Your Driving Lessons
Before your 1st driving lesson
✓ Find your provisional licence. You will need to present it to your instructor.
✓ We will also ask you to share your licence information with us online, you can do this with your instructor by providing your NI number or completing the online check using this link.
✓ Bring any glasses or contact lenses if you have been prescribed them.
✓ Wear a flat sole pair of shoes.
✓ Don’t worry. Many learners are nervous before their 1st lesson, your driving instructor should put you at ease.
Booking your Lessons
You can book your course or lessons by calling us on 0161 241 3699. If you take weekly lessons we will just book you for your 1st lesson, then your instructor will be able to book further lessons with you directly.
Your course is designed around you, so you can spread lessons out to suit your budget or availability or condense them into a course to run over consecutive days.
You can pay for your lessons either directly with your instructor or you can pay by phone with a debit or credit card.
If you are booking an Intensive Course, you’ll be asked to make a deposit payment, your tests and course dates will then be booked for you. The balance is due before the start of your course.
Cancelling Lessons
If you need to cancel a lesson for any reason, please call us as soon as possible and speak to our office team. We do not accept cancellations by email or text message as these may not be received.
If you cancel your lesson with less than 48 hours notice you will normally be charged for the full lesson. If there are exceptional circumstances why you need to cancel speak to our office team or your instructor who will be able to advise you of whether a charge will apply.
Please note for Intensive Courses our Terms & Conditions will be supplied to you when booking your course, please ensure that you read these carefully as the cancellation policy will be different to above.
How Your Lessons will be conducted
Your Instructor will guide you throughout your driving lessons until you can demonstrate the skills needed without any assistance. Each lesson will be structured and you will be given objectives to achieve.
If you have had lessons previously, your instructor will assess your current ability and develop a plan with you that helps you to improve your driving skills in a structured way.
We will record your progress throughout your lessons and this will help you to see when you are ready to take your driving test.
Your instructor will always start by going over some of the skills you have already learnt to ensure that you can demostrate these without help, before moving on to the next topic.
Vehicle Handling
The first stage of learning to drive is all about handling the vehicle properly and in a safe manner. You will taught how to:
✓ Understand and use the vehicle controls
✓ Move off & stop at the side of the road
✓ Steer the car correctly and safely around hazards, bends and corners
✓ Select an appropriate gear and control the clutch (manual cars)
✓ Turn left and right through junctions
✓ Emerge from a junction safely
✓ Move off from an uphill or downhill position
✓ Perform an emergency stop (in a controlled situation)
✓ Recognise and approach crossroads and junctions
Manoeuvres
During your training you will also be taught how to perform a number of manoeuvres including:
✓ Turning in the road (known as a 3 point turn)
✓ Reversing left or right around a corner
✓ Reverse parking at the road side
✓ Reverse parking into a car park bay
You will normally be asked to perform one of these manoeuvres correctly for your driving test and may also be asked to perform an emergency stop exercise. You need to be able to perform these safely without any assistance.
Dealing with Traffic
Over the last 20 years the overall volume of traffic on our roads has increased by over 50% with little or no expansion of the road network. For new drivers this has meant that they have to be much more aware of the traffic and respond quickly and appropriately to developing situations.
As you continue through your lessons you will be dealing with increasingly complex traffic situations and will have to make decisions based upon your knowledge of the road, what you can see and the actions of other drivers and road users.
You will make better and more confident decisions as you gain experience. During your driving test you will be expected to show that you can deal with the various traffic situations that occur while making reasonable progress and without being unduly hesitant.
In the course of your lessons you should be able to:
✓ Recognise & respond to road signs and road markings correctly
✓ Respond appropriately to oncoming traffic situations
✓ Use your mirrors defensively in response to the road ahead
✓ Use your own signals and respond to the signals of other road users correctly
✓ Approach and deal with roundabouts correctly
✓ Anticipate and deal with traffic lights
✓ Make reasonable progress given the traffic, weather and road conditions
✓ Position correctly for your intended action
✓ Approach more complex and unusual junctions correctly
Your driving instructor will teach each skill separately and gradually build your ability to handle multiple situations that can occur while driving.
Planning Ahead & Anticipation
One of the hallmarks of a good driver is the ability to anticipate potential hazards on the road ahead. New drivers will only be able to manage this level of competency once they have mastered the skills of vehicle handing and can deal effectively with various traffic situations.
Drivers who are able to anticipate likely situations and plan for them accordingly are less likely to be involved in an accident. They tend to be more aware of their speed and are able to prioritise their response to observations of the road ahead.
These skills become particularly important when driving at higher speeds for example on dual carriageways and country roads. Learner drivers should be introduced to handling higher speeds during their training however these skills are not always tested and can sometimes be overlooked by pupils taking their test too soon.
Taking a mock test
Whether you are taking weekly lessons or an Intensive Driving Course, we recommend that you sit a mock driving test first. A mock test will be conducted in exactly the same way as a practical driving test. By passing the mock test you will gain a better understanding of what is required to pass and you are less likely to feel nervous on your driving test. For intensive courses we will normally schedule this for you on the lat day of your course.
Show Me Tell Me Questions
At the beginning of the practical test the examiner will ask you two questions about your vehicle, called Show me/ Tell Me questions. Ask your instructor to provide you with a list of the questions you could be asked and to go through these with you. These may be questions about your vehicle lights, tyres, brakes or other safety aspects about your vehicle.
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