These are our top tips to your full driving license.

We could have written a book, but there’s plenty of them out there already, so we’ve kept it short, focusing on the quick wins and the money-saving ones too.

• Book Your Theory Test

The very first thing you should do before booking a driving lesson is book your theory test, Why? Unless you have an endless pot of money, it’s good to have a plan and a time line. You cannot book your driving test until you’ve past your theory so what happens if you don’t pass first time? Some people take several attempts to pass the theory but in the car they are really fast learners, this then becomes time and money wasted. When you book your theory test, give yourself one week to learn it, two at most (check out our blog “Pass Your Theory Test”)

Book Your Theory Test – DVLA Click Here

• Find An Instructor You Like

Try before you commit, lots of instructors will offer you a discount if you make a block booking of ten hours or more, that’s great but discuss with them that you would like to pay for the first session and then if you are happy, book the ten hours after that, If they are confident in their own abilities then they will be happy to do this, be cautious of the ones who want you to commit before you’ve even met them.

Find A Driving Instructor – Click Here

• Evaluate Your First Lesson

Talk to friends and find out what their first lessons were like, who did what and what you might expect, it’s quite good to have a two hour session on your first lesson, this will give the instructor plenty of time to explain the car and controls and get you driving. They may well pick you up and drive you to a quiet location near to your home but be wary if at the end of the lesson they have not taught you enough so that you can drive yourself home under their instruction and assistance (not everyone learns at the same pace so this isn’t always possible but it is a kind of bench mark in our experience), again ask your friends what they did so you know if your making progress. Don’t be afraid to question your instructor on your progress if you feel it is too slow for you. If you are really unhappy with your first lesson and the connection you’ve made with the instructor then thank them and tell them you won’t go forward and try another instructor. Having a good level of confidence in your instructor and them in you will save you money and time.

• Keep Track Of Your Progress

Your driving instructor should keep a record of your lessons and your progress so that you can see each time you go out how you are doing. The key is to make sure that you work with your instructor and that communication is two-way, as instructors, we are taught to focus on client-centered learning, meaning that the student should be also leading the pace and direction of training. Also don’t forget to ask them for there top tips too.

If things aren’t working for you or maybe you are struggling with a particular maneuver it’s worth discussing with your instructor in detail, sometimes getting them to explain in a different way will make more sense to you. Remember Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

• Set A Plan Of When You Want To Take Your Test

Once you’ve got your confidence up and your driving skills are coming together, it’s worth thinking about booking your test. Before COVID-19 waiting times for tests where about 6-10 weeks. Currently, we don’t know what these are going to look like but for sure you could be looking at least 13+ weeks when tests start to reopen for booking. As I said at the beginning get you theory test booked and passed ideally before starting lessons. It simple maths most people pass somewhere between 20-30 hours, and most driving instructors work on 2-hour lessons each week. If you didn’t plan and you’ve already done 20 hours before you even think about booking your test, you could be looking at another 26 hours (2 hrs/per week x 13 week waiting time). Plan, Plan, Plan, it will potentially save you money.

Book Your Driving Test – DVLA Click Here

• Test Day

Relax and don’t panic, be calm. All too many students fail because nerves get the better of them. They overload themselves with pressure, let me give you a few words of wisdom. When you walk into a test center you are not allowed to drive legally on your own. If you pass your test on that day you will be able to, and therefore your life will improve. However, if you do fail you will be in exactly the same situation as you were before you took the test, your life will be no worse than when you walked into the test center.

The driving test examiners are not looking to catch you out or trick you into making a mistake they are just there to observe your driving and assess you. Traffic conditions are out of their control and they also cannot anticipate what other drivers will do on the test route, that is your job. Ask your instructor to explain the test scoring system all too often people make small mistakes such as stalling the car whilst leaving the test center, this clearly can make you nervous but depending on the circumstance sometimes you will not even pick up a minor fault for it. However, if you panic about it, for sure it will affect the rest of your drive, stay calm and whatever situation occurs continue your test route with your best possible driving at all times. Never give up.

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