www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk

2010-06-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Do you want to find your local driving test centre? Maybe you would like to know the local pass rate or the driving test routes used? Then why not visit http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/drivingtest.html for all this and help to pass your driving test.

Want to pass your driving test?

2009-12-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

Check out our new downloads to help you pass your driving test, at www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk.

Learning to Drive Books. Do they Help?

2009-05-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Our aim here is to look at whether you should buy (and use) books, e-books, CDs/DVDs and revision cards. Or would you be better to save this money and instead spend it on more driving lessons?
Most people will want to save money where possible. This can lead to learners deciding not to spend money on learning resources, as they seem like an unnecessary expense. However this could prove to be an expensive mistake, costing the learner a lot more money rather than saving any.
Let’s look at another area of learning as an example of the importance of reference books. Imagine you are studying for you’re A levels (possibly you are). You attend the classes and pay attention to the teacher; however between lessons you have no text books available to you. This is going too severely restrict your ability to complete homework or study between lessons. Relying solely on the class lessons is not going to enable you to keep up with the rest of the class if they are working between lessons. The result is likely to be poorer grades, than those who are able to study correctly. You only need to see the amount of books students carry with them when attending schools or colleges to realise the importance placed on reference books by teachers.
So what books etc should you buy and why?
First I would suggest that every driver should have an up to date Highway Code, as this contains important information that the learner should be familiar with, ideally it should be read even before driving lessons are started. This will also be very useful when it comes to studying for the theory and hazard perception tests.
Next would be one of the many Learning to Drive Books or CDs/DVDs. Again I would suggest buying this before starting lessons, as it will enable the learner to study the topic of their next lesson.
This will mean that the learner is more prepared for their lessons, which will enable them to reach their goal of passing the Driving Test quicker and needing fewer lessons.
The result will be a saving on the overall cost of learning to drive and passing the driving test.
Finally I would strongly suggest downloading the specially prepared Driving Test Revision Cards. These will enable the learner to recall key facts they have already learned even under the pressure of the driving test.
So is it worth spending £15-£20 on learning to drive books? This will even cost you less if you use some of the excellent e-books that are now available.
The answer has got to be a resounding yes, as you are likely to save many times this on the cost of extra driving lessons and tests. Preparing well/correctly for driving lessons and the driving test really will be worth it. So don’t delay, buy those books today and start saving money.
If you would like to see my own recommendations, please visit my website and go to recommended books, within my online shop. You will also find our own e-books and Driving Test Revision Cards.

Revising for the Practical Driving Test

2009-04-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Can you revise for the Practical Driving Test?

When learners think about preparing for their practical driving test it is tempting to think that the only preparation is to keep practicing with their instructor or possibly in their own car with parents. There are however a number of other ways that the learner can prepare/practice as well as actually in a vehicle.
We will look at what I consider are the most useful methods that can greatly increase the learner’s confidence and the chances of them passing the driving test first time.
The areas we will look at are:
1. Driving Test Revision Cards.
2. Writing notes and using diagrams.
3. Talking through the drive.
Revision Cards are often used by students to revise for a subject, by using the cards on a regular basis the facts become more fixed into the memory and are able to be recalled more quickly.
As with my own Driving Test Revision Cards these should cover all the key areas of the drive from mirrors to manoeuvres. Each subject will have the key points listed together with advice on what should or should not be done. By reading a card and thinking about their drive the learner can (and through experience does) become more confident in what they will need to do, both when driving and on the driving test.
Regular use is essential to gain the best from this excellent tool. The cards are small enough to be carried by the learner, enabling regular revision, such as when travelling to and from school/work or in free periods during the day. I would strongly suggest professionally prepared Driving Test Revision Cards as the learner can then be sure that important information is not missed out and you will also get important advice from a qualified ADI.
Writing notes and using diagrams is another great way of fixing important information into the learner’s memory. Possibly the best way of describing how to use this method is to look at an example. As an Approved Driving Instructor I regularly see pupils doubting what they should do on a manoeuvre, even though they do know exactly what to do. In this instance I will often (after possibly recovering the manoeuvre) suggest that the learner takes the time after the lesson to write down what they need to do. If practising the turn in the road, the learner should first write that they would prepare the car to move (selecting first gear etc). Then leave a line or two (use lined paper!) and then write the next key stage such as carrying out effective observation prior to moving the vehicle. After finishing writing the complete manoeuvre the learner should read through carefully, and ideally using a different colour pen fill in (on the lines left free) any information missed out. These pieces of information are the areas that the learner is also likely to miss out when actually practicing the manoeuvre.
Writing something down makes the learner think harder about the subject and in doing so enabling them to remember it when actually driving.
Diagrams can also be useful to help the learner to visualise a junction or manoeuvre. For instance with the bay park the learner can draw out the parking spaces and even use a toy car or any suitable size object to act out the manoeuvre helping them to think about when they start steering and what to do if the manoeuvre starts to go wrong.
Talking through the drive is the final method I use with my own pupils. We can use this to help us remember what to do at junctions etc, or just to put any problems in the drive into perspective.
If the learner is worried about, for instance a particular type of junction, then talking through their worries with an experienced driver (possibly parent or friend) can help enormously to reinforce what they should do. I should add at this point that if a learner is worried about a particular junction etc, they really should make sure that their driving instructor knows about their worries, so that they can help them with it.
The other aspect of talking through the drive is when the learner has convinced themselves that they cannot do something. Again another example:
The learner says that they cannot deal with roundabouts. The person they are talking to should try and find out exactly what the problem is. After talking through how they approach the junction, their understanding of how roundabouts work, it appears that they understand these areas but are worried about judging traffic on the roundabout. This is clearly a very important area, but still much better than simply not being able to deal with roundabouts. After further discussion it transpires that the learner does actually know how to judge the other traffic, but occasionally misses small potential gaps to emerge onto the roundabout. On the driving test this is not necessarily a big problem as the examiner only needs to see the learner emerge into reasonable spaces. So discussing this puts the learner’s worries into perspective and hopefully their mind at rest. It also now means that the actual minor problem can be discussed and addressed so that the learner becomes more confident.
Conclusion
By using the methods detailed above the learner will become more confident in their driving and hopefully feel more able to cope with the pressures of the driving test.
So can you revise for the practical driving test? Yes.
Is it worth using methods such revision cards etc? Yes.
Can it make the difference? Yes.
http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/

Driving Test Pass Limits?

2009-04-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Driving Test Pass Limits?

As an Approved Driving Instructor since 1996, I’m very used to being asked certain questions regarding the driving test. One of those regularly asked questions is; can driving examiners only pass a certain number of driving tests a week? This is a question I can remember asking my driving instructor some 26 years ago. I could just answer this with a simple yes or no, however that would lead to a very short article and may not completely convince you. So let’s look at some facts.
The average (overall) pass rate for UK driving test centres is normally around 45-50 %. However if you look around the country you will find widely differing pass rates. These differences may be due to the difficulty of the roads or volume of traffic near to the test centre. Also the affluence of an area can make a difference, as the learners may be able to afford more lessons prior to taking their driving test.
Here are a couple of examples:
1. Birmingham (Kings Heath) as very busy area has a pass rate of 30.13% for the year 2007-2008.
2. Gairloch (Highlands, Scotland) a rural area, which for the same period had a pass rate of 70.59%.
If there were driving test pass limits, then shouldn’t they have the same pass rate?
Now the question has possibly changed to have particular test centres got set driving test pass limits? Let me give you a recent personal experience. At the beginning of the year (2009) I had a run of 10 tests all passing in a row (most 1st time). Then I had a fail and then another couple of passes. If my local test centre had a set pass rate, then wouldn’t I have had some of my first 10 tests fail, as the normal pass rate for this test centre is close to the national average?
However, as is often the case, there may be some, if possibly only small, element of truth about driving test pass limits. First imagine you are a driving examiner. You know that over the course of any given week/month or even year, the test centres pass rate is normally around 45-50%. However you know that you have recently been passing a lot higher % than this. This may lead you, or senior examiners to wonder if you are marking the tests differently to the other examiners at the same test centre. The examiner may, in this instance decide to adjust their marking slightly as they believe they are being too lenient. This does not however mean failing someone who has done nothing wrong. Instead it may be that in a slightly grey area, which could be either a driving fault or possibly a serious/failure mark, the examiner decides to be stricter and puts down as a failure mark!
Please remember that this is only my opinion; however it is one gained from experience, having listened to a great number (hundreds) of debriefs at the end of the driving test, as well as sitting in the back during dozens of tests over the years.
So what do I mean by grey areas and how can you avoid them? Grey areas will be situations where different people could view the learner’s actions differently, such as one person/examiner feeling that a learner is travelling slightly too close to parked cars and another simply too close. It is down to the examiner’s own perception of the situation and, as in most situations this can be slightly different from person to person.
So how can a learner avoid falling the wrong side of this decision? Well the obvious answer is to drive correctly. However one of the key areas to look at is what the examiner believes the learner’s attitude is to their driving and other road users. If the learner appears to be trying to drive well, using good observation, planning well ahead and considering other road users, then the examiner is much more likely to give the learner the benefit of the doubt if there is a decision to make.
In conclusion, if the learner drives correctly then they will pass the driving test and they don’t need to worry about possible driving test pass limits. The better prepared the learner is the greater their chances are of passing the driving test.
For more details on learning to drive, together with lots of practical information and advice please visit us at: http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/

Useful Links

2008-12-31T07:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/index.html Main Website with losts of extra information and advice.
http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/drivinglessonadvice.html
http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/practicaldriving.html
http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/privatepracticeebook.html
http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/download-promo.html
http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/links.html
http://cid-3d90979074a06638.profile.live.com/ MSM Website
http://uk.geocities.com/youronlinedriving@btinternet.com/DrivingPractiseE-Book.html

How too!

2008-12-30T06:09:00.000-08:00

How too, Reverse Park into a parking space, Reverse Park beside the road (parellel park), Left and right reverse around a corner and finally how too carry out the Turn in the Road (3 point turn). To find the answers to these and many other questions visit www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk

Driving Practise E-Book

2008-12-30T06:02:00.000-08:00

Please find an extract from www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk website on an extremely useful e-book, that could well save you money on your driving lessons!
Private practice e-book
When I started my training to become an ADI I remember being surprised at just how much you had to think about, both in the planning of lessons and what needed to be said and watched for during the lessons. As an experienced driver who also had experience of training people in a previous career, I thought that I already knew what to say and do to teach someone to drive. However I soon realised this was not the case and discovered just how easy it was to miss out important information or miss errors in the learner's drive and much much more! But with the right information and advice I was soon providing good quality tuition, enabling my pupils to become good competent drivers and of course pass their driving tests.
This E-Book has 11 sections, each of which will assist you to provide good private driving practice. After downloading to your computer you can either print out the complete book or just particular sections, or simply read directly from your computer
Introduction - explains why the book has been produced
Legal Requirements - can you accompany the learner?
Your Aims - how you should approach driving instruction
The Theory & Hazard Perception Tests - detailing what is involved
Lesson Plans - giving 'Lesson Briefings' and important advice on how to practise
Under Instruction or Test Standard - how to tell if the learner is ready for their test
Mock Tests - a very useful tool in preparing a learner for their test
Vehicle Safety Check Questions - all the official questions and answers
Driving Test - useful information and advice gained from many years experience
You've Passed! - what's next?
Links - useful websites
All this for just £3.95 please visit www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk for more information.

Learning to drive age limit!

2008-12-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

As a driving instructor I am reguarly asked when is the minimum age for learning to drive going to change?The answer is the same as it was over 20 years ago when I was learning to drive, and that is there is no change, the minimum age (in most cases) is still 17 years old. The Driving Stanards Agency (DSA) are currently conducting a consultation paper on various aspects relating to learning to drive. One of the areas being considered is the minimum age limit. My own feelings are that there will be no change, however when the final decisions on the consultation paper are published we will advise you here of any changes. All information correct at October 2008 We hope that you find the following pages helpful and informative

2008-12-14T06:08:00.000-08:00

http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR OR PRIVATE PRACTICE?
This does not necessarily need to be a one or the other decision. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) advise that the best way to learn to drive is to take driving lessons with a qualified ADI plus, where practical, private practice with family or friends (see practical driving and e-book sections). Even if you are unable to undertake practice with family or friends they may still be able to help with the learning process (please see the section on driving practice e-book). It is unlikely that anyone other than a fully qualified ADI will have the expertise to teach the full learning to drive syllabus and prepare the learner fully for the driving test. I would therefore always advise someone wishing to learn to drive to seek professional tuition from an ADI.
CHOOSING A DRIVING INSTRUCTOR (ADI)
I would suggest that the first question should be how do I want to learn? Do I want to learn over a period of time possibly having 1 or 2 hours of paid tuition a week, or do I want to learn on an intensive or semi intensive course over a much shorter period of time? There are plus and minus points for both. Learning over a period of possibly 20 to 30 weeks will give you plenty of time to take in all the new skills you will be learning and give you time to gain more experience with practice with family and friends, even if this is only talking through lessons with your parents both before and after lessons. This is how most people learn, it will also spread the cost and time needed for lessons over a longer period of time. The next option is an intensive course, sometimes over as little as a week or 10 days. This often sounds great, as particularly a lot of 17 year olds cannot wait to pass their test and be out driving on the road. This way of learning is becoming increasingly popular and does suit many people. You should however think very carefully about whether or not this will be the best course of action. Many people find it very difficult or impossible to take on such a large amount of information and practice in such a short time. Normally you will need to pay the full amount for the course in advance. If you then find it does not suit you it may prove to be a very expensive experience. You will also not have the opportunity to gain as much experience as someone learning over a longer period of time, which is so important when it comes to your driving test, but even more importantly after the test when driving on the road on your own. Finally there is a third choice of a semi intensive course. This is often the best way for many people. You can agree with the ADI prior to starting lessons how many hours you will do each week, anywhere between 3 and 6 hours, and then plan and book the driving test for when your instructor suggests you should be ready. This will mean that you will know the date that you are working too, as in an intensive course, but will also give you more time to gain the experience, and practice that is so important.Now that you have decided how you wish to learn you now need to find an instructor. I would suggest that the best way is by recommendation. If you know of someone learning or has learnt with a particular instructor then if they have recieved good tuition and have got on well with the instructor then it is likely that you will too. Phone or email the instructor and ask them if they instruct in the way you wish to learn, it is also worth considering their comments if they feel that this way may not be the best for you. Always try and arrange lessons well before you wish to start. Doing all of the above only to find your chosen instructor cannot start lessons with you because they have no spaces at suitable times can be disappointing. Remember a good instructor will often also be a busy instructor so contact them well in advance. It may also be worth waiting a short time until the instructor has a space rather than changing to an instructor that you don't know. A good instructor will clearly make a huge difference to you successfully learning to drive and passing your driving test. Please remember only a qualified ADI may charge for driving lessons. The instructor must display their ADI licence clearly when providing paid tuition. If in doubt ask to see the licence which will have a valid to date on the front and their photo and ADI number on the back. Further details can be found on the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) website.
Lesson Costs
Driving lesson costs will vary between different instructors and areas of the country. Normally you can expect to pay £20-£25 per hour for an experienced instructor. Compared to many other services such as plumbers etc this is not a high hourly rate. Trying too save money by using a cheaper instructor is often a false economy. More lessons at a cheaper cost still normally mean you paying more money in total. Instead I would suggest looking at the section on practical driving and driving practice e-book to see if there are ways you can, with private practice etc help reduce the overall number of hours paid tuition needed and possibly the number of tests needed to pass!
How Many lessons
This is an extremely difficult question and one that instructors hate being asked. This is because it all depends on the person learning to drive (you). We all learn at different rates and find different subjects easy or difficult to understand and perfect. The DSA's website (October 2008) suggest that the average number of hours taken to pass the driving test is 45hours paid tuition, plus 22hours private practice, normally this will be less for younger learners and possibly more for anyone learning later in life. From my own experience I would suggest the better the tuition the less lessons will be needed. This is clearly a lot of paid hours of tuition. If however the learner can receive good quality assistance from family or friends then the total number of paid hours needed may be noticeably reduced. Unfortunately again from personal experience the quality of private practise varies greatly, from very good to extremely poor! This can then often lead the learner into bad habits, which will normally require more paid tuition to correct. Making the right decisions and preparation will help in keeping the number of lessons and therefore costs down.
http://www.your-online-driving-school.co.uk/index.html