Driving on motorways can be a daunting prospect for new drivers. This article explains how to stay safe and get where you want to go…in one piece!
Short notice driving tests
Updated September 2024There has always been a waiting list for driving tests – a few years ago six or eight weeks used to be typical. Now you might have to wait for a lot longer – maybe for several months! But there are ways that you can get a test sooner. Reminder: always book your …
Clutch control when moving off
The clutch….it’s a mystery to most new drivers! What does it do? Do I need to press it down? When do I press it down? Should I lift it up? All the way or just a bit? What’s the ‘biting point’ all about? Understanding how the clutch works and how to use it when moving …
How to react to emergency service vehicles
Should you drive onto the pavement to get out of the way of an ambulance? Go past a red light to make room for a fire engine? Is it ok to drive into a bus lane when there are blue lights behind you? Or do you stay where you are and risk blocking the emergency …
Parallel parking – a how-to-do-it guide
Parallel parking – a complete guideParallel parking (reversing into a parking space behind a parked car) is not difficult…honestly! The step by step instructions below explain exactly how to do it safely. There is also a very good video that shows exactly how to parallel park at the end of this article. Parallel parking (or …
Left turns
A simple left turn can have many potential hazards, from tight turnings, badly parked cars, or cyclists and pedestrians that could be crossing your path. If you want to keep yourself and other people safe, it’s important to follow the correct procedure when approaching and negotiating the turn. How to turn left How to make …
How to choose a driving instructor
How to choose a driving instructorIt’s important to take your time over choosing a qualified driving instructor or driving school. After all, you could be sitting next to him or her for upwards of 40 hours, maybe be sharing some challenging times learning to cope with today’s busy roads and spending over £1k on your …
Crossroads – who goes first?
Crossroads often confuse learner drivers. They arrive at a crossroads, there’s a car opposite them and they don’t know who should go first. Hesitation ensues and if one driver doesn’t know what the other driver is going to do a simple meeting situation can become dangerous. During your driving test the examiner will certainly want …
Driving lesson tips – hill starts
Hill starts are easy!When new drivers have a problem with starting on hills, it is usually because they are worried about rolling back. If the car rolls back, even a little bit, they ‘panic’ and start tap-dancing with the pedals! But the truth is, if you can move off OK on a level road you …
How to remember stopping distances for your theory test
The theory test – how to remember stopping distancesThis article will help you remember stopping distances for the UK driving theory test and also help you overcome theory test nerves.A common question on the theory test is ‘what is the [overall stopping, thinking or braking] distance at 30 mph?’ etc. Rather than remembering a list …
How to move off…safely
Updated September 2024 Moving off? That’s not too difficult, surely? Well….many learner drivers fail their driving test because of mistakes they make when moving off, either through poor observation skills or the incorrect use of signals. Let’s clarify the technique for moving off and how to avoid the most common mistakes. Prepare, Observe, Move The …
Are you ready to take your driving test?
Everybody wants to take their driving test as soon as they can. Driving lessons are expensive (up to £40 per hour) so it’s not surprising, especially in the current economic climate, that learner drivers want to take as few lessons as possible. And who wants to take the bus or keep asking for lifts a …
Stalling On Your Driving Test
Do I fail if I stall on my test? No. Not automatically. It depends on many things, like where you do it, how many times, and how you deal with it. Stalling is NOT automatically a serious (or “major”) fault. If you stall once when moving away or stopping, then as long as you start …
Do speed limits matter?
“The majority of drivers regularly break speed limits. This is true for all classes of roads, all times of day and all days of the week.” (DETR) In built-up areas, even a slight increase in speed can make a huge difference to whether someone lives or dies. At 35mph a driver is twice as likely to …
Mirror…signal…
The hazard routine The hazard routine is a routine that you use each time you approach a hazard or before you carry out any sort of manoeuver. It’s a safe system of work designed to minimise the risks involved when you’re driving a car. Note: a ‘manoeuver’ is any change of direction. A hazard is …
Let Them Merge
We all get frustrated in traffic at one time or another. However, simply because traffic is moving slowly doesn’t mean that we can’t let another driver into our lane. One additional car in front of you isn’t going to make you arrive any earlier or later than you already would have. So the next time …
Which way is left?
Do you always go the right way when your instructor says ‘take the next road on the left please? Or do you sometimes go the wrong way? It’s odd, isn’t it, how someone who usually knows their left from their right gets really confused when they’re having a driving lesson! When you take your driving …
Drink driving – the consequences
In the last 30 years road casualties caused by drink driving have fallen dramatically, but Provisional estimates for 2019 show that between 240 and 320 people were killed in accidents in Great Britain where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit, with a central estimate of 280 deaths. The provisional estimate of …
Observations at junctions
The most common reason for failing a driving testFor many years, the number one reason for failing a driving test has been poor or inadequate obervations at junctions.1 All the most common reasons for failing a driving test – and how to avoid them! A junction is defined as any place where one road joins …
Five things to do (and NOT to do!) if you fail your driving test
You’re not alone. Research shows that over half of learners fail on their first attempt and many people take several attempts before they pass their driving test. And any driving instructor will tell you that it’s often the best drivers who take more than one attempt at their driving test. So don’t worry over what’s …