Driving Lessons
What do I need before I Start My Driving Lessons?
- Before you can take Driving Lessons, you must to have a valid, signed Provisional Driving Licence.
- Your Eyesight need to be at or above a certain Standard, i.e. you must be able to read a car number plate from a distance of 20.5m (about 5 car lengths) with glasses if normally worn. If you use glasses for the Eyesight Test you must wear them when driving.
- The vehicle must be insured for you to drive.
- You must be supervised by a person over 21 years old who has help a full driving licence for over 3 years.
- The training vehicle must have "L" plates which are clearly visible to the front and the rear. You will also need an additional Rear-View mirror for the supervising driver
You can apply for a Provisional Licence before you are 17 so that, on your birthday, it will become valid for you to drive a car.
The cost of a Provisional Licence is £34 if you apply online or £43 if you apply by post.
How Long do Lessons Last?
Generally, driving lessons last for a minimum of one hour and can be increased in
half-hour increments. They are scheduled to fit in with your instructor’s other commitments, your own schedule, circumstances or budget. The timing can be arranged to suit the particular lesson being
given. For example, one hour may be sufficient to learn Basic skills or
to practice reversing,
as that can be done locally. A two-hour lesson will be required to travel to
Glasgow, Stirling, Grangemouth or
Airdrie to practice busier traffic
situations and Driving Test
Routes. If you live in an out-lying area it will be necessary to book 2, 3 or 4 hour lessons to
make it cost-effective for your instructor to travel to your area to pick you
up.
Weekly Lessons:
Single Hour Driving Lesson
Each driving lesson is 60 minutes long. (Please note if you live in an area where we may need to travel a distance we may require you to book a 2 hour lesson.)
1½ Hour Driving Lesson
Booking a 90 minute lesson gives you the chance to consolidate recently learned skills - speeding up the learning process.
2 Hour Driving Lesson
Booking a 2 hour lesson is good value for money as it speed up your progress. Two hour lessons cost less in the long run and are far more productive because of the continuous unbroken time behind the wheel.
Block Bookings
Block Booking are slightly discounted so you will save money by booking a Block of 5 or 10 house. Each lesson will be 1, 1.5 or 2 hours or more depending on your location, your availability and how quickly you want to pass your test.
Included in the cost of the lessons is a FREE workbook. This will allow you to enhance your driving lessons with home study; greatly speeding up the learning process.
What Driving Courses are Available?
Intensive or Semi-Intensive Courses are available for 15, 20 30 or 40 hours, depending on your requirements. A beginner with no experience will probably want a 30 or 40 hour course. For a Driver with some experience, 20 hours may be suitable. For a pupil already at test standard may just want a 15 hour refresher before a test.
Intensive or Semi-Intensive Courses are Full or Half Days and and usually planned to finish with the Practical Driving Test.
Can Full Licence Holders take Driving Lessons?
Yes. Maybe you are new to driving - a Provisional Licence holder with the goal of passing your driving test and obtaining a Full Licence. On the other hand, maybe you have a licence but haven’t driven recently and would like a refresher to reinforce previously learned skills and regain confidence. Perhaps you have been driving for many years but a new career opportunity requires a driving assessment. Driving Test Standards have changed a lot over the past 50 years. Are you familiar with the latest techniques? Can you Reverse Park? Can you Block Change? (Do you know what “Block Changing" is?) Should you Always Signal? In any of these situations, we will be happy to train you to the standard required.
What are the Advantages of getting Professional Tuition from a
Qualified Driving Instructor?
It is unlikely that a friend
or relative can train you to drive to Driving Test standard. Standards have changed over the years, but qualified Driving Instructors will always be able to teach you what is
required for the current Test. It is also much safer to have, at last the initial lessons with an Approved Driving Instructor in a suitable training vehicle fitted with dual
controls. Two recent instances come to mind re learners learning with relatives or friends:- (1) While at Westfield Industrial Estate, I saw a family car driven by a learner with what looked
like his mother supervising. The back wheels were on the pavement; the front wheels were on the grass; the front of the car was about 3 feet away from a solid metal fence. (2)
A pupil, supervised by maybe her father, reversing out a parking bay. Her foot slipped off the clutch, the car shot back and crashed into the lock-up
opposite. Unfortunately, the garage door was round the other side - she went through the brick wall. On both occasions, the supervising driver was powerless to avoid what could have been
a serious, life threatening accident. Professional driving lessons might seem expensive, but considering the alternative, it is money well spent. (If you are reading this and it sounds
familiar, phone up and arrange a lesson.)
Can my Lessons Start and Finish at Different
Places?
Yes, but this must be arranged and agreed with your instructor
before the Lesson starts. Very often it is convenient to start and end lessons in different places. For example, it may be helpful to get picked
up at school or college and finish at home; or start at home and get dropped off at the train station or your place of work. If you need picked-up or dropped-off at a considerable distance from
Cumbernauld, this is still possible, but you may need to book a longer lesson to make this cost-effective. Talk to your
Instructor about this.
Can I Sit In on Someone else's lesson?
No. Driving Lessons are
delivered on a one-instructor-to-one-pupil basis. This is unlikely to be varied, as one-to-one instruction is the best established method for the learning
process. (An exception may be made for close family members who are learning at the same time and who both agree to this arrangement.) The pupil is not under increased pressure
and has no additional distractions. You will not be permitted to sit in on someone else’s lesson, but be assured, no one will be sitting in on your lesson when you are
driving.
Sometimes a senior DVSA Examiner will sit-in on a driving lesson as part of your Instructor’s “Standard Check” test. This is done periodically in order to monitor the level of the teaching given by your instructor to ensure a continued high standard of training. If applicable, your instructor will arrange this with you well in advance to make sure you are agreeable. You are not under any obligation to take part in this training session, but as you are doing your instructor a favour, he will probably give you the lesson for free!
Will my Driving Instructor use my Lesson Time for any other Purpose?
Your driving lessons are very
valuable so we want to make the most of the time you have behind the wheel. Before you can drive you need to know what you are doing; you must have this information. But you also do not want to sit
parked at the side of the road listening to your instructor talking all the time. That is one benefit of the “Client
Centred” system of driving tuition. With the videos and the workbook, you can do your own preparation so that when you come for the lesson the
instructor’s remarks will be kept to a minimum – and you can spent the maximum time available driving and getting that vital practice and experience. You can also be sure that, your instructor will
not use your time for any other purpose: no phoning, texting, shopping or fuelling the car. (We will Fuel the car on the Pass Plus lessons, as this is part of the
training.) I had a pupil many years ago whose previous instructor would regularly stop during a lesson to visit the shops. Things went from bad to worse when one lesson, after a shopping trip,
the instructor drove to his own home and asked the pupil if he would help him carry his shopping up to the house. It was later on that same day the pupil phoned me to see if I had any space in my
diary…
Is it useful to Drive with a Family member or a Friend between Lessons?
It is very useful to get additional practice, but caution must be exercised. When learning to drive, it is important that
you get proper tuition so you learn how to drive to an acceptable and safe standard. Once you know what you must do, you must practice till you can drive to this standard consistently. Toward this
goal, the more additional practice you get, the better. However, be careful when listening to well-meaning friends or relatives who will give advice based on how they were taught, possibly many years
ago. Driving standards have changed a lot during the last few years. Much of the advice they give may have been correct years ago when they were learning but is now, at best, no longer valid or, even
worse, completely wrong. I can often tell when a pupil has spent time driving with a friend or relative; I can see bad habits creeping in. Undoubtedly, it is a great help if pupils get the
opportunity to drive at other times in addition to their regular lessons. But please, do not try to learn anything new. Remember what you have been taught and use the time to practice and consolidate
previously learned skills, while gaining valuable experience on the roads. When driving in addition to your regular driving lessons, you must be (1) Safe and (2) Legal. To that end, make sure you are
at least competent with basic control skills before venturing onto busier or unfamiliar roads as the friend’s car will unlikely be fitted with Dual Controls. Also make sure that the vehicle is
properly insured for you to drive and “L” plates fitted. It is also necessary to have an addition al Rear-View Mirror for the Supervising
Driver. But, YES, Additional practice can be a great help if used
properly.
Can I Learn
to Drive if I am very Nervous?
Everyone can learn to drive.
If you are confident and love driving, you may find it easier to learn. If you are nervous and hate driving you may think you could never learn and hesitate to take the first step. However, everyone
can learn to drive. The Client Centred System of Driving Tuition can be tailored to your individual needs. Structured lessons will ensure that you learn at your
own pace, in your own time. Each lesson builds on skills learned in previous lessons. You will not be expected to move on to more complicated subjects until you have mastered the basics. Initially
you will be driving “off road” or on quiet roads with little or no traffic. Only when you feel confident and have mastered good car control will the lessons progress gradually to different/busier
traffic situations. You will not be asked to “run before you can walk.” Your instructors have many years driving experience. They
will guide you through the
various steps slowly and patiently. Modern roads today are vital to everyday life; that is why most roads today are teeming with fast-moving traffic. It can be a daunting prospect dealing with miles
and miles of non-stop traffic as far as you can see, hours upon hours of speeding drivers flashing past you or tons and tons of heavy goods vehicles towering above you. If that worries you, you can
avoid it; it is in your own hands. Use the car to go to the supermarket, or drop the kids at school, or visit relatives at the other end of a quiet country road. Do
not feel you must drive on roads you are not confident about, there is always an alternative route. Very often, however, once you pass your
test, you will start to enjoy your driving and may venture further afield. Who knows where you will end up: M8 over the Kingston Bridge to get to Ikea and the Braehead? M73/M74/M6 /M1 for London and
the shops? The Channel Tunnel and Europe for a touring holiday of the continent? You may be nervous now but everyone can learn to drive. You may end up loving it. Contact Us right now and book a trial lesson.
I have a Driving Licence but haven’t driven for years; can I book Refresher Lessons?
Of course you can. Driving lessons are flexible and designed to suit your needs. You may not need to be taught anything,
yet simply having someone with you initially may give you the confidence to get back on the road. On the other hand, if you feel rusty, you may benefit from some remedial tuition to get you back to
standard. These lessons are usually very relaxed as there is no pressure; no test at the end. Soon you will be driving confidently
again.
Do you need to have Passed the Theory Test before taking Driving Lessons?
No. It can be helpful to study
for the Theory Test and take Driving Lessons at the same time. Your instructor will be able to help you with your study and explain any questions you do not understand. Also, you will see the
practical application of the Theory questions and Hazard Perception skills in real-life situations on the road. However, it is possible to study for your Theory Test in advance. If you are well
prepared, it is possible to apply for your provisional licence and arrange a Theory Test on or shortly after your 17th birthday.
Print 