How many driving lessons will I need to pass?

This is a question a lot of people ask, but it can be difficult to answer as it varies from one person to another. The Driving Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have conducted research which states learners need about 44 hours of professional lessons to pass their driving test. But of course everyone is different and this figure can vary wildly. This depends on how naturally driving comes to you, your age and experience, how often you have lessons and whether you have any practice outside of your lessons. It isn’t helpful to compare yourself to others if you are learning any new skill, as this is likely to hold you back. Instead you should try to relax so you can listen to your instructor, and get as much practice as you can.

Is it best to learn when I’m young?

On average it’s easier to pass your driving test when you’re young. The official stats say you need an extra 2 hours of lessons for every year you get older. This doesn’t take your individual circumstances into account, so it may not be true for everyone. If you are not in a position to afford driving lessons every week you may be better off waiting until you can afford it. Taking lessons consistently every week will be the fastest way to learn, having large gaps between lessons will mean that you will forget things. Everyone learns differently, regardless of age, and a good instructor will be able to get the best from their learners.

Get in Touch

Whatever your circumstances, we have talented, professional instructors that will be able to guide you through the process of learning to drive. Please get in touch if you’d like to book a lesson.

Driving in Adverse Weather

The last few weeks have seen some extreme weather in parts of the country. From high winds, flooding and blizzard conditions we’ve had everything that winter can throw at us! When you’re thinking about driving in adverse weather it’s good sense to plan ahead. If you’ve just passed your test you will need to think about preparing your car for winter weather. Go Compare have written a useful article about everything you need to do to make your car ready for winter weather. You can read the article here.

Prepare

Just having the right things in your car, summer or winter could help you out. If you’re going on a long journey it’s always a good idea to check your car is ready by checking the oil and water levels and checking the tyre tread depth.

Things to include in your car should be a bottle or flask of water, a first aid kit, ice scraper and a blanket, you might also want a snack. If you wear glasses for driving you might feel it’s a good idea to keep a spare pair in the car, just in case yours are damaged or lost when you’re out. Sunglasses are a good addition just in case of winter sun at a low angle. Another useful item to have in the boot is a hi-vis jacket or vest. If you find yourself stuck on an unlit road you will be a lot safer if you’re very visible. It’s also a good idea to have a pen and notepad, just in case you do have an accident and need to swap details – you never know if your phone will be out of charge.

It sounds like a lot, but if these useful things are kept in your car you will be prepared for anything!

Contact Us

Whatever the weather we teach our learners to be ready for anything! If you need lessons please get in touch.

Do you need to retake your driving test?

You arrive back after a 37 minute driving test. The Examiner, says Congratulations you have passed your driving test. You have waited so long to hear these words. You are so excited, pleased, relieved, and a new chapter in your life can now start.

Medical condition or disability

It’s important that you tell the DVLA if you develop a medical condition or disability that could affect your driving ability.
This includes conditions such as:

• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Stroke
• Glaucoma

If you are unsure if a medical condition or disability will affect your driving skills, check the list on the GOV.UK website. If your condition is listed, it’s extremely important to tell the DVLA as soon as possible, as failure to do so could mean a fine of up to £1,000 and put yourself and others at risk.

Driving disqualifications

If you are banned from driving, due to being convicted of a driving offence for 56 days or more you will need to apply for a new driving licence and possibly retake your driving test. You will be told by a court if this is the case and will need to apply for a provisional licence first.

Driving licence age restrictions

There’s a common misconception that older people need to retake their driving test, but this isn’t the case. When you reach your 70th birthday you will need to renew your licence with the DVLA and every three years after this. All of the entitlements on the reverse of your licence you lose, and would need to take tests for if you still need them. This may be the case even though you may have never had to been tested for them before, and just had them automatically added to your licence when you passed your first driving test.

You won’t need to stop driving unless there are other reasons for you to do so, such as a medical condition, but there is no upper age limit or driver assessment for those aged over 70.

When it comes to driving, the most important thing is that you are confident, well and competent in your ability to drive. If you are at all unsure, refer to the advice above. If you do need to retake your test, we’re here to help.

Contact Us

Whether you’re a new learner or returning to driving after a while we can help you. To learn to drive safely please get in touch and we will arrange some lessons for you.

Is learning automatic the way forward for you? Will it help you pass? What is the difference?

Whether you learn automatic or manual, it does not really matter. Obviously the only difference is not having to change gear. So if you find it hard to multi task, or English is not your first language and you are finding it hard to understand, automatic driving lessons will help you. You still need to do everything, like planning your driving by thinking ahead, tackling roundabouts, reversing, mirror checks and more, including passing your theory and practical test.
Driving Lessons with automatic cars is like clutch free motoring – no problem! Automatics, by making the physical job of driving much easier, give you more time to concentrate on what’s happening on the road.

All learners will get one to one tuition and guidance with their theory learning as well as plenty of practical driving practice. Don’t worry if you’re nervous about learning to drive, all of our instructors are experts in teaching people to drive, and all of our learner cars are fitted with dual controls.

Book Driving Lessons

If you’d like to book some lessons, or you have any questions about learning to drive please get in touch.

Restarting driving lessons and tests in England

The proposed date to restart driving lessons and training is Monday 12 April 2021.
We know many learner drivers and instructors want the opportunity to carry out lessons and training before driving tests restart.
Therefore tests are due to restart 10 days later on Wednesday 22 April, if government guidance allows.
The safety of our customers and the driving examiners is our top priority. Closer to the restart date the DVSA will work with Public Health England to review and check our standard operating procedures.

In the meantime, pupils can continue to practice driving with an accompanying driver from within their household, as long as it’s part of an essential journey.

Driving test bookings

The DVSA will email candidates with tests booked before 22 April to let them know their test will be rescheduled. The learner driver does not need to pay again to reschedule, and if the dates they are given aren’t convenient they can change them to something better.
We know pupils with tests booked between 12 and 22 April will be disappointed. But it’s important that candidates have adequate time to practice with a professional instructor before they come to test.
Restarting lessons ten days ahead of tests will give you a chance to have professional refresher training before you take your test. This approach is supported by the National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP).

Theory tests

Currently the intention is for theory tests to restart in England on 12 April 2021. The DVSA will email all candidates with theory tests booked before 12 April to ask them to reschedule their test.

For more information about driving tests re-starting please click here to see the government guidance.

Increasing the number of car driving tests

The suspension of testing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to exceptionally high demand for driving tests.

Test availability

The measures we put in place to protect our customers and staff from COVID-19 have limited the number of available tests.
This includes reducing our booking window to 6 weeks and driving examiners carrying out 5 tests a day instead of the usual 7.
To increase the number of tests, we have announced that from Monday 14 September, we will extend the period in which tests are available to book from 6 weeks to 18 weeks ahead.
This will add up to 375,000 test appointments between 14 September 2020 and 21 January 2021.

Moving to 6 tests a day

As well as increasing available tests to 18 weeks ahead we plan to move from 5 to 6 car tests a day.
Driving examiners are now familiar with using PPE such as face coverings and gloves and using the latest guidance for carrying out tests. This means there is more capacity to safely increase the test programmes to 5 to 6 tests per a day.
This will increase the number of tests you and your pupils can book by more than 7,000 extra tests every week.

Test start times

It’s important you do not arrive for your driving test more than 5 minutes before your appointment time.
The increased number of daily tests in addition to the vital COVID-19 safety checks put in place to protect you and your pupils, means there is a small risk some tests could overrun.
This might affect the start time of the next test. If this is the case, please be patient until the examiner is available and ensure the vehicle is well ventilated in readiness for the test to start.
Please take this into account when planning your diary.
We will continue to end tests early when a learner commits a serious or dangerous fault, which means they have failed. So not all tests will run to the full time.
This means that any disruption to test times is likely to be minimal, and test centre managers will be on hand to help customers where needed.

High demand

Driving tests will continue to be in high demand as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown and the suspension of testing, so you and your pupils will need to be patient.
We will be releasing more tests every week for you and your pupils to book.
It is vital that your pupils are test-ready when booking their tests, as tests could be at short notice.
On average fewer than 50% of learners pass their driving test and there could be long waiting times for a retest – your pupils should book only when they are confident they can pass.