UK Driving School Podcast

Bad Driving Lessons before test

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:01:00 PST

It is not unusual for a learner driver to have a couple of bad driving lessons in the week or days leading up to their practical car test, and you should not panic if this happens to you even if it never happened to someone else in your family or friends that you know who have learnt to drive before.

While I can't give you an exact reason why this happens to candidates preparing for the DSA practical driving test, some might be nerves, others might be having an off day or have personal circumstances on their mind that is affecting their concentration.

Just because you have had a bad driving lesson doesn't necessarily mean that you are not ready for the driving test, and most importantly on the day of your appointment, you need to put everything that happened in the lesson before the test behind you, learn from the experience, and approach the 40 minutes with the DSA examiner with a clean sheet, only you knows the mistakes that were made in the previous driving lesson, and those errors should be used as a learning experience so that you are familiar with what to do if the same situation occurs while being examined.

You don't need to be perfect to pass the driving test, you need to be competent, at the required DSA standard, and most importantly safe (you should not affect other road users be it pedestrian, cycles or cars by your driving), and this is what your driving lessons should have been used for, by acquiring the skills and gaining relevant experience which will always be achieved after different number of hours or lessons so take your time before booking an appointment with the DSA examiner.

If during the hour before your test you have a bad spell, try and relax, listen to your instructor's advice, and give it your best shot and don't let all your efforts go down the drain, by giving up mentally. If you don't believe in yourself, it will reflect in your driving and all those hours spent on lessons would not be rewarded.

If you need more motivation, then think about the joys of driving the lovely bmw car below unsupervised.

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Free Online Driving Lessons, Test tips & Videos

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:43:04 PST

Importance of driving lessons

If you want to have a good chance of passing your next attempt at the DSA practical test then should be taking driving lessons with an approved legal instructor. Now let me explain that just because you are taking driving lessons doesn't mean you have done everything required to get to test standard, there are 2 roles that your having tuition has to satisfy.

1. Learn the required skills that will be tested by the examiner (Driving test maneuvers, how to deal with junctions/roundabouts, moving off and stopping).

2. Gain enough experience using those skills in various situations, different roads, time of the day.

Many learner drivers do not seem to understand the relevance of point 2 above, and I'd like to illustrate it with the example of what I would consider the easiest driving test maneuver a DSA examiner can request a candidate to perform, The Turn in the Road.
The turn in the road is most likely the first maneuver your instructor would have taught you while taking driving lessons with them, and it shouldn't take more than 2 lessons (for the average learner) to understand the reference points, clutch control and the way this exercise is carried out. So by the 3rd lesson after you were first introduced to it, you should be able to carry out the maneuver without any help from the instructor on the same road you were taught under the same circumstances. Does that mean you have reached the DSA test standard?
Of course not, you need experience of doing the 3 point turn on more narrow roads, know how to deal with situations where other cars arrive while carrying out the maneuver, when should I stop if other roadusers are noticed, and when should I stop.

Since the DSA advices that a learner driver should have around 40 hours of driving lessons and plenty of private practise, therefore by the time a candidate goes to a test, they should have done the turn in the road maneuver around at lease 40 times, so the important question why do people still fail the test on the simplest maneuver?
Not enough driving lessons, lack of adequate experience, poor instruction or just test nerves?

I offer high quality honest driving lessons to learner drivers in the North West London area, don't hold you back from making progress just because I want to make money out of you, my reputation is more important to me, and believe in good customer service knowing that a satisfied customer will give me many years of recommendations, and while not everyone would agree that I offer cheap driving lessons, I can tell you that I offer one of the best value for money driving tuition services in the area, in addition to free video recording of lessons for those who might benefit from revising in the comfort of their homes.

Driving Test Tips

I have mentioned before on this blog, that it only takes one driving error for a provisional licence holder to fail the 40 minute dsa practical assessment, which is why I offer various driving test tips with the hope that one of them will help save someone from committing a fault that will cost them that coveted pass cerificate. Some of the tips might be obvious, but as an instructor who has had the opportunity of sitting in on driving tests of many learner drivers, I can comfortably say that all advice given is based on real life situations so I'm sure there will be something that would benefit you.,
Sometimes people fail the driving test not because they are ill-prepared but due to silly mistakes which if they had thought about beforehand might have been avoided.

Driving Videos

A picture they say is better than many words, so what about a video. When ever words are not enough to help explain what is required by the dsa examiner during the driving test, I use a video. These videos could either be from an actual driving lesson or they are specifically shot and cover various topics like roundabouts, hesitation or failing driving test for being too slow, there is something that you can learn from.

UKADI.co.uk has been offering free online help to provisional licence holders since 2005, and has over 200 articles so if you can't find what you are looking for immediately, then use the search box at the top of the page to see if your query has already been addressed, before posting a question.

If you are considering training to become a driving instructor then make sure you take note of other people's experience, and do proper research before making any desions and parting with your hard earned money or take on any finance agreements with Barclays or other companies.

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Observers not to sit on tests?

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:36:36 PDT

The Daily Mail newspaper is reporting that the government is making a u-turn on an earlier decision to force driving instructors sitting in on tests as from October 2010.

I can't find anything about this on the dsa website, and the twitter channel has nothing either, so an official announcement is probably in the pipeline.

The Daily Mail is also suggesting that this removal of compulsary observers could also mean a speedup in the introduction of independent driving during the test. we will have to wait for the DSA to make it all official.

In the meantime, the advice I would give learner drivers is to continue working hard on those driving lessons, put in as much private practice as you can, and get the practical assessment out of the way before these changes are made to an already tough driving test.

If you need a break from thinking about the test, why not enjoy this little video clip of the BMW X1 car.

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Driving Lessons with Red?

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:06:48 PDT

I recently had an enquiry from someone asking if I would advice them to take driving lessons with Red in the area where they lived, and the answer I gave to this provisional licence holder is the same that I give to everyone, and I mentioned this in my AA driving lessons post, the quality of tuition you get depends entirely on the instructor, and not the school franchise that they might have bought into, whether it be RED, AA, LDC or BSM.

Now I know that strong brands are supposed to represent quality, but in the case of driving lessons, this is now usually the case because it is impossible for the franchise owner to monitor the activities of all its driving instructors, all they can do is issue guidelines which they hope their franchisees will follow.
One of the advantages of taking tuition with national organisations like RED, is that you can make complaints to a central call centre, and possibily get your driving instructor changed possibily with a goodwill free lesson, but not many learner drivers take the time to do this, they either walk away completely, or if close to a test, will bear with whatever they are not happy with, and try and pass their practical assessment with an ADI they are not satisfied with and the services offered.

So once again, when thinking of booking driving lessons, try and find out as much as possible about the instructor that you will be using, or has been allocated to you, and in particular take note of how your first few sessions go, if you notice things you don't like (taking phone calls, texting pupils, abusive language racial, sexual, etc, shouting at you, etc), then you should consider getting someone else, and he/she is not going to change, that is their personality and they way they conduct their driving school business and RED, the AA or BSM will not be able to change it, nor will you.

You should be able to enjoy your driving lessons, and always look forward to the next one, not dread and have to endure the hour or 2hrs you are in the car, afterall you are paying for a service, and with the current competition in the learner driver training market, there are a lot of good driving instructors out there, both franchised and independent looking for your business, you just need to find them. All the best with your lessons and the test when you get to it.

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Driving Test Centre Phone Number

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:51:38 PDT

The phone number for your local driving test centre is on the appointment letter that the DSA will have sent you shortly after booking your test.

The only time you will need to phone the centre is on the day of your appoitment to check if the driving test is still going ahead if there has been bad weather overnight or during the day before your appointment time. Any other enquires regarding the DSA practical car assessment should be made via the website or the customer services telephone number (if you can get through). The dsa examiners are busy conducting tests, and don't have the time to spend on the phone which is why the telephone numbers are not published for general knowledge (how would you like your test cancelled or delayed because an examiner was held up). If for any reason you don't have an appointment letter and need to contact the dsa centre where your assessment is taking place (late teest booking, postal strike), then you would have to go through customer services or just turn up for the test and hope it goes ahead (not a good idea if you have to travel far (I've had people from Hackney, Clapham take tests in Mill Hill/Hendon). This is one of the reasons why you need to keep you appointment letter with you. By the way you can't phone to let the driving examiner that you are running late, if you are more than 5 minutes late (no matter the reason or excuse), the appointment will not go ahead, and you will lose your test fee.

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Driving test in Automatic car

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:02:00 PDT

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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Theory Test Change Sept 2009

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:59:01 PDT

The following video is from the DSA youtube channel and is supposed to be explaining the case study questions which was introduced into the UK theory test on Sept 28 2009. It doesn't seem to be very helpful.

Another bright spark from someone at the DSA to make the lives of learner drvers in the UK more difficult and passing the driving test even harder.

These new changes has not affected the current theory test fees.

More Reading
Driving test changes in 2010

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Barnet driving test centre - no toilets!

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:42:10 PDT

I don't go there often, so yesterday I had to take a pupil to the Barnet driving test centre and was caught short on the way down, and had forgotten that they don't have any toilet facilites for their customers!

I rushed out of the car, and as I entered the waiting room it clicked no toilets. I had to run down the road to the local pub, order a drink, and then ask to use their facilities.

Luckly it was me that ended up panicking, so if you have a driving test in the barnet centre (especially those using their own private car for the practical), make sure you empty your bladder before setting off.

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Driving Test October 2010 changes

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:49:53 PDT

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.

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ADI Check Test

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:49:00 PDT

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.

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Free Lesson 16th September 2009

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:26:29 PDT

I have an ADI check test in Mill Hill on Wednesday 16th September 2009 around 12pm and I'm offering a 2hour free driving lesson to anyone available.
Please note that because this is a DSA quality assurance spot check, I can not use this time to carry out a mock driving test, it has to cover a normal lesson tuition session.

Talking about driving instructor check tests read this story about how an ADI ended up being removed from the DSA register after failing to show up for one, continued to offer cheap driving lessons to students, even taking one for a test, was caught by the DSA and got a criminal record for fraud after being successfully being prosecuted and convicted in a court of law.

If you are interested or know of anyone who could make use of this free driving lesson in this current credit crunch climate, then get in touch.

More Reading
Cheap Instructor Lessons

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Driving Test - Instructors to sit in back compulsarily

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:00:03 PDT

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!

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International Driving Licence & UK Car Test

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:51:26 PDT

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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Pass Plus Driving lessons

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:07:07 PST

Have you recently finally passed the driving test, you might be thinking thank God I don't have to take no more driving lessons, and I can now relax and start enjoying my status as a full British licence holder. Well it is not quite over yet, and while there are no legal reasons why you should take any post driving test tuition, I'm going to advice you to seriously consider going on a pass plus course.

The most common reason driving instructors give to new full driving licence holders for taking pass plus driving course is that they can get insurance discounts, especially if they are young and aged between 17 and 25. This isn't a bad idea, but you shouldn't be taking advanced driving lessons just because it might save you some money, you should seek to improve your skills after passing the driving test because it would make you a better/safer driver, could save your life, or the life of someone close to you.
Many new drivers don't fully appreciate the full responsibility of what being in control of a car actually means. Think of this, the lives of up to 7 other people could literally be in your hands as you travel at 70mph on a dual carriageway to a holiday destination, wedding, party or on the way to visit family or friends. One mistake (it might not even be yours), could lead to consequencies that you would have to deal with for the rest of your life. Consequencies that could cost you more than the £200 or so that you might have saved by not taking the advanced driving lessons or pass plus. Money you can easily replace even if you have to beg to get it, but can you replace a life, limb, eye or someone's brain?

Pass Plus is about developing the right driving attitude, gaining extra experience, always thinking about being safe even when it might cost you time, your pride or make you seem weak in the sight of other drivers or friends.
You also get to do some motorway driving lessons which will teach you how to cope with the high speeds involved, as well as being safe despite the many unsafe things that other 'experienced' drivers might be doing out there. So having these advanced post test driving lessons will be a step in the right direction of avoiding penalty points and risking losing your licence and going back to learner status as you will be more aware of speed limits because you want to abide by the road traffic act laws and would not be caught trying to run red lights.

If you've passed the driving test recently, why not take pass plus and see how it will change your driving attitude, there are not tests, and you'll be getting tuition without having to display "L" plates.
The 6 modules will cover topics like all weather driving, urban and sub-urban driving, motorway tuition, and are usually conducted in 2hr lesson slots though you can have longer sessions if you want.

More Reading
I had a Bad lesson day b4 my test.

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Driving Test Giving Up

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:05:56 PST

This week I had an email from a learner driver who was thinking of giving up on the UK practical driving test having failed on the most recent attempt at getting a full British licence, and losing hope to ever achieve the dream of being in charge of a car un-supervised.

If you have had several attempts at the driving test and not been successful, I would like to offer some words of encouragement to stop you from giving up.
Obviously there will be different circumstances for a lot of learner drivers, some will be considering how much money they have spent on lessons and dsa testing fees, others might just be discouraged that all their efforts and hard work to overcome this hurdle has so far fallen by the wayside since they have not heard those desired words from the dsa examiner, there might even be those who would considering if they have gone past the driving age because they are much older.

The first thing I would like to say is that none of you are stupid just because you have not passed a driving test. As the name implies, it is a test, and tests are not a 100% good way of assessing characteristics, since it only checks skills at a specific time, so it is possible for a very good and safe driver to just make one mistake that invariably means a fail. I have had one or two test candidates of mine return with no faults apart from the one serious driving test error that they failed on, obviously they were at test standard, but maybe just a moments lapse in concentration blew their chances, and this could easily affect their morale.
Having said that, everyone in the UK who wants a full driving licence has to take a test unless they are fortunate enough to have a foreign licence that can be exchanged for a british one, so it just another hurdle that we have to get over to get to our goal, and giving up on the driving test should not really cross your mind if you really want that pass cerificate.

Learn from your experience no matter what happened. You can give all sorts of excuses, try to blame the dsa examiner for being too harsh or say your ADI did not take you on that particular driving test route, but the bottom line is you made a mistake which was not acceptable and your most important task is not to make the same error on your next attempt while still maintaining the good driving skills from your last attempt.
If you can afford it, don't take a break from driving lessons, if you do, resume them as soon as possible so you can keep your driving skills current. Don't think that because you narrowly missed out on the practical car assessment the last time, that you will still be abe to drive the same way after a 6 week break.

No one is out to stop you from getting a driving licence! No matter what anyone tells you, or the thoughts that go on in your mind, the dsa examiners have not targeted you, keeping records of how many times you've been to the test centre or just don't want you to pass the driving test, if you do everything to the acceptable standard, then they can't fail you. There is no point in arguing that you only just touched the kerb during the turn in the road driving test maneuver, work on improving that weakness, and it won't be a problem for you the next time.
You might be thinking it is easy for me as an intructor to say that, but the truth is that while you might be finding it difficult to master a particular skill (roundabouts might be your back breaker), if you persist and work hard with the right help from your ADI (maybe you need to change instructors), then you can overcome it.

Money is what is holding me back! It costs money to take lessons and book the driving test, I agree, but if you really want that licence, are you just going to give up because you think you don't have the money? Have you explored all avenues available to find the money you require to achieve your goal? Could you stop smoking, drinking, eating takeaways, giveup one of or all your mobile phones, work more overtime, mow the neighbor's lawn? If you try hard enough, surely you can make it, even if it takes sometime to save up the money, don't forget you could also ask your instructor for a discount (you are more likely to get one if you have been a loyal and hard working client).
Make the money count, read as much as you can about the driving test, know the highway code inside out, learn from other people's mistakes (learner driver forums are full of driving test stories), don't be afraid to ask questions and know why you need to do things a particular way (the 2 second rule must be kept not just to pass the test, it could save your life, money, stop you from injuring someone) and most importantly, don't give up hope on yourself, if others can do it, then so can you, no matter how long it takes, the sacrifices you have to make or the number of attempts you have had at it.

Following all these steps will not guarantee a driving test pass, but I can assure you, that it would put you in a better chance of doing so, don't give up, remember success is failure that tried one more time!

More reading
The UK driving test explained.
Your instructor can't pass driving test for you.
Driving test mistakes what to avoid.
Bad lesson before driving test.

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Changing driving instructors

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:40:42 PDT

My driving instructor is not teaching me anything new, is a good reason for wanting to change your ADI, I dont trust my driving instructor is another one, but a lot of learner drivers are either afraid to actually look for someone else to give them driving tuition, or can't be bother saying I'm just going to stay till I pass my driving test, but won't recommend him/her to anyone else!

You should not be thinking twice about changing or ditching driving instructors if you are receiving a sub-standard/poorer quality service than what you have paid for, or are not getting along with him or her, maybe they shout at you, are always late for driving lessons, make remarks which you are uncomfotable with (sexual, racial, etc).
The purpose of taking driving lessons is you want to learn to drive a car, get valuable knowledge, experience and information that will help you to go on and pass the driving test, and not to while away time or have someone to have a nice friendly chat with everyday. Don't allow personal charm to get in the way of professionalism.

Driving lessons are not cheap, so everytime you part with your money (£15, £20 or £30), you need to be able to say that the time was worth it because you learnt a new driving maneuver (left reverse round the corner), was able to rectify a reoccuring error (not checking left mirror before signalling to come off a major raoundabout) or gained more experience driving on a 70mph dual carriageway. You should not just be driving around for no purpose, or going over the same thing lesson after lesson without either being independent, mastering the reference points or techniques to do the skill without assistance.

Don't be afraid to change driving instructors, as you might find someone who is more compatible with you, and with an abundance of ADIs out there, you the customer should always come first and your goal of passing the DSA practical driving test, you must be able to trust the driving instructor who you pay to guide you through the task of getting the pass certificate that you desire, otherwise what are you doing sticking with him/her!

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Driving Test Routes

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:59:02 PDT

One of the most common requests I get from learner drivers preparing for the DSA practical car assessment, is can I take them on the driving test routes used by the examiners at Mill Hill, Hendon and Borehamwood centres.

As a driving instructor, it is normal practice to take a test candidate on some of the routes that the examiner might take you, but this is only after the learner driver has reached the required standard expected by the dsa, and not just to memorise the roads in a bid to having a better chance of passing the driving test. Since the DSA started publishing routes on the internet for candidates to download, I know at lot have not even bothered to check with an instructor if their driving skills are good enough to warrant a pass from the driving examiner!

There are good reasons why you might want to drive on some of the driving test routes, examples are you might not have previously had the chance of dealing with a multi-lane roundabout like Apex corner in Mill Hill that is also controlled by traffic lights, or a national speed limit (70mph) dual carriage way like the A1 on the hendon centre route or country lanes like those used in Wood Green, and you wouldn't have a chance on the magic roundabout in Swindon if you encountered it for the first time with the DSA examiner in the car. What however I find is that a lot of learners who have booked a driving test in a centre, have done so because they can get an earlier date or a late cancellation but they are not actually fully preared for the test, and just want to pratcise on the routes and do their driving manoeuvres at the same places that the dsa examiners use all in a bid to 'cheat' the system and gain that coveted hard to get pass cerificate.

Since this basically like playing a driving test game of chance, some people will get away with it, manage a pass, bragg to their friends about the method they used, but the majority of candidates will fail (because they don't have the relevant driving skills at the prerequisite standard or enough experience), and either blame the examiner for being too harsh/unfair or say lady luck was not on their side, in the meantime they have just contributed to the low pass rate on the dsa statistics records and made them some more money in the process as well.
Before you start going on driving test routes, make sure you get all the basic skills stipulated on the driver's record under your belt, including manoeuvres, especially the hardest left reverse round the corner exercise, as it is not safe and convinient to be learning this on a busy test route nor should you be mastering bay parking reference points in the busy borehamwood car park.

Once you have covered the entire dsa syllabus for the practical car assessment, and have attained a consistent level 4, making sure if there is anything that you are afraid of, or hope you will not be asked to do by the examiner, then it is a weeakness that needs to be dealt with. Once these fears have been conquered, then you are ready to tackle your local driving test centre's routes gaining the valuable experience and extra practice on any of the skills that you might not have been able to gain before now, like driving above 50mph on country A roads or dual carriageways. Remember you are about to take one of the world's hardest civilian driving tests, so give it the respect it deserves, put in the work, gain the confidence and get the nerves under check. With the right attitude, all being well and you in control, will sail through with flying colours and hearing those lovely words "that's the end of the driving test, and I'm pleased to say you have passed".

One thing that you should note about the dsa driving test routes posted on the internet, is that they do not give you the location used by the driving examiners for the various test maneuvers, and for some candidates, it is crucial that they know this to increase their chances of passing, this is where you might need the help of a knowlegdeable local instructor.

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Driving Test Brake 2 slow Gears 2 Go

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:46:00 PDT

A common driving habit that a lot of test candidates seem to have is that they use the car gears to try to slow down the vehicle instead of the brakes.
I know that many years ago this was standard practice (before the introduction of synchromesh transmission), but nowadays vehicle technogy has changed all that and the standard way of driving is use the brakes to slow down the car to the appropriate speed required for a junction, and then match the gears to go with that speed. This will also stop a lot of people from coasting as they tend to keep the clutch down because they know the car will jerk if it is too fast for the gear they are in.

A general rule of thumb is that if you are emerging at a closed junction you are going to need first gear, while moving from a major road to a minor road is usually 2nd gear (there are exceptions of course, and if you have enough driving experience will know when to do something else), so get used to braking to this speed, and then doing a block gear change. It doesn't matter what gear you are in, the gear shift should be done once (4th to 2nd, 3rd to 1st or even 5th to 1st).

On the driving test, using block gear changes shows the dsa examiner that you have acquired advanced car control skills, and is evidence that you are ready to drive unsupervised (as long as you don't commit any serious/dangerous faults).
Start today to use the brake to slow gears to go technique on your lessons whether it be with an instructor or learning to drive with family or a friend, as it will take sometime to change the old habit before test day.

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Driving Test Tip - Neutral Gear

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:33:03 PDT

This driving test tip is for those of you foreign and international licence holders who have decided to attempt the dsa practical car assessment without help from an instructor.

While I don't think that this driving tip alone will guarantee you will pass the driving test, it will be one step in the right direction.

One common driving habit that I find a lot of foreign licence holders have when driving a car is that they shift into neutral gear just as they are about to stop. This is a very unsafe habit, and it doesn't matter if you are stopping on the left, in traffic or at a junction, if you get hit from behind by another car while your car is in neutral gear, then your car will be free to roll into the junction, car in front.

So if you are a international licence holder that wants to take the UK practical car driving test, you need to start working on getting rid of this bad habit, and I can tell you, the longer you have been driving, the harder it will be to stop shifting into neutral gear as you stop your car.

You might also want to do a little more research about what the dsa examiner is looking for if you want to have a better chance of passing the driving test on your first attempt, because passing the theory element is no indication of how you are going to perform in the car, but more importantly the examiner is assessing more than your ability to move a car from A to B.

More Driving Advice
Guaranteed driving test pass, is it for real?
DSA examiners want you to fail or do they?
Don't rush the driving test.
Foreign Licence and UK driving Test advice and tip.

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Borehamwood driving test centre successes

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:32:03 PDT

In the recent weeks, I've been having a lot of pupils taking their driving test at the dsa test centre in Borehamwood due to the shorter waiting times than Mill Hill and Hendon, with many candidates being able to book a driving test appointment within 4 to 6 weeks (one on the quickest/shortest driving test waiting times in the greater London area), and some are even finding cancellations with dates of less than 2 weeks.

A few things to note about the Borehamwood driving test centre.

The centre has 2 toilets (seperate men and women facilities).
There is step free acess to the waiting room, so it is ideal for motability driving test candidates.
The centre is located in premesis shared with the DVLA, as such the car park can be very busy, so be extra vigilant if you get the bay parking exercise. In particular pedestrians walking from the multi-story overflow car park area.
The test centre routes have a lot of mini roundabouts, so if you are attempting the practical assessment here, then you need to be confident dealing with these junctions. I sat on one test with a client, I think we dealt with a least 15 of these, many of them in quick succession of each other.
Be also on the look out for the humped pedestrian crossings in the town centre.

One thing that I've experienced is that Borehamwood test centre has a high pass rate for my pupils with 4 out of the 6 that went there this year passing.
A special mention goes to Maneo who had a foreign international licence from Lethoso, took intensive driving lessons with me to get to the DSA standard, and passed there last week on the 2nd attempt. A pass was only narrowly missed the first time round because of nerves after a mistake early in the test which then escalated to missing the national speed limit on a country road, failing for driving too slow.

If you want to take your driving test in Borehamwood and need an instructor, live in the WD6 area and want some quality manual driving lessons or want a mock practical assessment, then why not give me a call on 07956233032.

July 2009 Update: More success stories in Borehamwood, with the latest candidate to pass the driving test being a client of mine from Kingsbury who had an expired European car licence taking a semi intensive crash course of 10 lesson hours to get rid of some old bad driving habits and reach the required dsa standard, passing on the 8th of the month with 5 errors on the DL25 examiner report sheet, so if you have a test booked in Borehamwood without an ADI and need some pre-test advice or refresher tuition/mock assessment test around the WD6 routes, then why not get in touch with me today.

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Petrol prices on the increase again.

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:02:05 PDT

Since last years high petrol costs due to the increased demand for crude oil, the cost of filling up at the pump has steadily been rising since january this year when it was at its lowest.

This week here in London, I can no longer find a petrol station where the cost of petrol is below £1 per litre. I'm not sure what the cause of the high prices are this time, but with the credit crunch affecting driving instructors, and many learner drivers putting off tuition, it is another dent to the profit margins of a already low paying job. The petrol increases are due to the new government duty taxes that were increased in april this year now filtering unto the consumer pumps.

I guess the ones to benefit from this are the provisional licence holders who might be able to get lower driving lesson prices.

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Driving Test Tip use of Horn

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:42:06 PDT

One of the show me tell me questions the DSA examiner might ask you before the start of the practical car driving test is to demonstrate how you would check that the car horn is working.

Tip: Did you know that your driving test will be cancelled if the vehicle's horn was not working, and you will lose your very costly test fee!

So when on the test would it be appropriate to use the car horn? The attached video clip taken from an actual driving lesson shows an example of such a situation.

It is more appropriate to have used the horn to stop the car from entering the main road, than to stop on a major highway un-necessarily and affecting other road users or try to get past the vehicle by driving on the wrong side of the road.

Other situations where you migh want to use the horn during the dsa practical car test include if you are behind a car at traffic lights and the lights change to green but the car driver is not paying attention, then a short beep is acceptable to alert them.
You could also use the horn to stop a pedestrian from walking into the road if they are not paying attention (on a mobile phone or listening to ipod/mp3 player).

More Reading
Driving test age is still 17.

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Driving Age Rumors

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:41:46 PST

For some reason, it seems that in the UK rumors have started circulating again that the driving test age is being raised to 18.

Some say that while you will still be able to apply for a provisional licence at 17, you will not be allowed to take the UK driving test until you reach the age of 18. Others say that you will no longer be able to obtain a licence and learn to drive until you reach the age of 18.

The other version of the rumor circulating suggests that if you are under the age of 18, that a new law is being passed that will require you to have taken a certain number of driving lessons with a DSA approved instructor before you will be allowed to book a driving test!

Let me put your mind to rest by saying that none of these stories are true, and that the driving age is currently 17 and is not changing in the next year or two to 18. There is no act of parliament currently in motion to effect a change in the license or driving age law and if there were, it will still take time for it to be passed into effect, and the DVLA and DSA will give enough media publicity to inform the general public, so stop worrying or spreading false information around, and if you were born after 1 Jan 1993, you don't need to worry either, as you can take the driving test once you are 17 years old.

If you are thinking of obtaining a driving licence and learning to drive, that doesn't mean that you should put it off, as there are a few things that will always change, driving test fees and the cost of driving lessons, so the earlier you get it out of the way, the easier it will be on your wallet, and the current credit crunch might be a good way of getting quality instruction at a slightly lower price, as a BSM driving instructor told me of a learner driver who was able to haggle the price he paid for tuition with the organisation.

More Reading
Looking for cheap driving lessons?

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Intensive Driving Course is Exhausting

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:19:31 PDT

I have just finished running a week long intensive driving course in NW3 for a learner driver who had some time off work and wanted to making some progress as the weekly driving lessons had not been bearing any good results and it has been exhausting both for me as a driving instructor and the pupil.

Having to do a 3hr intensive session in the morning, take a short break, do some normal driving lessons for my regular learner drivers and then go back for another 2 or 3 hours of tuition is really hard work especially when you are introducing new topics, have to give full talk through after lesson briefings is really hard, and with the warm weather, one has to make sure that the body does not get dehydrated, so a lot of water drinking also. A driving instructor's life is not always easy money!

Not everyone will use a crash driving course to prepare for a test, as was the case of this learner driver, but they can now resume their weekly lesson schedule building up the necessary experience and practice required to pass the driving test.

If you are considering taking a 5 day, 1 week intensive driving course residential or otherwise, be prepared for some hard work, and do set your expectations right, as not everyone will be able to cope with the large amount of information being thrown at them in such a short period and don't be fooled by those guaranteed driving test pass promises made by some organisations, as you do pay a lot of money for lessons you may or may not need.

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More Reading
Affordable driving lessons

When I pass my driving test

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:26:19 PDT

As a learner driver you would have had to deal with many aggressive and impatient drivers who can't stand the sight of an 'L' plate being displayed on the car in front of them irrespective of how good or bad it is being driven, and you would be saying when I pass my driving test I won't be like them!

While not all full British licence holders are inconsiderate of learner drivers, there are far too many of them out there making their life on the road very difficult, and the thing is every single one of these aggressive drivers were once learners themselves and they all had to endure the same abuse while preparing for their driving test.

So the question is when you get that coveted pass certificate, and your full pink license has arrived in the post from the DVLA 3 weeks after the DSA examiner posted your provisional and you are riding along in your lovely automobile, are you within a few months going to join the ranks of the many drivers out there who can't bear to see a driving school car or a private vehicle displaying 'L' plates and treat them like second citizens just because you are in a hurry to get to somewhere that might not be that important, and start to intimidate them by tailgating, overtaking dangerously, beeping your horn, etc.

What type of driver are you going to be when you pass your driving test?

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Credit Crunch & Driving Instructors

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:05:10 PDT

With the credit crunch hitting the economy hard only someone living in a dream land would believe that driving instructors are not affected as the red driving school instructor training programme sales people seems to be telling potential ADIs.

So how does one cope as a driving instructor during times of economic downturns?
Well you've got to put your business cap on, because being an ADI is not a job, but a business venture.
Personally for me, it has been a two fold effect, I've been getting a lot of calls from people looking for £15 driving lessons, which has meant fewer conversions from initial learner driver enquiries, while on the other hand I've had more people coming to me for tuition after deciding that it was too expensive learning to drive with national organisations like AA driving school, BSM, RED, etc and look for cheaper lessons from local independent instructors.

Keeping driving school afloat

Just like any other business, the first thing you do as an owner is see if you can reduce any costs, which with a driving school is not easy since most costs are either essential, or contracted, so immediate action is not possible.
You could however think about downsizing your driving school car, a little inconvinience from driving a less powerful car would see a smaller leasing fee, as well as less money being spent on petrol, especialy with the cost of fuel rising.

Other costs that could be reduced are mobile phone bills. Do you really need a contract phone with a monthly fixed cost, would a pay as you go option work, especially if you use alternative means to make calls and text messaging in the evening (landline calls could be free from home, and you could send text messages from the computer). These are business decisions that need to be made when you are suffering an economic downturn such as the current credit crunch.

Driving School Marketing

Every driving instructor must have a way of marketing their services to potential clients, and now more than ever, you need to work even harder to make sure that as many potential learner drivers as possible are aware of your driving school, the prices you charge, and why they should come to you as opposed to the instructor down the road!
Advertising is something that you should consider doing, Coca Cola the most successful drinks manufacturer continues to advertise despite it's huge success and established brand name, so you need to use this means of marketing.
You should however closely monitor all your advertising efforts and find out which one works for you. I always make sure I ask each enquirer where they got my number from. Don't just continue to advertise in the local paper, Yellow pages unless they are bearing dividends and a return on your investments.
You should also get a driving school website, and include well written marketing pages that will persuade potential clients to use your services.

Driving lesson prices

I don't think it is a good idea to offer cheap driving lessons just to get more clients. You are running a business and trying to make a living, and you need to make a profit, so your prices must be set with that in mind.

As a business owner/driving instructor there are a few things you can do to survive the credit crunch, so don't just only hope that things will change soon, be a part, by making changes.

More Reading
Red Driving School debate.

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Driving Test Other Road users

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:08:09 PST

One of the most important things you need to remember while on the UK driving test, is that your driving must not affect other road users in a negative way (causing them to slow down, change direction or put them at the risk of danger). Road users range from people (pedestrians), bicycles, motor cyclists and other motor vehices, and of these, the most vulnerable are pedestrians so you will fail the driving test it at any time your endanger them during your practical car road test (splashing them by driving through a puddle is something I continue to warn learner drivers against whenever it rains).

Maneuvers are particularly important times where you need to be very observant when it comes to other road users, and you need to have enough driving experience to have dealt with the various scenarios that you might encounter on the test. knowing when to stop or continue while on the left reverse round the corner for example is something you won't know if you've only done it 5 times before on a particular corner someone has told you is on your local driving test centres route. How many times have you had people walk behind your car while you are reversing? Would you be able to have seen them while trying not to touch the kerb, look out for other cars, keep the car slow, deal with test nerves all at the same time? You can't blame someone else (the pedestrian in this case for not waiting for you to complete the maneuver) if that action caused you to fail the driving test.

Aggressive drivers

It is a shame that there are so many inconsiderate road users out there that would show aggresive behaviour to learner drivers who are trying to gain experience and pass their driving test, however it is part of the learning process knowing how to deal with these type of people. Anyone putting in for a practical car assessment would have passed their driving theory test and should know the appropriate action to take when being followed closely by another vehicle, which is what you should be making an effort to practice during your lessons with your instructor or supervising driver.
No matter what the car behind you is doing, you should not emerge into a junction to turn right if it is not safe (even if you missed one safe gap which you might have been given a hesitation driving error for) on both sides. Don't bow to the pressure of the fact that you have been waiting for a minute, if it is not safe, it is not safe, and the examiner will not expect you to do something dangerous to please the car behind you.

If you are not sure of what to do, ask your driving instructor, if you don't have one, you could even have a quick word with a DSA examiner after a test at your centre (they wouldn't be able to teach you what to do, but can answer what they would do on a test if a candidate was waiting at a busy junction for over a minute).

Get enough driving experience under your belt with driving instructors, and don't allow not knowing how to deal with other road users fail you on the test and deny you your pass certificate and full British licence.

More reading
Driving Test Nerves
Bad lessons before practical test.

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New Driving Test fees 2009

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:17:10 PDT

I didn't post this information yesterday, just incase people thought it was an April Fool's day joke, but DSA driving test fees have gone up again.

It now costs £31.00 to take the driving theory test for cars and motorcycles and the practical car driving assessment is now £62 weekdays and £75 for weekday evenings and weekend tests.

If you are fortunate enough to have been a disqualified driver, then it will cost you £124.00 weekday or £150.00 for the priviledge of an extended saturday driving test.

Potential/Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) theory test fees will increase to £90 from 24 April 2009, while part 2 and part 3 fees will be £111.

More DSA News
New driving Test oct 2010

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The New Hendon Test Centre

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:15:57 PDT

The Hendon Test Centre has now moved to its new offices in Beaufort Park, NW9.

While the new test centre has parking bays, space is limited so it can get crowded around the beginning and end of driving tests, so the DSA examiners would really appreciate if instructors did not practise there.

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Driving Licence Ban

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:45:16 PDT

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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Driving Lessons - Extra work in between

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:33:32 PDT

No matter how many driving lessons you take a week in your preparation towards passing the UK driving test, there is always something extra that you can do between your appointments with your driving instructor or supervising driver that could give you that extra edge that could mean the difference between you passing and failing the DSA practical car assessment. One thing that I keep telling my learner driver pupils is that you can never over prepare for the driving test, but you can always be underprepared, and a lot of people who present themselves to a DSA Examiner are! They attend their appointment hoping that they don't get taken on a difficult test route, are not asked to do the parallel parking or left reverse round the corner, the end result being failure and they add to the statistics of the low 40% pass rate!

So what is the extra work that a test candidate can do in between driving lessons that will better prepare them and increase their chances of them pass the driving test and earn them that highly coveted full british licence? You will find out that some of the following advice and tips that I'm about to give will not cost you a lot in terms of money, can easily be done on a daily basis as long as your are disciplined and willing to dedicate some time to the tasks and could actually end up saving you money, be it from passing the driving test, making better progress during your lessons and thus needing fewer.

Learner Driver Journal or Diary: Not everyone will remember every single thing that they learnt during their driving lesson, and keeping a driving journal which you can fill out after your 1hr or 2hrs tuition with your ADI will give you a record of things that you learnt, tips you were given, and skills you need to work. I remember when I was in college not taking notes in class during particular subject lectures because these were hobbies of mine which I had magazines or practical experience of, some other students copied me, but where surprised when I always did better than them during tests, what they failed to realise was that I had an unfair advantage over them, because I wasn't learning the subject in class, but was just getting a reminder of the knowledge I already possessed from the magazines which I probably had read cover to cover 2 or 3 times and the practical experience I had gained from the club workshops I attended. By revising your journal notes, you will be using your driving lessons for practice, and will be more relaxed and this will produce a smooth drive which can only improve or boost your confidence.

Know your road traffic signs: As part of the driving test preparation for my learner driver pupils I take them on some country roads or dual carriageways where the National Speed Limit applies, and I'm always amazed at the number of people who either fail to recognise the NSL sign or don't know what the speed limit translates to on the specific road they are driving on! You should continue to read your highway code book in between driving lessons even if you have passed the theory test, as any of the knowledge could be tested by the test route chosen by the DSA examiner. Simple things like who to give way to at a roundabout (many test candidates under pressure give ways to vehicles on the left!), who has the right of way when turning right at traffic lights with oncoming cars, the purpose of hatched areas marked on the road! Yes you can ask your driving instructor or supervising driver, but suppose you encounter something on the test which you can't remember how to deal with because it was long ago that it happened? Reading the Highway Code on the bus or train while going to work in the morning, or returning home in the evening is much more productive than newpapers or gossip magazines and while people might know you are learning to drive, surely your pride can take a backstage if you are really serious about passing the UK driving test.

Use the internet to your advantage: If you are reading this article, then you are already doing this, but make sure you have everything covered. My driving test tips blog has a lot advise, videos and tips to help with the DSA test, but there are many other resources you there that can cover any gaps in your knowledge. The DL25 report form is a good document that you should familiarise yourself with, it explains the skills you will be tested on, and the standard expected of you by the DSA.

Learn from Driving Standards Agency resources. As the government agency that is responsible for conducting the UK driving test, they have a few books that you could also read when not taking driving lessons, and you could get tips on things that you could practise with your instructor or supervising driver during your next lesson. As has been said before the more you know about what the DSA requires of you during the practical car assessment, the better placed you are to satisfy that requirement and the little work you put into reading a £5.99 could be key to your success at the next driving test attempt.

Finally for those of you who prefer to use computer based games to prepare for the test, you might want to try the driving test simulator which is a very popular educational software for the PC that simulates the DSA test and contains additional videos to further suppliment your knowledge gained during your driving lessons. By trying one or two of these tips, I'm sure you will have the extra confidence, knowledge and skills required to get that pass certificate required to apply to the DVLA for your full UK driving licence.

For quality manual driving lessons in NW London call me on 07956233032. Please note that while I'm fully knowledgable of the Hendon and Mill Hill test routes, I don't confine learner drivers who are taking a 2hr assessment to use my car on a practical to these areas only.

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Hendon Test Centre is Moving

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:23:15 PDT

From Tuesday 24th March 2009 Hendon Driving Test centre will be moving.

The new address will be

3 Aviation Square
Beaufort Park
Hendon, London
NW9 5TZ

The new place which promises to offer improved services to both DSA staff and its clients is located just 25 yards from the old premises on Aerodrome Road

The last test at the old address will be Thursday 19th March 2009.

The test routes will remain the same, and as usual, the telephone number to use for contacting the office with be on your test appointment letter.

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Female Driving Instructor

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:28:49 PST

I got an enquiry to my Driving School mobile phone recently, and the conversation goes something like this:

Me: Hello, how can I help you?
Caller: Do you have a Female Driving Instructor working for you?

The person making the enquiries was a lady.

Me: No, I'm an independent school, and currently work alone, are the lessons for you, and do you live around Mill Hill, NW7?
Caller: Yes, and I want to take driving lessons with a female Instructor.
Me: Sorry, but you can still have tuition with me....
Caller: Click, the phone was dead.

I know there are some women who for religious reasons have to take lessons with a female driving instructor, but apart from that, personally I don't think that a lady taking tuition with an ADI of the same sex guarantees a better service or learning experience.
If you as a woman just prefers to deal with a same sex ADI as a personal option, that is fine, but as I said in my AA Driving Lessons post, the quality of service you get depends totally on the individual teaching you to drive, and you can have a bad experience with a female driving instructor just as you could with a male counterpart no matter what organisation there are with!

DSA code of conduct

All instructors must abide by a code of conduct that has been agreed between the Driving Standards Agency and ADI representative bodies and part of it states:

"Personal Conduct.
The instructor will at all times behave in a professional manner towards clients. Clients will be treated with respect and consideration. The instructor will try to avoid physical contact with the client except in an emergency or in the normal course of greeting. Whilst reserving the right to decide against giving tuition, the instructor will not act in any way which contravenes legislation on discrimination."

As a learner driver you must be treated professional by your ADI, and note the bit about physical contact, your driving instructor should not be touching you unnecessarily, whether they are male or female, so don't tolerate this, tuition can be given with demonstrations or detailed explanations/talk through to enable you to learn any difficult skills.

You don't need to go with a female driving instructor to avoid sexual harassment (which could be a crimminal offence anyway), change to someone else, this also applies if you are not getting value for money tuition or a good service. You shouldn't be afraid to change instructors if you are not happy with you present one, loyality should be not come into it, because it is your money, neither should the fear of change, you might find it actually does wonders to your learning experience.

If you are looking for Driving Lessons in London around Mill Hill, Hendon, Kingsbury, Colindale and Burnt Oak and looking for quality, honest and reliable service conducted in a professional manner, then I would like to welcome you onboard as a pupil, but I'm not a female driving instructor despite my name, but I can give you the advice and help you need to pass the driving test, and get a full UK licence whatever gender you are.

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Test Tip Bay Parking

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:33:29 PDT

If you are asked to do a bay parking exercise either to the left or right during the DSA practical car assessment, this driving test tip might save you failing.

If possible always choose a bay where you don't have cars parked next to the space that you will be reversing into.

I've seen people failing their driving test while doing the bay park maneuver either for hitting the stationary car (yes it does happen) or getting too close to the other vehicle.

There is nothing wrong with doing the exercise between 2 cars (and some might prefer this), but you must be confident that you can control the car and not end up too close to the parked cars, also you will need to be very observant because the occupants of the car could open the doors at anytime (an example would be if you are doing the bay park as the last part of your test, and someone has just failed, they might be too upset to think safety and might open the door without looking!).

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Driving Test Habits pass or fail you

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:09:54 PST

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.
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Bad lesson day before driving test.

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Who is teaching you to drive a car?

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:10:55 PDT

If you are currently learning to drive a car with a family member or friend, have you ever thought of asking yourself the question: Will my current teacher pass the driving test if they took it today?

I remember watching a programme on television sometime ago where I think 6 people who had full UK driving licences where asked to re-take the DSA test again as part of an experiement, the ages of the people varied, so did their sex and how long they had been driving for. One thing was common with all of them, they thought they were safe drivers because they had not been involved in an accident, and had full no claims bonus on their insurance. Only 2 out of the 6 passed the DSA test!

How are you sure that your Dad, Friend or Spouse is giving you the right tuition while you are learning to drive with them? The fact that they've never been involved in an accident doesn't mean they are very safe, more importantly it has no bearing on whether they can drive at the current DSA driving test standard, which is why I would recommend that they get a copy of the AA book supervising a learner as it lets them know how to prepare a provisional licence holder for the driving test.

Now if the person who is teaching you to drive can not pass the test, how are you the learner driver going to do the same? Obviously you will learn how to move a car from A to B, have an idea what the manuovers are, and how to carry them out to an extent, but how you can think of booking a driving test without learning to drive properly with a driving instructor beats me! Yet everyday many test candidates go to a driving test centre having only been taught to drive by a friend or family member, no wonder the current pass rate is only 40%.

Now don't get me wrong, learning to drive with a DSA approved driving instuctor is no gurantee that you will pass the driving test, but at least the ADI can pass the current test because they are aware of what the DSA requires, drive at that standard everyday (well they should be), and will not get you into unsafe driving habits.

If you are learning to drive, you should think about your teacher, whether an instructor or not, are you confident that they are giving you the right tuition and developing the right driving habits, if not, then it is time for change! Even the driving standards agency that conducts the test in the UK, recognise that many people will prepare for the pratctical with friends and family, and have written a book to help with this process.

It is designed to give the much needed guidance to the specifuc standards that the examiner is looking for on the test, something which your dad, mum or friend can easily teach you even if they don't currently drive that way. So don't waste that expensive driving test fee and all that practising time, get the full facts before going to the test centre!

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Driving Test Dont follow he leader!

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:10:57 PST

While you are on the UK driving test, it is important that what ever you do, first of all you make sure that it is safe. You must not proceed just because the car in front of you does so, don't play driving test games of follow the leader.

I've been on driving tests where candidates have used Bus Lanes just because the car in front went into it, others have gone into roadabouts because the car besides them entered even though it was not safe, turned right at a traffic light with oncoming vehicles following the car in front.

As a potential full UK licence owner, you must convince the DSA examiner that you are a safe driver according to their standards. It doesn't matter what motorists generally do, you must abide by the road traffic act and the highway code if you want to pass the driving test.

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Guaranteed Driving Test Pass

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:09:02 PST

If you are learning to drive a car, then you ultimately want to book a driving test, pass and get your full UK driving licence.

With the current credit crunch biting hard, I'm not surprised that many learner drivers are looking for ways of getting a guaranteed driving test pass.

The only place you will be offered a guaranteed driving test pass is on some intensive driving courses, and usually what you do get offered is a free re-test and not your money back if you don't pass your DSA driving assessment.

The reason some of these crash driving courses offer these driving test guarantees is not because they are very good schools, but that the very nature of a 5 day or 1 week residential intensive driving course you will cover a lot of material in a very short period, and most people will be able to get to test standard given the number of driving lessons you will have over the days you will be there. These cram driving sessions will be exhausting, repetitive (which is good in the short term for the driving test) and have been designed for one purpose only, getting a pass and not necessarilly being a good driver! In fact if you don't drive for a long time after getting a driving licence through this means, it is possible for you to totally forget what you learnt during the week.

Don't expect to be offered a driving test guarantee by a normal local ADI for the usual weekly lessons as passing the test is up to the individual on the day, and no matter how well your instructor has prepared you, at the end of the day it is what you do during those 40 minutes while the DSA examiner is in the car that counts, and from experience there can be some very strange behaviours exibited, with some learner drivers acting totally out of character either due to driving test nerves, some wrong advice by friends or family or even a decision by the candidate themselves to do something they haven't be taught!

You as a learner driver can offer yourself a driving test pass guarantee by doing a few things:

1. Dont book a driving test until your instructor says so and you have covered the DSA syllabus and you know that you are truely independent at performing all tasks that will be required of you by the DSA examiner.

2. Get enough driving practise before presenting yourself at the DSA test centre.

3. Familiarise yourself with the requirements of the Driving Standards Agency. The DSA Website has all the information you need to know about the driving test to guarantee a pass. The DL 25 report form for example tells you how the DSA examiner assesses your driving. The DSA Book Driving - the Essential Skills: Safe Driving for Life is another valuabe resource that will make you a safe driver (un-safe driving is always a serious error) and thus give you a better chance of passing, and the book will clear up any grey areas you might have on what is safe or not safe to do on the test.

4. Build good driving habits. 40 minutes is a long time for a learner driver test candidate, and sooner than later all those bad habits will exhibit themselves, mirror checks, using the handbrake when necessary, moving off in the wrong gear, approaching junctions to fast, going over the speed limit! Don't do anything that will fail you on the test during a driving lesson, your excuse that 'I won't do it on the test' is you being a lazy learner driver!

Your Driving test pass guarantee is yourself, and the sooner you start putting in the necessary work, the more nearer you are to your goal of getting that coveted full UK license.

Dont forget you can't book another driving test with the DSA after failing for another 10 days, so no matter the course you are on, you might have to take another trip down for the second or third attempt. Tuition and test fees might be included in the guarantee, but lodging, travel, meals and time off work are certainly not. Read the small print and don't be sucked in by the sales pitch. These courses are not cheap after all.

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AA Driving Lessons

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:32:46 PST

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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Overtaking on Driving test

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:50:35 PDT

Here is an important tip about overtaking during the driving test. If the opportunity arises, and it is safe to do so, you will be expectd to overtake stationary or parked vehicles, so while on your driving lessons, you need to start practising this important skill that might be called upon and needs to be demonstrated to the DSA driving examiner.

The reason many learner drivers get stuck behind buses or vehicles that stop regularly is that they fail to plan and anticipate the action of the traffic ahead of them, and therefore at the last momement are flicking on their indicators to overtake or just wait behind the obstacle while other vehciles are going by.

The Overtaking Manoeuvre

The key to mastering any driving skill is understanding the basics, and then practising the skill until you are confident in doing it by yourself (the independent stage of the driver's record), and overtaking is no different.
First you need to identify a potential overtaking situation (am I following a public transport bus, a coucil dustbin cart, approaching a narrow portion of the road with cars parked on the left?), check your interior and right hand mirror, look down the road you are driving on, and if it is safe move your car position to the right a little to give you a clearer view of the road ahead (note that a signal is not required, your car position immediately informs those behind you that there is an obstacle that you are about to overtake it), and if safe you can continue with the manoeuvre passing the obstacle while keeping a lookout especially for junctions or any other road users that might not see you coming.

Things you shouldn't do when overtaking

Don't break the speed limit.
Don't overtake on the approach to pedestrian crossings.
Don't follow the leader! You must make sure that it is safe for you to carry out the manoeuvre, causing oncoming cars to slow down for you is a big NO NO.
Don't overtake when the road markings indicate it is not safe, or you can't see clearly ahead (there is a bend in the road for example).

Overtaking on a Dual Carriageway

You must indicate everytime you change lanes to overtake a vehilcle while driving on a dual carriageway, even if you only cross the lane lines for a small distance.
You still need to obey speed limits on dual carriageways.
Take extra care when moving into the middle lane of a 3 lane dual carriageway.

I have only mentioned the basics of overtaking, you need to make sure that you practise and practice with your driving instructor until you are totally confident with the various scenarios that could occur during the driving test. Don't get into the habit of always using your indicators when overtaking, yesterday I had a new learner driver (previous test experience, but hadn't driven for a year) who indicated to overtake a vehicle close to a junction, and the car following us was confused by the signal and wasn't sure if we were turning right or following the road ahead. This confusion could have been easily avoided if my learner had positioned the car early to overtake and not use the indicators. You don't want that happening on the practical driving test with a DSA examiner in the car.

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More Tips
Overcoming driving test nerves.
My article about cheap driving lessons.

Driving Examiners are out to trick you!

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:24:44 PDT

As a learner driver preparing for the the UK driving test, you've probably heard somewhere that the DSA driving examiners are not interested in passing you, that instead they would even go as far a tricking you into failing by getting you into various situations that would cause you to make a serious driving error.
First of all, let me say that as a driving instructor, most test candidates do not give the practical car assessment the due credit it deserves. The DSA test is a very high quality and demanding examination, and you should expect the examiners to follow the rules to the letter (while we know that the driving test is never 100% consistent), and the only way of having a guarantee of passing the driving test is if you aim to be an A plus student.

So do DSA driving examiners cause you to fail practical car test delibrately? The answer is no, and contrary to common belief, they do actually want you to pass, and will do their best to get you relaxed during the 40 minutes you are in the car with them. The problem is sometime the test candidates either don't know fully how the test works, or are too nervous to have noticed an instruction, or the lack of one.
Before you drive out of the test centre, the DSA driving examiner will give you a lot of information about the test, what is going to be covered in the assessment, and finally those famous words "I'd like you to follow the road ahead unless road signs indicate otherwise, if I want to turn, I'd let you know in goodtime". Those words are important, because they have just laid down a rule for you while driving, basically continue to follow the road ahead, but you must pay attention to road markings or signs, because there could be times when the examiner will not give you instructions (at a complusary right turn for example), yet you will still be expected to use MSM, with the signals being timed properly and the approach handled at the right speed! You can't complain that you didn't know which way to, and therefore didn't signal or had little time to slow the car down enough to deal with the junction safely.
Another example could be at a multi-lane roundabout which has 4 lanes on approach, you are told turn right it is the 3rd exit, if there are signs which tell you which lane to use, then the examiner is not going to advice you that both the 3rd and 4th lanes are for turning right, and that you need o be in the 3rd lane, they would expect you to follow the signs! On the other hand if there was traffic on approach to the roundabout, and all road markings where covered by cars, then the examiners will prompt you with some advice, as they don't expect you to be familiar with the area. Some large roundabouts especially on dual carriageways have traffic lights, and while the examiner will give normal instructions at the roundabout turn right 3rd exit, you need to notice the red light and not try to go because nothing is approaching from the right. If the lights are not working then you need to know that normal roundabout rules apply.

You are not a learner driver

Anyone presenting themselves to a practical car driving test at a DSA centre is not expected to be a learner driver! You might not be very experienced, but you are expected to be trained to the test standard, have had enough practical driving experience (private practice or with your driving instructor) to be able to independently deal with any situation that would arise during the test, and this is what the DSA examiner is looking for. They expect you to be able to plan your driving to deal with what is happening on the road ahead, be able to perform any of the set exercises competently and safely, and most importantly want you to have the right attitude towards driving and other road users. 40 minutes is a long enough time for you to show what your normal driving habits are, and those that have been relying on the little prompts from Instructors or supervising drivers, will now be struggling to be at ease and drive safely, and the DSA examiners are trained and experienced enough to know and pick up on this.

It is the job of the DSA examiner to make sure that the driving test is valid by covering a variety of road conditons, traffic and they are not supervising you during the 40 minutes of the assessment, and while they might throw you a life line by repeating an instruction, or advising that the current road is a National Speed Limit restriction, you should not be relying on that or indeed expect them to be linient towards you.
You don't have to make small talk with the driving examiner, if that puts you off your ability to concentrate, just let them know you prefer not to talk, and they will allow you to focus on the driving test.
Finally remember you are in charge and control of the car, if something starts to go wrong, immediately correct it, remember the faster the car approaches a junction, the faster you have to think, and the less likely you are to make a safe decision.
The driving test is your opportunity to prove to the DSA examiner that you can be trusted to be incharge of a vehicle unspervised, if you are totally prepared for it, and you go into the examination with the aim of making no mistakes because you haven't cut any corners and are dreading any situation, then you are move than likely to comeout as one of the 40% who pass!

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Driving Test - Your instructor can not make you pass!

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:14:08 PST

No matter how good or experienced your approved driving instructor is, he or she cannot make you pass the DSA pratical car driving test, that job falls squarely on your shoulders as the test candidate.

Your ADI will train you up to the standard required for the test (if you allow them to do their job, and they are not one of the few bad apples in the industry), will give you advice on what you need to work on, if you should change your test date or not, motivate and make sure you progress towards your goal of getting a full UK driving licence.

On the day of your driving test, all that training, advice, practice and motivation will be called to bear as you use the next 40 minutes or so during the assessment to convince the DSA examiner that you possess the required skills to safely be incharge of vehicle unsupervised. No matter what has happened in your driving lessons, the mistakes you might have made the previous day, or prior to arriving at the test centre, the examiner can only judge you on what you do during your time with him or her in the car. Even if you've taken a driving test with this examiner previously, they might not necessarilly remember you, and even if they have, they can't use that previous test result to judge you!

Your passing the test depends on you!

There is only one thing you need to do on the day to get that coveted test pass certificate, drive according to the required DSA standard, leaving the examiner no room to critise anything you do! Every single day roughly 40% of the candidates do that, so there is no reason why you can't do that as well, but you won't be one of them if you are relying on luck, or decide to ignore your instructor's advice, and do your own thing.
I've had many people go on the test, and for what ever reason have decided to take matters into their own hands ignoring what they've been taught, drive slowly thinking they are being safe and are surprised that they did not pass? If you are not sure why you need to drive a particular way, then why not ask you driving instructor. There is always a reason why the DSA requires things do in a certain way (pull push steering, using POM, using the handbrake at a pedestrian crossing, keeping both hands on the steering wheel), just because you don't think it is right or convinient, or because you don't do it in the country you got a foreign licence is irrelevant. If you want to pass the UK driving test and get a full British licence you have to do things the way the DSA wants them to do.

Don't be a border line driver!

For the best chance of passing the tough driving test that the DSA conducts, you need to be fully prepared, confident, and have enough experience to deal with anything you might come across while out on the test route. You need to be able to do all the maneuvers at the drop of a hat, remembering you need control of the car, while being safe and not a danger to other road users.
You need to be able to drive safely in various traffic and on different road conditions, including upto the National Speed limit of 70mph (even if you know that there are no roads that go that fast on the test route, diversions could occur due to an accident during your driving test).
Only the best preparation will do, if you know someone who touched the kerb while doing a turn in the road during their test and still passed, don't go for your test if you are still having the same problem, while driving tests should be consistent, don't expect to pass if you touch the kerb during a maneuver.

So just to summarise, listen to your driving instructors advice regarding the skills you need to pass the practical car test, and make sure you are totally prepared before expecting the DSA examiner to pass you. If you want to be among the 40% that pass, then be the best, you are no longer a learner driver, and the test is just the chance you need to ditch those 'L' plates.

Thought: Why are you still using an instructor if you don't trust their advice?

Recommended Driving test product

Focus Media's Driving Test simulator for the PC, which is a virtual test simulator based on the DSA driving test, with many videos and senarios to help build your experience required to pass.

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Learning to Drive a Car

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:29:24 PDT

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?

Driving School Christmas Festive Greetings

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:44:05 PDT

Seasons greetings from the driving instructor in London, UK.

For those of you who will continue learning to drive over this holiday period, take care during your driving lessons, because the roads might not be busy with a lot of traffic but there could be other dangers that you should be aware of, in particular make sure you look out for black ice.

If you are an ADI taking a break during this not so busy time of the year for driving schools, I wish you all the best, continue to work on your driving instructor marketing efforts, so you can pick up on all those New Year resolutions from learner pupils who will be looking to pass thier test and get a full UK licence.

Download this podcast to your portable device.

Christmas and New Year Driving Advice

Artic weather driving tips

Learner Drivers are Lazy!

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:29:11 PDT

Over the few years that I have been a driving instructor, I've taught a lot of learner drivers how to drive a car safely, who have then gone on to pass the UK driving test, and my experience has led me to one conclusion, learner drivers are lazy!

If you are currently learning to drive, don't take this as a personal insult on all the effort and money you've put into your driving lessons so far, allow me to explain myself.

Many learner drivers taking lessons with an Approved Driving Instructor think that all the work to gain the required skills to safely control a car and be totally prepared for the DSA driving test has to be done in the car with the ADI, and once the hour or so of tuition is over they don't have to think about anything driving related until the next lesson (especially if they have passed the theory test). These same learners want to pass their driving test in the shortest amount of time, spend the least amount of money on driving lessons, yet won't go the extra mile to give themselves the best chance of achieving their goal, afterall they are paying a professional driving instructor to do the work for them!

Your ADI must earn his keep by providing you with a quality tuition service while in the car, but there is more that many instructors can do for their pupils in the way of advice if only the learners were willing to take it on board.
Lets start from the very first lesson a provisional driving licence holder takes with no previous driving experience, the controls lesson. Some people will be able to take on board everything they have learnt, while others might struggle, so I suggest to those who find things difficult to sit in a car (a friend's, family, neighbour), go over what we've covered (including finding the biting point if possible) before the next lesson, and guess what they say at the beginning of the next lesson? 'Sorry I didn't have the time' or 'I didn't remember'.
I'm not having a rant here, I'm actually trying to help you learner drivers to save money, because everytime a pupil doesn't do the extra work that I've suggested them to do, it means more money for me in driving lessons and that's fine with me!

If you are learning to drive a car, preparing for a practical driving test and reading this post, can I give you some advice:

1. Don't stop reading the highway code just because you have passed the DSA theory test, you can never have too much knowledge when preparing for an examination, and the DSA practical driving test is an exam. You can read it on the way or back from work, and a road sign or marking that you covered recently maight come up on the test, and you'll be able to smile because you know the appropriate action to take. I can safely say that the majority of learner drivers toss their theory test preparation materials and the highway code in a corner once they've passed!
2. Have a Driving Journal. Use this to make notes of things that you need to remember for the next lesson, and read it before your next session with your ADI. The best time to update your journal is after you've had your lesson, tips that your instructor might have given you will be fresh in your mind, so you can write them down before you forget.
3. You don't always need to be in a driving school car to be learning or practicing your driving skills. While being a passenger in a car, you can be testing your observation skills such as spoting gaps in traffic when emerging at a 'T' junction or roundabout. In my post about Mini Roundabouts, I suggested that those having problems spoting gaps in the traffic should stand by a roundabout and practice judging when there is a gap, I wonder how many people would be willing to do that, especially now that winter is here and it is cold. Yet many would complain that learning to drive is expensive, when you could dramatically reduce costs by doing a little extra work without your driving instructor.

These are just a few tips that could help you as a learner drive make progess in your goal to achieve a full UK driving licence, your individual instructors might have additional advice which would be suited to your particular circumstance, so ask if there is anything you could do inbetween your driving lessons.

Not all learner drivers are lazy, and if you have read this post upto this point, then you are willing to at least do something to improve your learning process, why not go that extra mile and implement some of the suggessions I've mentioned above, hopefully you will enjoy your instructor driving lessons more and be better prepared for the driving test.

I hope this post has challenged you to do something, and would be interested in hearing your comments.

Driving Tips
Dealing with mini roundabouts.

DSA Test are you and your car ready?

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:02:13 PDT

The DSA driving test is an examination (a practical one, but still an exam), so just like when you are preparing for your GCSEs or University final paper, the key to passing as a learner driver is that you know what is to be covered by the test, and are adequately prepared for it.

The current average national UK pass rate for the driving test is about 40%, and not all the people that fail did not succeed because of their inadequate driving skills, many failed before getting into the car or driving out of the test centre (the failure was not due to the bay parking exercise either).

I've seen people fail their driving test because they couldn't read a car number plate at the required distance, maybe they forgot their reading glasses or contact lenses or just didn't know that the eye test was an integral part of the driving test and where more concerned with their driving skills.

The other day I was at the DSA Hendon driving test centre, and was watching as one of the learner drivers did a bay park before going out on the rest of the practical assessment. I noticed this car that didn't have an 'L' plate displayed at the rear of the car (obviously a private car being used), as the car headed towards the exit, the brake lights when on, and the car stopped. After about 2 minutes of being stationary, the driving examiner called the accompanying driver over to the car, obviously there was a problem. In the end the driving test was terminated with the learner driver not even having done any driving. I'm not sure of the exact reason, as there might have been more than one, but not having the correct "L" plates displayed is one of them, and looking at the state of the car, the tyres might have been another contributing factor.

The same goes for the actual driving part of the test itself, are you sure you've covered the whole syllabus that the DSA examiner will be testing you on? This might seem an obvious question, but the truth is there are a lot of people who present themselves when they know that they are not up to par in one area or the other.

Personally I would advice anyone who is serious about passing the driving test to get their drivng skills assessed by a professional instructor (DSA registered ADI), just to make sure they are aware of the latest requirements that the examiner will be looking for. A family member or friend will not know of any changes that the DSA might have made since thier test especially if they aren't major ones and thus have not been covered by the national press.
Vehice safety recalls happen all the time, and while the driving standards agency will alert all driving instructors that are registered with them, not all members of the public will necesarilly be aware of these, and you don't want to turn up at a test centre to be told your vehicle can not be used because of a saftey defect, you lose your test fee and go home without a pass certificate and your dream of a full UK driving licence has to wait for another couple of weeks. Not all driving instructors are just out to take your money, there are many hard working, honest ADIs who want to pass on their knowledge and help you pass the driving test as well as make you a safe driver for life.

The best way of ensuring that you are one of the 40% that passes the DSA driving test on the next attempt is to make absolutely sure that you and the car you are presenting are full prepared and meet the requirements for the driving test, anything less, and you are playing a game of chance!

More Reading
DSA test changes 2010.

Driving is a life Skill

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:31:08 PDT

Not everyone thinks learning to drive a car is a skill that they need to acquire especially if they live in a city with very good transportation links and can get anywhere they want by public transport or if necessary by taxi.

Being able to drive a car is a life skill that once acquired could very useful in the future if not required now, and because it is easier to learn to drive when you are young, will cost you less, there is no reason why you shouldn't do it now rather than later.

Being a driving instructor, I frequently come across people who have either had a lesson on two when they were 17 yr olds, never took a driving test and much later in life now need to drive and are forced to take lessons due urgent needs to be able to drive a car. Some people even make it till their 40s and then find out that having a full UK driving licence will be paramount to thier moving to that dream house of theirs in the countryside.

The main resaon I'm writing this is that just like many of us never gave any serious thought to learning French or Spanish when we were growing up, you now find out that life would be much easier if we had acquired the skill while young and bright.

Learning to drive becomes much harder the older you get, and if you can get someone to help with the cost of driving lessons while you are bright and young, then why not take advantage of it. Christmas is round the corner, so why not ask for a gift of a couple of driving lessons instead of a game console, new mobile phone or those designer clothes you really have been hoping for. Knowing how to drive a car will last you a life time, an XBox 360 console with the latest driving game will not!

More Reading
Age for driving is not changing.

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Driving test is not over till

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:46:48 PDT

Your driving test is not over till the DSA driving examiner says so!

If you are on test, you should remember that it is not over until you have driven back to the test centre, stopped the car, and the examiner says the words 'that's the end of the test'.

You should therefore keep at your best driving skills at all times till then, I've heard of so many people who have failed their tests either within sight of the driving test centre or in the actual car park.

While you might think that it is unfair to have driven well for 35 minutes and then be failed by the DSA examiner for a serious driving error committed in the last minute of the test, they have to abide by the rules and assess every aspect of the drive up until the very end.

So if you are on a driving test, you need to stay on your best behaviour till the examiner tells you the test is over.

Mistakes on the driving test

If you commit a driving test mistake while out on your assessment to get a full UK licence, not matter how serious you might think it was (hitting the kerb, not checking a mirror or forgetting to signal), you should not give up hope and therefore driving anyhow. The examiner might not have seen it as a serious error, so don't take your driving test cap off and resign to the fact that you have failed. I've had many learner drivers who said they thought they had failed their driving test because of an error only to be told they had passed, and that the mistake was just a minor!

So whatever the case maybe, the result of your driving test will be determined by everything you do up till the point in the test centre car park and the examiner tells you the assessment is over. Untill then you have every chance of passing the driving test if you give it your best shot!

Driving Mock Theory Tests

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:56:32 PDT

If you are preparing for the DSA theory test, then you are probably looking for mock test questions to help you practice so you can pass the theory examination.

Before you start looking for mock theory test questions, it is important that you have actually studied all of the highway code and the relevant books to acquire the knowledge that will not only help you with the mock theory test, but also this information is what you will need for the practical driving test.

Many people use mock theory test question banks to prepare for the real theory test by trial and error, and memorising the answers as they go through the questions over and over again. While you will pass the mock theory test, and could even pass the DSA test, this is not a good way of preparing for the practical driving test.

As a driving instructor, I regularly see learner drivers who have passed the theory test including the hazard perception video clips, and yet they fail to recognise simple traffic signs, road markings or approach hazards without due caution.

Passing the driving test and obtaining a full UK licence is not a matter of play games of chance. Getting a licence is just the beginning of developing a life long skill, which is why those mock theory tests are there to test your preparedness and not to be used as a study tool to acquire the initial knowledge.

Mock Driving Theory Test Websites

There are quite a lot of websites out there with various mock theory tests, and a quick google search will reveal most of them. As I've mentioned earlier on, use online mock theory tests to check you've got the knowledge to pass the DSA examination, not to acquire it.

Driving Test Success Hazard Perception Test Software

Many people don't have a problem with the mock theory test questions, but where they really struggle is with the hazard perception video clips and the scoring window in which to click the mouse. I've given some detailed help on this in my hazard perception post, and I would recommend you use Focus Media Driving Test Success CD Rom to study for this portion. The Driving Test Success CD/Roms/DVDs has the highest pass rate for hazard perception candidates on the DSA theory test, and is the most popular product recommended to not only pass the HPT, but the whole theory test.

If you aren't looking for online driving mock theory test websites, then the Focus Media DVD is a good product that will help you pass the theory driving test.

dvla theory test booking

You can not book the theory test through the DVLA, as they don't administer this programme, all test booking is conducted by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) on behalf of the DVLA.
The current cost of the DSA theory test is £30.

Do you just want to pass the UK driving test?

adi@privatehomesales.co.uk (The Driving Instructor - Shola Ogunlokun) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:42:39 PST

Recently someone was stopped from taking the practical UK driving test because the private car presented had faulty tyres, and it made me think if most pupils are merely interested in passing the UK driving test and nothing more!

The person was given about 5 minutes by the driving examiner to change the tyre, but the pupil's mum who took the pupil for the driving test had a bad back and thus was unable to do it, and the pupil did not have a clue, so the driving test was cancelled!

When I took the driving test in 1991, things where very easy, you only had to take a practical driving test, with an oral test at the end to check your knowledge of the highway code, no theory, hazzard perception test or 'show and tell'!

The goverment has obviously found out that a lot of newly qualified drivers in those days did not have enough knowledge to cope in the real world hence these new requirements including 'show and tell'.

The DSA does not require a pupil to know how to change a tyre or fill a tank with petrol, hence a lot of approved driving instructors (me included), do not cover these topics unless a pupil specifically requests to be taught these things.

So here is my question do you think that you as a learner should be taught these things or have you got too much on your plate already? I know that in this country breakdown services are available so once you have passed your driving test, you don't really need the knowledge, as you can call someone to do it for you, but what happens if you are driving on an isolated road, it could take 30 - 60 minutes for help to arrive, and in that time you could be vulnerable. A tyre change would take 10 minutes!

You don't need an instructor to teach you how to change a tyre, or fill a car tank with petrol, a friend or family member could do that!

Some food for thought, and action required! Let me know what you as a learner feel, or even newly qualified drivers having passed the driving test if you feel you are now ready for the real world.