving lessons in a manual car because they like the freedom it gives them of chosing either manual or automatic cars once they have overcome the minor detail of passing the DSA practical driving test. However some of them do try to change their minds after they encounter some hurdles while preparing for the practical car assessment.

First of all let me say that yes it is easier to take driving lessons in an automatic car and you would take less time to get to the standard where you will be thinking of taking the test, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that it will be easier to pass in an automatic if you learnt to drive in a manual and have either failed the test or found a particular driving test maneuver such as reversing round the corner difficult and are looking for an easier route to getting that pass certificate.

There is more to passing the test than being able to confortably or smoothly change gears, and while you might not have to worry about those in a car with automatic transmission during your lessons, there are things like speed on approach to a junction, how to spot gaps in traffic at a roundabout, making progress on a national speed limit dual carriageway (A1 for example in Mill Hill), while being able to change lanes safely in preparation for a right turn at Stirling corner.
Even during your maneuvers, you can still hit the kerb in an automatic car while doing the turn in the road, not to think of those who can not reverse into the small Hendon test centre car park bays without straddling the line.

The point I’m trying to make is that many of you currently learning to drive will hit a hurdle at one time or the other, and you need to persist and work you way through the difficuties with your ADI, if you think they are not able to help, then maybe it is time to try changing driving instructors. Personally I don’t think changing to automatic driving lessons is the right answer in this case (I might be wrong since I don’t offer them), but if you are thinking of changing, don’t be afraid to go back to manual if it doesn’t make a difference to the real problem that you were having.

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I have already mentioned in the past, that it is possible for you to take and pass the driving test even if you have accumulated 6 points on your licence.

I have been getting a lot of email queries about driving lessons and points on provisional licence, as well as if one can still sit the DSA theory test.

The simple answer is yes you are still allowed to take driving lessons with a qualified instructor or be supervised by a parent if you have penalty points on your provisional driving licence.

The new driver’s act applies after you have passed the practical test, though you can still be banned from driving by a court of law or if you get 12 points, in which case no licence, no lessons or test. This is why an instructor always insists on seeing both parts of your provisional licence before they take you out on the first driving lesson.

If you require high quality driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and fully qualified instructor, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032

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.

Subscribe to my Driving Test Tips so you don’t miss any future articles and get DSA updates direct to your inbox by Email service is provided and powered by feedburner, so I don’t personally keep your email addresses, and you can removed yourself anytime after passing the driving test with just one mouse click.

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

I have previously posted full driving lesson articles on how to deal with roundabouts including videos covering mini, major and multi-lane versions of this type of junction, however I find that some learner drivers still don’t understand the basic roundabout rules, so I’m going to restate them here to avoid any doubt.

1. You only need to give way to traffic on the right (on a mini roundabout this might include oncoming traffic indicating to turn right getting to the junction before you).

2. If you are turning left or right at a roundabout, you should be indicating on approach (you DO NOT signal on approach if following the road ahead).

3. If you are turning left or right at roundabouts, use the left or right hand lanes if available respectively, or positon your car appropriately. As a driving instructor I have seen learners at test standard on lessons trying to use the left hand lane to go right!

4. You always indicate left to exit a major roundabout.

5. You do not need to indicate left when coming off a mini roundbout.

6. Once on a roundabout, you should not be stopping for or giving way to traffic approaching the junction.

If you have any doubt about these basic roundabout rules, get a copy of the highway code and study it.

If you require high quality driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and fully qualified instructor, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032

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.

Subscribe to my Driving Test Tips so you don’t miss any future articles and get DSA updates direct to your inbox by Email service is provided and powered by feedburner, so I don’t personally keep your email addresses, and you can removed yourself anytime after passing the driving test with just one mouse click.

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

I mentioned in my free driving lesson post that I had an ADI check test today, it didn’t go well, having taken all the time to prepare and get ready, I will be seeing the SE-ADI again within a couple of weeks or months.

Late last night someone texted me to take up the free tuition offer, so I now had a pupil instead of having to perform the check test with the examiner doing a role play.

After my first driving lesson of the day which was in West Hampstead NW6, I had about 40 minutes to dash across to HA8 pick up the learner driver and then go to the Mill Hill test centre on Bunns Lane, NW7. This unfortunately meant that the learner driver only had about 7 minutes of driving to get used to my car. My candidate told me he had a test booked for next week, had taken about 40 lessons with his current instructor in a diesel toyota yaris, I had a petrol version and wanted to use the free training session for a second opinion and practice for his appoitment with the ‘L’ dsa examiner.

We drove to the test centre, and along the way he stalled the car because he was not using enough gas (this is probably not a problem in the diesel car he normally drives), so I had to remind him to press the gas pedal when moving off. Just after getting to the waiting room the check test SE-ADI entered the room, I introduced myself and the pupil, and we were off.
The examiner asked my learner driver pupil to get into the car while we had a quick chat, I give him details of the learner as being new to me, but had about 42 lessons with another driving instructor, and had a test booked next week, so I was going to be using the lesson to access him and correcting any faults found in preparation of his practical driving test.

I gave the pupil the lesson objectives, and before moving off asked him what the letters MSM stood for, and how he would use it to approach a junction turning left, to which he answered appropriately. I told him to then proceed when ready as the first 10 minutes or so of the session I would just be giving directions in order to access him fully. A quick check of the right hand side of the car, and we were off (I noted that the observations were not complete as the left handside of the car including blind spots had not be covered).

We drove towards the car park exit, and turned left onto the main road, I noticed the learner driver did not check the left exterior mirror, we then turned left at a roundabout, another 2 junctions and I asked for the driver to stop on the left, again no left mirror check. After the car stopped I asked him to move off when ready, and the same observation faults occured no checks on the left, so I pulled him over again.

I explained that even though I had initially said during the brefieng that I would access him for about 10 minutes before having a chat, I had noticed some basic faults which I needed to address, explained the left mirror checks which he was not doing even though he gave me the right answer during Q&A (he did say he checked them but I was watching him the 4 times and didn’t see the head or eyes move in that direction, so I asked him why we needed those checks to which he again answered positively cyclists among other things) and we would practice those a bit, Next I asked him what POM meant to which he said he couldn’t remember so I told him asking where he would check when moving off from the left and his answer confirmed what he had been doing (interior mirror right mirror and right blind spot and behind) so I had to educate him on that and we then set off to practice these.

To cut a long story short he probably became a little nervous and upset because of the attention to detail his faults were getting, he didn’t use the handbrake, approached junctions too fast to make effective use of LADA, coasted round a junction going wide at the same time and when I pulled him over to ask why he had not slowed down when turning left at a junction major to minor with a car approaching us, he swore at me, open tha car door and walked out on me and the dsa examiner. A few seconds later he opens the door leans in (I honestly taught he was going to hit me) says ‘Oh and I forgot my jumper and stormed off!

So that was the end of my ADI check test, about 35 minutes in, and it was all over. The SE-ADI in the back was just as surprised, said he would arrange for another appointment for me, since we hadn’t completed the alloted time. I drove him back to Mill Hill test centre, asked him for any feedback from what he had seen, to which he said I had been on the right track, the pupil had been a little quick with instructions acting before getting the full picture and was surprised he had a driving test next week, the only other thing he said was that if I had noted that he was getting upset with repeated remedial action I might have taken him on a longer road to give him a slight break.

I don’t know when my next appointment will be, but lesson learnt, either stick to pupils you know, or get the SE-ADI to perform the role play during check test. I honestly did not have anything against the guy’s driving, and was only tryng to help, and with the dsa examiner in the car, I couldn’t let anything slip.

Additional reading for Instructors
Marketing your driving school services
Pay as you Go ADI Training.
Booking driving test and ADI number

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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 are an international driving licence holder, and have booked a UK practical car test, here is some important information to help you pass the test.

As a driving instructor who has been doing this since 2003, I’ve seen a lot of people from different nations (China, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, South Africa) with international permits come to this country and do the same thing and the outcome is always the same. They take the theory test, and pass both parts including the hazard perception with flying colours, go on to book a practical test without doing any research about what the dsa driving examiner will be expecting including how many mistakes can be made or taking driving lessons with an ADI and end up either not taking the test because their car doesn’t meet the requirements or are surprised at the end of the 40 minutes of the practical assessment to be told “That’s the end of the test, I’m sorry but you have not passed”.

You can not just come to this country with your many years of road experience (no matter where: Japan, Phillipines, Isreal) and expect to pass one of the world’s hardest car driving tests without going through the proper preparations. The dsa examiners are looking for more than your ability to move a car from A to B, they want you to be able to drive safely and carry out some pre-defined exercises to a particular standard, something that you might never have done before.

Do you actually know what the DSA’s definition of safe is? Every single international driving permit holder that has taken tuition with me has exibited the following unsafe habits: Driving/steering with one hand, never using the handbrake except when parking and about to leave the car, coasting to stop in neutral gear, reversing or doing driving maneuvers using only the 3 car mirrors, breaking the speed limit (even if by only 2mph). If you use any of the above mentioned skills on the UK driving test, you are not likely to pass.

There is a saying, ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’. If you want to get a full UK driving licence you need to drive the British way, whether you agree with the principles or not, and it is not going to be a matter of just taking one driving lesson to get rid of habits that you have developed over ten years.

Driving Lessons are not necessarilly the only way you can get yourself prepared for the UK driving test, in fact I would recommend that every international driving permit holder who is serious about passing first time to read the DSA (the driving standards agency are the people who conduct the test and thus the ones who will pass or fail you) guide to preparing for the pratical test. With your driving experience, it will not be hard to understand what the requirements to pass are, the real hard work will be in getting rid of your bad habits and being able to drive the proper way for the 40minutes duration time the dsa examiner will be in the car with you.

The best example I’ve seen of a person with an international permit preparing for the driving test is an American who not only read the dsa book, but had started practising in his car everything that had been suggested for a couple of weeks before booking an assessment lesson with me to confirm he was doing things right prior to going for a practical test booked for the next week in Borehamwood.
On the 2hr lesson, I didn’t have much work to do as this person had obviously done his homework, a few minor issues which I gave advice on, and all we did was familiarise ourselves with the local routes, go over show me tell me, and that was it.

The following week I got a text to say he had passed with 2 driving errors, one of which wsa committed at the end in the test centre car park! It doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money to pass the driving test, but it will take a lot of your time practising in your car to get to the dsa standard, and there is nothing stopping you from getting confirmation from a good driving instructor that you are on the right track.

If you are based in the north west part of London, or have a driving test booked in Mill Hill, Hendon, or Borehamwood, and would like help as an international driving permit holder, then give me a call on 07956233032.

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Please let me know your views by posting a comment on the blog at
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As a learner driver you might not have to fill up at the petrol station during driving lessons, but you will pass the driving test one day, buy your own car, and have to fill it up with fuel, so will you get a suprise on your first visit like the lady in the video below?

Part of learning to drive should include knowing how to keep your driving running costs down, so don’t leave it till you’ve got that full british licence before understanding that car needs fuel to run, and unleaded is not the same as diesel.

If you require high quality driving lessons from a very helpful, patient and fully qualified instructor, then why not call or send me a text message on 07956233032.

Tip on how to fill up at petrol station.

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.

Subscribe to my Driving Test Tips so you don’t miss any future articles and get DSA updates direct to your inbox by Email service is provided and powered by feedburner, so I don’t personally keep your email addresses, and you can removed yourself anytime after passing the driving test with just one mouse click.

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