aclassdrivingschool

New changes to driving test booking

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 07:08:37 GMT

Changes to the UK driving test from spring 2026

New rules for booking a test

If you're a learner driver and looking to book your driving test in the near future, be aware, things for you and driving instructors booking tests on your behalf is about to change from March 31st this year. The new rules, which will be rolled out at different times, but over late spring, include only being able to change the test twice. Not have instructors doing it for you. And only allowing you to rearrange tests in areas close to where you are.

What's changing on March 31st?

Last year, the DVSA had an open public consultation on what to do about the backlog on driving tests and received 102,000 responses. There were a lot of angry instructors who felt disillusioned about the DVSA's efforts and asked for radical change to fix the diabolical problem all learners face.

From March 31st, learners and instructors will only be able to switch tests twice. Currently it's 6 times. A “change” includes moving the date, changing the time, switching to a different test centre, or swapping your appointment with another learner who already has a test booked.

Once you've used both changes, you can cancel and rebook, so it's not as bad as it seems. The same 10 working day cancellation period still exists, so if you want to keep your £62 booking fee, so plan ahead. In April 2025, it was changed from 3 days. This as an early part of the government's 6 point plan to solve the issue.

What's changing in late spring?

We're still unsure as to what date late spring speaks of, but in a month or so only the learner driver themselves will be able to book and manage their practical car test through the GOV.UK booking service. This is what the DVSA recommends doing.

You should:

only book at a test centre you intend to use - you will only be able to move your test to nearby centres
only book when your driving instructor says you’re ready - speak to your driving instructor first
use your driving instructor’s reference number when you book - this will make sure your instructor does not get double-booked
choose a date you realistically expect to be ready by - you will only be allowed to make 2 changes to your appointment

No more switching all over the country

Currently it's so difficult to get a test anywhere, people are booking tests in far away places, then switching whenever they can using the handy and efficient test swapping apps. This wont be happening much longer.

I also receive a number of inquires each week from people around the country who have booked a test in Bristol and plan to come here for a few hours to just take the test. Their plan is to arrive at the train station, get picked up, drive to the test centre and take the exam in my car. That's not going to happen. No instructor is going to do that. So this will hopefully stop and free up tests at your local test centre for locals.

From "late spring", you’ll only be able to move your test to centres near where you originally booked .

Here's a simplified image of what's happening below.

2025 year review

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:47:56 GMT

What happened in 2025?

Still not enough driving tests available

Record after record somehow managed to be broken last year on how bad the wait is for a driving test in the UK, peaking at 5.5 in the autumn. The head of the AA declared that things couldn't get any worse, and that's why, finally, the chief of the DVSA had to go. So a big shake up at the top and hopefully the new big cheese will bring lower waiting times soon.

We expanded and welcomed onboard a new instructor, Jake. Who's new to Bristol, but not to driving instruction. He has moved to the east side of the city from Bournemouth and covers the Kingswood test area in a manual car. So if you're after lessons in and around that part of the city, call him on 07399901234.

Highlights

In a year where getting a test proved to be extremely difficult, I managed to get the majority of students taking their test their drivers' licence. Finishing with a strong 7 consecutive passes and 4 in the last two weeks of December I ended the year with a 79% pass rate (19 out of 24). The national average last year was only 48%. So not a bad year in all.

Here's a few of the success stories from the past year.

Noah

Noah passed their test first time with ZERO minors in the summer.

New Title

Alice

Another zero minor passing student from the spring time.

"Thanks so much to Will, I passed today with no faults! I never thought I’d be a confident driver but Will’s teaching has made me feel so calm on the road and I’m actually excited about driving now. Highly recommend!"

Kamil

This review came in for me back in October from the wonderful Kamil Hendrych, who passed first time with just 3 minors.

Here's their review in full.

"Absolutely the best driving experience I could have hoped for!
Wil is an outstanding instructor. Incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and professional. His calm and reassuring voice made the whole experience even more enjoyable and relaxing. I felt confident and well guided throughout, and I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher. Highly recommended!"

Katie

One of the final 4 in December who all passed just in time for Xmas. Another first timer and with just 3 minors to her name.

Emma

My final test of the year and yet another zero minor wonder pass.

"I cannot recommend Will highly enough! As an older learner with a real fear of driving, I never thought I’d be able to pass. From my very first lesson, Will put me completely at ease with his calm, patient, and encouraging approach. He gave me the confidence I needed and guided me every step of the way. Thanks to his wonderful instruction, I passed my test first time this week! I’ll genuinely miss my lessons, but I’m so grateful to Will for making what once felt impossible into a reality."

Seismic Autumn DVSA news

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 08:53:05 GMT

Big news out of the DVSA

It's been an incredibly rough couple of months for the DVSA and for anyone who has to rub shoulders with this industry. Waiting times for tests are still sky high, booking systems are decades out of date, driving examiners are leaving in droves are but a few of the reasons the chief had to fall on her sword. Here's the low down on what's been happening with the dumpster fire that is the DVSA this autumn.

Tests are still borderline impossible to get

The single biggest issue the DVSA has been failing to tackle since lockdown finished, which was the summer of 2021, is the backlog on driving tests. No one had the insight to update a 15 year old, out of date booking system when it was closed for years due to Covid. No one in the industry passed a thought of how tens of thousands of people would want driving tests the moment exams were reopened and tsunami of bookings has continued to batter the driving instructor world ever since. Bots were created to snap up exams and a black market opened up fleecing learners for cash that the head of the DVSA was aware of, but refused to act upon.

The state of the black-market is so prevalent that even the BBC was able to find some scammers in their report in early December. Dodgy instructors have been selling their booking details for £250 kickbacks a month for touts to resell exams for up to £500 a test. The DVSA, including the outgoing head, has been aware of this for years and did nothing. I personally reported a few years ago after being contacted via WhatsApp to the DVSA and heard nothing back from them.

Deadline after deadline has been missed to get the wait times under control and just the other day the most recent deadline was pushed back from summer/autumn 2026 to November 2027! That will be 6 years of having to put up with impossible waiting times. No other developed country around the world has had to suffer the way UK learner drives have, it's simple not good enough.

Chief Loveday Ryder's legacy

Literally every driving instructor I know is happy to see the back of Loveday Ryder. She failed miserably in helping us in our day to day jobs. Yes, it was a tough challenge in the wake of Covid, but she did accept the role in late 2020, the pandemic had already been ravaging the world for a year. And when you earn £120,000 a year and receive bonuses on top of that, you need to do better.

The multi-million pound scheme "ready to test" was launched under her, knowing that tests were borderline impossible to get. Which make a complete mockery of the entire project.

Her 7 point plan to tackle the backlog has been an abject failure and had to resort to asking what driving instructors thought she should do to make it better. Why not have this consultation when she took the post? Another example of a person in a high position with no background in that industry failing again. Sadly lessons haven't been learned and the new head also has zero experience in this world. Work and Pensions is hardly similar working territory.

Multiple changes to the driving test were made in this time, the latest being making the independent driving potentially longer, up to 40 minutes on a sat nav and having less chance of doing the emergency stop. Hardly ground-breaking ideas.

The mass exodus of examiners

The DVSA would have you believe that they've been doing a great job, hence why Loveday was pocketing and extra £10,000 a year for making students wait in excess of 6 months for a driving test, but the figures speak for themselves.

Recruitment has been something they've been pushing for years. More examiners means more tests can be taken. I've been stunned on more than one occasion when taking a student for a test to see them as the only student going out for that slot. At my local test centre, ten should be going out each time. At least. This smacks of not enough examiners.

Apparently in the last year, the DVSA have recruited 316 instructors. Which sounds great. However due to the rate of them leaving the industry, they actually only managed a net gain of 33.

The following is taken from a letter dates November 10th 2025 from Simon Lightwood MP for roads and buses, to Ruth Cadbury MP Chair, Transport Committee.

"The DVSA is continuing with recruitment campaigns across the country to provide as many tests as possible. In the last 12 months, the agency has seen an increase of 32.7 full time equivalent driving examiners. Work continues to tackle driving examiner attrition rates; the current rate of attrition for driving examiners is 12% as at September 2025."

A carrot of £5000 one off payment has been dangled in front of examiners to stay in their roles, but will that be enough for them to stay in the role permanently?

The shortage must be really worrying as the government has called in the army to help. There are military driving examiners out there. 44 in fact that are due to help out. Considering we have over 300 test centres in the UK and conduct nearly 2,000,000 tests a month, I fear this is just a drop on the ocean and a mere deflection tactic to show that the DVSA are doing something. Because in reality, they're not doing enough.

And what I found just this morning whilst researching this post is that there's a deadline for wanting to become an examiner.

"The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is recruiting driving examiners across Great Britain - the deadline to apply is 11:55pm on 31 December 2025." This is according to the gov.uk website dated December 15th.

Details on the role -

Salary

£30,485

There is an associated London Weighting Allowance of £4,000 for centres within the M25 - please see attached list for details.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Job grade

Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

DVSA - Operations Driver Services

Type of role

Operational Delivery

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

200

Merry Christmas readers and hopefully next year, sorry, the year after, will see the backlog finally fall.

Who's to blame for all these roadworks?

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:19:38 GMT

Number of roadworks double in a year

If you've been recently wondering what the actual flipping heck is happening with roadworks being absolutely everywhere and need someone to blame, I've a name for you. In the past two years, the amount of roadworks across the UK, not just Bristol, has increased by 110%. Sky News has obtained data that shows there were 425,524 miles of roadworks across the United Kingdom last year.

In 2023 there were 203,000 miles of lane closures. So a huge increase.

Who's responsible?

Usually it's the council and town planners we are quick to blame whilst wasting away at yet another temporary set of lights, but this increase in what feels like mindless digging has come from the top. It's a pledge that none other than a lot of people's least favourite Tory, Boris Johnson, made back in 2019 to roll out full fibre broadband to every corner of the country in his "levelling up" agender.

In shocking news that wont surprise anyone, the original deadline for operation Gigabit has come and gone. What will upset everyone who uses a road however is that the Tories were so far behind and our governments traffic department so lame that we're currently looking at a further 6 years worth of disruptions. The whole project is set to be delayed longer than the original estimated time for completion. Could they be anymore incompetent?

That's a rhetorical question.

More pain coming

The current government is hoping that over the next ten years, 100,000 public electric charging points will be created on our streets, which of course means ripping up the tarmac again. Regularly we see the same stretch of road being dug up over and over for new utilities, fixing old pipes and making corrections for errors. This then leads to more motorist misery and a higher likelihood of potholes being created.

Governments past and present have said they would clamp down on unnecessary roadworks, which doesn't seem to have happened. The labour Government said by this summer they would start doubling fine for companies taking too long but once again that deadline was missed and will be pushed back AN ENTITE YEAR! Why?

New driving test trial

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 08:44:08 GMT

In May 2025 the DVSA started trialing a new driving test

Why a new test?

Back on May 6th, the DVSA rolled out a new trial driving test at 20 centres across the country. My local centre, Avonmouth, being one of them. The new test could radically change how the driving test is conducted in the future. The test was then extended for a further three months to gather further data before making a decision on whether or not to alter it from it's current state.

The idea is is to include more real-world driving experiences and to incorporate more sustained higher speeds. Most newly qualified accidents occur at speed and in rural areas. The new tests would look to try and blend these other, less frequented driving environments into the exam. Such as dual carriageways, A-roads and countryside type areas.

What's on the new test?

So far I've only had one student take the trial exam, and it was essentially a very similar route to one that already exists, however, it was 100% on the Sat Nav. A far more real-life feeling exam. Here's the DVSA's statement on what the changes will be.

Longer independent driving sections: Some tests will run entirely without examiner prompts, replacing sat-nav instructions with real-time road judgment.
Emergency stop frequency reduced: From 1 in every 3 tests to approximately 1 in 7, based on feedback and examiner focus on other priorities.
Fewer required stops: The number of mandatory stops during the test has been cut from four to three, streamlining the experience without compromising quality.

The conclusion on the DVSA's trial test

This new DVSA trial test is supposed to reflect an evolving approach to driver testing — one that favours practical, real-world driving over artificial scenarios. Learners who stay informed, practice widely, and prepare strategically will be best positioned to pass confidently under the new system.

It's safe to say that not all centres can accommodate rural road driving, but these centres will instead see higher speeds for longer to compensate.

Switching to a 100% sat nav guided test sounds like a good idea and would be a break for the learner driver. It would give them far better opportunities to plan for what's happening next. No one drives around being suddenly told to turn left or right with seconds to spare.

The figure of 1 in 3 test containing an emergency stop was eye-brow raising for me. My students over the past 17 years haven't been subjected to anything close to this figure at the test centres I use. Probably because the test is so short and Bristol's roads being so busy.

I've had students stopped ten time previously on tests as the exam has to be 40 minutes long. If there is little traffic and they encounter only green lights, the examiner has to slow it down somehow, and that's achieved with more pulling in. So in my opinion, having this a major change in the test is languid.

Driving test wait "can't get much worse"

info@aclassdrivingschoolbristol.co.uk (Will Dracott) — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 09:03:40 GMT

The AA obtains figures from the DVSA and say's that things "can't get much worse" for those wanting a driving test

No tests available nationwide

Just when you thought things can't get worse on the driving test waiting fiasco, it does! The AA managed to get a hold of figures from the government on the backlog and numbers are up yet again! According to news outlets "Learner drivers are being forced to wait more than five months to book a slot at four out of five test centres, new figures show. Some 258 locations in Britain had the maximum possible waiting time of 24 weeks for a test as of May 5, which is 81% of all sites."

At the start of the year it was 161 sites that were at capacity. Further proof that the government's plans aren't working.

Not a single test space available

I spoke to a mother of a learner driver this morning (July 30th) asking for help or advice on what to do for her son. Learning to drive isn't cheap and you can't keep on having lessons with no possibility of a test at the end. It's an atrocious situation. She told me that when she went online this morning to look for a test, again, there wasn't a single slot anywhere in the whole of the country!

Government officials say they're working fast, but this situation has existed since lockdown came to an end. The situation as only worsened, so at what stage can we expect a replacement in personnel and a new radical plan? The original plan was to have waiting times down by December 2025. They've already announced that's not going to happen in June. The plan was only started in April this year. Now they've set themselves a new semi-vague deadline of summer 2026 to get the waiting times down to 7 weeks.

DVSA seems optimistic

The DVSA have made a statement on the back on news outlets shaming them with the new figures and they seems quite deluded to me.

DVSA chief executive Loveday Ryder said: “DVSA’s goal is to make booking a driving test easier and fairer for learner drivers. We are making progress on our plans.

“We’re really grateful to everyone who has responded to our recent consultation, including learners, parents and driving instructors. We’re now analysing the survey responses. Using your feedback, we’ll be able to plan our next steps on improving car test booking rules.”

If the plan was to make the situation as worse as it could possibly ever get, they've achieved it. Well done DVSA.

2025 half year review

info@aclassdrivingschoolbristol.co.uk (Will Dracott) — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:16:43 GMT

What's been happening between January to July at A-Class Driving School

Not enough driving tests available

It's been a very difficult six months for everyone with an L plate on their vehicle. The backlog created by COVID is still crippling the driving tuition industry in the UK and there doesn't seem to be any glimmer of improvement on the horizon. The 7 point plan laid out by our new government seems to have somehow worsened things with new record numbers waiting and queuing up each morning in search of a exam. The test swapping apps, our only life line for getting those ready for an exam a test, no longer seem to be working. What do we do? Answers on a post card please as I'm all out of ideas.

Test Shift

In February, a new test swapping app came along, Test Shift. And this quickly became my go to app for help. Eight students managed to get exams for Avonmouth test centre all within a few weeks of one another and all of them became licence holders. Since then, nada. Apparently Test-i is somehow still functioning, and able to get ahead of the 26,000+ people who are currently waiting by their PCs each morning to access tests. How they snap them up and move around people around before the general public can even load the DVSAs calendar page is a mystery.

Here's a few of our success stories from the past six months.

Phu

She passed first time with just 3 minors in late February, the first test I was able to book all year, and nailed it. Here's what she said about our time together.

"I passed first time today with Will as my instructor. He is really amazing, calm, and he had so much patience whenever I made mistakes. Without him, I couldn't make it today. Thank you very much Will! Once I get my car, I will definitely come back to learn motorway lesson with him. I will recommend Will to all my friends."

Issy Rose

Another 3 minor, first time passer. This one in March. Here's her review.

"Will was amazing! Thorough lessons with amazing advice all along the way."

Alice Tegg

Alice managed to pass her test with ZERO minors! Pretty impressive.

Rachel Fenwick

This review came in for me back in April from the delightful Rachel Fenwick, who between having a child, whilst raising another and working full time as a teacher and commuting to work in Portishead by bike managed to learn to drive too! What a legend.

Here's the review in full!

"I had a really good experience learning to drive with Wil at A-class driving. I’d tried to learn to drive in the past, but I’d always felt nervous and unsure. Wil put me at ease, and although it was a long journey for me Wil was supportive and reassuring along the way. His knowledge of the roads, his clear explanations, often with visual guides, were very helpful. I have passed and now feel like a confident driver- honestly something I never thought would happen."

Driving Test Backlog Increases

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 06:06:36 GMT

Waiting list up to over 600,000!

There are now 100,000 more students waiting for a test compared to last year

Learner drivers are really being hammered with waiting lists up to 600,000+ according to new figures recently released. Numbers released by the DVSA show an eye watering 603,352 practical driving tests were booked at the end of April this year, a significant increase from 521,190 back in 2024.

The rise is due to the number of tests conducted in the first quarter of this year actually decreasing! Between January and April, 610,000 tests went out, a massive 15% drop compared to 718,000 exams for the same period in 2024.

Pass Rates up

The only good news coming out of the DVSA camp is that pass rates are actually going up. Which could be due to students waiting until they're ready, or it's due to people having to wait extra months for tests and taking more lessons than they would have done, improving them as drivers on the whole.

April's pass rate reached 50.2%, an improvement from 48.3% in 2024 and the highest monthly figure since August 2021, which was 50.3%.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has recently commented that the Labour Government “inherited an enormous backlog” but is “acting fast” to tackle the issue, with at least 10,000 extra tests to be available each month.

She told the Commons’ Transport Select Committee her department is aiming to reduce the average waiting time for driving tests in Britain to seven weeks by summer 2026.

It doesn't seem as though the magic 7 point plan is working so far.

The wait has never been so bad

Emma Bush, who is the managing director of the AA Driving School, said: “Learner drivers have waited long enough for an improvement to the lengthy waiting times to secure a practical test slot, it should not be this hard to book your driving test.

“There have simply never been enough test slots in the system to make up for those which were lost during coronavirus lockdowns and, as such, the backlog has persisted.

“New measures recently announced to tackle this are welcome and we eagerly await positive movement in the waiting times to ease the pressure on pupils.

“Unblocking the backlog is vital to ensure people are not held back from work or education opportunities through the lack of a driving licence.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The current backlog facing learner drivers is completely unacceptable, but we are taking decisive action to address the situation inherited from the previous government.

“Thanks to the intervention of the Secretary of State, an additional 10,000 driving tests will be made available monthly.

“This will ensure ready learners can book their tests more quickly, helping unlock opportunity and support economic growth.”

Consultation on who can book a test

Things are so bad and the DVSA so clueless, they're now opening up the floor for anyone to have their say on who should be able to book a test. Have your say here .

It's a shame it's got to this stage where driving instructors might not be able to help learners book and manage their tests, but the system has been abused so much that perhaps, for the moment, the only people who should be able to book a test are those who need one. Bots, brokers, scammers and larger schools who are mass blocking tests and skirting around the rules are ruing it for the rest of us. Perhaps a 6 to 12 month break of the current system could give it the hard reset it needs and give the government the time it needs to implement the rest of their plan to get things back in order by their own 2026 deadline.

DVSA plans to tackle the driving test backlog

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:43:32 GMT

The 7 point plan to salvation

The COVID driving test backlog

Anyone who's learning to drive is probably aware of the enormous backlog created by COVID for lessons and driving tests. The previous government didn't give two hoots and the situation only became worse. In recent times it seems as though someone, somewhere was vaguely interested and late last year the DVSA announced it was going to address the issue.

They informed us that they had a 7 point plan which was going to start in early 2025 and this blog is going to lay out their plans on how to deal with the 6 month, impossible to book a driving test issue, for you.

Fixing things to get Britain moving

Back in December 2024, the DVSA sent all driving instructors a lengthy message, saying how we were the "unsung heroes of road safety" and they had a plan on how to help us veterans out.

"In recent years, your job has been made harder and more stressful by the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. Things you rely on, like being able to book driving tests for your pupils when they are ready, have not been working.

That’s why when I started this job in July, I made it a priority for us to reduce driving test waiting times. Getting a driving licence is a passport to employment and opportunities for so many young people. It’s a vital part of our plan to increase living standards across every part of the country.

Today (Wednesday 18 December), the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has set out a plan to do just that."

Lillian Greenwood MP, minister for the future of the roads went on to tell us about her 7 step plan in March 2025.

1. Recruit and train 450 driving examiners

We have been working towards the target of recruiting and training 450 examiners since July 2024. So far, we have run two successful recruitment campaigns. From these campaigns we have:

116 examiners now delivering practical driving tests
63 examiners in training
46 people booked to start their examiner training course
171 undergoing pre-employment checks

We are aiming to launch a new recruitment campaign in March 2025. (This email was sent on March 5th)

2. Review and improve the rules for booking driving tests

We told you in early February that we had just short of 27,000 responses to our call for evidence on booking and managing a car driving test. This level of response gives us a really strong evidence base to work from for the consultation, which we hope to launch in spring 2025.

As part of our future planning for booking and managing driving tests, we are continuing to work towards appointing a supplier for our new driver services platform. This will replace the current system.

The project is currently going through the required government approvals. We will update you when there are further developments.

3. Introduce tougher terms and conditions for the online business service

DVSA introduced updated terms and conditions for businesses booking driving tests on 6 January 2025.

The new terms and conditions make it clear that driving instructors and businesses must not book driving tests on behalf of learner drivers they are not teaching.

We asked all users of the online booking system to accept the new terms and conditions and we continue to monitor closely for evidence of non-compliance, which will lead to suspension of business booking accounts.

4. Consult on new proposals to increase the amount of time people have to wait to book another test in certain situations

We are currently working on the proposals to increase the amount of time people have to wait to book another test if they either:

make multiple serious or dangerous faults during their driving test
physically or verbally assault their driving examiner
fail to attend their driving test without telling DVSA - and consider charging them a penalty

We will keep you updated as this work progresses so you can give your views.

5. Increase the amount of notice you need to give to change or cancel a car driving test without losing the fee

We want to increase the amount of notice people need to give to change or cancel their car driving test, without losing their fee, to 10 clear working days. We are working with the Department to finalise parliamentary time to allow this change. We hope to be able to give you more detail on the timing for this shortly.

6. Explore changing the current 24-week limit on how far ahead car driving tests can be booked

We have already started to explore the implications of extending the window for booking driving tests. This work will help us better understand how many people want to take a driving test at each test centre.

7. Ready to Pass? campaign

We are working to expand the campaign in a number of key areas, including:

increasing awareness for learners taking their first attempt at both the theory test and practical driving test. We will also focus on engaging learners earlier in their journey, promoting evidence-based behaviours that help to increase pass rates
raising awareness of the campaign amongst approved driving instructors (ADI). We will put particular emphasis on new instructors, as our research shows they are less likely to be aware of the campaign. We will develop tools to help them to have more effective coaching conversations with pupils about skill development and test readiness
developing additional resources to help candidates manage test-day nerves and anxiety

What's happened so far

So, in theory, these ideas seem good. I'm not entirely sure why it's taken so long, but at least something is happening.

In Bristol have seen instructors being recruited and trained, but it's still impossible to book a test. Nationwide 154 driving examiners have been recruited, trained and in posts carrying out tests. There are 380 test centres in the UK.

There's been no change on how long it takes to rebook a test, which means students who booked miles in advance, couldn't get a instructor and then finally manage to get one with two weeks before their test refusing to cancel to just "give it ago and see what happens". Which makes a mockery of their Ready To Pass? campaign and shows how in effective it is. Why can't this be implemented immediately?

There has been progress on the late cancellation times. A period now of ten days is needed rather than 3. Remember, these are clear working days. So it's more like two weeks needed to cancel now last second without losing your test fee.

Apparently tougher terms and conditions introduced for the service driving instructors use to book and manage car driving tests for their pupils – since this change DVSA has closed 90 business accounts, issued 25 warnings and made 4 suspensions. However, I'm regularly contacted by rouge traders and black market test slot sellers that are still somehow able to book up lots of slots and sell them on for huge profits. It's currently £100 to get a test off of these guys.

What's next?

On the 23rd of April all driving instructors received further updates on the plan. More actions are going to come into force.

The further action announced today (April 23rd) will see:

A fast-tracked launch for our planned consultation on putting a stop to the exploitation of learner drivers – in May 2025.
Incentivised additional testing offers for driving examiners – potentially creating thousands of extra tests per month.
Doubling our permanent training capacity for new driving examiners – meaning more can start carrying out driving tests sooner.
A call for volunteers from those currently in other roles (but qualified to examine) to carry out practical driving tests.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the coming months, but currently it's still impossible to even book a test in Bristol, which makes driving instructors jobs incredibly tough and upsets a lot of learner drivers.

Reverse bay parking - Automatic tutorial

info@aclassdrivingschoolbristol.co.uk (Will Dracott) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 16:48:53 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Reverse bay parking

Easier than it looks

This tends to be a favourite of learner drivers once they know how. It follows a simple formula and is easy once you know how. Like with the other parking exercises, don't neglect the set up or think too far ahead.

The three bay method

There are several ways to go about the reverse bay parking exercise. I find to the right easier as you can look out of your window at the lines for longer. At Avonmouth test centre, all the bays are on your right, so it might be worth practising this direction more for test day if this is your centre for the exam.

We call this the three bay methos as you're going to need three bays to get in. You'll use the furthest line of the bays of the three, bay 1, as a reference point. You'll skip bay number 2 entirely and land up in bay three, the closest one to you currently. See diagram below to help visualise.

First off, try to get central down the aisle. Or have at least have the width of a car between you and the tops of the bays. Being too close wont see you able to come round to being parallel with the lines of the bay in time. And too wide could see you swing into the cars parked on the other side of the aisle.

Then, once straight, stop alongside the further of the three bays and have this line run across the top of your thigh. You need to use your imagination a little here. Envision this line continuing out and into the cockpit. This is sometimes different for different people as we all sit in slightly different places. But some where between the steering wheel and lap is right.

Once here, stop and get ready for step 2.

Slow car, quick hands

Make sure you POM. So into reverse, observe everywhere around you as danger could be anywhere. Also making sure your hands are in the correct place. If you're reversing to the right, high right hand and vice versa the other way.

As soon as it's safe, slowly release some brake and immediately turn full lock towards the bay. So right for right and left for left.

The car will swing backwards towards the bay. Look over your right shoulder to begin with seeing how well you are doing in relation to the third bays lines. The fish eye lens of you mirror can take over that job when further back.

Once half way in, stop. Get everything under control and check the left door mirror. Hopefully you'll now be able to see both sets of lines on both mirrors, which will help when it comes to straightening up.

Lots of little movements and stops can help get perfectly straight before the straightening up part. Once that's done, look over your left shoulder out the rear window and come back the remaining distance.

To finish off it's handbrake and neutral and you're done.

Driving Safely While Aging

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 16:01:32 GMT

Physical Changes That May Affect Your Driving

Driving is an important part of many people’s lives that enables them to run errands, shop for groceries, attend appointments, socialize, and enjoy an active lifestyle. However, continuing to drive as you reach an advanced age can come with risks.

Aging can cause changes in the body that affect your ability to perform everyday tasks, including driving. Older adults are also more likely to suffer fatal injuries in car accidents. According to the CDC, 20 older adults are killed every day in car accidents across the United States, and 540 are injured.

If you are starting to experience age-related limitations that make driving more challenging, it may be time to make important decisions about whether it is safe to continue driving—both for yourself and others. That said, you may be able to safely continue driving for years by taking advantage of adaptive technologies.

Physical changes are inevitable as we age, sometimes creating new challenges while driving. Everyone ages differently. You may have difficulty turning your head, moving the steering wheel, or pressing the gas and brake pedals. You may also find it more difficult to see in the dark or gauge distance. This section goes over some of the most common age-related driving issues.

Vision Impairment. Normal age-related decline can make seeing the dashboard or road hazards, such as potholes and debris, more challenging.

Hearing loss affects approximately one in three adults aged 65 to 74 and nearly half of adults over 75, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Driving with reduced hearing can prevent you from responding to car horns, emergency sirens, and oncoming vehicles. Many senior drivers with impaired hearing adapt by becoming more alert to their visual surroundings, but this may not be enough to keep you safe.

The pain and stiffness of arthritis can make it difficult to handle a steering wheel, especially while turning and backing. Arthritis in the feet can also make reaching the pedals and applying pressure difficult, in turn making it harder to control your speed or come to a stop.

Arthritis in your neck can cause difficulty turning your head, resulting in a delayed response to hazards. For example, it could prevent you from turning your head far enough to check blind spots while merging or switching lanes.

Epilepsy is more common as we age due to changes in the brain. It is associated with strokes, tumors, Alzheimer’s disease, and other health conditions common in the elderly. Epileptic seizures are unpredictable and may lead to a complete loss of awareness or consciousness.

If you have a seizure while driving, you could lose control of your vehicle, resulting in a serious accident.

Diabetes causes blood sugar highs and lows. When blood sugar drops too low, you could experience the following symptoms, all of which can make driving dangerous:

Confusion

Dizziness

Fatigue

Loss of consciousness

Anxiety

Irritability

High blood sugar can also lead serious conditions that affect driving, including diabetic retinopathy and nerve damage (neuropathy). Peripheral neuropathy is the most common type of diabetic neuropathy. It causes pain, tingling, numbness, and loss of sensation in the extremities. Neuropathy can make it difficult to steer, accelerate, or stop your vehicle.

Heart and Lung Conditions can cause shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, fatigue, chest pain, dizziness, and loss of consciousness at unpredictable times, increasing the risk of serious accidents

Fatigue often results from chronic health problems or side effects from medication. It can also stem from sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome. Regardless of the cause, fatigue reduces alertness, slows reaction times, and increases anxiety, all of which can make driving dangerous. The most significant risk of driving with fatigue is falling asleep at the wheel.

If you wish to know more about how age affects driving, click here

Parallel parking - Automatic tutorial

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 14:13:45 GMT

Online Driving Tutorial - Reverse Park/Parallel Parking

The most technical maneuver

The reverse park exercise, or parallel parking manoeuvre does require you to be accurate. This is why I usually leave this maneuver until last.

Speed is the key. You want the car to be moving as slowly as an elderly person whilst using brisk hands to get the wheels on the ground facing the way you want them.

The examiner will ask you pull over well before he vehicle you'll be using for this exercise.

You'll not have to park between two cars on your exam, you'll use one car and be told not to come back more than two car lengths.

Parallel parking

Step one – You'll start some way down the street from the target vehicle. POM before moving away. Signal if necessary. Come out fairly sharp, so you have lots of time to work on getting parallel with the target car and then you can work on the distance between yourself and the other vehicle.

Coming along side the car too wide will have big ramifications on the outcome and could also hinder the progress of on-coming traffic.

You'll need a good starting position, about the width of a steering wheel from the left flank of the car to the target vehicle. Or half a metre away. Position yourself so that your shoulder is in-line with the end of the target car's bonnet. You need to stop here, gently with straight wheels.

Step two - Hand brake on to secure the car. Select reverse gear, take effective observations and whilst looking over your left shoulder move the car backwards until the ends of the vehicle are level with one another. This is tricky to do due to pillars and panels, so we need a reference point. When the end of their car appears in the back left window, stop.

The turn

Step three – Take a good, effective observation all around. You will slow other road users down here as the car swings out, so it needs to be clear both ways. When you're ready to go, turn the wheel one rotation to the left (360 degrees).

As the car moves out, get one quick blind spot check done. We're looking for other road users trying to squeeze past you at the last second. You then have time to check out the back, to make sure it's safe behind you before coming back too far.

When the car moves out to a 45 degree angle across the street, you're in the correct position. Stop here. Depending on the car you use, there will be different reference points to help gauge this.

You should be on a diagonal from where you started. Observe behind to make sure it's safe and once the car moves, turn the wheel twice to the right.

Step four - The car's bonnet will swing in, towards the pavement. Keep the speed low. Expect the car to roll down the camber of the road as the wheels turn, becoming in line with the slope. Cover the foot brake to keep the speed under control.

Once the car is fully in the parking position, inline with the kerb and the car in front of you, quickly take the turn off to straighten up the wheels. That's once to the left.

When completed, stop, handbrake and put the car into neutral. The reverse park is complete.

So there are three turns. One left, two right, one left. Left, right, left. One, two, one. And that's as simple as anyone can make it.

"Wrong" way round

The reverse park manouevre using a vehicle that is in the other orientation can be more difficult. Using the end of the target car could prove impossible as the sloping bonnet doesn't appear in the rear side window. Below are some tips on how to proceed with this variant on the manoeuvre.

Start position
This is critical, more so than any other reference point. It's so important to start in the same place every time, other wise all the other reference points are going to be different.

Come back till your shoulder is level with where the driver in the target car would be sitting, if they were in the car.

Or when looking across you're between the steering wheel and the drivers seat. Again, especially for those under 5,10" tall.

Reference points

The reference points and points of turn are the same.

Plan B
If you ever feel like you're going to bump the pavement on the reverse park, don't panic, there is a solution. You have an extra 1/2 turn in reserve. Just add all of it. This extra turn will help get you away from the pavement quicker, reducing the chance of hitting/bumping or mounting.

If you ever do bump the pavement whilst parallel parking, stay calm. It's just a minor mark come test day. Apply the handbrake, turn the wheel full lock to the left whilst stationary, then move forward very slowly, make sure you're parallel before straightening.

Forwards bay parking - Automatic tutorial

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 10:11:34 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Forwards bay parking

The second maneuver you should learn

Essentially, all the driving test manoeuvres are parking exercises. The forwards bay park is the easier of the two that take place in a car park. Students who over analyse the point of turn into the bay often struggle and make too much of it. Negotiating the car park itself, in my opinion, is the hardest bit.

Pick a bay, any bay, just not that one

The examiner will take you to a suitable car park, guide you around to a safe space and then stop you before giving further instructions. They'll tell you what you are about to do, ask you to pick any bay on either the left or the right. That you can't simply go straight into a by that directly in front of you. It needs to be a 90 degree type turn. They will tell you that you can't go across a bay to go into one behind it when the bays are back to back and that they want you to finish between the lines.

Once in they'll ask you to reverse out and to leave the car park.

Planning for bay parking is crucial. Think which side you want to park on and then position yourself on the other side of the aisle of the car park. For example, if the bay you want is on your right, you'll want to stay to the left. Being far over like this gives you more space to get the car in.

Parking on the right is far easier as you can see out of the window easier and keep the lines in view.

The reverse element

Think of this exercise like you're turning into a narrow street. You'd want to check your mirrors before turning the wheel for road users behind you, look at the bay and make the turn sharp. Avoid touching the first line of the bay you're entering. Clipping the second bay is OK as the car will come back in on itself.

A useful reference point here would be when the first line of the bay you want is inline with your door handle. I also get some students to imagine this green line connecting with their knees. Or some part of their leg depending on how close to the wheel they sit.

Reference points for this aren't brilliant. It's quite a freestyle manouevre and requires good judgment.

Once half way in, little stops can be beneficial. It allows you to readjust your hands ready or unraveling the wheel. And allows you to think as to when to take off the turn. Use the information in front of you to decide when to straighten. When it looks like the front of the car is square with the wall, bush, fence etc in front of you, then take the turn off.

Apply the handbrake and put the car into neutral. Await further instructions on the manoeuvre.

You'll then be asked to leave the car park by the examiner.

Reversing makes it a manoeuvre

When ready, POM. Get the car into reverse, make sure you observe thoroughly, release the handbrake and slowly come back.

If there are empty bays on either side of you, you can turn immediately in the opposite direction of which you have been asked to leave. If there is a car on either or both sides of you, come back straight until your door mirrors have cleared the ends of the vehicles, then turn. This is prevent the bonnet hitting those parked vehicles.

The turn wants to be quick and shape to rapidly change direction. Once the bonnet is pretty much facing the direction you wish to go in, quickly take the turn off so that your wheels are facing the correct direction.

Stop. Go into drive, observe your mirrors and around you before leaving. Carefully leave the car park.

Pull up on the right - Automatic tutorial

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 11:10:20 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Pull up on the right

The first maneuver you should learn

On paper, the pull up on the right manoeuvre looks by far the easiest of the four you could get come test day. However, there are potential pitfalls you will want to avoid.

Whilst driving, the examiner will ask you to pull up on the right when it is safe to do so. They'll ask you to then reverse two car lengths, keeping reasonably close to the kerb. Once completed, you'll then pull away and re-join traffic when it is safe to do so.

LADA and MSM

It takes longer to pull up on the right than it does the left, so make sure you choose a decent size gap to park in. You'd be wanting to park somewhere safe, legal and convenient as usual. (Don't park on narrow streets, in front of drive ways, on bends etc). Try to not park in front of another car as it will obstruct your view and make leaving difficult.

You'd be expected to perform an MSM routine for this manoeuvre, but first LADA (Look, Asses, Decide and Act). After identifying the gap you'd want to park in (make sure it's easy to get in and out of), check your interior and right door mirror for things looking to pass you on your right. Be sure to consider the oncoming traffic too. You can't afford to slow down oncoming vehicles, stop if necessary to allow them to pass before pulling over.

Signal to the right to let all road users know you wish to move in that direction.

Then when safe, make your way across to the other side of the street. Aim the vehicle around several car lengths before the spot where you intend to park, we need this extra space for straightening up. It's essential to finish up parallel to the kerb as any angle from the car in towards (facing) the kerb would see you coming back into the street on the reversing section.

It could be worth checking your right door mirror here to see if you're in line with the kerb or not. If you're wonky, fix it by going forwards. It's far easier than doing it going backwards.

You can't slow down oncoming cars for this exercise. So if you have a good spot lined up, but are worried about the oncoming traffic, it's fine to stop and wait for them to pass before moving across the road. Don't worry about the cars behind, they have to wait for you.

The reverse element

Apply the hand brake and put the car into neutral when done. The examiner will then ask you to reverse back two lengths when ready. So you'll need to POM

Footbrake down, into reverse gear and take the hard brake off.

The observe thoroughly all around you, finishing off with a right hand side blind spot check. Be sure to be looking over your left shoulder before releasing the brake and slowly come back two car lengths. You should be so slow coming back you can check in multiple places for danger, two or three times over. If vehicles are driving towards you, stop when they are close. Around 2/3 car lengths away.

Judgement time

Once you've come back the required amount, the examiner will ask you to drive away when you're ready.

POM again. So into a forwards gear.

Observe checking for on-coming traffic, your interior mirror, left door mirror and left shoulder blind spot check. Picking the right gap is crucial here. It's not just a maneuvering exercise, but a judgement one. Picking out the speed of oncoming and rear coming vehicles can be tricky simultaneously.

Signal when you're about to go and move away with purpose, back to your side of the road and get up to speed when safe.

Spiral roundabouts - Automatic tutorial

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 07:53:12 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Spiral Roundabouts

These very large, busy spiral roundabouts are becoming more and more frequent these days. It’s essential that learner drivers know how to deal with them correctly. Failure to do so could be dangerous once they’re driving alone as lane disciple could easily lead to accidents.

Learners shouldn’t fear them. Yes, they look big and they’re always busy. The good news is that the hardest part is done for us. So the decision to go or stop is now as simple as obeying the lights.

That difficulty is now replaced with the question ‘which lane should I be in?’ and staying in lane.

Lanes and markings

On approach you’ll more than likely see signs showing you the lay out of the roundabout. This will help in making your decision about which lane to be in. Look out for markings on the floor. This could be in the form of arrows, or words showing you which lane is for where.

Quite often, the arrows will all point straight on. This is to prevent anyone from trying to turn immediately right as soon as they reach the roundabout.

Left at the roundabout

If you’re turning left get in the left hand lane. It will never be wrong. When you’re going straight across it could be the left, it could also be the middle (if there is one). In the diagram below it’s the red arrows for straight and blue for left.

Straight over the roundabout

Note how the red path started in the middle and by the time they passed exit 1, they’re now in the outside lane. Hence the name, spiral. By following the markings, the lane will push you outwards. You’ll leave the roundabout in your normal drive position in the left most lane.

The abundance of markings all over the junction can sometime be confusing. Follow the line that applies to you and ignore the others. Your line should always be a smooth, gradual curve.

It’s turning right that causes the issue for those with minimal experience

Right at the roundabout

The image above shows the path you should be taking for turning right at the spiral roundabout. Be in the right hand lane on approach and stay to the right. When you reach the first set of lights (¼ of the way around the roundabout) you’ll be in the right hand lane still, but immediately after, this is where you’ll need to spiral outwards. By the time you’ve gone past your penultimate exit, you should be in the outside lane.

The blue arrows shows the correct path. Often when there is confusion on the markings, motorists can some times opt for the middle lane, the red arrows. This is acceptable, but it does mean more work when you come off. An additional lane change to get back in the left hand lane.

Get across

Here we can see the same roundabout, just coming from a different direction. The annotated diagram shows the ¼ way round point and another tip I often tell students to help get them across to the far lane, which sometimes isn’t guided with markings.

If there are no lines to shepherd you across, aim the vehicle after the ¼ way around point towards the island on the far side. Any car on your left at this point is going straight across. You’ll not be cutting anyone up, but a check on your mirrors can’t hurt to make sure someone else isn’t getting it all wrong.

Don’t forget to MSM as you leave the junction, the same way as you would a normal roundabout.

Not all spiral roundabouts are the same. Some time they have 4, 5, 6 exits. Occasionally multiple lanes can take you to the same place (the left is always the one to opt for as it’ll take you into your normal drive position when you come off).

Some times they’re well signed, some time they’re not. Occasionally you’ll not have lights to help you on, in which case you treat it like a regular roundabout in terms of coming on. The diagram below helps highlight some of these oddities.

Multiple lanes for same direction

Here there are two lanes for turning right, where all other approaching directions only have one and the green circle shows there are no lights helping you come on here and no lights on the actual roundabout itself at the ¼ of the way round stage for those coming from the right in this image.

The lack of consistency is a challenge for those learning, so a slow approach and driving speed on these junctions will potentially give you the time to deal with any oddities whilst travelling around them.

This ten minute, annotated video shows multiple attempts at these type of roundabouts from different directions and shows how you should negotiate them correctly.

https://youtu.be/9hnbzHMtmQE?feature=shared

Independent Driving - Automatic tutorial

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 18:31:24 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Independent driving

At last, a break for the learner driver. The introduction of this, in my opinion, makes the driving test easier. For half the test you wont need to listen to a strangers voice, which can be off putting when under pressure. It'll be done in one of two ways; following the Sat Nav or follow the road signs. The chance of following road signs is apparently 1 in 5 and seems to be far more challenging for learners. It's essentially one long distraction exercise.

Don't do anything suddenly. If you miss a junction, or are about to and have no time for a safe MSM routine, miss it. Let the sat nav recalculate and pick up the new route.

Sat Nav

Making sure you glance at the screen at the right time is important here. Only glance when nothing important is happening in front of you. So perhaps after completing a turn/junction, come into the new road, take in all the signs and potential hazards, make a little progress, then glance down and take it all in. Essentially you're being asked to follow the blue path.

What to look for...

At the top of the screen will be the vital info you. What type of turn is happening next and how far it is. The large screen with the picture on it will help clarify the shape of the road and what's to come. The voice, which can be turned off in the exam if you really want, will clarify. The timings of her instructions sadly seem to follow no pattern and come in at different times, so you can't rely on this. The yardage can help you with when to start your routine. In the usual 20/30 mph zones, 120/140 yards would be about right. Anything before that is misleading and later isn't enough time for others to respond to what you're planning. You'll also be given the name of the street, which could help in identifying the correct road is several are closely packed together.

Following Road Signs

Far harder in my opinion as signs seem to be in so many places its hard for someone with little experience to take it all in. They can be on the left, the right, above your head, on the floor, they're sometimes large, sometimes small. Buses could be in the way, tree branches can overgrow them, in the wet on a gloomy day they can be borderline impossible to read … the list of possible reasons why you could miss them is long. So the best trick is to watch your speed and following distance to give you every opportunity to catch them and respond in the correct way.

The examiner will ask you to follow signs to a certain place until told otherwise. They will not keep reminding you at each junction.
I usually leave this type of training quite late on when students are easily able to control the car, read the road ahead and anticipate other road users. When they have all these skills, adding following signs on top of everything else seems less challenging.

It's a huge leap for the learner, so don't expect too much too soon.

What might help in terms of routine structure is to check your interior mirror and come off the gas as soon as you see a sign that could have the info you want. This could help kick start the MSM routine to deal with the junction approaching you.

New Title

Advanced crossroads - Automatic tutorial

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:50:15 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Advanced Crossroads

By this stage you should already be able to deal with minor crossroad junctions and know how to approach and emerge. The more advanced elements of crossroad junctions is being able to deal with the large, busy traffic light controlled junctions, especially when turning right.

Bigger crossroads, bigger pressure

On approach, come test day, you'll be instructed as to where you'll be heading next. Left, right or straight on. Lane selection on these larger junctions is important. Look for the signs or markings to help you chose the correct lane. If in doubt, left lane for left and straight on, right lane for right.

If both lanes can be used for straight on, stay in your normal drive position and opt for the left lane. Let others pass you in the right hand lane.

The photo below shows a very straight forward, two lane approach to a large crossroads junction. Note all the cars heading in our direction all staying to the left in their normal drive position. We could use the right lane if we were overtaking, or if there's a huge amount of traffic, however, if the car in front wants to turn right, who has priority? Them, or oncoming cars? The oncoming traffic has priority, so they have to stop and that means you'll have to stop too. The left lane is the smoothest lane of traffic, hence why we stay there.

Filters

It's not always that simple however. We nowadays have a wide range of traffic light crossroad junctions set up with multiple filter lights. Below we have a simple one with the filters on the left. The two lights are for those in the left hand lane going straight and left. The easiest way of figuring out what to do is to look for the green arrow in the direction you're wanting to travel.

If it's green in the direction you wish to go in, then it's safe for you to make your turn. Below we see it's fine for those going straight and left. The red light is for those wanting to turn right. When the main light is red and you're wanting to turn right, wait at the line. If the main light is green, we'd proceed into the junction and wait at the appropriate spot, which we'll come onto later.

This filter light below is to the right of the main sequence, meaning it's speaking to those turning right. The main light is on and the filter to the right is on, meaning the oncoming traffic will not proceed and it's safe to make your turn.

This should all be fairly straight forward to understand and execute. It's when we see the basic three light set up go green and we're turning right that it all becomes more troublesome.

When approaching and turning right with multiple lanes, MSM into the right hand safely. It's advantageous to LADA early in terms of asking the question 'am I stopping or going first time?' as this can help prepare picking up the perfect spot for waiting. It should be your point of turn essentially.

You'll want to make sure you're not in the way of oncoming traffic using their right hand lane, or in the way of oncoming traffic wanting to make their equivalent right hand turn

High pressure situation

The star in the image above shows the perfect position for waiting at this type of junction. Once you've decided to stop (if you need to), start slowing down early and stop in the waiting position. This needs to be in a place where you do not slow down the car coming towards you or preventing them from making their equivalent of a right hand turn.

The image below shows a silver van wanting to turn right at a busy crossroads junction. He's taken up a good waiting position and is waiting for a gap. There is an almost endless queue of traffic heading towards him. It'll be more likely that the lights will help him across before a gap comes along.

Here the green light opposite him can help. When this light changes to amber, the oncoming traffic should stop (it's what the oncoming traffic is seeing) and he has the time then to clear the junction before the vehicles on his left and right start to proceed towards him. Note how he's not slowing anything coming towards him down and if they wanted to turn right across him, they have plenty of space to do so. Well done silver van man!

Advanced emerging - Automatic tutorial

Fri, 31 May 2024 09:37:21 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Emerging Approaching

This online driving tutorial is focusing on advanced emerging. That's giving way and turning from the minor road into the major road. You should be well versed with MSM and POM by this stage.

Minor to major

I really believe that emerging is one of the most difficult things whilst learning to drive. Each end of the road situation will be slightly different from the last one you visited, so it's tricky to prescribe one solution to fit all scenarios.

Once you have the hang of basic emerging it's time to start trying to perfect it. Depending on what you see at the end of the road determines what will happen next.

Open junctions

The term 'open junction' means that visibility both to the right and left of the major road your approaching is clear from a distance.

You will still be expected to complete your MSM routine and get your speed down to about 10 mph. If you can see both to the left and right, and it's clear, then no need to stop. You can simply make your turn and make progress. Don't forget to check your mirror in the new road.

These are exceptionally rare and I'd recommend sticking to the basic routine of assuming you are stopping. This will never be wrong.

Make a mistake with an open junction looking to go first time could be extremely costly.

Closed junctions

This applies to about 99% of the junctions you'll come across. This is when you can see very clearly that you have no idea of what is behind the bushes/wall/fence/trucks etc at the end of the road. Due to this blocked visibility assume you're stopping.

The advanced technique for these junctions is as follows. Below are two contrasting closed junctions. They can be found in both cities and in leafy suburbs.

Let's assume you're turning left first. On approach, you're asked to turn left. Mirrors first, then signal, start reducing your speed. Now you have to assume there is danger around the corner and that we're going to stop.

Still under braking getting the car down to about 5 mph, position the car with enough left turn so to ease you round the corner, hugging the kerb and out of the road. DON'T LOOK TO THE RIGHT TOO SOON. If you look right too early, you won't be able to hug the pavement and how can you stop at the line if you're not looking at it?

When you get to where the give way lines vanish under the cars bonnet you will now be able to observe and if clear come off the brake and glide around the corner.

If it's not clear, we're already on the brake, so increase the pressure and gently stop the car at the end of the road.

The key is to not observe until the end of the road, focus on position and following that kerb until the give way lines vanish, then look to go.

Just apply the same to turning right. Be aware that turning right is more difficult as you have to move across a lane of traffic. Remember to emerge straight first, then make your turn and get into your driving position ASAP. This is especially true for very wide roads.

Emerging up hill

You want to be applying the same method here as usual, however, you'll want to be slightly faster on approach and wait longer before releasing the accelerator. The reason for this is gravity. If you slow down too early, or brake too soon, you'll lose too much momentum and not make it to the end of the road first time smoothly.

Advanced approaching - Automatic tutorial

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 06:14:20 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Advanced Approaching

Major to Minor

Approaching can sometimes be considered one of the easier junctions when it comes to driving. However, it should not be taken for granted. Once your confidence is high enough, try spacing your MSM routine out a little further.

There should be a little gap between checking the interior mirror, the door mirror and then getting your signal on. Work on early braking. It should light and measured for a gradual reduction in speed. See if you can keep your foot on the brake right up until you make your turn.

Early braking is a great way of letting the cars behind you know that you are reducing your speed. The early lower speed reduction will help with more accurate positioning. Plus. you'll have more time to observe, which is often overlooked.

Approaching on a hill

Uphill - If you can find somewhere to practise approaching uphill and to the right, try it. The hill can really throw a learners timing off when it comes to slowing and how much braking to use. Try reducing your speed earlier than usual and make sure yo make it to your point of turn. Stopping early will encourage cars emerging to go before you as it looks like your letting them go. Don't worry about a handbrake, you don't need it in an automatic.

Blind turns

Right hand turns on a left hand bend is potentially dangerous. You could even use an emerging routine for an approaching situation. You wont know what you have to give way to until you reach your point of turn. So consider arriving ready to stop, just like emerging.

Narrow

Turning into streets that are only wide enough for one car can be tough. Always assume the worse. Hopefully you're already practising entering new roads at 10 mph. Occasionally you may have to, again, deploy an emerging type routine for an approach if you really fear you'll have to stop.

Even consider stopping so that you can look down the new road to see if anything is coming out. It's easier to let them go when you're at your point of turn, rather than when you're halfway into the new road and blocking their exit.

Advanced moving off and stopping - Automatic tutorial

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 16:27:08 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Advanced moving away and stopping

You will be asked to pull over at the side of the road at least five times during your exam, possibly more. This is why I teach an advanced moving away and stopping lesson to my students.

There are three pulling in and moving away exercises. Once on a hill (the hill start), once on what would be considered to be a busy road and once from behind a parked car. The other times you'll be stopped for are the manoeuvre, maybe the emergency stop (if you get it) and then the independent driving section. Plus, if you're just whizzing through the exam and it looks like you'll get back early, the examiner will slow it down with more pulling in.

Stopping

When stopping you'll have to use the MSM routine, however, you'll need to find somewhere to stop that is considered to be safe, legal and convenient . What you need to avoid is stopping near a sharp bend or brow of a hill, not on any markings like yellow lines/zig-zags etc (a dashed cycle path is ok), opposite a parked car or in front of a driveway.

When pulling in, never rush. They are testing your ability to find somewhere suitable. When rushed you may land up not being parallel with the kerb or in a poor parked position.

Moving away

Before going anywhere or doing anything, check to see what the speed limit is. You need to know what the target speed is before moving off. Remember, we don't want to slow anyone down. You need to show that you can juydge the size of the gap and get into it, up to speed all without slowing other down.

When you're ready, we POM. Prepare first. Observe using your mirrors and checking your blind spot, then before moving you have to make a decision about using a signal. If you see no people at all, you don't need a signal. If there are human beings in sight, you will have to use one. There is a catch though.

If someone is coming up from behind you, you have to delay your signal until after they have passed you. If you signal too soon, the approaching car may think you're about to pull out suddenly and may slow down for you or stop. Which you want to avoid. So wait until the last car has passed, then the signal goes on and you move away quickly and efficiently. Cancel the signal before going too far down the road as the signal could be considered to be misleading about turning into a new road.

The hill start

This is more of a test for manual drivers. They could roll backwards or stall. Auto drivers don't have to worry about such things. What makes this different is the effect on gravity sapping the speed of the car, so when you do go, take this into consideration and accelerate harder. Plus, the rear view mirror might not give yo the best view. often it just points down at the ground behind you.

The busy road

Here they are checking your ability to move away without slowing down other vehicles. It's a judgement exercise. Plenty of gas needed here and be positive. When you want to go, go!

Behind a parked car

Again, another test for manual drivers really. They have to demonstrate clutch control. That's not to say that this is easy. You'll need to make sure you can control the cars speed not getting too close to the car in front, and not ballooning on to the other side of their street too much. You'll inevitably be slightly on the wrong side, that is why it's also important to think about oncoming traffic as well as the cars behind you.

Meeting - Automatic tutorial

Sun, 28 Jan 2024 16:52:03 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Meeting

I think meeting is one of the most difficult aspects of driving. It's all to do with how motorists get past one another when the road narrows. A driver needs to be able to read a situation, size it up, make a decision and act upon it all within a second or two. Drivers with minimal experience find this difficult. Hence why meeting situations are tough for novices.

Always think clearance

Depending on the width of the road, parked vehicles and oncoming traffic, you'll be expected to deal with each situation slightly differently.

Wide roads with the occasional parked car - On approach to the obstruction on your side of the road, check the interior mirror then the right door mirror for other road users trying to overtake you before moving out. Start to drift away from the left early and take up a position 1 meter from the parked car and once you've passed it check the interior mirror and left door mirror for people, smaller vehicles and bikes behind the parked car.

Make sure you can see the back of the car before moving back in. Students often check the mirrors too soon and therefore come back in too soon. If you can keep a meter from the parked up cars and the oncoming traffic, this is deemed a safe distance and you can continue at normal speed.

A common issue is not moving out early enough. Try to be parallel and flush with the parked up cars when you go past them. This way you'll take the minimum amount of space. Plus, the oncoming traffic will read your intentions early and will try and accommodate you.

Normal/average width road - reduce speeds

In the average sized road, you run the risk of slowing oncoming vehicles down when you move out and around the parked cars. If the gap between you, the parked car and oncoming road users is less than 1 meter, then you must reduce your speed accordingly.

If the gap is less than 1 meter, you must be traveling at no more than 20 mph by the time you meet the oncoming car.

At these speeds you'll be able to deal with car doors being flung and going ahead with the emergency stop. You will need to be able to identify the gap and the width before you get there and have your speed under control when you pass the other cars. Same routine as far as the mirrors are concerned.

Narrow roads - Hold back

If you can't give at least 1/2 a meters clearance when passing another car, you should be stopping.

They have priority. If it's just one car, then back off with the speed on approach and once they have gone, check those mirrors, move out and make some progress. If there are lots of cars coming, then you'll need to stop. You must take up the 'Hold Back' position.

The sooner you stop, the more time you have to get the ready for moving away once again. First gear, and maybe the handbrake needs to be applied. The early reduction in speed lets the oncoming traffic know your plans too.

Stop no closer than 2 to 3 car lengths from the first parked vehicle (that's a pretty big distance).

Too close to the kerb and cars behind will start overtaking you. Make it obvious you are just waiting. Half a car width in is usually right. You'll then be able to see down the road and know what's coming.

Tunnel of vehicles

With these situations, priority goes to the car who gets in first.

Holding back sooner rather than later is advised, as there may be nowhere to pass each other later. Reversing down a narrow street is way harder than it sounds.

If for what ever reason you do find yourself in a tunnel of cars with someone coming towards you, find somewhere to pass each other. Gaps on the other side of the street are the easy ones. Simply stop opposite a large gap and allow them, to move into it. Gaps on our side are more difficult. Have it clear in your head that you're going to stop here.

Clutch goes down before we get into the gap, so the engine stops pushing the wheels. Only move in the absolute minimum, we want to get out again easily and make sure it doesn't look like you're parking. Try to stop in the middle of the gap to aid an easy exit with your wheels pointing a little to the right to help further. Have the car parallel with the kerb.

Overtaking - Automatic tutorial

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 09:33:07 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Overtaking

This driving tutorial is going to look into overtaking. Learning how to overtake is difficult as the number of situations that arise whilst learning are limited. So make sure you know the theory well, so when the opportunity arises, you're ready to overtake safely.

A warning

This is probably the most dangerous manoeuvre you'll be tasked with when driving at any level. If you are travelling at 60 mph and there is a car coming towards you at 60 mph we have a closing speed 120 mph!

The chance of this happening come test day are remote. However, if you are travelling down a dual carriageway and there is a slow vehicle in front of you, you will be expected to make progress. Not doing so has resulted in failing tests before.

If you see any of these signs, do not overtake until it's safe.

Safe, Legal, Convenient

There are three things you must ask yourself before attempting this move.

Is it safe? What view do you have of the road? Are there any cars coming towards you? Is there a brow of a hill, junction or a bend coming up?
Is it legal? Is there a crossing coming up? Do road markings say it's not allowed? What is the speed limit? Image B shows you a range of road signs where overtaking is not allowed.
Is it necessary? Are you turning off soon? Will you be able to make any progress?

The procedure for this is M-P-S-L-M-S-M (P-S-L) -M-S.

How to overtake

Mirrors - Check your interior and right door mirror for anyone who could also be wanting to overtake.

Position - You need to position yourself behind the car in front so you can see ahead of you well, making sure nothing is coming towards you. Don't be too close. Being further back gives you a better view, but more distance to cover when getting past.

Speed - You need to match that of the car in front. Too close and you'll block your view of the road ahead.

Look - Take one more look around and down the road to make sure it's all clear.

Mirrors - Interior and right door mirror for cars trying to overtake.

Signal - Signal to let everyone, including the person in front, that you intend to overtake.

Manoeuvre - Position yourself to move around the car. Your speed needs to increase, get past the car as quickly and efficiently as possible. Looking ahead for any changes in the road; bends, junctions, cars.

Mirrors - Before moving back in, you need to check your mirrors, interior and left door mirror. You MUST be able to see the car in your interior mirror, otherwise you'll be too close to him.

Signal - Signal to the left to let everyone know you're moving back in.

Manoeuvre - Move back on to your side of the road and make progress.

The best place to practise this is on dual carriageways.

Roundabouts - Automatic tutorial

Sat, 25 Nov 2023 15:38:53 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Roundabouts

Without a doubt, roundabouts are the most requested thing to practise by students. Only by exposing yourself again and again will it make sense. Do not expect to prefect roundabouts instantly, be patient. Depending on the roundabout size, you will be expected to do slightly different things by the examiner.

Mini Roundabouts

Dealing with roundabouts is just like approaching and emerging. We're hoping to go first time, like with approaching, so have this routine at the forefront of your mind. It's the MSM routine, arriving at 10/12 mph with 3 to 4 car lengths to spare. This is the key to roundabouts. The slow arrival with everything done. So with that 12+ meters to go you can really focus on the looking part of the MSM routine.

This is when I introduce student to another acronym; LADA. Look, Asses, Decide, Act.

We look to the right entrance first off as this is the car we need to give way to.

We asses to see if there's danger.

Make a decision. If there's a car, we Act by stopping. If there isn't anything, we Act by going.

This is the basic premise for all roundabouts. Sadly, it's not that simple. If there's a car on your right, you might not have to stop. Look at their signal and position. We might be able to go.

If it is crossing your path, there's still a chance we can go because other cars coming from other directions might be crossing their path, stopping them from entering the roundabout, giving you the opportunity to proceed.

It'll be confusing to start with. In time you'll be able to work out who's crossing who's path and who needs to give way. The slow approach with everything done with 3/4 car lengths to spare gives you the time to piece is all together.

Double Mini Roundabouts

Treat each one individually using the information above. In the image below you can see dashed lines between the roundabouts, this is where you would need to stop for traffic on the second roundabout if they were to be crossing your path.

An extra point for consideration is whether your final exit is clear; you don't want to be sitting on the roundabout clogging it up. The blue car in the image has to give way to the green car as at the second roundabout this car is coming from his right.

I'd wait until the learner is happy with single ones before attempting these. I think these are good practise for looking and using blockers and building anticipation skills.

Larger Roundabouts

On approach you may see a warning triangle but will more often than not see large diagram giving location information. It's vital to observe these and to formulate a plan on how to deal with the junction in advance.

These roundabouts often have more than one lane approaching them and the most important thing is to maintain lane discipline. MSM on approach, remember LADA and be slow enough to get in the observations you'll need to safely deal with the junction.

Turning left

(The blue car on the image above) - Once again you'll need your M-S-M routine. This sequence is assuming it's clear in front of you and you're looking to go first time. Check your interior mirror, left door mirror, signal to the left, stay in the left lane, reduce your speed to 10/15 mph and be in 2nd gear and off the clutch with 4 car lengths to spare.

Look to the right for traffic coming onto the roundabout or from behind the floral display (or what ever else is in the middle of the roundabout itself).

The big difference

What makes these harder than the mini roundabouts is that cars could already be on the junction, but hidden.

When cars come around from the dark side of the roundabout, depending on their position you'll need to do one of two things. If they're in the outside lane, we go. The inside lane, be careful. For beginners, I'd recommend stopping. The inside lane is where cars could come around and cross your path. They might straighten up and leave, and you'll be able to identify this in time. But for now, practise stopping.

Once into the new road, cancel your signal if it hasn’t done so automatically and check your mirrors once you start making progress.

Going straight

(The green car on the image) - Unless told otherwise by road markings or road signs, stay in the left hand lane. At some very large roundabouts there could potentially be 3 lanes on approach to the roundabout, in which case, you may need to be the middle lane. Look for information on where you need to be. This could be in the form of a sign, or arrows on the ground.

Check your interior mirror and left door mirror, no signal, reduce your speed to 10/15 mph. Look to the right for other road users and if it's clear then emerge. The most important thing here is maintain lane discipline, stay to the left!

Once you have passed the penultimate exit you will need to let people know what your intentions are. Check your interior mirror, left door mirror, signal to the left and take your exit. Once into the new road, a quick mirror check and make progress.

Turning right

(The red car on the image) - This can be more daunting. On approach check your interior mirror and this time right door mirror to see what is potentially on your right or to see if the right hand lane is free. Signal to the right, your position will have to change this time, drift into the right lane/keep the hazard lines on the middle of the road down the right flank of the car.

Your speed once again will need to be reduced to 10/15 mph. A low speed will be very useful here as you have so much to do whilst leaving.

Look to the right for other road users and if clear, emerge into the roundabout, however, this time you'll need to cross over into the lane closest to the roundabout itself.

Keep the roundabout on your right hand side until you have passed your penultimate exit then you'll need to let people know behind you that you intend to come off.

Mirrors first, interior and left door mirror, then signal to the left. Don't try this until you have seen your exist and you begin to take the turn off. Once you have completed the first set of checks and applied the signal, your wheels should be fairly straight.

The extra check

Usually you'll be wanting to come off in a straight line (the solid red line in the image), but before you start to cut across the lane you MUST check your mirrors again for cars on your left flank. Especially when coming from and into a dual carriageway section of road.

This is why going slow is so crucial. You could very well have a car sitting next to you wanting to take your exit and in the lane you're about to move into.

If no car is there, then take your exit and come off in the left. If there is a car there, then you'll need to exit in the right-hand lane (the dashed red line in the image). If you do come off in this lane, don't panic, you're allowed to be here.

However, you will need to make progress and at some stage get back into the left-hand lane, making sure you check your mirrors and act sensibly on what you see before doing so.

Should I stay or should I go?

It's a tricky one. This is why approaching at 10/12/15 mph is the secret to unlocking the roundabout mystery. It gives you time to LADA (Look Assess Decide Act).

The golden rule here is not to make anyone slow down who is already on or coming onto the roundabout from the right. Your view of the roundabout is not amazing and often other divers signal incorrectly or not at all, so what we're looking for here is the position of other road users.

When looking to the right just before we get there, if there are cars in the outside lane (the lane furthest from you) and you can't see where they have come from (so not the right exit which we can see) they are going to leave, NOT cross your path and it's clear to go. If a car is on the inside lane, closest to the roundabout, then we wait. This car is going to cross your path and we have to give way to them.

Through exposure to these types of junction, you'll gain experience and soon you'll understand the movements of all the vehicles on the roundabout. It comes in time. Don't stress if you haven't grasped it after the first few times of coming across these junctions.

Other cars moving at high speeds doesn't help and in fact slows the progress of everyone else down. Another reason for being slow on the junction, it oddly helps the traffic flow better.

Watch the video for more help on roundabouts, especially turning right and the timings.

https://youtu.be/HzELvnZcSOw

Emergency Stop - Automatic tutorial

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 08:02:24 GMT

Online driving tutorial - Emergency Stop

This is often refereed to as an emergency stop, however, I find that this paints the wrong image in students minds. In an emergency type situation, any driver needing to stop the car would hammer the brake. This is not what the examiner is looking for.

Think more along the lines of a controlled stop. A short sudden stop is expected from you, the seat belts should lock, but the car remains under control. The car should not skid and the ABS should not activate.

The routine

Come test day, the examiner will pull you into the side of the road first and will explain what is about to happen next. So you can mentally prepare for the emergency stop.

Usually when we reduce our speed we should try and get a mirror check completed, but because this is (supposed to be) an emergency it's far more important to stop the car. So the first thing you have to do, when asked to stop, is firmly press down on the foot brake. Firm, but not overly firm.

The car should stop suddenly, but the ABS should not activate. You need to demonstrate that you can stop the car without the need of the anti-lock brake system. You might not have a car with it in the future.

If you feel a strange pulsing sensation under your braking foot, don't panic, it's just the ABS activating. Stay with it, let the computer and ABS do it's thing.

Both hands need to firmly grip the wheel and keep the car in a straight line.

Once the car has stopped, apply the handbrake, put the car into neutral and relax your feet. Your heart might be beating quickly, so give yourself a second or two to gather your composure.

Because the car is stationary, we need to POM, but with a twist.

Prepare the car first, so foot brake down, into drive and take the handbrake off.

Then complete a 360 degree observation around the car, starting with a look over your left shoulder finishing with your blind spot on the right. We want to check all around us for any road user trying to pass on either side of the vehicle.

The car could be, potentially, in a strange position in the road. Other road users approaching from behind may not know at is happening and could look to go past you.

Act sensibly on what you see. As you're moving away, have a check on your mirrors in-case something happened to be in a blind spot.

Skidding

There are three main causes for all skidding accidents occurring. If you're aware of them, you can reduce the chances of it happening to you.

Human error

You may be surprised to hear that the main cause of skidding is due to driver error. Speed too high and braking too late.

Because the main cause of skidding is down to human error, it's important to remain the correct distance behind the car in front. Remember, "only a fool brakes the two second rule". This is the distance we should keep from the car in front. Twice that in the wet.

Look at the braking distance chart below. At 70 mph your overall stopping distance isn't too far off 100 m! When was the last time you saw a car on the motorway keeping 100 meters away from the car in front? In the wet, it's double that and in ice it's 10 times that, 1 kilometre!

The car

The second cause of skidding is a faulty vehicle. Brakes not working, car veering to one side, bald tyres/excessive wear on outside of tyres. You should check your tyre pressure at least once a week. The tread depth should also be kept an eye on. 1.6 mm is the legal tread depth requirement.

The surface

The third cause is the road surface. Wet, muddy, icy, loose debris... Most modern cars these days are all equipped with ABS (anti brake systems), which allow you to turn the wheel and change position whilst skidding. If your car ever does skid, turn into it. This means if the rear of the car moves to the right, you turn the wheel to the right. What ever you put on, be ready to take it off when the car corrects itself!

Automatic driving tutorial - Crossroads

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 17:46:32 GMT

Auto driving tutorials - Crossroads

There are several different type of crossroads you'll have to deal with once you're out and about in your car. You'll have to do slightly different things depending on which way you approach the crossroad junction from. I recommend you know the difference between approaching and emerging as you'll be doing both for this.

Major to minor

If you are travelling along a main road you may from time to time see a crossroads warning triangle, letting you know one is coming up soon. It could very well be hidden. As you pass through you'll have to give a little look to the right, then the left. You're looking for emergency vehicles and other road users who aren't stopping. Cyclists in particular. We look to the right first as generally the entrance here offers better visibility early.

We use our approaching routine for these types of junction. Read more about how to do this here .

Minor to major

If you were approaching a crossroads situation coming from a minor road into a major road it's exactly the same as emerging but with an extra road in front of you to think about. You would use your M-S-M routine for turning left and right (look at emerging tutorials for further details), but when it comes to going straight on there are a few things you need to consider.

Firstly, interior mirror check. Then look at the entrance of the new road to see how it differs from the exit of the road you are on. Some crossroads are slightly staggered, or the new road is slightly wider or narrower. In which case you will need to adjust your position. This is because you'll need to adjust yourself so when you emerge you're already inline to take up your normal driving position in the new road. Before you change your position, you'll need to a door mirror check. Which one depends on which way the car is to be directed. No signal is your signal for going straight across.

If you are waiting at a crossroads situation and intending to go straight on and there is a car opposite wanting to emerge and they are signalling to their right (so they are going to cross your path), you would have priority in this situation. But never assume it.

If you were wishing to emerge right and another car in front also wished to emerge to their right, no one here has priority and so once again, be careful. Get eye contact and see what their intentions are before proceeding.

Traffic light controlled junctions

When wanting to turn right at a set of lights, we have to wait for the main light to turn green. Once this happens we are allowed to proceed into the junction and may have to wait, depending on what is coming towards us. If we have to wait, then make sure you are not in the way of cars coming towards us, and not in the way of anyone wanting to make their right hand turn across our path.

There is a lot of confusion over traffic light types and filters. Filter arrows will indicate that it is safe for you to proceed in that direction

Box Junctions

You are allowed into and to stop on a box junction as long as you are turning right and you can see that your exit is clear.

Advanced Crossroads

For a more in-depth look into crossroads that are traffic light controlled and multi lane, click here .

We also have a video showing how these types of junctions should be handled.

https://youtu.be/XSkKrKue5Mw

Automatic driving tutorial - Emerging

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 16:29:45 GMT

Auto driving tutorials - Emerging

Emerging left

If you're unfamiliar with how to get the car moving off , I strongly recommend developing this skill before attempting too much of this.

Emerging has more in common with stopping than with approaching.

On approach to junctions look out for road signs, such as give way triangles. To begin with, have it in your mind that you'll stop at these. Later on, when you're more proficient, you'll only have to stop if there is something to give way to.

We must always stop at stop signs. No matter how clear we believe it to be. I'd personally recommend getting into the habit of always applying the handbrake for stop lines. You'll then definitely have brought the car to a stand still.

Once again, like with approaching , we will use the M-S-M routine.

Interior mirror first to check how close the road users are behind you, then the left door mirror. Here you're looking for cyclist coming up on your left hand side.

Signal to the left, making sure you don't signal too early, as this could be misleading to others behind you and not too late so to give plenty of time to those behind to act on what they see you are doing.

You'll need to reduce your speed progressively. Practise early braking, you can do this after checking the mirrors.

Your position should not change much at first, stay in your normal driving position. Be aware that some kerbs open out at the mouth of the road and you'll be expected to maintain this gap and follow the kerb round.

At the end of the road we have give way markings. This far back we can not see if there is anything to give way to, so we have to assume we're stopping. That's why as soon as you think you have the momentum to make it to the end of the street, we come off the gas and apply the correct amout of brake to get to the end of the street.

The single biggest issue for first timers

The final car length or so before the give way lines, I feel, is the key to successful emerging. Almost everyone observes too early here. You'll do it as a passenger without even realising it. Do not look to the right too soon. If you're not looking at the give-way lines, how can you stop at them? If you're not looking at the curve of the kerb, how can you follow it round?

Focus on following the kerb round and when the give way lines vanish under the bonnet/dashboard, this is when you'll be able to observe effectively down the street.

Keep whatever turn you've applied to the left on. You'll need this to maintain a good position coming out into the new road.

You look left and right as many times as you need to and when you feel it's safe (when you wont slow anyone down by leaving) you come off the brake and steer around the corner. Applying the gas when the car is facing in the correct direction down the road.

Once you've practised emerging left a dozen times or so and feel that you're able to judge the timings of coming off the gas and applying the correct level of brake, whilst also following the pavement around, you're ready for the next challenge. Emerging right.

Emerging right

In some respect, this is easier than emerging left. Defiantly the approach to the end of the road at least. The observation and moving off at the end has a bit more to it. Make sure you're comfortable with moving off before attempting this.

Our trusty MSM routine once again is going to be used.

As always, look out for the white lines on the road telling you a hazard is approaching. You may also have signs appear informing you whats to come; give way or stop. The M-S-M routine is once again needed here. So firstly we need to check our mirrors. Interior and right door mirror, looking to see if anyone is trying to overtake you.

Signal to the right, not too early as to confuse road users behind you and not too late so people have the chance to react to your signal.

Position needs to be adjusted if the road is wide enough, just like with approaching to the right, see if you can get the white lines on the road to run along the right flank of the car by having the lines run down at the corner of the window. Keep your wheels straight.

You need to reduce your speed by gently depressing the foot-brake, don't be afraid to get on it nice and early.

Avoid looking to the right too soon. Focus on the lines at the end of the road, make sure you get there so you can see the dangers in the new road.

Stop at the end of the road.

The dangerous bit

This is when emerging right feels trickier than emerging left. You'll need to take effective observations. This means looking left and right as many times as is necessary. Keep looking both ways, even if you know it's clear in one direction, things can change very quickly and it's easy to fall into the trap of car watching.

When you think that you'll not make another road user slow down or change direction, that's when you emerge.

Come off the brake, apply some gas and the car will start to move.

Keeping the wheels straight until you have crossed the halfway point of the new road, then turn the wheel to the right.

I would do 1 to 2 hours with students purely on junctions before loading anything else upon them. This is the corner stone of driving. I'd want them to know MSM and POM like the back of their hand. If they can't make the car move away from a quiet T-junction, they'll have little or no hope of being able to deal with busy roundabouts. Build up your confidence and muscle memory on quiet back roads to being with, then go further afield.

End of the road position tip

If you're struggling to find the end of the road, try looking out of your window for this reference point. When the give way lines are just under your mirror, you're there.

Automatic driving tutorial - Approaching

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 15:14:02 GMT

Online automatic driving tutorials

We've had online driving tutorials on the website for over ten years now, but these are for manual vehicles. So now I feel it's time to start producing automatic online driving tutorials, especially seeing as how half the instructors at the school teach in automatics. Here are the next two lessons everyone needs to know on how to tackle junctions.

Approaching left

Approaching is when you turn from the major road into the minor. For those practicing with friends and family, see if you can find somewhere to focus just on left turns. Looping around doing laps. Familiarity for the junctions and the roads really helps settle the learner and develop these skills. Don't go too fast.

When driving, perhaps we'll see a warning sign telling us about minor roads ahead, but not always. Look for breaks in the pavement, road markings and gaps between the houses to help visualise where your turn is. We will more than likely see hazard lines on the floor near the turn; they are the white elongated stripes down the middle of the road, advising us of a hazard or forthcoming junction.

MSM

The routine you'll be using for approaching left is the MSM routine . The first thing we need to do is check our mirrors. Interior mirror first, then the left door mirror, checking the speed and position of other road users behind us. In your left door mirror you are really looking for cyclists who could under-take you just as you make your turn, potentially knocking them off their bike.

Next, we signal to the left. Not too early or people will think we're pulling over to the side of the road. Too late and it'll not give enough time to others to respond.

Keep the car in your normal drive position, 1 metre from the left. You ideally want to remain this distance all the way around the corner so when you get into the new road, you're already in your normal driving position. Don't get pulled in early.

Now we need to adjust the speed. Early light braking, so to warn the cars behind what we're doing. Get to 10/12 mph 1 to 2 car lengths before the turn.

We primarily adjust the speed with the foot brake. However, coming off the accelerator early will also help reduce the speed before the turn

Look into the new road as soon as you can. How sharp is the corner? What level of steering is required? Have a high left hand on the wheel to help whip it round.

We're also looking for other hazards in the new road. Pedestrians stepping off of pavements is a common one. Stop for those, don't try to drive around them.

Knowing when to turn the wheel can be problematic. As you approach the junction, keep an eye on the kerb and when it disappears behind the front left pillar make your turn.

Straighten up the wheels in the new road, a quick mirror check to see if anyone is trying to over take and then make some progress.

Approaching right

This can be more challenging than turning left, however, the routine is the same, ' M-S-M '.

We MSM when on the move

Firstly on approach, look for signs that may assist you and the hazard lines on the road. Because we are moving right we need to check our interior mirror, followed by our right door mirror. Check to see if there are any cars or motorcycles trying to over-take you.

Then apply the indicator to the right, timing it correctly.

Your position, depending on the width of the road, may need to change. Drift slightly from the left and get the hazard lines running down the right flank of the car. You can use the lines on the ground to help you with this. The lines should appear close to the bottom right of the windscreen.

Your speed needs to gradually reduce. Approach speed should be between 10 to 12 mph. Use the foot-brake for this.

Oncoming cars

The looking section of the routine has more to it than approaching left . When turning right we must consider the cars coming towards us. If you could cross the road walking without being run over, then you can drive across. Remember, you never want to make another car slow down or change direction for you. If you do have to stop, that's fine.

The point of turn for approaching right is crucial. Make sure you do not cut the corner of the new road. To avoid this, hold off with your turn and wait until the front of the car is level with the hazard lines of the new road. If you can't visualise this, wait until those lines extend out and hit the top of the right door mirror.

Cutting the corner can cause many problems for road users exiting the new road. When you make your turn, have your right hand high on the steering wheel to give maximum leverage and try your best to get a 90 degree angle into the new road.

Start to take the turn off half way round the bend, straighten the wheels on the road, squeeze down on the gas, make some progress and finish with a mirror check.

Things to watch

Position. It's very tempting to drift from the left the moment you're given instructions to turn right. Make sure you use your mirrors and signal first. Most roads aren’t wide enough to take up this new position, if it's a narrow road, stay on your side in your normal driving position for making the turn. Otherwise you'll be driving on the wrong side of the road!

Corner cutting

Everyone wants the junction over and done with, but don't be too eager to complete it. This usually leads to drifting out of position, being on the wrong side of the road, cutting the corner and then not being in your normal driving position for several car lengths in the new road. Remember to be angular with the turn and hold off until the last moment.

Automatic driving tutorials

info@aclassdrivingschoolbristol.co.uk (Will Dracott) — Wed, 24 May 2023 11:12:22 GMT

Online automatic driving tutorials

We've had online driving tutorials on the website for over ten years now, but these are for manual vehicles. So now I feel it's time to start producing automatic online driving tutorials, especially seeing as how half the instructors at the school teach in automatics. Here are the first three lessons everyone needs to know before they start actually driving their car.

Cockpit drill

The first lesson covered by all driving instructors.

It's good practice to always ensure you and your passengers are safe before going anywhere. Ideally, before you move away, you should perform a "cockpit drill". You will be expected to do this during your exam, even though the examiners know you have driven to the test centre and the car is set up for you.

The first part of the cockpit drill is to make sure the car is safe

Door (1) - Make sure these have all been shut. Pull on the handle if need be. Look out for the interior light staying on, this is a clue that something is not closed correctly.

Handbrake (2)- Give this a firm tug (or with electric handbrakes, make sure the red light is on. A red ! mark will also be illuminated on the dash board); make sure it's holding the car still. Without this anchor, the car may move away unexpectedly when preparing to move away later.

Gear stick (3)- Even though your car is an automatic, it still has gears. make sure you're in P for park or N for neutral.

The second half of the cockpit drill is about you

Seat (4)- Adjust it so you can fully depress each pedal without over extending your leg. There should be a bend in the knee still. Seats can often be moved forwards and backwards with the lever/bar under your chair. You can also adjust the rake (how reclined you like to be) with your hands turning the dial/pulling on a lever by your hip. Seats can also be moved up or down with a lever in some cars. There's nothing wrong with being high up. The higher you are, the more you can see. And the steering wheel can also, potentially, be adjusted up and down and closer or further to the driver.

Mirrors (5)- Frame the rear window with the interior mirror. Make sure not to leave finger prints on the glass, otherwise this can distort the image behind you. The door mirrors should be positioned to have a slither of the car door visible in the part of the mirror closest to you and the horizon just above half way up. These are often controlled electronically from inside the car. The ignition needs to be on to have the electronics working for this. Some older cars will require this to be adjusted by hand.

Seat Belts (6) - This is the last thing you do. Don't pull out reams and reams of belt, keep it fairly tight and once you have clicked it in, run your thumb and forefinger across the belt to make sure there are no twists in it. Twists can lead to injuries in the event of sudden braking or crashing!

The controls

The second thing all instructors will cover. You need to know how to control the vehicle before going anywhere.

The controls of a car are very similar to one another. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you first start as each hand and foot has many different tasks to perform, often very different from one another. Through repetition and muscle memory, you'll pick it up before too long. Here are the basic controls of a car.

The pedals

Your right foot is the only one you'll be using to control these.

The Accelerator is the pedal on the right.

It's used for making the car go faster, it allows fuel/power to flow into the engine/motor. The firmer you press it, more fuel/power enters the engine/motor and the faster the car will go. Come off the accelerator and the car will reduce it's speed. The speedometer is the large dial or number on the dashboard and this informs you of your speed in miles per hour.

The Brake Is the big pedal to the left of the accelerator.

Make sure you can easily move between the pedals by sitting correctly. This is the pedal that will save you! The brakes work evenly on all four wheels and illuminates the rear brake lights (red lights) at the rear of the car once the pedal has been pressed. Braking should always be smooth and progressive. Gentle at first, getting firmer and then gently releasing some pressure off the pedal as we come to a stand still.

Steering

The steering wheel is used to make the car change direction. The hands must feed the wheel using the 'pull-push' method of steering. The top hand pulls the wheel into a corner/bend/junction whilst the other hand pushes the remaining turn required from the base.

This could feel very weird to begin with and I'd recommend doing what ever you need to make sure you just stay on the road when you first start. However, you'll need to become disciplined in time. You can practice this at home by turning a dinner through your hands in one direction a few times, then back the other way.

The hands must not be allowed to cross one another whilst steering. Your hands should always be in the 10-2 (9-3 is also acceptable) position. If the steering wheel were a clock face, one hand rests at 10 o'clock whilst the other sits at 2 o'clock. This allows for better control of the car.

Watch Our Video Steering a Car

Indicators

These are found on the stalk to the left of the steering wheel. It's located here so that you're able to operate them with your finger tips whilst keeping some element of your hand on the wheel. Push the stalk down when wanting to turn left and up for right. When you apply the indicators, orange lights flash on the corresponding corners of the vehicle alerting others to your movement intentions. Try to get into the habit of letting the car cancel these for you once your turn has been completed.

Windscreen wipers
This is the other stalk on the right of the steering wheel. Down towards to the ground will activate them. Usually there are multiple speed settings and you'll need to asses which is best in accordance to how hard the rain is coming down.

Moving off and stopping

There are two absolute key routines you need to learn here before going much further. POM and MSM. You'll need both of these for moving off and stopping.

Moving Off

The first thing you have to learn is how to P-O-M. It stands for Prepare, Observe, Maneuver. This is the routine you'll use every time you are stationary.

To Prepare the car you firstly turn it on. Then press the brake and keep your foot there. Then with your left hand take the gear stick and put the car into drive (D).

Take the handbrake off.

The car at this stage is prepared. The only thing holding you back from moving is the brake. Stay on it.

Next you need to Observe . The golden rule I tell my students is to not slow anyone else down unnecessarily. So observations at this point are key.

Firstly check your interior mirror, then right door mirror, then over your right shoulder into your blind spot. This is a huge area, bigger than what the mirrors cover. Show the examiner the back of your head, then you'll know if you've covered this area correctly or not.

If it's clear and safe, come off the brake and Maneuver . The car will instantly start moving, so be ready to steer and off you go.

Stopping

This is where we need to use the M-S-M routine. Mirror, Signal, Maneuver. When we need to reduce our speed the first thing we do is check our interior mirror. This is to check the speed and position of the cars behind us. Because if they're close, your braking need to be very early and light to warn them you're slowing down and preventing them from going into the back of your car.

Then we check our left door mirror for cyclists and scooters.

We then Signal to the left to indicate to all road users what our intentions are.

The Maneuvering section is broken down into three separate components. Position, Speed and Look.

After checking the left hand side is clear, we change our position and steer towards the pavement. Gently.

Whenever we intend to stop and as soon as we feel we have the momentum to make it to our stopped position, we start easing off the accelerator. We then apply the brake and control the Speed . Make it progressive and smooth. Using the foot brake illuminates the rear brake lights, which is another form of signal in the M-S-M routine and can actually happen before the indicator later on when travelling at higher speeds.

Look for somewhere safe, legal and convenient to park up. Have a target in mind to practise what level of pressure to apply to the brake to achieve a certain result.

Once the car has stopped, keep the feet still! Fully apply the handbrake, put the car into neutral, cancel the signal and then relax your feet.

Now that you know about moving off and stopping, you should look to practise this is quiet areas to begin with with plenty of parking options and few parked up cars.

How close to the kerb am I?

A little reference point tip. Some struggle with estimating where the kerb is when parking. It's difficult to begin with. If you really need help, use a reference point on the wiper blade. In this photo, when the kerb stone is inline with the knobbly bit of the wiper blade, the car is about 10 cm from the pavement. All cars will have something you can use for this.

Be careful not to fixate on this when on the move. Use it for a little bit, then use your judgement.

Driving test backlog finally addressed but will it be enough?

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 17:45:32 GMT

Driving test backlog finally addressed but will it be enough?

Last year we discussed the scandalous situation in Bristol regarding the backlog of driving tests and the waits students and instructors were having to endure.

In welcome news, the government has finally listened to those lobbying for support and change. This is something to be celebrated although the cynical part of me can’t help wondering if this move relates to impending elections.

Last year, we said the backlog was down to the closure of three test centres in Bristol: a terrible situation worsened by the pandemic. Instructors and students railed against the unfairness and lack of action by the DVSA who remained unmoved despite desperation from learners and their instructors. While there is still no news on new test centres, measures are being taken nationally to free up test slots.

Results of the consultation on changes to driving test bookings and notice periods

On March 30th, Baroness Vere of Norbiton the Road Safety Minister issued the results of a consultation in efforts to reduce the wait time for tests for learner drivers. The consultation took place from January to April last year with nearly 21,000 respondents. Learner drivers made up the bulk of respondents with 70.4%, and 14% were ADIs (Accredited Driving Instructors) or driving schools; experienced drivers represented 8.9% of those who responded.

Following public pressure and calls from driving instructors for measures to reduce wait times for tests (among other issues), the DVSA finally took their foot off the brake and pressed into action.

Baroness Vere claims the measures proposed are for several reasons. She maintains how safe driving is ‘a lifetime skill and something that improves with experience,’ as experienced drivers will confirm. With practice, you become better at judging situations on the road, predicting behaviour of other drivers, understanding limitations of weather conditions, and negotiating the state of the roads. In Bristol, our roads are a disgrace, but that is an issue for another post.

Further, it is argued that increasing times after failing tests would give learners the chance to undertake more instruction, improve their skills, and help them gain greater road experience. In turn, this would lead to better prepared newly qualified drivers and safer roads.

Why now? you may ask. Well, with the pandemic and all the restrictions this brought, tests and lessons were cancelled for months. An already stressed system was incapacitated by Covid and examiners remained cautious about returning to work - especially before most had been offered the vaccine.

Instructors disclosed how some learners went against advice and booked tests before they were ready, causing more delays in the system. The pass rate for the British driving test is only 50% and has remained stagnant for a long time. Low pass rates are due, in part, to how challenging the test is in this country, and there are some people who put in for their tests before they are ready. All of which leads to those who are test-ready being unable to book tests and then languishing while their skills go unchecked.

Increase the wait time before booking a test after failing from 10 days to 28 days

The first proposal is to increase the wait time before allowing booking of another test after failing one from 10 to 28 days. 30.4% of respondents agreed that this would encourage those rebooking to ensure they were ready before attempting the test for a second time. Those who opposed this most vehemently were learner drivers and newly qualified drivers who considered this change in law to be ‘unfair’.

However, a third of those polled agreed that they would rebook with more caution to ensure they were ready thereby freeing up slots.

Change cancellations from three days to ten or more

Another proposal by the DVSA is to change the number of days to cancel a test from 3 working days to 10 or more. When tests are cancelled at late notice, it can be impossible for those slots to be filled so they are wasted. With more time to cancel, an instructor can have an honest discussion with their student to assess if they are at test standard or if they need more time. This will ensure learners waste less money from tests they cancel or take but with little hope of passing.

48.5% agreed that this will help alleviate wait times for those ready to take tests as with a two-week window they can take catch up lessons to iron out any issues with parking, emerging from a side onto a main road or roundabouts for example.

The DVSA believe more than 115,000 tests could be freed up because of this measure. Between April and December 2021, 36,013 tests were cancelled within 3 days of a test; 42,193 were cancelled within 10 days; and over 63,000 were cancelled with 11 days or more before a test. These figures, and the result of the consultation have helped the DVSA, and transport minister conclude these changes are necessary and need to happen now.

Collect better data about how well instructors prepare learner drivers

Legislation will be put in place making it mandatory for instructors to display their ADI or driving instructor certificate when they bring someone for their test. This will ensure that all learners who arrive with their instructor for the test are ready and not taking it as an opportunity to ‘have a go’ even if they’re not. Instructors would be dissuaded from putting forward students less confident for tests as they could be identified as an instructor who doesn’t prepare their students for tests. In turn, these instructors are also more likely to be selected for their standards check.

54.2% of ADIs responded positively to this proposal, and agreed this would ensure instructors are treated consistently.

Give students better information about driving instructors

This proposal was to ask learner drivers and their families what information they would like when seeking an instructor. Information would include how learners perform based on their instructor, what was a driving instructor’s pass rate, how many minor and serious faults occur on the test, and in how many tests an examiner had to take the wheel.

70.1% said they would like information about an instructor’s pass rate when choosing an instructor. A number of ADIs specialise in teaching those with learning barriers which may skew their pass rate. Therefore, displaying such simple data without context could be misleading which is a concern.

An overall performance band is another suggestion that would incorporate pass rate, and other factors to decide on an overall level. 64.8% felt this would be useful in deciding the performance level of an instructor. Although, some instructors who have an excellent reputation due to their empathy and patience may inherit students from less competent instructors which could again affect their ‘band’. This is not a reflection on the instructor, but the potential damage done by a previous instructor.

What additional information do learners want?

Many agreed that in addition to pass rate, testimonials from former students would help them choose an instructor. Knowing how well an instructor supported neurodiverse learners was also seen as beneficial by many.

Update when and how to check someone’s eyesight at the start of the driving test

At the moment, tests are restricted by daylight and weather conditions; eye tests must be conducted in clear and bright conditions. 41.8% of respondents agreed that relaxing restrictions on daylight for tests as well as using iPads to read numberplates when necessary was a welcome change.

Replace paper pass certificates with digital certificates

According to the DVSA, 2 million pieces of paper each year are used to produce paper pass certificates for the theory test and the practical driving test. Replacing hard copies with a digital version would be more efficient, better for the planet and take less time. It seems respondents agreed with nearly two thirds backing this proposal.

All proposals related to the booking system are due to be phased in during summer 2023 although exact dates have yet to be released. It is hoped these measures will alleviate the long waits although there are no new test centres proposed nor is anything being done now to tackle the use of bots to book tests and then resell these to individuals and driving schools for exorbitant fees.

What do you think of these measures? Will they be enough? Let us know what you think.

Sophie Dracott

New driving law changes for March and April 2023

info@aclassdrivingschoolbristol.co.uk (Will Dracott) — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:04:01 GMT

New driving rules

Each year the powers that be slap drivers with a whole bunch of new driving laws and rules, which are often not mentioned anywhere. So we're hear to try to notify you of the up and coming switches licence holders need to know about.

Fuel duty to rise

UK fuel duty was cut last year by 5p a liter to help curb soaring fuel prices both at the pumps and in the home. This is coming to an end, so even though prices haven't returned to what looks like normal, or even reasonable, their about to jump up once more come March 23rd.

Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion

London's Ultra low emission Zone is set to once again be pushed outwards for it's third expansion. The idea is to improve air quality, but will simultaneously hit the pockets of millions of Londoners, just when money's too tight to mention. The ULEZ covers all areas within the north and south circular, but will soon engulf all 33 boroughs from April 29th. Those with cars who do not meet the standard will have to pay £12.50 a day when moving on London's roads.

The silver lining for those in the zone is that a £110M scrappage scheme has been set up to help anyone who's on benefits, owns a small business or has charity status. This started in January 2023.

Pavement Parking Ban

In Scotland it'll become illegal to park on the pavement. This is something I've only ever seen in London and is frowned up on (by the powers that be) elsewhere. In some streets you have to park on the kerb, otherwise nothing will be able to go anywhere. It's now a reality to our neighbours in the North.

Duty tax for Electric Cars

Jeremy Hunt has given a tax break to the top 1% of earners, but for anyone with an electric car, you're going to have to pay. In a move to discourage conscientious environmentalists, Hunt has decreased that in 2025 all vehicles will have to pay Vehicle Excess Duty (VED) of up to £165.

Mindfulness and driving

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 19:13:27 GMT

Mindfulness and driving

Most of my working day is spent in my car, and it is easy to become frustrated. Students work hard to follow instructions and watching them develop into conscientious careful drivers is a joy. On the other hand, the state of the roads is not.

The frustrations of driving in a city

It can be hard to remain level-headed when your planned route is impossible due to more unexpected road works and closures. At times it seems like the city is choking with traffic and movement anywhere is impossible.

You cannot affect the severe delays, but you can affect how you respond to them. Mindfulness and driving can alleviate irritation and allow you to deal with frustrations in a calm manner.

Mindfulness while driving: is it possible?

Mindfulness and driving are not something that comes naturally to many of us. When we see poor behaviour on the road it is easy to let that spill over into agitation. We enter a state of mind that makes it harder to focus and we may react rather than notice and stay calm. Picture a driver leaning on their horn gesticulating through the windscreen, or someone performing a U-turn on a crowded road before screeching away.

Training our minds to acknowledge these instances of irritable behaviour and then let them pass us by is a skill. Your health will benefit through reduced stress.

So, what is mindfulness when driving and is there something we can do to help us achieve this state? Mindfulness is an awareness of the body, the mind and our surroundings that can help us stay in the moment and act without judgement. It’s about being an observer and taking in what is happening around us.

Mindfulness can help improve listening skills, enhance our ability to remain calm and enable us to better understand our emotions and triggers.

In an article on Pubmed.gov researchers found a potential link between mindfulness and a reduction in road trauma. This report was based on several studies over seven years from 2011 to 2017. If mindful driving leads to fewer road traffic incidents, then the roads will be safer for everyone.

Recent research reveals that drivers who are naturally more mindful tend to make less driving errors and are more control of their emotions making them safer drivers. At A-Class Driving School we aim to teach mindfully.

Most people would agree that actively practising a mindfulness exercise while driving could be dangerous, but there are some general guidelines you could incorporate into driving.

Here are some points to be aware of, but if you can think of any more please add them in the comments section below:

1. Turn it off, like a light switch!

Most of us drive listening to the radio or podcasts, but what happen if we just turn it off? It may make you feel strange at first and as if something is missing. Let your mind hear the noise of the engine (unless you are driving an electric car ), It may be that without the noise of the music, the news or other noise distractions you become calmer and enjoy driving more.

2. Notice how your body feels

Without the distraction of noise, you can begin to focus attention on your body. Does your neck feel stiff or are your feet aching? You may notice how your shoulders feel tense and then make a conscious effort to make them relax. Are you aware of gripping the steering wheel?

3. Try breathing steadily. It sounds simple but it’s easy to do and can make a massive difference to your state of mind.

Take it easy!

Slow down. Going a little easier on the road at just below the speed limit rather than at it can make a positive difference to driving and mood. It will also allow you more time to respond to the road conditions making you safer. Remember, it’s a driving limit for a reason.

Make use of traffic jams

This is a big one. If you can use traffic jams to practise greater mindfulness in your body, you will feel less tired and cranky. Next time you are stuck in traffic try reframing it. This is an opportunity to slow your body down. Try breathing in for four and out for four like a wave hitting the shore.

Most of us do not use the breath well, but by controlling the breath we can reduce our heartrate, reduce anxiety and feel calmer.

I found these tips on the Wild Mind website and if you would like more information on how to use mindfulness in your driving then please read their blog.

More recently, apps have helped us in many aspects of our loves. Headspace is a popular app that users claim helps them navigate the stresses of life better. A use of the app asked about mindfulness and driving and was given much of the advice listed here.

So, before you start driving just get in your car and before you turn on the engine take a moment: breathe steadily, notice how your body and mind feels.

Blog post by Sophie Dracott Clear Copy UK Paragraph

2022 Round Up

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 13:43:46 GMT

A-Class Driving School 2022

As 2022 draws to a close it's a good time to have a little look back at the year and reflect on all that's happened at A-Class Driving School. We've had dozens of passes, despite the backlog and difficulties in obtaining a driving test in Bristol. It looks like things are beginning to pick up, with more test dates being released and the governments, supposed clamp down on bots an rouge businesses acquiring test illegally. Just this morning I had my final test of the year and Aaron (below) passed first time with just 1 minor, a fantastic achievement.

I switched to an electric vehicle this year and teaching automatic has been very rewarding. Which made August all the more painful when a van rear ended my car and wrote it off. The insurance company has been awful, but have managed to get back on the road in another Renault Zoe teaching automatic once more.

If you're looking to learn how to drive in Bristol we can potentially add you to our waiting list, however, they are starting to look pretty long once again. Your best bet of getting a manual licence is by taking an intensive course with Richard Miller, our resident intensive course specialists, who is taking bookings for January 2023 onwards. Click here for more details.

The wait for automatic driving lessons is shorter as we now have twice the number of automatic driving instructors in Bristol now at the school. Automatic lessons will also be available for the first time in the Kingswood test centre part of Bristol from mid February onwards.

We also may be expanding with a new instructor joining the team in the coming months. So there will be more coverage for the Kingswood test centre area for manual driving lessons.

Reviews

With over 50+ passes this year, we think we've done a good job. Some have been kind enough to leave reviews for us on both Googl e and FreeInde x.

Here's a few of the highlights.

"Will was a fantastic driving instructor. I needed refresher lessons having not been on the road for 10+ years. I was anxious about driving again as previously I had hated it but Will was patient and very knowledgeable and clear with his instructions. I genuinely didn't think I was going to enjoy it or feel happy driving by myself, but it has been a couple of months since I finished my refresher lessons and I am confidently driving daily and haven't looked back!" Phoebe Clark

"Paul was an absolutely fantastic driving instructor. As someone who had had bad experiences in the past, Paul was a breath of fresh air and helped me get where I needed to be to pass the test. He was calm, measured and gave great constructive advice throughout all my lessons. He didn't just teach me to pass the test but also to be a good driver as well and I don't think I could have gotten to where I am without him. I honestly couldn't recommend him or A-Class Driving School enough." Sean Wilkinson

"I had Jim as an instructor. He was incredibly patient and kind. Always arrived early to appointments and very organised. Has a very methodical way of teaching and vast experience! Would highly recommend and helped me pass first time. Jim has been an amazing instructor. Thank you!" Jennie Phillips

Here's a few of the passing students we've had over the past few months

Here's hoping for more passes

Hopefully the DVSA will reduce waiting times further, allowing more tests and for us to get even more passes. Who knows, perhaps they'll even open a new test centre. We're still looking for more driving instructors to join us and tackle to the ever growing waiting lists.

Xmas gifts for drivers

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 11:15:11 GMT

Christmas gifts for drivers

With Christmas being only a few weeks away, if you haven't already done your festive gift shopping, now is the time to get those final bits. Some people are easier to shop for than others and so if you're stuck on what to get your driving fanatical loved ones, here's our top list of Christmas gifts for drivers.

Money no object gift - Acquir membership

If you're getting a gift for the person who would love a super car, but can't financially afford it, try Acquir.

"If you seek a lifestyle asset that remains hard to justify and just out of reach, Acquir can help you get it.

Acquir is an exclusive private members club & social network, with a strict admissions policy. It provides members the ability to meet and share ownership of high-value, luxury assets with like minded peers in a trusted exclusive environment.

Join the community of people enjoying amazing lifestyles that were hard to justify outside the club.

Acquir - Everything for a fraction"

www.acquir.life/

Youngster gift - Underage driving lessons

Do you know have a child who's car crazy, but isn't old enough to drive? Do you know what? This Christmas gift might just be perfect for someone under 17.

"Since opening in 2011, Young Driver™ Bristol has attracted young drivers throughout the South West and Wales.This is a great site for both beginners and young drivers with some experience. Whether this is your first Young Driver™ lesson or one of many, you will have fun learning to drive, brake, change gear, steer, reverse park and much more on our realistic road systems."

www.youngdriver.eu/venues/southwest/bristol_cribbs_causeway

Newly qualified driver gift - Survival kit

Need an Christmas gift for someone who's just passed their driving test? Here's the perfect gift box set to see them survive the steep learning curve once mandatory driving lessons are over.

" A thoughtful, relevant way to congratulate a new driver.

They can rip up their L plates and replace them with fully magnetised P plates, letting other motorists know there’s a new driver on the road.

Plus, there’s lots of accessories to help every new driver keep the car clean and smelling fresh - even a paint scratch remover!

Everything is wrapped in white tissue paper in 100% recyclable UK made, eco-friendly boxes, tied with twine and finished with a gift tag."

www.amazon.co.uk/Ive-Passed-Driving-Test-Gift/dp/B08CDZT9L7/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=Gifts+for+Drivers&qid=1670928619&sr=8-6

Gift for under £5 - Comedy key chain

Need stocking fillers gifts for Christmas, or something cheaper? How about these for under a fiver?

"Personalised Key chain, any name, choose from hello, white, blue, red, pink, green, grey. just like a number plate but to fit your pocket, ideal little gift for anyone."

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CreationsByCarcare?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=913986185

Practical for older cars - Car dehumidifier

This is the perfect gift for someone with a older car that just always seems damp in the colder months.

The Air Dry Classic - Car Dehumidifier is just like a sponge, it draws and then locks in moisture using the contained action granules. The Air Dry classic is the centerpiece of the airdry product range and can absorb up to 800ml of water. It protects from misted windows, mildew and mould stains, damage to electrics, rust and bad odours!

www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/interior-car-accessories/air-dry-classic---car-dehumidifier-170096.html

MOT Guide

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 06:53:51 GMT

A Guide to MOT

Any road vehicle that can be driven must be registered with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and must have an MOT test carried out by a professional mechanic each year to make sure that it is safe to operate. If you do not have an MOT test carried out on your vehicle and continue to drive it, you will incur fines and removal of your vehicle.

JMW has outlined how and when you should have your vehicle inspected, the guidelines for MOT tests and the penalties you could face if you fail to comply with your legal responsibilities.

What is an MOT Test?

An MOT test is a mandatory inspection of your vehicle that should be conducted by an MOT-certified mechanic each year. The mechanic will check components of your vehicle that may cause risk due to wear over time, including the braking and fuel systems, seatbelts, mirrors and many more. If a vehicle fails an MOT test, it may need repairs before it can be legally driven.

Included in the MOT test is an emissions check that your vehicle will also be required to pass. This test will determine whether the vehicle’s exhaust emissions are too high - if they are, it will be deemed illegal to drive. Your vehicle will not need an emission test if it:

● Has fewer than four wheels

● Has a two-stroke engine

● Is an electric, hydrogen-fuelled or hybrid vehicle

● Is a quadricycle

MOT tests do not inspect the vehicle’s engine, gearbox or clutch. A separate test will be needed to make sure these are in good condition and you should have your vehicle serviced regularly to ensure that the engine system remains in good working order.

An MOT test certificate alone does not mean your vehicle is completely road-worthy, and you should perform regular maintenance between MOT tests to ensure it is drivable and safe.

When Should I Get an MOT Test?

Drivers in the UK are required to have their vehicle MOT tested every year if it is three or more years old.

If you believe there is something wrong with your vehicle, you should seek an inspection from a mechanic regardless of when your MOT is due, as it may prove a danger to you and others. An MOT test is not comprehensive and may fail to diagnose common mechanical problems, so a pass does not guarantee that your vehicle is safe to drive.

What are the Penalties for Not Getting an MOT Test?

Every month, the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) automatic database conducts a scan of all the registered vehicles in the country. If your vehicle has exceeded its MOT deadline, your licence plate number will become detectable on the Police’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) devices, as well as some static cameras, and they will be able to quickly track you down if you are driving without a valid MOT certificate.

If you are caught driving without a valid MOT test certificate, you will not incur any points on your licence, but you could be fined up to £1,000, and repeat offences will lead to further financial penalties. This fine commonly begins with a £100 fixed penalty notice, but repeated offences or failure to pay will result in increases and legal action. It is best to deal with this as soon as possible by booking an MOT test - it is illegal to drive without an MOT certificate unless you are driving directly to a test appointment.

As well as the maximum penalty of £1,000 for driving without an MOT test certificate, drivers of cars that are in a dangerous condition may incur an additional fine of up to £2,500 and incur three penalty points on their licence. In addition, you could invalidate your insurance policy with some providers, and be liable for third-party vehicle costs in the event of an accident, alongside repairing your own vehicle.

If your vehicle is due for an MOT test, and you are stopped by the police while driving to a test appointment, you will be asked to provide contact details for the mechanic or garage that will undertake the inspection for you. Most mechanics in the UK offer to conduct your MOT a month before the deadline, so you should aim to get it done within this window to avoid any issues.

If you have incurred points on your licence or a fine due to driving a vehicle that does not have an up-to-date MOT certificate, you should remedy this as soon as possible. Either pay your fine and organise your MOT test, or speak to an expert motoring offences solicitor about how you might be able to appeal them.

By Hojol Uddin, Head of Driving Offences at JMW Solicitors

Bristol Clean Air Zone

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 17:06:07 GMT

Portway to the Clean Air Zone (CAZ)

All residents and visitors to Bristol need to get ready for 28 ^th November: the introduction of Bristol’s delayed Clean Air Zone (CAZ). Bristol City Council have taken this step to help reduce pollution in our city which was the first to declare a climate emergency in 2018.

The government have set a legal limit for pollution and without the Clean Air Zone, Bristol will fail to meet this limit.

Are some vehicles prohibited from entering the city?

No vehicles are barred outright, but if you own an older or more polluting vehicle you will face a daily charge to travel into a main area of the city.

Studies show that air pollution is damaging to health and a contributing factor to reduced life expectancy. Respiratory illnesses such as asthma have been linked to noxious chemicals in air pollution. According to Imperial College London, there is growing evidence of a link between air pollution and dementia; this is a public health issue that needs to be addressed.

Those most affected tend to be the young, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.

How much will it cost?

For a private more polluting vehicle the cost will be £9. This charge is for cars, taxis, and vans which pollute the most so older petrol cars, diesel vehicles and older vans. You can check if your vehicle will be charged which takes less than a minute.

If you considered getting an electric vehicle, but felt put off by the initial cost, now might be the right time to invest. At A Class Driving School Bristol, we are moving towards electric vehicles to help tackle pollution.

Charges will apply seven days a week and 24 hours a day. If you plan to drive through Bristol and you have an older, polluting vehicle — you will face a charge no matter when you drive.

What happens if you don’t pay?

Drivers face a fine of £120 if they fail to pay the charge. If they pay within 14 days, the cost will be £60. Although signage will mark the boundary of the zone, drivers are responsible for making the payment as no notification is to be issued.

The onus is on drivers to know they are in a zone and pay or face penalties which will be costly.

How far does the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) extend from the city centre?

The zone boundaries agreed by Bristol City Councillors may cause concern among some residents and business owners. Some fear the increased charges especially to lorries, coaches, and buses (£100 per day) will mean fewer deliveries, increased costs for businesses and fewer buses.

The leaflet that dropped through my door earlier this week clearly marks the borders of the clean air zone . It is unsurprising Hotwells, St Pauls, Temple Quay and Southville feature. The inclusion of the Portway and dual carriageway over Cumberland Basin could lead to unintended consequences.

These consequences include other routes becoming more congested as drivers seek alternative routes. Many drivers in Bristol live in South Bristol but work in or near the city centre. Their journey times could increase, and it will cost more in petrol to reach their destination.

This may incentivise drivers to buy an electric car, car share to reduce the cost or get a lift with a driver with a vehicle exempt from the charge.

In an article from itv.com, it is estimated that 75,000 drivers per day are likely to affected by the introduction of the zone. That’s good revenue for Bristol city council. Let’s hope the money goes towards improving local services and infrastructure.

Why is this happening now?

Our government needs to meet the 2050 carbon targets recommended by the Committee for Climate Change. The government is set to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 with hybrid cars scheduled their ban from 2035. This is in response to the urgent need to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from transport.

How will the Clean Air Zone affect driver behaviour?

An increase in the purchase of electric vehicles, increased use of public transport and drivers considering carefully why they need to travel into the clean air zone could result from this initiative. In fact, this is the wish of Bristol City Council and the government.

Ideally, we end up with less congestion and cleaner air resulting in healthier citizens.

The scheme has been delayed by over a year and it is yet to be seen the differences this will make. Imperial College London are conducting impact studies on the impact of these schemes.

They quantified that in London between 2016 and 2020, ‘the number of Londoners living in areas with illegally high levels of nitrogen dioxide fell by 94 per cent , and alongside this there were other reductions in London’s air pollution.’

If similar levels can be achieved in Bristol and other cities throughout the UK, we could get a lot closer to achieving net zero by 2050.

Record Petrol Prices

Sun, 21 Aug 2022 14:24:41 GMT

What has happened to petrol prices and how does this affect you?

The world has changed since the onset of the pandemic in significant ways. One way many have been affected is in the price of petrol.

An article on the RAC website included a graph that tracks petrol prices from 2004 until January 2022. In 2004, it was possible to get petrol for as little at 76p per litre. In contrast, the figure from July 1st this year showed an all time high of 191.27p for petrol and an even more eye-watering figure of 199.01p for diesel. No wonder people are having to make tough decisions.

Covid supplied brief relief at the pumps for drivers

In an article from the Guardian in May 2020 (3 months into the pandemic) petrol was priced at £1 in three of the major supermarkets: Morrisons, Asda and Tesco. Previously, these figures were last recorded in 2016.

What caused this huge drop in petrol prices?

Global oil prices plummeted to a 21 year low due to ‘a standoff over production levels between Saudi Arabia and Russia and a sharp slump in demand for crude and transport fuels due to coronavirus lockdowns.’

At one point, a barrel of Brent crude crashed from $80 to $18 per barrel.

Warnings from the RAC

While consumers welcomed the drop, Simon Williams from the RAC believed the low prices would not last. He predicted demand would increase due to two factors: The US and China opening for trade and the worlds’ largest producers cutting back production.

A respite in the cost of running a car

For a few brief months in 2020, it was possible to fill a family car for about £40. However, as a country we weren’t supposed to be travelling anywhere unless a journey was considered ‘essential’. Most people adhered to the regulations although some decided their essential travel entailed long road trips!

Working from home became the norm for those that could, and education moved online for many while children of essential workers were taught onsite.

In April 2020, during the most severe restrictions car travel fell to as low as 22%. At this time, birdsong filled the air and an eerie 28-Days-Later-feel permeated the country. Prices at the pumps nose-dived due to a drop in demand, oversupply, and a lack of storage.

How petrol prices progressed from March 2021

In March 2021, an article on petrolprices.com included an interview with the chair of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) Brian Maddison. He confirmed there were over 40 million drivers “who still rely on their petrol and diesel to get from A to B.” This figure was despite the growth in electrical vehicle ownership and repeated lockdowns. As restrictions eased, demand increased followed by prices. Motorists were now allowed to travel further and more often.

Why haven’t more people been like Dylan and gone electric?

One of the issues owners of electric vehicles face is the scarcity of charging points across the country. Coupled with insufficient battery life (for some vehicles), journeys are planned with military-like precision to ensure drivers aren’t stranded with a flat battery.

Looking to the future from the past

The RAC predicted in March last year that prices would reach record highs (at the time) of 148p per litre for diesel and 143p for petrol.

In a press release they reported how February prices at the pumps reached 151.16p. This meant the cost of filling a 55-litre family car was now £83.14 So it cost £3 more than at the start of 2022 and £15 more than the same time the previous year: an increase of 22%.

Why has the cost been so volatile?

Contributing factors to this increase include the actions of Russia who decided to invade Ukraine in February. Russia is the world’s second biggest oil producing nation. The invasion led to massive price rises and increases in global demand for oil. When Russia first invaded Ukraine the price of oil exceeded $100 for the first time in 8 years.

Crude oil price increased because demand increased. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made the situation worse as many western countries decided to shun Russian oil. In the UK, the weak pound against the dollar made a demanding situation worse as oil is paid for in dollars.

RAC calls for action from the government

The RAC asked the treasury to “look at an emergency, temporary cut in the VAT rate levied on fuel to ease some of the pain drivers are facing.” (media.rac.org) The government responded with a 5p cut in fuel duty for one year. Many people feel this isn’t enough.

Protest as a mark of anger and despair

Motorists feel anxious at what has happened to fuel prices over the last twelve months. Alex Lawson writing in the Guardian on 4 ^th July discussed petrol prices and why the price at the pumps has remained so high.

Many believe as wholesalers costs fall retailers should be passing this on to consumers, but it seems this isn’t happening.

Why? Well, retailers accused the refineries of not passing on the drop in the price of crude oil. There is also a discrepancy between the wholesale cost which is dependent on the retailers’ contracts with fuel suppliers.

Government have weighed in accusing the retailers of profiteering. There are claims that supermarkets are not competing on fuel prices as they have in previous years.

Now the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are investigating. The whole sector is facing calls for transparency to reveal how the purchase price at the pumps is arrived at.

Meanwhile, the government is under pressure to reduce VAT on fuel or introduce a further cut in fuel duty.

How are our European neighbours responding to the fuel crisis?

In Germany fuel duty has been cut by 25 pence per litre. Whereas in the Netherlands, Ireland, and Spain there’s been a 17p reduction. France has given drivers a 14-p cut, but in the UK fuel duty stands at 52.95p a litre for petrol and diesel.

How are the public responding to this crisis?

In Bristol we have seen fuel protests on the M32, M4 and M5. Drivers have instigated ‘go slows’ to show the government how distressed they feel.

What do the protestors want?

They are calling for a cut in fuel duty by gridlocking motorways and major A roads. FairFuelUK founder Howard Cox said he’s “fully supportive” of the demonstrations if they are conducted legally. He commented “people have reached the end of their tethers.”

Cox pointed out how other countries have cut fuel duty more than the British government and asked why we aren’t offered similar help.

All agree the government should be doing more to address the cost of fuel as it effects on all our lives.

There needs to be a collaborative effort between the government, retailers, and refineries. It would seem the most straightforward action would be for the government to cut fuel duty significantly to help its citizens. Perhaps we should all give them a slow handclap as well.

You'll be pleased to hear that driving lessons with A-Class Driving School have remained the same price.

By Sophie Dracott - Clear Copy UK

Driving test backlog

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 18:28:56 GMT

Driving test backlog sees wait in Bristol reach to 2024 and beyond

The backlog to the practical driving test in Bristol could reach to 2024 and beyond. According to a Google search, the average waiting time for a test in England as of May 2022 was around five months. It also adds that with cancellations that wait can reduce to three months. And herein lies the problem.

The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) claims the average time to wait for a driving test is 14 weeks with a commitment to bring this down to nine by the end of the year. I’m not sure what the DVSA is basing their figures on, but certainly not the actual wait times students are facing.

To placate a distressed industry, and the public, the DVSA claim they are tackling the backlog of learners waiting for tests by trying to recruit an extra three hundred examiners and extending the hours at test centres so more tests can take place in a day. This is their pledge in their 2022/23 business plan.

That sounds reasonable and good measures to implement, but there are a few barriers standing in the way of progress. Firstly, the use of the verb trying which means you want to do something, and you will take action which attempts to achieve it. Notice the DVSA didn’t say will recruit. Will is a modal verb of certainty to indicate affirmative, positive future action. That is because the DVSA’s plan contains a couple of flaws.

One of those is the number of test centres available. Bristol used to have four test centres and even with four, the city struggled to cope with the number of people wishing to book their tests.

Then about four years ago they decided to close Southmead driving test centre. So, obviously they had plans to build a better centre in a more useful location. No. Bristol a city of some 466,000 people had three test centres: only three test centres. And then Brislington went during lockdown 2. So now we're down to two.

With only two test centres to choose from in Kingswood and Avonmouth learners and instructors have felt increasingly frustrated. The DVSA don’t seem to be doing much to alleviate this problem such as building a replacement centre.

Early in the pandemic, rumours circulated that Halfords could provide temporary test centres. This seemed like a practical solution. Most of these stores are in out-of-town shopping centres with excellent parking and access to a variety of roads perfect for tests, but nothing happened.

In May this year, an article appeared in the Metro claiming that the average waiting time for a test in London was up to 24 weeks. Other large cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, and Bristol were facing similar delays.

So, what is exacerbating the wait?

Several factors have coalesced to create the perfect storm. Firstly covid: at the beginning of the pandemic driving instructors had to abandon work altogether. In fact, it was illegal to teach driving due to the proximity of instructor to student, the high transmissibility rate of the virus, and the lack of a vaccine.

Driving instructors were forced to stop work four times between March 2020 and June 2022. This led to thousands of cancelled tests by the DVSA, and even when some restrictions lifted some examiners were reluctant to return to work.

Not just covid surely…

There is a shortage of lorry drivers now in this country due to several factors connected to Brexit. Yet people in the UK still need goods so more lorry drivers from the UK need to be trained.

But what about all the extra slots opening at driving test centres to help with the backlog?

There may be extra slots but there are not enough examiners. On the DVSA website they admit that although they are attempting to recruit more examiners some recruits are being absorbed by those that retired during covid. In addition, some of these extra test slots are allocated to lorry drivers.

Then there is the shadowy world of sold on test slots and apps

How much is a driving test? If you book a test through the DVSA the cost of a test is £62 for a daytime slot or £75 for an evening test. Some tests costs as much as £200, but how can this be? There are some companies using automated software to book up multiple driving test slots as soon as they become available and then sell these on to driving instructors claiming they can make huge profits by reselling them to their pupils.

In a recent article from the BBC, reporters claimed they had uncovered how one operator was making a profit from the desperation of better-off learner drivers.

The BBC reported that ‘One operator claimed to be using “AI-powered software” to scoop up vacant slots as soon as they become available on the DVSA website.’

One company even sent an email (seen by the BBC) encouraging driving instructors to book tests for their students through their company.

You can only book one test at a time though, right?

Right and wrong. Individual learners can only book one test at a time but driving schools have access to another part of the DVSA website allowing them to book multiple tests at one time. If they are using this software, it acts like the ticket booking bots did a few years ago. Tickets were released for a gig you wanted to see, and within a minute no seats were available. The only way you could get a ticket for a much sought-after gig was by going through a third party paying inflated ticket prices.

To complicate the matter further, desperate learner drivers download apps which alert them to cancelled tests. Usually, the turnaround for these tests is noticeably short so the pupil then rings around driving instructors asking them to take them for their test. This not only clogs up the system further but means those ready to take their tests can’t.

According to Statista , in 2019-2020 1.6m people took a driving test, yet only 734,600 passed. This shows how some people are putting in their test before they are ready which contributes to the backlog.

What is the DVSA doing to counter the use of AI and apps?

Not a lot unfortunately. They should be hunting down and tackling this problem as it is fraud and exploitation. The only measure they have taken so far is to increase the ‘cooling-off period’ between when you take a test and can rebook another to dissuade misuse.

Some have suggested, insisting that drivers take at least 30 hours before putting in for a test to counter the problem of people taking tests who are not ready. Another solution could be banning the apps and tackling the AI.

Last June official figures reported that 440,000 were waiting to take their driving tests. As of 5 ^th May this year, the figure is closer to 520,000 people.

What is the wait in Bristol for a test?

At the time of writing, the current wait for a test in Bristol in 2024 and beyond. If you feel as aggrieved about this as I do, write to your local MP, write to Grant Shapps transport minister and petition to have a question asked in the House of Commons. Failing that, find ways to bring this story to national attention. This government seem motivated by bad headlines more than people’s misery. Get this pushed up the news agenda and something may happen.

Learner Legal

Sun, 12 Jun 2022 15:21:42 GMT

Learner Legal: How To Stay Safe On The Roads After Passing Your Test

So you’ve passed your driving test — congratulations! You’ve earned the freedom and independence to join the other 48 million motorists on the UK’s roads.

But with that independence comes responsibility. We should always strive to be better, safer drivers. Now you’re able to drive the roads solo, here are a few tips to help you stay safe on the road.

Never Use Your Phone While You’re Driving

Even if you don’t actually use your mobile while driving, even the sound of it ringing can be enough to distract you from the road momentarily.

Keep your phone on silent and hidden away in a bag or glove compartment. If you really need to take a call, pull over somewhere safe to do so.

Don’t Give Lifts To Your Friends Right Away

Having other people in the car talking to you or each other can divert your attention away from the road, increasing the chances of an accident. Instead, focus on getting used to driving alone.

When you’re comfortable being behind the wheel solo, you’ll be better prepared to drive with other people in the car.

Take Advantage Of The Latest Tech

For example, many new cars come with built-in screens that provide real-time traffic updates and lane departure warnings. It’s sophisticated stuff that makes driving that bit easier. Also, you don’t even need to purchase an expensive sat nav anymore! You can just buy a specialised car holder for your mobile phone and you’re good to go. There’s plenty of other tech you can use too, such as parking sensors or a rear view camera like this .

Shop around to find the tech that you need to be a better, safer driver.

Always Take The Time To Rest

As you become more confident in your driving, you’ll feel ready to take longer journeys on the roads. These can be tiring, so it’s important that you take regular rest breaks whenever possible.

Accidents happen when you’re fatigued or sluggish, so don’t be afraid to pull over at a service station for a rest.

And even if you’re only nipping to the shops quickly, you should only do so if you feel fully rested. If you’re feeling tired, either get the bus or get someone else to drive.

Always Keep Learning

Just because you’ve passed your driving test, it doesn’t mean your learning stops. You should always keep learning and staying abreast of driving best practices.

You might also be interested in taking some advanced driving courses. These are optional lessons that are designed to give you a more solid footing behind the wheel.

Many are aimed at specific areas of driving, such as motorways or travelling in bad weather, so they’re great for improving on aspects you’re not confident about.

As well as advanced driving courses, there are also driving schemes such as Pass Plus that can improve your driving and keep you safer on the roads. Pass Plus consists of at least 6 hours of extra one-on-one tuition, and can even help bring down your insurance.

Now you’ve passed your test, you should always try to be the safest driver on the roads. Follow the tips above and always keep bettering yourself — it’s up to you to stay safe behind the wheel.

Jan to April 2022 Round Up

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 19:36:06 GMT

Driving Lessons in 2022

Four months into 2022 and the DVSA still hasn't been able to come up with a plan on how to solve the 9 month + wait for driving tests and the backlog of those looking to learn how to drive continues to soar. At times only 3 tests were going out at one time at Avonmouth Test Centre as Grant Chaps repurposed examiners to train lorry drivers to make sure there are no repeats of the fuel crisis last year.

However, in-spite of all of this, we have managed to help dozens of learner students across Bristol pass their driving tests.

If you're looking to learn how to drive in Bristol, unfortunately we have had to close our waiting lists as we've over a 100 people on it. Your best bet of getting a manual licence is by taking an intensive course with either Paul Hanley or Richard Miller, our resident intensive course specialists. Click here for more details.

The wait for automatic driving lessons however is significantly smaller seeing as we now have twice the number of automatic driving instructors in Bristol now at the school.

Reviews

With over 30+ passes in just a few months, we think we're doing pretty well. Some have been kind enough to leave reviews for us on both Googl e and FreeInde x.

Here's a few of the highlights.

"A big thank you to my instructor Jim, he is very patient, understanding, professional and good motivator. He makes good jokes to make you feel relaxed. He gives different driving techniques and at the end of your course you will feel your confidence on the road, he doesn't blame you if you did wrong instead he motivates you and lifts your spirit. I'd never thought driving would become easier with him. Feeling proud to be one of his student. Highly recommended!" - Judit Horvath

"I had a fantastic experience with A class driving school and can’t thank them enough! I’d previously had several instructors and was struggling to pass tests in a manual. I decided to go automatic and Will was able to squeeze me in for a short intensive before my test date. He simplified manoeuvres that I struggled with in the past and put me at ease - I finally had the confidence to pass and I couldn’t be happier! Would definitely recommend. Thanks!" - Helena Kaill

"Today I passed my driving practical test in first attempt. I am grateful �� to Paul because as an instructor he helped me a lot in improving my driving skills. I am 66 now and learning abilities slow down at this age but Paul worked tirelessly with great enthusiasm supported me to achieve this milestone. Hats off to Paul for doing such a great job.He is very professional and punctual. He is very witty too.I wish him success in his life. Thank you Paul." - Nasir Naseer

Here's a few of the passing students we've had over the past few months

Here's hoping for more passes

Hopefully the DVSA will reduce the waiting times for driving tests and perhaps even open a new test centre. We're still looking for more driving instructors to join us and tackle to the ever growing waiting list.

Tips on passing your driving test

Sun, 20 Mar 2022 17:17:18 GMT

Tips for passing your driving test

Bristol’s A-Class Driving School – Tips for getting the most from your lessons and passing your driving test

The British driving test is the most difficult in the world. Every day, 10 people are killed on British roads and every one in three deaths is as a direct result of a newly qualified driver. Due to these horrific statistics, the test is becoming more difficult every day. The price of the test has increased (now £62 for the practical, £23 for the theory) and the pass rate has gone down. The days of turning up, driving for 40 minutes and passing are well and truly over. You MUST study for this exam. Give yourself the best chance possible by following my top driving test tips.

Sleep

It’s been scientifically proven that those who are well rested respond far better in reaction tests. Your driving test is one long reaction test! The night before, avoid having any alcohol or caffeine – both of these will interrupt your sleep cycle. Humans optimum sleep time is 8 hours. If you go to bed at 10pm, you'll want to set an alarm for 6am. Any more than this and your body and mind enter a new sleep cycle which waking from early could make you groggy.

Food

What you eat makes your body respond in different ways. If your exam is early in the morning you need to get a good nights sleep, so eat a carbohydrate rich meal in the evening, like pasta. Carbohydrates make your body feel sleepy. If your exam is in the afternoon you need to eat protein, like meat, eggs or pulses/beans. Protein makes your body feel alert.

Be prepared

The night before your test get everything you need ready and leave them by the front door. You need 1 thing; your plastic licence card. A drink and a snack could help. Sunglasses too for sunny days. Know what is to be expected from you on the day of your exam. Have a look at how the practical driving test works and how the examiners mark it.

Use our driving tutorials

I’ve created an online tutorial s covering all subject topics you’ll be tested on in regards to the exam. Study them. Driving lessons (mostly) only last an hour; it’s a huge amount of information to take in. Use the online tutorials to find out more. People learn in 3 ways; visually (seeing things), aurally (listening to instruction) and kinesthetically (by doing). If you learn visually, like I do, you’ll greatly benefit by seeing instructions written on a page. A tiny percentage of people learn aurally, mostly women, and that’s how most of the instruction in the lesson is taught. Most people respond well to kinesthetic learning, which is great, as your driving lesson is just that.

There are diagrams, photos and step-by-step guides for everything you need to know about driving. I’ve also included information about each driving test centre in Bristol. Where and what people often fail on, maps of the test routes and trouble areas with guides and photos to help picture how to navigate around it successfully. Use this to practice with friends and family.

Practise

“ Those who pass their driving test have had, on average, about 45 hours of professional training combined with 22 hours of private practice. Learners who prepare this way, with a combination of plenty of professional training and plenty of practise, do better in the test. ” This is copied directly from the DVSA website. If you have only had a handful of lessons with an instructor and no private practise, you are attempting the impossible. Get out on the road and behind the wheel as much as you can. If you can’t learn practically, you MUST practise theoretically. The best way to do this is to visit and read the online driving tutorials on this site. There are also free videos on our Facebook page and YouTube page.

Make the most of your lesson

Instructors should always give you at least an hour in the car. If you turn up late, and they have another lesson afterwards, instructors can’t let down their next client because of you. Be ready to go when the door bell rings and make sure you get an hours worth. Be well hydrated – lack of fluids severally diminishes concentration levels. Make sure you have eaten (no crash diets), preferably something that will stimulate you like; asparagus, avocados, bananas, cod, cheese, peanuts, lettuce or fresh fruit. If you give your brain the right nutrients, you will be able to think faster, have a better memory, be better coordinated and balanced and have improved concentration. For more insight into the science of food, do some research.

Ask me

If you are unsure about something, ask me or your instructor. That’s what we’re here for. If you are thinking about driving whilst at work, text me, email me, skype me, call me. I really don’t mind and will try my best to explain in the simplest way possible. I enjoy teaching and want you to pass. Even if you’re not my student, send me an email – info@aclassdrivingschoolbristol.co.uk. I will get back to you ASAP.

Don’t try to do too much at once

I’ve seen this too much over the years. Students try to pass as quickly as they can, squeezing lessons into lunch breaks, between school/college/university exams and after work. DO NOT TAKE A LESSON IF YOU ARE ALREADY TIRED! You won’t get the most from your lesson and it can be counter-productive. This exam is very stressful, be flexible. Don’t pile unnecessary pressure on yourself.

Be relaxed, calm & dress comfortably

The examiners aren’t there to judge you on appearances; they are paid to judge your driving ability.

– Don’t wear high heels – flat shoes are the best option. Remove bulky jackets and heavy jumpers.
– Breathing – In through the nose, out through the mouth. Doing this 5 times slowly will help lower your heart rate.
– Remedies – Antispasmodic stomach medicine, such as Colofac, can help keep those ‘butterflies’ under control. Rescue Remedy spray can help too.
– Your environment – Open the window. Fresh air will help keep you alert and cool. Make sure the car’s environmental controls are set so you are comfortable. Don’t sit there melting!

Have confidence

I will (and other instructors hopefully) only let you go forward for the exam if I think you are safe driving on your own and have a great chance of passing. If you don’t feel confident with your driving ability – you’re not ready. You are allowed to change your test 3 working days before hand. Don’t throw away £100s (£62 for the test, £37 for lesson before, £37 for car hire) needlessly. No one likes to fail and if you think you’re going to, you’ll make it happen. Only when you feel confident do you stand a chance of success.

Spiral roundabouts

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 06:48:37 GMT

Tutorial - Spiral Roundabouts

These very large, busy roundabouts are becoming more and more frequent these days, so it’s essential that learner drivers know how to deal with them correctly. Failure to do so could be dangerous once they’re driving alone as lane disciple could easily lead to accidents.

Learners shouldn’t fear them. Yes, they look big. Yes, they’re always busy. The good news is that the hardest part is done for us. The decision to go or stop is now as simple as obeying the lights.

That difficulty is now replaced with the question ‘which lane should I be in?’ and staying in lane.

Let’s start from the beginning.

Approach in the correct lane

On approach you’ll more than likely see signs showing you the lay out of the roundabout , which will help in making your decision about which lane to be in. Look out for markings on the floor. This could be in the form of arrows, or words showing you which lane is for where. Quite often, the arrows will all point straight on. This is to prevent anyone from trying to turn immediately right as soon as they reach the roundabout. So don’t rely on the arrows 100%.

If you’re turning left, left hand lane. It will never be wrong. If you’re going straight across it could be the left, it could be the middle. In the diagram below it’s the red arrows for straight and blue for left.

Going straight

Note how the red path started in the middle and by the time they passed exit 1, they’re now in the outside lane. Hence the name, spiral. The lanes push you outwards so hopefully you’ll leave the roundabout in your normal drive position.

The abundance of markings all over the junction can sometime be confusing. Follow the lie that applies to you and ignore the others. your line should always be a smooth, gradual curve. Keep an eye on the lines on the inside of which ever bend your on. So if turning right, the markings on your right and vice versa for left.

It’s turning right that causes the issue for those with minimal experience.

Turning right

The image above shows the path you should be taking for turning right at this junction. Right hand lane on approach, stay to the right. By the time you reach the first set of lights (¼ of the way around the roundabout) you’ll be in the right hand lane still, but straight after, this is where you’ll need to spiral outwards. By the time you’ve gone past exit 2 (the one opposite of where you came on) you should be in the outside lane.

The blue arrows shows the correct path. Often when there is markings confusion, at this spiralling stage, students can some time opt for the middle lane, the red arrows. This is acceptable, but it does mean more work when you come off. You’ll have to merge with cars on your left and come back to your normal position as soon as it’s safe to do so. An unnecessary task if done correctly first time.

Different every time

Don’t forget to MSM as you leave the junction, the same way as you would a normal roundabout.

Not all spiral roundabouts are the same. Some time they have 4, 5, 6 exits. Some times multiple lanes can take you to the same place (the left is always the one to opt for as it’ll take you into your normal drive position when you come off). Some times they’re well signed, some time they’re not. Occasionally you’ll not have lights to help you on, in which case you treat it like a regular roundabout in terms of coming on. The diagram below helps highlight some of these oddities.

Multi-lane right turns

The ten minute, annotated video below shows multiple attempts at these type of roundabouts from different directions and shows how you should negotiate them correctly.

Intensive course or regular lessons?

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 06:38:34 GMT

Should You Take An Intensive Course Or Pay For Individual Lessons?

We get this question a lot who are curious about our intensive courses, but are used to paying for individual lessons. Individual lessons usually end up costing more and they have less direction to help you pass a test.

We think our intensive courses are the best way to learn, and we’ll lay out some of the reasons in this post. We’ll also tell you what type of intensive course to take, depending on your personality.

What is an Intensive Course?

An intensive course is a series of lessons that are done in a short period. We have 1 week, 2 week, 3 week and 4 week intensive courses.

By taking an intensive course, you will pay less overall as the lessons are cheaper in a small course. You will learn the same amount of information and it will be remembered more because the lessons are so close together.

Non intensive courses is anything that extends beyond the 4 weeks, and we also offer these based on our students lifestyles.

What Type Of Intensive Course Should You Take

It comes down to your speed of learning. If you learn things slowly and want to take your time, then we recommend taking the 4 week intensive course.

If you’ve just come from another school or you failed a test and want to get the basics down again, we recommend the one week course.

If you’re somewhere in the middle and you aren’t sure, then pick the 2 or 3 week intensive course.

Intensive courses are faster, save you money and can teach you to pass your test in just one to four weeks.

Semi Intensive Courses To Fit Your Lifestyle

We also offer semi intensive which can fit your lifestyle. This means that if you have a full-time job, too much school work, or other responsibilities, we can design a course to fit your needs.

Our courses are the best way to take you from a complete beginner or semi-experience, and help you pass your test.

A-Class Driving School is one of the highest rated schools in Bristol with over 500 reviews on FreeIndex and Google . Give us a call or fill out a form on our site now and we’ll help you get your license and get on the road.

New Highway Code Rules

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 08:45:29 GMT

Highway Code Rule Changes

January 22nd 2022 will see a big shake up on some very important highway code rule changes that are bound to cause mass confusion for quite some time. Here's some help in wrapping your mind around what you need to do to stay safe and avoid being in the wrong.

New rules

There are 8 new rules being introduced to the highway code next week, with an emphasis on "hierarchy of road users" being the most significant update. This is being spelt out in the newly named rules H1, H2 and H3. Here's what the powers that be say about it.

Rule H1 - Hierarchy of road users

"Rule H1 of The Highway Code establishes a hierarchy of road users which ensures that those road users who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to other road users. The hierarchy places vulnerable road users before motorised vehicles so the top of the hierarchy would therefore be:

1. pedestrians, in particular children, older adults and disabled people

2. cyclists

3. horse riders

4. motorcyclists

The objective of Rule H1 is not to give priority to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders in every situation, but rather to ensure a more mutually respectful and considerate culture of safe and effective road use that benefits all users. This does not detract from the requirement for everyone to behave responsibly."

H2 - Stronger priorities for pedestrians

"Rule H2 clarifies where pedestrians have right of way and creates clearer and stronger priorities for pedestrians, particularly at junctions. It seeks to emphasise where road users: · SHOULD give way to pedestrians crossing a road · MUST give way to pedestrians on a zebra crossing, and pedestrians and cyclists on a parallel crossing It introduces a new obligation for drivers and riders to give way to pedestrians waiting to cross a junction (side road), or zebra crossing.

The proposed new text is: "Rule for drivers, motorcyclists, horse riders and cyclists. At a junction you should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning.

You MUST give way to pedestrians on a zebra crossing, and pedestrians and cyclists on a parallel crossing. You should give way to pedestrians waiting to cross a zebra crossing, and pedestrians and cyclists waiting to cross on a parallel crossing

Horse riders and horse drawn vehicles should also give way to pedestrians on a zebra crossing, and pedestrians and cyclists on a parallel crossing.

Pedestrians have priority when on a zebra crossing, on a parallel crossing or at light controlled crossings when they have a green signal.

Cyclists should give way to pedestrians on shared use cycle tracks.

Only pedestrians may use the pavement. This includes people using wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

Pedestrians may use any part of the road and use cycle tracks as well as the pavement, unless there are signs prohibiting pedestrians."

H3 - Cyclists priorities and right of way

"Rule H3 clarifies cyclists’ priorities. It makes clear that a driver should not cut across the path of a cyclist going straight ahead when they are: turning into or out of a junction, changing direction, changing lane. This applies whether cyclists are using a cycle lane, a cycle track, or riding ahead on the road. It also recommends that drivers and motorcyclists should not turn at a junction if to do so would cause the cyclist going straight ahead to stop or swerve."

Your View?

So, what's your take on the new rule changes? How much chaos on a scale of 1 to 10 is this going to cause? Only time will tell.

2021 Round Up

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 17:31:50 GMT

Driving Lessons in 2021

Put simply, was hard for everyone. 2020 was just the appetiser. Last year was grueling for all sorts of reasons, but most of it boiled down to Covid creating a huge backlog that didn't really go anywhere. Waiting lists swelled and ours has once again closed. Tests are still hard to come by and if you're lucky enough to find one, the wait is 5 to 6 months. It didn't help that the DVSA decided to close Brislington test centre down, so the entire city is now down to 2 test centres. We had 4 not too long ago! It being a difficult time to learn how to drive is a massive understatement.

However, we did what we could and landed up with dozens of happy students passing across the whole of Bristol.

If you're looking to learn how to drive in Bristol with a manual transmission, our waiting list has 100 people on it. This is going to take 6 months plus to really chip away at. If you desperately need to get on the road in a manual, an intensive driving course might be the swiftest option. The wait wont be so long. You'll need the assistance of Richard Miller, our resident intensive course specialist. Click here for more details.

The wait for automatic driving lessons however is significantly smaller seeing as we now have twice the number of automatic driving instructors in Bristol now at the school.

New Tuition Vehicles

We saw quite a few changes this year in terms of driving instructors switching vehicles. I traded in my little Fiat 500 for a huge Renault Captur in the summer. Due to many, many technical problems, it had to go and was replaced with the electric Zoe. Switching to automatic driving lessons so far has been a big success with plenty of happy students learning at an accelerated rate and passing first time. I must be one of (if not) the first driving instructors to offer electric driving lessons in Bristol .

Paul Hanley went slightly larger too. Switching his Citroen DS3 out for a very fancy white and red topped Citreon C3.

Reviews

We managed to almost collect another 50 reviews online from happy passing students over the year, despite being locked down for some of it. Mostly glowing 5 star testimonials on both Google (149) and FreeIndex (373).

Here's my last one of the year, squeezed in on December 28th.

"I had a fantastic experience with A Class Driving school. William is an amazing instructor who show me all my mistakes and being focused on my driving. I had not more than 6 lessons and i passed my driving test from the first time. Want to say big thanks to William." Alik Astrahansky

Here's a few of the passing students we've had over the past 12 months.

Here's hoping for a better year

You can but cross everything. Surely 2022 can't be as bad for learners as the last one. Hopefully the DVSA will find a way to reduce waiting times for tests and perhaps even open up another test centre. We're still looking for more driving instructors to join the tea m and help hack away at the waiting list.

We're electrifying!

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:57:17 GMT

Clean, Green, Electric Machine

A-Class Driving School is going electric! Environmental pressures are rising and with the state of Bristol's air quality being so shockingly poor, something had to be done. Driving instructors are on the go all day long, teaching in combustion engine vehicles and the only course of action to not be negatively impacting on all this is to go electric.

From December 6th I'll be teaching in the new Renault Zoe. A 100% electric vehicle. With it's power coming from 100% renewable sources and no tail pipe emissions, this has to be the greenest and most guilt free way of learning how to drive. The Zoe is a multi award winning vehicle, including the What Car? best small electric vehicle for the 7th year running.

Greased Lightnin'

Just like the lyrics, this car is automatic. Which is good news for all those looking to learn to drive a vehicle without a clutch and gears. It's bad news for all those who want to learn stick as the waiting times for this type of transmission is going to go up. We've blogged before about Why now is the time to learn in an automatic , it's definitely more the case now.

The wait currently for manual is around 6 months, assuming you can even got on a waiting list. The new automatic tuition vehicle essentially doubles our capacity for the lightnin' fast route on getting your licence and you could be taking driving lessons within weeks.

You are supreme

Even though this car is electric, the way it looks and feels is just like a regular automatic. Meaning once qualified, you'll be able to slip into any other auto and know how to drive it. All electric cars have instant torque , which means you’ll always have power right at your fingertips. As soon as you hit the accelerator you’ll get an instant response and surge of speed from the car, making these vehicles ideal for city driving.

Lesson rates are also priced exactly the same at £37 and hour or ten for £350.

The future of driving is electric, why not get in from the start and learn to drive in one. Call Will today on 07837796842 to book your electric driving lessons in Bristol.

Top 5 reasons for failing

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 08:06:07 GMT

Top 5 reasons why people fail their driving test and how to avoid it yourself

The UK driving test is regarded as one of the toughest in the world. Your licence will entitle you to drive anywhere on the planet so your standard must reflect this. One of the DVSAs main objectives is to have the safest roads of any country, hence why the test is so difficult. The pass rate has constantly sat at around 45% for the past decade and the first-time pass rate is even lower.

Therefore, in order to pass it’s important to go into your driving test when you’re fully ready, not just when your parents say so. The average amount of driving experience needed to pass, according to the DVSA, is 64 hours. 40 or so with an instructor, the rest is made up with private tuition.

I’ve been teaching now for over 10 years here in Bristol, and most students don’t have the luxury of private tuition with their folks. I also think that number of 64 hours is dragged up due to those living in London, where I can imagine things are a lot tougher and more unforgiving to the learner driver.

The take home from this should be ‘go prepared’. Knowing the top reasons why candidates fail, could help you out a little more in understanding how the test works and what the examiners are looking for.

My golden rule to all my students is – ‘Don’t make anyone else slow down or change direction because of you unnecessarily’. If you’re able to do that, you’re halfway there. This will become apparent in the top 5 reasons below on why people fail.

Reason 1 (202,139 national fails between December 2017 to December 2018)

Observations at junctions – Example – You emerge from a side road thinking the gap is big enough and a car comes racing up behind you, looming large in your interior mirror. You’ve accidently slowed them down. Golden rule broken.

The question when emerging shouldn’t be ‘can I get into this gap?’ but ‘can I get out into this gap without slowing anyone down?’. If you’re unsure, wait. Patience is great skill to demonstrate come test day. You have to be there for TIME before getting marked down for undue hesitation, and even then, it’ll be most likely a minor. You make a single car, van, lorry … bike, slow down after pulling out, even if their speeding, you’re toast.

Reason 2 (165,908 national fails for the same time period)

Mirrors – Change in direction – Example – Your turning right 3 ^rd exit on a large roundabout, as you’re about to leave and take the exit, moving across lanes, you forget to check your left door mirror to see if anyone is behind/alongside you. If there’s a road user there it’s a fail as they would have to change speed and possibly direction to avoid colliding with you.

Mirrors are an essential tool for safe driving. You need to know what’s around you before making a large change in direction. Lane change, moving around a bus picking up people, going from one road to another are all common examples. If using your mirror isn’t second nature to you come test day, you’re not ready.

Reason 3 (90,030 fails for the same time period)

Control – Steering – Example – The candidate comes into a new road and the line they have taken is wild and not under control. Either too close to the kerb/parked objects or too wide and they balloon outwards onto the other side of the road. Oncoming traffic would have to stop suddenly allowing you time to get back onto your side. Once again, golden rule broken.

I find that this fault is usually all to do with speed. Which is, in my opinion, the biggest cause of so many driving issues. If the car is too fast, you can’t control it well enough to maintain a perfect line into the new road, staying in your normal drive position.

Reason 4 (80,054 fails in the same time period)

Junctions - turning right – Example – You’re asked to take the next turning on the right (an approaching situation). You stop for oncoming traffic but didn’t make a big of enough movement to the right to allow the cars behind to make progress. Perhaps the back end of the car is sticking out, or the markings on the floor haven’t been used (well enough or at all) to get into position. This would be regarded as slowing down the traffic (behind you) needlessly.

That MSM or MSPSL routine (if you’re unsure what this is, please feel free to use our free driving tutorials here) needs to be followed even for the most mundane of junctions. If your Position is off and you’re blocking the road, it’s a fail. Make sure you move over early enough (if there is room to do so, make sure you stay on your side of the central divide lines if present) to get the back end of the car out of the way of the vehicles behind.

Reason 5 (76,745 fails for the same time period)

Move off – Safely – Example – You’re asked to find somewhere to pull up on the left for one of the moving away exercises. You park up, all is well. The examiner then asks you to drive on when ready. You prepare your car, observe and manoeuvre…but forgot to check your blind spot and there was a road user in that huge area that doesn’t show up in your mirrors, it’s a fail.

If I were to go back over every single test my students ever took and record all the minors over the past 11 years, this would take the number 1 slot. The times I notice that this happens the most is when a student is about to move off and sees traffic coming towards them in their mirrors. They sit and wait and anticipate the next gap like they should, all the while using their door mirror to see what’s going on. That prolonged gaze behind them seems to lull them into a false sense of security, believing they know exactly what’s behind. When the gap comes, they forget the blind spot check and I have to dual control them.

There are a million other ways to fail the test, but if you follow my golden rule, you’ll be halfway there. Best of luck.

Other top reasons for fails with a possible explanation.

6 – Response to road signs – traffic lights (going through a red light)
7 – Move off control (stalling and slowing everyone down)
8 – Positioning – normal drive (being too wide from the kerb and misleading other drivers)
9 – Response to signs – markings (Not stopping fully at a stop line)
10 – Reverse park – control (mounting the pavement)

Tips for your first driving lesson

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 05:53:16 GMT

Tips for your first driving lesson

Do you remember your first driving lesson? We all do – the first time getting behind the wheel, nerves and excitement rushing…only to stall the blasted thing straight away. And that’s before you’ve even pulled out of the driving school car park!

Being October, lots of students will be taking the driving plunge before long. Learning to drive is good fun, but it can be tough as well. There’s so much to get used to at the start – co-ordinating your hands and feet to work in perfect harmony is surprisingly difficult, never mind when you have to take into account all the obstacles and hazards on the road.

We’ve heard plenty of horror stories, from wrong gears and scratched bumpers to injured pets and soaring insurance premiums, so here are a few top tips on making sure that all important first lesson goes as smoothly as possible.

Empty bladder, clear mind

This may sound daft, but believe us, driving while desperate for the loo is a total nightmare. Jigging your leg to keep your bladder at bay is all very well when you’re in the passenger seat, but you just try that while you’re driving…and you’ll be stalling even more than usual!

Don’t expect to be Lewis Hamilton

We’re not all child prodigies, and while Lewis probably swanned into a car and sped off at 80mph first time, it’s probably best to accept that you will much more likely find yourself on a quiet side road in nothing more than second
gear at best. Baby steps!

But equally…you’re not the worst driver in the world

Believe us, your instructor will most definitely have seen it all before, so no matter how badly it goes, keep cool. Don’t give yourself too much of a hard time if you don’t make it further than the end of your…driveway.

Don’t be hungover

Now we all know that the trendy young things like to go out and have fun at the weekend, and who are we to stop them. But if your lesson is on a Saturday or Sunday morning, take it easy the night before. Hangovers are horrid, and first driving lessons are pretty scary too – you don’t want to combine the two!

Pick your time and place

You’ll be nervous, so the last thing you need is lots of people watching you. Avoiding rush hour is an obvious one, but steering clear of friends and family is also worthwhile. A quiet residential estate where you have no friends is a good plan; outside the school gates or your workplace is not recommended.

Need for speed

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 13:45:55 GMT

How Andrew passed his driving test with flying colours

We all know young men love to go fast. Yes, this is a generalisation, but it’s rare to find a young guy that has a goal of driving safe and slow.

Ask most young girls on the other hand, and the results are the opposite. Women tend to be risk averse and want to drive safely and slowly.

This might be the reason why men have more speeding tickets than women on average. It’s why the insurance is more expensive for young men.

In fact, Brake, the road safety charity, found that 73% of worldwide traffic deaths are because of men, three times the amount of women.

Yikes guys. This is why the insurance is so high.

We can safely conclude, that men, have a need for speed!

Although it’s a broad generalisation, we at A-Class driving school are all about breaking the norm. We teach our young men how to drive safely (not slowly) and follow the speed limits correctly to pass their tests.

Andrew is one of these special students.

Young Men Earning The Freedom To Drive

One of our young drivers, Andrew, was a special driver. We’ve taught him well, and he’s learned how to drive safely, but we can’t be sure where he’s sped off to now.

What we do know, is Andrew passed with flying colours after taking one of our intensive courses.

Even if you have a need for speed, we’ll teach you how to control your enthusiasm and learn the safe way to drive. What you do in your own time after you pass, is up to you, but we always recommend that you drive safely and carefully no matter what.

Andrew Passing His Test

After Andrew passed his test, you could see the relief on his face. It was as if he thought he would be penalized for driving too fast, but he managed to keep his cool and follow everything we taught him.

Now, Andrew is truly free. He can travel wherever he wants and drive to whatever destination he wishes. We hope he drives as safely as possible, just like we taught him.

Speeding is An Issue for Young Men

Although we’ve talked about this jokingly in this post, speeding is a real issue for young guys. Young guys are more reckless and fearless than the average female driver, so it’s no surprise this is an issue.

 Often times it’s not just the speed of the car, but also the speed of learning that is too high for young men. Younge guys are competitive, not just with their friends but with themselves. They want to pass, and they want to pass fast.

When they have heard from their mums that she learned in just 6 lessons, the natural instinct is to learn faster and better.

However the rules of the game have changed now. The DVSA gives an average of 64 lessons, and from our experience here in Bristol, it takes around 40 lessons to pass.

Still, taking three times than mummy took to pass doesn’t sit very well with young men. Nor does calling her mummy. In fact, it might be hard to choose which is worse.

These unrealistic expectations lead our young men to want to pass as fast as they want to drive. Over the limit and excessively quick.

The Key To Passing is Patience

Young people today are used to instant gratification. We live in a world which can provide almost anything we want at the click of a button, so it’s no surprise that attitude exists.

However it takes time, patience, and hard work to pass a test the first time. This is our goal for all our students. So, even if a young man might want to take the test and prove he can pass with just 10 lessons, we will make sure that he is ready first.

Andrew followed our instructions to the letter and aced his driving test the first time.

He now has the freedom to travel anywhere, blast music while driving down country roads and drive a lucky lady on a date wherever he wants. There’s nothing that says ‘Man’ like a man who can get behind the wheel of a car.

If you’re a young man and you have a need for speed, remember this. You can learn this. You can earn your freedom. But, it might take some patience. It will take driving at the right speed and having the humility to learn the correct way to drive.

At A-Class driving, we know the right way to drive and the right way to teach. Our students regularly pass their first time, and we are one of the highest rated schools for passing students their first time.

We won’t let you speed past the finish line, but we’ll teach you to drive safely and carefully across so you pass on your first try.

Why Intelligence Might Be The Reason You Fail!

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 11:47:56 GMT

Why Intelligent Students Like Kristina Are More Likely To Fail Before Passing

How Kristina Passed After 3 Failed Attempts

Are You Sporty or Intelligent?

We’ve noticed that our sportier students pass faster while the more intelligent, academic ones have more trouble.

One student, Kristina, was more of an academic type. Although her English wasn't perfect, as it was a second language, she was smart and dedicated to succeeding.

It must have been hard for her to learn this new skill, on the wrong side of the road, while trying to understand everything the instructor was saying.

The rewards, however, more than made up for the stress of learning.

We see this with our female students a lot more than the guys. They are meticulous, careful but with high anxiety around learning to drive. When they finally pass, tears of joy and hugs all around make all the hard work worth it.

Passing for Freedom

Kristina had come from another driving school where the instructor wasn’t that great. He taught her bad habits and we had to help correct those mistakes.

A student is only as bad as their instructor. Many instructors in other schools are unqualified or bad communicators. They often teach in a backwards way, instilling bad behaviours in their students. The lucky ones may scrape a pass, but many look elsewhere for lessons.

Harder to Learn in the City

She needed to pass her test and get it over with. She is based in the city where it’s almost impossible to get around on public transport as it’s always busy, dirty and slow.

It’s also hard to learn to drive in the busy city, with impatient drivers honking at you, and nothing but narrow roads to navigate.

When Kristina came to us, she already had this negative experience. We had to do everything we could to make this a fun adventure for her.

Start Young, Pass Young!

If you’re below 35, or even better, you’re just coming out of high school or your gap year, it’s the perfect time to learn. The younger the better, however you can learn at any age.

When you can drive, you have the freedom to get around your city, and better yet, get out of it. You don’t have to use public transport routes for 2 hour journeys when you could drive it in 30 minutes.

You can go anywhere, any time. This is total freedom.

Freedom Is The Real Reason To Learn Right Now

When you have the freedom of knowing how to drive, the world is your little shellfish. You have the freedom to drive anywhere in your country and in any other country too.

Most of the UK has been undiscovered by its inhabitants because us brits prefer to fly to the beaches of Portugal or take a weekend off in Malta. When you can drive however, Great Britain is a great island to discover.

We have some of the best beaches, iconic mountains, and gorgeous country side villages to discover. From the white cliffs of Dover, sandy beaches with castles overlooking the sea, and the great highlands of Scotland.

With a car, you have the freedom to explore theses places with your friends and family, or take a trip down windy mountain roads or seaside towns whenever you want.

You have the freedom to rent a car in any other country so you can land anywhere, and go anywhere, whenever you want.

You may have friends in far places, and hard to reach family family somewhere. Perhaps you want to explore a part of the world that’s impossible to get to without a car, and until now, that’s not been an option.

By learning to drive like Kristina has, you are earning your freedom.

More Job Experiences

There’s another huge benefit that Kristina now has since she passed with us. The job possibilities are endless.

When you’ve passed, you have more career options because you can drive anywhere and work anywhere. Many jobs even have “driving” as a requirement for the job.

You won’t have to suffer public transport and you’ll be able to drive to work. Sometimes you’ll still need public transport, but at least you’ll have the option.

Kristina Finally passed.

On her third attempt, Kristina passed with just two minors. Her previous tests had three minors, but each had 1 major. The second major she got is the most common cause of failing. Missing an observation at a junction.

This is why learning the right habits and behaviours during your driving course is so important. The habits Kristina has built up from her past school had left her with less confidence and more confusion.

We had to teach her the right way to view the road, and ultimately she passed with us.

After tears were wiped, hugs were hugged, and smiles faded, reality sunk in. Kristina had passed.

She was now free. Free to drive anywhere. Free to travel, and free to work with more opportunity than before. She could take her friends wherever and go places she wanted with ease.

This is what we want for you.

At A-Class Driving school we don’t skip on the little details and give you any bad habits. We tell you the correct way to drive and fix any mistakes you’ve learned from previous schools.

Even if you’ve got the deck stacked against you like Kristina did. Even if English is your second language, or if you’ve failed before with a previous school. If you’ve come from bad lessons where you’ve learned everything wrong, it doesn’t matter when you join A-Class Driving.

If you want to become a qualified driver, then join Kristina and the hundreds of other successful students we’ve had, and take the fast road to freedom. Paragraph

Fiat 500 - tuition vehicle review

Fri, 09 Jul 2021 19:31:51 GMT

Fiat 500 - A tuition vehicle review

After teaching in two Fiat 500s for almost a decade, I feel like I'm in a unique position to review it as a learner driver vehicle. Earlier in July I had to say goodbye to my beloved Roxy, my beautiful electric blue, 1.2 litre sports edition baby. The reason for switching to a younger model was mostly a selfish one. I need to preserve my spinal column for another few decades of spending large portions of my life inside a cramped space. Something a little more mundane, soft on the backside and practical was needed. The Renault Captur ticks those boxes.

How good is the Fiat 500?

I can't fault it really. I don't think I once had a student say anything negative about the car. Quite a few, after passing, went onto buying one. When Roxy was sold to We Buy Any Car, she departed with an incredible track record of not having a single fail in over 2 years! The pass rate in the UK is under 45% currently.

The reason for everyone loving it isn't just based on how it looks. Which is obviously sublime. From the first moment learners get in and experience that slightly upright seating position, it installs confidence as they can see clearly. Any vehicle with a low seating position and high door frames feels slightly claustrophobic and reduces visibility. The simple yet elegant styling and clever layout of the controls also makes it a winner.

Best features for learners

Easy to drive.
A digital display for how fast their going. It's much easier to read and tends to be more accurate.
Great seating position.
Amazing visibility around the car.
Manouevres are super easy in this vehicle.
Gear stick is really close to the wheel for minimal hand movements.
Seat and steering wheel can be adjusted in all sorts of ways to suit all sizes (I've had students under 5 feet tall and some enourmous 6 foot plus rugby types).
All mod cons like ABS, power steering, Air Con etc.
Cheap to run, insure and tax.
Built in touch screen sat nav (not all models have this).

The negatives

Dealerships. Fiat in Bristol were unbelievably bad at sorting and fixing any issue that ever popped up. They were so bad that they've actually been closed down. Other local garages might be a better option if you buy one if you need anything fixed.

My first Fait 500 was the 0.9 litre Twin Air. Supposedly the greenest petrol engine ever put into production. The MPG figures were astonishing. So much so that no one was ever able to get anything close to the official numbers Fiat claimed. The other problem with this car was it's speed. It's so fast. Too fast for learners. I spent the vast majority of my day repeating myself "slow down, slow down, slow down..." over and over. Thankfully it does have a speed beep in the menu to alert the driver when they've reached a certain speed.

Oil for the Twin Air was also a negative. More expensive than premium, top of the range BMW engine oil I was once told.

In almost ten years I went through a few clutches, hand brake wires and brake discs. Nothing out of the ordinary. The electrics all held up in Roxy, but the Twin Air did seem to lose an eye brow raising amount of day time running bulbs. Something I've noticed seems to be a common fault with the slightly older models.

My 66 plate S edition had to have it' touch screen media centre replaced under warranty after a year or so of having her, but that's the only issue it ever had. Not being able to update it's built in TomTom sat nav is a complete joke. However, it is the exact same model used by the DVSA on students driving tests, so that must be nice for them come test day.

Overall

I've used quite a few cars over the years for teaching and the Fiat 500 will be at the top of the favourite list for quite some time. It's combination of style, cost and drivability for learners is amazing. It's no wonder over 2 million have been sold since 2007 and the new electric version looks set to be an even bigger success. Perhaps I'll switch back for my first electric car in 5 years time..?

April to June 2021 at A-Class Driving School

Sun, 20 Jun 2021 13:56:15 GMT

April to June - Post lockdown roundup

Since April 12th driving lessons have been allowed to resume in England from coast to coast. Many students were happy to get back behind the wheel and re-take those cancelled and rescheduled tests due to Covid and lockdowns. It's been difficult (almost impossible) to book a test however with almost half a million rescheduled tests and an avalanche of learners (some nowhere near ready) snapping up every test available across the country. It'll probably be years before things return to normal.

This post however looks at the positives at A-Class Driving School that have occurred since lessons got back on track.

Phillipa Summers

Danielle Hurford

Scott Wiltshire

Other successful students

Jamie Walford passed his exam on May 6th with 4 minors under the stewardship of Dave Allenby.

John McNab passed with the help of Jim Walshe. This is what he had to say about his time with the school. " I had Jim who was the perfect instructor for me and helped me to pass first time. He is kind, reassuring, relaxed, he made learning to drive fun and loves to crack a joke. I learned so much in my time with him and he knew exactly how to get me ready for my test and beyond. I would recommend Jim to anyone ."

Franchesca Lundie also passed at Avonmouth with a handful of lessons just before her exam from myself. Her parents did all the hardwork. Her mum left this review on Google for us. " After 3 postponed driving tests due to Covid my daughter was able to get a cancellation in Bristol - the only problem was that all of her driving experience was done in Gloucester! We found Will online and he had 3 slots he could fit her in before her test. He immediately put her at ease and in three short lessons gave her so much confidence to believe that she could drive in this unfamiliar and busy area. The website support is also excellent and my daughter used the resources to really help her get familiar with the area as we were limited to how often we could get into Bristol to practice. I would not hesitate to recommend Will - he was brilliant and we are really grateful we found him! Now that she has passed she is keen to do the Pass Plus course with Will. "

Lola Mills was very similar, just needing an extra boost of confidence and a professional eye to iron out any kinks in her driving. She passed too! Her mum also left a review. " Will gave my daughter a last minute lesson before retaking her test in an area she’s not driven in before. She said he was an excellent teacher and taught her so much in just one hour. He also helped us afterwards by text and also texted after her test to ask how she did. She passed! Thanks Will. Highly recommended ."

A-Class Driving School is recruiting

Sun, 06 Jun 2021 15:40:45 GMT

A-Class Driving School needs instructors

A-Class Driving School is recruiting! We're looking to expand our business to keep up with high demand for driving lessons all over Bristol and beyond. If you're an ADI, PDI or thinking of entering the driving instructor profession, we'd love to hear from you.

Who are we?

A-Class Driving School was founded in 2008 by Will Dracott, who still teaches learners in the north of Bristol in his Fiat 500. He originally taught in a Mercedes A-Class, hence the name. A few years after establishing a good reputation for his business, Dave Allenby joined him, mostly teaching in the centre and east of Bristol.

Paul Hanley came along next and specialised in intensive courses, which we get a lot of inquires about. Justin and Bob came and went to go solo and the space was quickly filled by Richard Miller, who also specialises in intensive courses, mostly in the Kingswood test area.

Finally, Jim Walshe joined us. He teaches our automatic students in the central and northern parts of Bristol.

We have built an excellent reputation over the years with hundreds of reviews (mostly 5 star) due to our calm, friendly approach in making sure our students aren't put forward for their test too soon, ensuring they're safe drivers for life and not hoping to get lucky on test day.

Currently we do not have any coverage of south Bristol, so this entire area could be yours if you happen to live in that part of the world.

What do we offer?

If you've been looking around and trying to compare franchise options between schools, you'll find it difficult as so many of them conceal how much it costs. This surely has to the be one of the key pieces of information you'll need before signing up. We don't hide anything about our franchise deal, which I'm sure you'll think is great.

Let's start off with the price. It's £50 a week. Lessons are charged at £33 an hour (£35 for automatic), so it's less than two hours of work. Nice!

We give our instructors 4 weeks holiday a year where there's no franchise fee to pay. This seems like twice the amount other schools give, and some don't offer anything at all! Being self employed and taking a holiday is painful enough without being forced to pay when not earning.

We don't force you to cover your car in decals and transfers. We understand that when not teaching, you don't want to be recognised as a driving instructor 24/7. Plus, the damage it does to your paint work won't help when selling your car on or handing it back to the leasing company.

We currently receive over 100 inquires a week via phone and email, meaning we could fill your diary instantly. Most come to us from Google, where we appeared on over 7,000 search results last month and had 13,000 interactions with our business directly from Google. So, no shortage of clients there. We don't force you to take on anyone you don't want to, or work anywhere that's too far away.

We won't interfere with your diary, and we give you full control over it. Online booking systems seem like a great idea, but I like to know who's booking what and when.

We do all the marketing, social media and running of the brand new website ourselves to provide you with the clients. It's up to you which ones you take and which you decline.

We provide you with an aerodynamic roof box and professional business cards free of charge.

In total, we have over 100 years worth of teaching and ADI experience between us at the school. Everyone here is very friendly and we're happy to help and answer any questions you have about the industry. If you're after CPD training or just need to soundboard an idea, we'll help.

Our top notch website provides free driving tutorials for students, a unique selling point.

The first month of your franchise is also free!

What do we ask from you?

We ask when you sign up it's for a minimum of three months. This covers the costs of things like business cards and time spent altering the website adding your details. You'll have web presence with A-Class Driving School, you'll not just be a small cog in a giant wheel.

We also ask forone month's notice if you want to leave.

Having your own car makes things easier to get stuck in straight away as an instructor. However, we are able and willing to assist you in finding a lease vehicle if that's your preference. If you're new to the industry and want to know more about 'leasing v purchasing' and the other pitfalls of becoming an instructor, read last month's blog article here .

Summary

A-Class Driving School Franchise

Low cost driving school franchise fee of £50 per week.
Flexible contract; Minimum of 3 months commitment with one month cancellation notice.
Work independently and be your own boss. Choose your own working hours, areas and days off.
No interference from us with your diary.
No advertising costs. We provide the students.
Free business cards and promotional material.
Use of roof box with A-Class logo, and we do not expect you to cover your car in graphics.
No fee for the first month or until we have filled your diary or given you one intensive course.
Online contact form.
Four weeks holiday per year where you don't pay your franchise fee.
The online driving tutorials are a unique selling point to students.
Excellent reputation with over 360 reviews on FreeIndex.co.uk (and 100+ on Google), making us the highest rated and reviewed driving school in Bristol.
Awarded three online awards in recent years for excellence.
Help with leasing/buying a vehicle, CPD and anything else instructor related.
PDIs welcome.

If you think you can offer the same level of professionalism, then get in touch using the form below or via your phone.

Why now is a great time to become a driving instructor

Mon, 17 May 2021 06:15:21 GMT

Why now is a great time to become a driving instructor

Now is the best time to become a driving instructor. The backlog of people wanting to learn how to drive could take years to get through, so guaranteed work and high earnings are available for those who want it.

This blog is for anyone considering a career change interested in becoming a driving instructor. There is a lot to consider and numerous pitfalls to avoid. This article explains how to become a driving instructor without too much jargon.

What do you need to do to become a driving instructor?

Training to become a driving instructor starts when you register with the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). You must be over 21 and have held a clean driving licence for over three years. You also need an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

You’ll need to pass three exams:

ADI 1 – The theory test - 100 multiple choice questions and hazard perception test (£81).
ADI 2 – A practical driving test with a maximum of 6 minors, 0 majors (£111).
ADI 3 – A practical teaching test. You can become a PDI (Potential Driving Instructor) and earn and learn on the job before taking this final, challenging test. You are also allowed to take the part 3 with 40 hours minimum professional training. The pass rate is only around 30% (£111).

If you fail the part 2 or 3 three times, you have to wait two years from when you passed the part 1 before you can sit it again.

What are the costs?

A quick Google search shows there are many companies with questionable morals. Read this article before signing up to anything and handing over your money.

Don't pay anyone for part 1 training. This can all be done at home with a book and CD ROM/DVD. I've seen some companies charging hundreds of pounds to attend and learn in their classrooms. Avoid this.

Personally, I'd find a highly rated individual to teach me the part 2 and part 3 section of the course. Read testimonials of who you'll be learning from/paying. Don't sign up with a big company as you cannot be sure of the quality of instructor you could be paired with. Google and instructor forums would be a good place to start finding the right person for you.

Some driving schools charge from £1000 to £2000 in total for the training, with tie-ins, small print and asterisks all over the place to cover themselves legally. These prices assume you'll complete training in the time frame they've set out.

If you need extra hours, what are the charges? Make sure you look into this first. One of the biggest schools offers 36 contact hours for part 3, that's already 4 short of the mandatory teaching hours you legally need before you take the part 3 test!

A less risky training program could be with an independent driving instructor or smaller driving school. It could be cheaper and more personable, which would definitely be a good thing. Paying by the hour could also save you money.

How much do driving instructors earn?

Not as much as some ADI training schools tell you. One well-known schools claims you can earn up to £40K a year. They charge £28 per lesson. That's £796 a week or £158 a day. You'd need to teach 6 lessons a day with no vacation, sick days or time off on bank holidays.

Burnout is common among driving instructors with many leaving the industry. £40K a year after tax is closer to £30K.

Independent or franchise?

Going it alone at the start of your career would be tough. With no internet presence, you'd struggle. Forget about advertising in the yellow pages or leaving a flyer in the post office window. You need a website. These take at least 6 months to get traction and be picked up by search engines.

A franchise is a simple concept. Each week you'd pay a small fee for their advertising and marketing. They supply the leads/students for you to take. Usually you pick and choose which clients you want. Only teach people that you can realistically get to from one lesson to the next. I leave myself 30 minutes between classes to get to my next student, write up my notes, and then plan for the next class.

I've seen combined training and franchise deals where you're guaranteed to earn £39K in your first year and guaranteed cash back on the training fee. This sounds amazing. In reality you'd need to you teach 36 hours a week, every week for an entire year. I couldn't do that.

With the time it takes between lessons, your working days would be at least 12 hours long with no break! This is unsustainable over prolonged periods.

The moral of the story is - be careful. Don't be seduced by the too-good-to-be-true offers. Be realistic.

For me, 5 hours of teaching a day is enough (plus I have the school run several days a week and 11 hour days are my limit). I charge £33 a hour. That's £165 a day/ £825 a week/£3300 a month. I take 36 days off per year without pay which includes holidays, bank holidays and sick days. This takes earnings to around £34,500K per year. Sounds good. Let's not forget Mr Tax Man takes his share, so it's more like £27,122 per year.

A-Class Driving School's franchise is £50 a week, 4 weeks holiday a year and the use of a school roof box. Did I mention we're hirin g driving instructors? We could fill your diary instantly with the lengthy waiting lists we currently have and are receiving hundreds of inquiries a week.

What are the running costs?

You'll need a car. If you have one already, great. If not you have the option of either buying or leasing.

Leasing can cost from £320p/m to £500 or more. You'll sign up for about 3 years and you're limited to 20,000 miles for the lower end deals. Another problem if you're chasing the 40K , 36 hours a week 'money back for your training' guarantee dream. If you do over 20,000 miles you'll be hit with a fine. More small print for you to read before signing anything.

Some instructors like leasing as you get a new car every few years. Servicing and maintenance is free (within reason, more small print to read) and you get a replacement vehicle within 24 hours if something goes horribly wrong with your vehicle.

Buying a car means it's yours to do with as you choose. No limit on miles. You can change it when you want. However, you'll need to pay for all the servicing and maintenance yourself.

If you bought a £6000 car to teach in, over 3 years you could pay it off with £166 a month payments. Basic driving instructor insurance provides a replacement car within 24 hours. Last year my car maintenance was around £400 and it's now 5 years old. That totals around £200 a month over a 36 month period. So, cheaper than the leasing, but no guarantee that engine failure could happen pushing that figure up.

In my experience, the split between ownership v leasing in the industry is around 50/50. At A-Class Driving School, three fifths own their own car. I like to replace mine after every 4 to 5 years and get £2000 part exchange on a £8000 to £10,000 vehicle. Then take a small business loan out with a bank to make up the difference and make installments of £150 a month to pay it off.

You also have to pay the DVSA £300 every 4 years for the privilege of working. Sorry, I meant to renew your badge!

Automatic electric revolution

It's here! New driving instructors can get in from day dot and potentially make a financial killing. Fuel is the obvious big overhead for driving instructors. £60 to £100 a week depending on how many hours you work, what level your students are at, and ,of course, the size your engine. Per mile, electric cars make huge savings.

Again, lots of variables, but perhaps 2p compared to 12p per mile. There's no road tax to pay at all. Servicing and parts have been estimated on some websites to be 50% less than their combustion engine companions, already making the financial savings very appealing. Then add the cost of automatic lessons being charged more per hour, and it's an extremely attractive option.

The only downside is that electric cars are obviously more expensive to buy at the moment.

As you can see there are lots of options and no right or wrong way to go on how to become a driving instructor. Just make sure you don't rush into anything, and there are lots of friendly and helpful instructors who would be glad to offer advice if you have questions. There's one right here.

By Will Dracott

New Title

Ways to relieve driving test stress

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 05:34:35 GMT

Top ten driving test stress relieving tips

With April being Stress Awareness Month, so I thought I'd share my top ten tips on how to relieve stress created by the driving test.

The UK driving test is the most difficult in the world. Every day, 10 people are killed on British roads and every one in three deaths is as a direct result of a newly qualified driver. Due to these horrific statistics, the test is becoming more and more difficult to assure the quality of new drivers is sufficient to reduce these statistics. The price of the practical test is now £62 and £23 for the theory. The days of rocking up, crossing your fingers, praying for 40 minutes and passing are well and truly over. You MUST study for this exam. Give yourself the best chance possible by following my top driving test tips on how to pass your exam first time.

1. Sleep

Driving test tip number one is so obvious. It's been scientifically proven that those who are well rested respond far better in reaction tests. Your driving test is one long reaction test! The night before avoid having any alcohol or caffeine - both of these will interrupt your sleep cycle. Humans optimum sleep time is 8 hours. If you go to bed at 10pm, set an alarm for 6am. Any more than this and your body and mind enter a new sleep cycle which waking from will make you groggy.

2. Food

What you eat makes your body respond in different ways. If your driving test is early in the morning you need to get a good nights sleep so eat a carbohydrate rich meal e.g. pasta. Carbohydrates make your body feel sleepy. If your exam is in the afternoon you need to eat protein e.g. meat, eggs or fish. Protein makes your body feel alert.

Be well hydrated too - lack of fluids severally diminishes concentration levels. Make sure you have eaten (no crash diets), preferably something that will stimulate you like; asparagus, avocados, bananas, cod, cheese, peanuts, lettuce or fresh fruit. If you give your brain the right nutrients, you will be able to think faster, have a better memory, be better coordinated and balanced and have improved concentration. For more insight into the science of food, do some research.

3. Be prepared

The night before your practical test get all your documents ready and leave them by the front door. You MUST have your licence, otherwise they'll not take you out for the test. Know what is to be expected from you on the day of your exam. Have a look at how the practical driving test works and how the examiners mark it. Information taken from the DVSA guidance for examiners can be found here. At least read the part in the big red box!

4. Use our tutorials

I've created an online driving tutorial for this website covering all subject topics you'll be tested on. Study them. Driving lessons (mostly) only last an hour; it's a huge amount of information to take in. Use the tutorials to find out more. People learn in 3 ways; visually (seeing things), aurally (listening to instruction) and kinaesthetically (by doing). If you learn visually, you'll greatly benefit from seeing instructions written on a page. A tiny percentage of people learn aurally, mostly women, and that's how most of the instruction in the lesson is taught. Most people respond well to kinaesthetic learning, which is great, as your driving lesson is just that.

There are diagrams, photos and step-by-step guides for everything you need to know about driving. I've also included information about each driving test centre in Bristol. Where and what people often fail on; maps of the test routes and trouble areas with guides and photos to help picture how to navigate around it successfully. ( Avonmouth , Warmley ).

Use this to practise with friends and family. I often blog cheat sheets on each subject too. A condensed print out for parents and co-drivers to use when teaching their learners.

5. Practise

“Those who pass their driving test have had, on average, have about 45 hours of professional training combined with 22 hours of private practise. Learners who prepare this way, with a combination of plenty of professional training and plenty of practise, do better in the test."

This is copied directly from the DVSA website. If you have only had a handful of lessons with an instructor and no private practise, you are attempting the impossible. Get out on the road and behind the wheel as much as you can. If you can't learn practically, you MUST practice theoretically. The best way to do this is to visit and read the online driving tutorials on this site. We have videos here .

6. Make the most of your lessons

I will always give you at least an hour in the car. If you turn up late, and I have another lesson afterwards, I can't let down my next client because of you. Be ready to go when the door bell rings and make sure you get an hours worth.

7. Ask me

If you are unsure about something, ask me. That's what I'm here for. If you are thinking about driving whilst at work, text me, email me, skype me, call me. I really don't mind and will try my best to explain in the simplest way possible. I enjoy teaching and want you to pass. Even if you're not my student, send me an email - info@aclassdrivingschoolbristol.co.uk I will get back to you ASAP.

8. Don't try to do too much at once

I've seen this too much over the years. Students try to pass as quickly as they can, squeezing lessons into lunch breaks, between school/college/university exams and after work. DO NOT TAKE A LESSON IF YOU ARE ALREADY TIRED! You won't get the most from your lesson and it can be counter-productive. This exam is very stressful, be flexible. Don't pile unnecessary pressure on yourself.

9. Relax and be calm

Dress comfortably - The examiners aren't there to judge you on appearances; they are paid to judge your driving ability.

Don't wear high heels - flat shoes are the best option. Remove bulky jackets and heavy jumpers.
Breathing - In through the nose, out through the mouth. Doing this 5 times slowly will help lower your heart rate.
Remedies - Antispasmodic stomach medicine, such as Colofac, can help keep those 'butterflies' under control. Rescue Remedy spray can help too.
Your environment - Open the window. Fresh air will help keep you alert and cool. Make sure the car's environmental controls are set so you are comfortable. Don't sit there melting!

10. Have confidence

I will only let you go forward for the exam if I think you have a great chance of passing. If you don't feel confident with your driving ability - you're not ready. You are allowed to change your test 3 working days before hand. Don't throw away £120 (£62 for the test, £30 for lesson before, £30 for car hire) needlessly. No one likes to fail and if you think you're going to, you'll make it happen. Only when you feel confident do you stand a chance of success.

By Will Dracott

New Title

Driving lessons after lockdown 3

Sat, 10 Apr 2021 13:37:39 GMT

Driving lessons resume on April 12th

Hopefully this latest lockdown will be the last we have to endure and it's been by far the worst for so many. Driving lessons resume on April 12th, but the devastation created for the learner driver industry from the latest Covid whirlwind is on a new level. Almost 500,000 cancelled and rescheduled tests, that's twice the number of lockdown 1. Waiting lists at every driving school nation wide are longer than ever been seen before. A new learner could have to wait over a year before space pops up to start learning how to drive.

Then there is the matter of driving tests. It's estimated the wait is over 8 months on average everywhere in England. How can driving instructors (and learners to a degree) plan for this size gap? Currently there are no tests available anywhere in Bristol. That's pretty bleak for anyone learning wishing to actually qualify.

Solutions or just more problems?

Test centres are disappearing. Bristol has lost two in the past few years, pushing up waiting times further. On top of that, just today we found out Bristol is closing it's theory test centre without another one to fill it's space until mid-May. Could this have been planned any worse? Three days before apparently resuming, they're cancelling another months worth of tests. Inconceivable!

The DVSA has stated that they'll open test centres with a reduced number of tests per day, however, you'll be able to book tests (when available) on Saturdays. At a higher price I must add. They have recruited more staff, which is good. But they have less test centres to man... I must be missing a crucial part of the logic here. I think it's obvious more needs to be done. Fingers crossed it's sooner rather than later.

What we're doing

As a driving school, we can not sort out the driving test mess. We can only teach and try to navigate and advise our students as best we can through the continuously changing environment.

But how can driving lessons take place in a Covid-19 world?

It's all about the PPE

Social distancing isn't possible during a driving lesson. In my Fiat 500, students and I have around a 50cm gap, shoulder to shoulder. Covid doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon, so we're going to have learn how to live with it. This is why social distancing for lessons has to be ignored and PPE is king. Here's what we are continuing to do in terms of keeping our clients as safe as possible over the coming months until the world returns to normal.

Please wash your hands with soap and water just before your driving lesson.
Have some kind of face covering. No mask, no lesson.
We will call/text you when we're ready outside. Coming up to your house and knocking, chatting with family members increases the risk of transmission, so for the time being, please be ready for a call/text and come on down when it's time.
You'll enter a car that has been fully sprayed down with antiseptic aerosol from it's last class. External door handles too.
If you're able to bring a pair of your own, clean rubber gloves, great. If you don't have any, they will be provided for you at a rate of 50p per pair. Gloves (in my car) are also mandatory. Some schools will be happy with hand sanitiser.
Speaking face to face needs to be kept to a minimum.
Windows down as much as possible to keep the environment fresh and air circulating.
At the end of the class please dispose of your gloves responsibly and wash your mask before using it again.
We recommend changing your clothes as soon as you get back inside your home.
My day will be split into two. Two hours of teaching in the morning, then two hours in the afternoon. This gives me a chance to deep clean the car in the middle of the day, eat at home and change my clothing.

Joint responsibility

Just in the same way the student and instructor have a joint responsibility in the car when on a lesson, the same now applies before classes. If you're not feeling well (in the slightest), if you've been near someone who has Covid-19, or potentially has Corona, then please cancel your lesson. Anyone infected getting in a vehicle with someone else for 60 to 120 minutes is transmitting that disease. No matter how much PPE they have on. Be kind, be responsible, be safe.

Why now is the time to learn in an automatic vehicle

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 13:46:06 GMT

Now is the time to learn in an automatic

The argument over what vehicle you should learn in has always shown people in the UK prefer a manual . However, the time to consider learning in an automatic is definitely now, and for so many reasons.

I've had the manual vs automatic discussion numerous times with students over the years, and have never been convinced with their reasons as to why manual vehicles are preferred. Students often argue automatic vehicles are more expensive (not true), and that they'd prefer to have the option of driving either type of car. This is valid if you are so rich you have a fleet of cars to choose from each time you need to drive anywhere, but most people only have one car. When you travel abroad, automatics are always available to hire as they are easier to drive especially when negotiating other factors such as unknown road layouts.

You can lead a horse to water

Even when students are told it's twice as easy to learn in an automatic car, it would cost them half the amount of money (the savings could go towards that more expensive transmission they'd heard of) and they'd be driving on their own in half the time. Students still refuse to listen. Us Brits do love doing things the hard way after all. Even when, very occasionally, a student is really struggling with the multi-tasking coordination needed when learning, these factors are frequently ignored.

It finally feels the argument has swung in favour of learning in an automatic car. Covid -19 and three national lock-downs have caused the biggest backlog of driving tests you could possibly imagine. Almost 500,000 cancelled and rescheduled driving tests are due to restart on April 22nd. In Bristol, there are no available driving tests to book. Test centres nationwide are being closed down. Examiners are working a reduced service. Getting through this backlog is going to take years if you're learning in a manual car - that is.

All driving schools nationwide have extensive waiting lists that could take years to work through (mine's over 80 people long). Because the demand to learn in an automatic is far less, the waiting times are shorter. Making the decision to learn in an automatic, could see you getting behind the wheel 12 months sooner than in a manual. Which, let's face it, is an outmoded form of transport.

Just the facts, Ma'am

Already many car companies have said they'll no longer be producing combustion engine vehicles in a few years. Governments around the world are prohibiting their sale to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality. Electric cars aren't just coming soon, they're already here and they're all automatic.

You can buy them second hand for a few thousand, they cost absolutely nothing in road tax and have a fraction per mile running cost compared to petrol or diesel cars. MOT and service costs are around 50% less too. So, financially speaking, it's a no-brainer that we should all be driving electric. On top of that, it'll cost you half the amount to learn in and you'll do it in half the time. Plus, you'll jump the Covid lockdown backlog queue potentially by a year!

If this isn't the time to learn to drive in an automatic, I don't know when will be.

What does it take to become a driving instructor

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 16:28:15 GMT

What Does it Take to Become a Driving Instructor?

The old saying goes: “Every man to his trade”. The most important thing is to find your occupation among thousands, constantly improve your skills and get the main advantage of it – help people. Today we will touch on one of the most interesting professions - a driving instructor and what it takes to become a good one. People who teach others driving can typically celebrate both, Driver’s Day and Teacher’s Day. Therefore, it is not only important to be an excellent driver, but it is also crucial to be a good teacher (at least at heart).

Apart from this, there are some certain steps to be taken to become a driving instructor and get your first client. To start with, you should know that approved driving instructor in the UK should:

· be at least 21 years old;

· have held a full UK manual driving license for more than 3 years;

· take a criminal record check. Even if you already have it, you would need to have a new one in order to start driving instructor training.

You will also need to sit a series of exams to prove you have the skills required to teach driving. Get ready for the exams based on your driving ability, teaching skills and theory of the road.

The theory and hazard perception test is a computer-based test consisting of multiple choice section (100 theoretical questions) to be passed within 90 minutes, and hazard perception section of 14 short videos containing developing hazard to be noticed.

Practical driving test will reveal your driving skills to ensure your driving competence and safety required to instruct others. This test is one-hour long and only 6 minor errors are allowed.

Practical test of your ability to instruct is considered to be the toughest one and consists of 2 parts. Each part lasts for 30 minutes and will allow the examiner to assess your knowledge and organization.

Overall, you have a two-year period to complete all three tests. On average, it takes from 6 months to 2 years to complete all three.

Still dream of becoming a professional driving instructor? Here is the checklist of skills needed:

· Perfect driving ability

· Good knowledge of teaching

· Great ability to give instructions to the high standards

· Good geographical knowledge

· Great communication skills

· Easy adaptation to different types of people.

Though working as a driving instructor is great, since in most cases you would have flexible hours and due to the nature of the work you would be able to meet loads of new people, a person willing to start a driving instructor career should have a huge amount of patience and professionalism.

Driving lessons resume on April 12th

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 17:49:57 GMT

Driving Lessons Resume on April 12th

It's official, the DVSA have finally announced the date driving lessons can resume, as long as the UK's Covid situation doesn't blow up in our faces. April 12th is the chosen date: so good news for most; bad news for some. This was supposed to be the date driving tests were to resume, however, that gave no time for learners to practise driving before their exam. Even the DVSA, saw the gaping holes in this plan. Tests have been pushed back by a further 10 days. Common sense prevails, and all is well, or is it? Let me explain. If your test is booked for April 15th, that test is now cancelled. Your test will be re-booked, but as with high stokes poker, the odds aren't in your favour. Your new test date could be a Midsomer nightmare!

Booking your lessons after lockdown

If you're a current student with a driving school/instructor, now is the time to start booking your classes for April. There is going to be a huge surge of people wanting to learn how to drive. If it's anything like the tsunami of inquiries after lowdown 1, waiting lists will be on multiple sheets of A4 paper. My own personal list has around 50 people on it already.

However, don't let this put you off joining a waiting list. I found that even though the lists are long, once a space opens up, we can get through the list quickly. Those on the list are going to be looking for lessons elsewhere too. They may have had a change of circumstances and driving lessons aren't a priority anymore. People's finances will be affected by the past few months, and, perhaps they can't afford to continue.

Book now

So, if you're looking for classes ASAP, get on as many lists as possible. If you're super keen and want to get started without an instructor, there are plenty of online driving tutorials you can view/read to help you get a head-start on your first lesson (or to review past classes if you're already a student). We have free ones here on our website that cover all aspects of driving with diagrams, photos, and videos to make understanding the tutorials as clear as possible.

Feel free to fill in the 'contact us' form below if you'd like to reserve a place our waiting list. With 5 instructors across the city, teaching both manual and automatic , plus dedicated intensive course specialists, you never know, we might be able to see you sooner than you think.

Meeting Situations Cheat Sheet

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 16:54:08 GMT

Meeting Situations - Cheat sheet for parent teachers

Our focus for this blog is to help non-driving instructors teaching their children how to deal with meeting situations.

For me, this is the hardest aspect of driving for beginners. They need to be able to size up a situation, come up with a plan and implement it all within the blink of an eye. The more experience they have, the easier it becomes.

Meeting is all to do with how traffic gets past one another on narrower roads. Who has priority? What should I do? How is it done? Are the three main question that need to be constantly asked and answered.

What you do not want to do here is impose your own ideals on what space is big enough to squeeze through. Examiners are very funny over clearance distances. That's the space between cars. Anything deemed too close, or too fast when things get narrow, they'll go straight to the fail column.

One meters clearance (diagram A)

This is what students should always look to have between themselves and passing objects (two meters for cyclists). It's a safe clearance distance and if a door is flung open, they should be able to avoid an incident. The speed does not need to be adjusted if you can keep a meter on either side

Half a meters clearance (diagram B)

Learners are allowed to get within 1/2 a meter of other vehicles, however, the speed must be under 20 mph by the time they reach one another. This could involve down shifting through gears as well as braking. The reason for this is that if a door is suddenly flung open, or a child runs from behind a parked up car, the driver can go ahead with the emergency stop and at 20 mph the car halts almost instantly.

Holding Back (diagram D)

Holding back is the hardest thing with this topic. Most experienced drivers do this differently to how the examiners want to see it done. So parent teachers might not be practising this in the 'correct' way in the eyes of the DVSA.

In diagram C we have a situation where the red (the learner) and blue car are going to meet near the parked up yellow one at the same time and there's not enough space to get through safely. The obstruction is on the side of the road as the red car, so they have to give way/take action/hold back.

They would be expected to stop some 2 to 3 car lengths before the parked up vehicle. This may surprise some experienced drivers. It could seem too much. However, for an inexperienced driver, this distance will allow them to see clearly down the road still, and give them the space to pull out and around the yellow car. However, another great reason for stopping earlier is that it give the driver time to get the car ready for moving away from a stationary position. Back to 1st gear and possibly getting the hand brake on. With the handbrake set, they can anticipate the arrival of the gap and have the car ready (gas and bite) and as soon as the blue car clears, they can spring into the space before someone else comes along.

This tactic of stopping early and setting the car really helps. This little routine will be useful elsewhere in their driving too.

The other important aspect of the hold back position to consider is the distance between themselves and the pavement. They do not want to make it look like they're parking. Being too close to the kerb ruins their view and any swerve towards the pavement to clear a path for oncoming cars could lead to knocking cyclists over.

50/50

When a meeting situation is more 50/50 in terms of who has to give way, get your student to do it. It's a great skill to demonstrate come test day and shows that the driver has the ability to see that in a situation where perhaps they have priority they should never assume it. The other driver could be a bully, in a rush, drunk, angry... who knows whats going through their mind. They should be conservative with the decisions and avoid confrontation.

Tunnel of vehicles

This is when a narrow road forms due to parked up cars on both sides and can be quite long. Priority goes to whoever gets there first, so the driver should wait at the mouth/beginning of the tunnel. If they've over committed, or the tunnel has passing places, they should use them. Jink into spaces on the left, getting their back end in. This can be difficult due to the quick hand motions needed. Learners should assume they're stopping when doing this. Not hoping the oncoming car is going to pass in time for them not to hit the car in front. Get them to practise stopping, resetting and then moving away.

Gaps can form on the right, like having a side turning break up the tunnel. It's a part of the road that they may have never thought about before. Stopping opposite a junction is a great place to pass and to start making the other car do the wiggling. Learners are often too generous with their movement and positioning, wanting to get out of the way of everyone.

Try to keep tunnel of vehicle situations to a minimum to begin with. It can be highly stressful when busy. If they over commit and there are no passing places ... reversing backwards in a straight line down a narrow road with others watching is extremely difficult for anyone, let alone a learner. It could destroy their confidence. We never want to dent it.

We have a video here to help visualise what the DVSA are after if extra help is needed.

Roundabouts Cheat Sheet

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:00:08 GMT

Roundabouts - Cheat sheet for parent teachers

New Our focus for this blog is to show how non-driving instructors teaching children how to deal with regular roundabouts.

There are three broad category of roundabout. Mini roundabouts (which we dealt with last time). Regular roundabouts will have something in the middle, like a floral display or sculpture. Usually obscuring the drivers view. And finally we have the extremely large traffic light controlled, spiral roundabouts. We'll look at these next time.

If you haven't read the mini roundabout guide and are yet to attempt these with your student, I highly recommend doing so first. This next topic is a real step up due to so much going on at once.

The approach

As mentioned last time in the mini roundabout guide, the approach is the key. Getting them to arrive doing their MSM routine for an approaching situation (major to minor road) with 4 car lengths to spare will give them the best possible hope in mastering this quickly. With 4 car lengths to spare they then have time to LADA (and they should be off the clutch, look out for this).

We want them to have time as they slowly arrive at the roundabout to look to see if they can go or not. They should be looking for cars coming from their right that they do not want to slow down.

The entrance to their right is the obvious first port of call. Just like with the mini roundabouts. The big difference now however is that they need to look for cars already on the junction and based on their position make a decision about going or stopping.

Lane position

If there is nothing coming from the right hand entrance, there is a good chance of going. What they need to do next is look to see if something appears from behind the centre of the roundabout. The floral displays and sculptures block our view quite a bit, making this observation challenging. If something comes into view and it's in the outside lane, this is good news. It's leaving.

If it appears on the inside lane, the lane closest to the roundabouts centre, it's a threat. Stop.

I get them to initially stop when they see this, even though there's a chance the car could straighten up and leave. The reason for me getting them to stop is that they can then demonstrate to me that they can identify the position of this danger car. There is too much happening here for a length chat about a split second decision. Plus, it gets them moving their feet quickly, but gently. And spending time watching the cars here is invaluable experience. Exposure over and over is the only way to get their eye in and for them to understand the flow and movement of this type of junction.

If your student keeps stalling here or is too slow to get off and away, they aren't ready for this. A session on the emergency stop or some more moving away and stopping can help develop the skills needed for this.

Exiting

Leaving the large roundabouts is different to the minis. We just signal on approach for the mini roundabouts. We need a signal when we leave for the larger ones. It's an MSM routine to the left, but make sure they don't do it too early. Really delay it. I get them them to pass the penultimate entrance before checking the mirrors and signalling left. A learners instinct will be to try at the penultimate exit. Two to three car lengths too soon. The focus at this stage should be position and staying in lane.

Turning right, 3rd exit

This can feel like the most worrisome part for them as there is lot to do in a short time, plus there's the risk of striking another vehicle as they move across lanes.

Roundabout guide

We're going to focus on the red car here. Consider the roundabout like a clock. We come on at 6 and when we get to 11, our MSM routine kicks in for taking the 3rd exit.

(diagram below)

Mirrors should be interior and left.

Apply the left signal.

Start unraveling the wheel. Taking the turn off. There's a distinct straightening up here so we can leave in the left lane and normal drive position when we leave.

An all important second left door mirror check. If it's clear, take the solid line. If it's not safe, take the dotted line and come back to your normal drive position when it's safe.

Everyone's biggest fear here is that at 1 o'clock as we go from the inside lane to the outside lane there's a vehicle along side us. We can minimise the risk here by having a minimal safe speed.

If the driver stopped before coming onto the roundabout, when they move away in first gear, get them into 2nd around/before 9 o'clock. In reality, this is a far straighter line and easier to change gear when going straight. After 9 o'clock there's a lot of steering making it far harder. Once in 2nd gear, their speed will increase to 10/12/15 mph, the same speed as everyone else. There's far less of a chance a speeding car will inadvertently come along side and overtake just as their looking to exit. If they do the whole thing in first, their speed will be so slow, other cars will catch them up, being taken by surprise themselves, creating a dangerous situation.

Additional help

Don't try this at rush hour for their first session. I try to get them in the mind set that roundabouts are easier then they look. By building confidence by approaching empty/quiet roundabouts and going first time massively improves them.
Day light is your friend.
A roundabout with good visibility will be easier to negotiate.
Devise routes where you can double back to the roundabout ASAP. The only way they'll improve on this type of junction is by visiting them.

Mini Roundabouts Cheat Sheet

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 14:12:55 GMT

Mini Roundabouts - Cheat sheet for parent teachers

This week's blog topic for non-driving instructors teaching their friends and loved ones how to drive is focusing on mini roundabouts. There are three broad category of roundabout. Mini roundabouts should have the blue circular sign with three arrows chasing one another on approach to the junction. If you miss this, it's a blob of paint on the floor. Regular roundabouts will have something in the middle. Floral display, art, mound of earth. Usually something blocking your view of what's happening on the other side of the junction. And finally we have the extremely large traffic light controlled, spiral roundabouts . We will cover the the regular and spirals in later blog posts.

I would recommend focusing on the mini one first. These are far less confusing and importantly allows the learner to focus on what I believe to be the key for unlocking roundabouts; the approach.

It's just like approaching

Remember approaching? Major to minor junctions? This is the routine we want to apply for our roundabouts. With a big emphasis on the Look stage at the end. So it's our MSM (or MSPSL) routine we'll be using for all mini roundabouts, each and every time.

Mirrors - interior and then the corresponding door mirror in the direction of travel.

Signal - some braking if arriving close to 30 mph and in third gear. Then the indicator.

Position - If a lane change is needed for turning right, do it now when safe.

Speed - this isn't when we start braking. This should be getting the speed down to what it needs to be. We want to be down to 10/12 mph with 4 car lengths to spare before the give way markings. This means a gear change from 3 to 2 and, most importantly, off the clutch. Getting students used to engine braking here is difficult.

Look - with 4 car lengths to spare (15/16 meters) nothing else much needs to be done except making the decision to either go first time or to stop. Learners need this extra space to think things through. Licence holders will be able to do this instantly. Bear this in mind. You should be arriving incredibly slowly.

New acronym

This will allow them time to LADA. Look Assess Decide Act. It's a routine that can be used for all junctions when the MSM has been completed.

At the mini roundabout get them to look to the right first, as this is who we'll need to be giving way to. They only need to stop for a car that they're going to slow down. Not for anything they see. The approach needs to be slow enough that even if there is a car, that's arriving before them, they're able to look for a signal and to the other entrances to the roundabout to see if they can use a blocking vehicle.

It's a big step up for some students from the simplicity of approaching and emerging.

If there is something they want to stop for, it then very quickly, turns into an emerging routine .

Things to watch out for

Coasting - They may want to arrive with their foot on the clutch as if stopping.
Arriving too fast.
Not being able to slow down and get the gear change in and come off the clutch with ample time to LADA.
Look at the wrong cars. It does very much feel like everyone at mini roundabouts is about to drive into one another. You have to convince them that the people on their right will stop and behave.

I highly recommend mastering the approach before tackling bigger roundabouts, especially busy ones. As this is a completely different animal.

Driving Law Changes 2021

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 15:03:02 GMT

Driving Law Changes 2021

Now the UK has left the European Union there are going to be some huge changes to driving laws that we need to all be aware of. From international travel to improved road safety. This article is here to highlight and simplify them all for you.

Brexit

GB sticker, brexit law changes, driving law changes

Due to leaving the EU, driving laws here see the most changes. Anyone driving their own car over onto the continent will need a green card from your insurance provider. It will act as evidence that your vehicle is insured. Give yourself several weeks to apply and to receive it as it could take a while to arrive apparently. If your trip is under a year long, you'll need to keep your V5C logbook in the glove box. More info on that here .

Hired or leased vehicles, will need to take a VE103 form which proves it's allowed to leave the UK.

Some countries will require you to take out an international permit to drive there. Check before leaving.

Your licence plate must also contain the GB logo on it, or have a GB sticker on the car if the plate is lacking the flags.

Mobile phone

The driving laws on mobile phone use have tightened up considerably. Anyone driving and holding a phone in any way is now breaking the rules. That includes scrolling through a play-list or holding a sat-nav. If caught, it's a £200 fine and 6 points on your licence.

Low emission zones

Several planned LEZs for 2020 around the country have been pushed back to 2021. Bristol being one of them. Prices here to enter the CAZ for old or polluting vehicles (diesel pre 2017 and petrol pre 2006) are around £9 for most vehicles.

Bath is due to commence their clean air zone in March and London's is due to be extended.

E10 fuel

A new, cleaner type of fuel is thought to be released this year at pumps across the country. It's estimated the effect will be the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off of the road.

Automatic Lane Keeping System (ALKS)

The government has green lighted this hands free system for later in the year. Essentially drivers will be able to take their hands off of the wheel and the sensors on the car will prevent the vehicle from colliding with everything around them. Apparently. Can anyone else see this going very, very wrong?

Green plates

All electric and zero emission vehicles will have to have green plates in an attempt to promote them. They will be exempt from CAZs payments and have access to free parking.

The green section will be a flash or stripe on the left hand side of the plate. So... not really a green plate then.

Controlled Stop

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 15:24:15 GMT

Controlled Stop - Cheat sheet for parents

Now that the DVSA has U-turned on allowing parents to practise driving with their children (so long as it's an essential journey), we can start our parental help blog posts again. This week we're looking at the controlled stop. Some might know this at the emergency stop, but that might conjure up the wrong image in the drivers mind. Emergency is far too last second and instinctive. The examiners want to see the car brought to a short, sharp stop. However, it must be totally under control.

Get ready

This will not be sudden sprung upon anyone during the exam. The examiner will pull them in first and explain what will happen. They'll expect the driver to make progress as normal and when safe, the examiner will say stop (in a slightly raised voice) and put their hand out in front of them, palm facing the windshield.

The student should mentally visualise what's about to happen before pulling away. The big clue that the examiner is about to say stop is that they will look over their shoulder out of the back window to check it's safe.

When the hand comes out, the sequence kicks in.

No mirrors. There's no time. The most important thing is to stop. So the brake comes on first. Firm enough to lock the seat belts, but not so firm that the ABS activates. If the car skids, they could fail the driver.

A fraction of a second after the brake goes down, the clutch is fully depressed. For two reasons. Firstly to cut the engines power. Secondly to prevent the car from stalling.

The brake must go down before the clutch. Otherwise the car could pick up speed.

The car should stop very quickly. The driver must keep their feet down on the pedals. Get them to apply the handbrake and put the car into neutral. Now the pedals can be released.

Half way POM

The driver should now use this time to regather their composure. In a real life situation (or on test day) their heart rate could be high. They need to calm down first. This is only half of the controlled stop. Moving away safely is import.

They need to Prepare, Observe and then Manoeuvre (POM).

First gear, set the gas and find the bite.

The observation is very different to what usually happens. It needs to start with looking over their left shoulder out of the rear window. Back left. Passenger. Front. Their window and finishing up with a blind spot check over their right shoulder. So, essentially a 360 degree sweep, left to right shoulder.

The reason for this is that the car could be in the middle of the road. Perhaps even an odder position. They need to check all around the car before moving away.

Then acting sensibly on what they see. Don't slow anyone down unnecessarily.

If all is safe, move off and perhaps check all three mirrors just in case some cyclist happened to be in a blind spot created by head restraints or support pillars.

And that's how to correctly perform the controlled stop .

Tips for driving safely under a summer storm

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 17:36:34 GMT

In summer it is common to find isolated stormy processes of medium or strong intensity that can greatly complicate driving .

Therefore, we offer you some very useful recommendations if you have to drive, so you can do it with total safety .

Follow all the signals carefully and increase the safety distance , at least 3 seconds with the vehicle in front.
Always check the tire pressure (if we replace only two, we will install them on the rear axle). They must have adequate pressure : if they have less pressure, you will decrease their grip options, in case of rain, increasing the possibility of drift (transverse movements of the vehicle) and aquaplaning. Remember that this phenomenon occurs when the tire is not able to evacuate the water that accumulates in front of it when turning. The tires must evacuate between 5 and 10 liters of water per second, approximately, so when they are not able to do so, the water is placed under the tire by raising it and increasing the chances of losing control of the car.
In the case of aquaplaning , you should stop accelerating and not move the steering wheel (as long as there is no loss of the initial trajectory). Nor do you brake sharply so as not to move the point of application of the weight forward as you would increase the likelihood of oversteer. But if in a situation, where you cannot avoid it and that oversteer occurs, keep calm and reduce the speed so that the tire has time to channel the excess water to the sides of the tire.
Under storm situations , it is when you most appreciate the need for tires to have adequate drawing depth . The minimum is 1.6 mm in the tread grooves; However, in heavy rain, with a depth of 2 mm, medium tourism can suffer aquaplaning at speeds around 60 - 70 km / h.
Do not wear warm clothes when driving , but do not do it with flat shoes like a flip flop and body . Better go in comfortable clothes and shoes that allow you to control the vehicle's pedals safely.
Do not drink any alcohol , even in small quantities. It is necessary to hydrate, more in summer with high temperatures, but whenever it is with water or some soda.
Turning on the road light is not highly recommended, although it is mandatory on interurban roads, poorly lit when we drive at more than 40km / h (and do not dazzle).
Keep the wiper blades in good condition . Check before leaving that they have not been damaged by saltpeter, sand, dust, and leaves in suspension or the sun.
Use the aerators directed towards the windshield to prevent fogging.
Brakes from time to time to cause friction and keep the brakes dry.
If you are on urban roads or in a hold, do not keep the rear fog on , it is very dazzling and you can prevent the vision of the driver who follows you.
If you are driving under a thunderstorm , keep calm inside the vehicle. It is the safest place where you can be. Turn off the radio, close the windows and wait for a little before leaving the vehicle, if you have to. Keep in mind that if you drive in an urban center, the probability of being struck by lightning is practically zero, if not impossible. On out-of-town roads, that probability rises, so you should look for a safe place to park your vehicle so that your vehicle is not exposed in the path of lightning as the highest point. Look for buildings taller than the height of your vehicle or that have lightning rods.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

We also offer Automatic car driving lessons that can be a quick, easy and cheaper way to earning your license. They could also be ideal for those who struggle with the concept of the clutch and gears in a manual vehicle.

5 Reasons Your Last Driving School Was A Mistake

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 17:35:03 GMT

Many of our students come from previous schools after failing tests or having a bad experience. We’ve listed the top 5 reasons your last driving school was a mistake.

These are based on students who have come to us after negative experiences. If you’ve felt any of these, we know how it feels, and you’re not alone.

They were rude

Sometimes instructors are just rude people. They may be qualified and great at what they do, but if they can’t communicate in a friendly way, it all goes out the car window.

We’ve heard stories of passive aggressive instructors who would be mean about a students mistake. This type of behaviour is unacceptable in any professional environment. Even more so in a small confined car with just one other person.

If an instructor has been rude and inconsiderate with you during your lessons, then we understand that you want to move schools.

We treat our students with the utmost respect. If a student makes a mistake, that’s a natural part of the learning process and we smile and correct them with kindness

They were impatient

One of the worst attributes an instructor can have is being impatient with students who learn slower that usual. It’s most likely the fault of the instructor and they probably fail to notice their own incompetency.

This results in a bad instructor who becomes impatient with their students. If this has happened to you, then don’t take another lesson with them. This attitude can put unwanted pressure on the student and makes it even harder for them to grasp the instructions.

We pride ourselves on patience. Even though we have one-week intensive courses and 2-4 week intensive courses where our students pass on their first try within a few weeks, we still pride ourselves on patience.

If a student learns slower, we will go at their pace. We have non-intensive courses that allow students to learn over a slower period. Our attitude inside the vehicle is relaxed, calm and patient with our students. Even if they make the same mistake 20 times, our attitude remains the same.

Our patience pays off, and that’s why we have one of the highest first time pass rates in Bristol.

They didn't prepare you for the test

We have many students who come to us using another school and then failing a test. The main reason you might fail a test is because of lack of preparation. It’s not the students fault most of the time, but actually the teacher.

Often times, other instructors don’t give the basic lessons required to pass a test. One common reason to fail a test is not using the right observation at junctions.

We make sure to ingrain the correct observation behaviours in our students at every junction, so when the test comes around the corner, they are ready to cross the finish line.

It seems like a basic requirement for a teacher, but often times they are so caught up in teaching you other skills and they forget the basics that actually get you a pass.

We make sure to prepare you properly for the test so when it’s, you’re ready to pass the first time.

They insist on extra lessons

Some instructors insist on extra lessons, either to get more money from you or to make up for their own lack of teaching ability. We know it takes 30-40 lessons to pass a test, and some require even less.

They are simply making it harder than it needs to be. You need to learn the basics, and practice them over a period of 30-40 lessons. You need a qualified instructor to tell you what mistakes you’re making and fix them as you practice.

If an instructor is insisting that you take extra lessons when they are not even fixing your mistakes, then we urge you to look for another school.

Our intensive courses get you ready for a test in as little as one week. We have intensive courses up to 4 weeks, and non-intensive that can work with Intensive Driving Course your lifestyle.

Don’t make it harder than it needs to be!

They displayed inappropriate behaviour

This is one of the worst and most unacceptable reasons that your last driving school was a mistake.

Women especially experience a lot of pressure when taking classes. They have to sit alone in a car with a stranger, often times a man, and they have to trust everything is okay.

We have heard stories of inappropriate language being used, and instructors swearing or using aggressive behaviour. We’ve heard of instructors who inappropriately flirt with their students and then play it off like nothing happened.

This behaviour cannot be accepted, so if you’ve had even a hint of this, then get away from that instructor as fast as possible.

At A-Class Driving , we are extremely professional and friendly with our students. We are cool and collected, relaxed under pressure, and always patient with the slowest learning of students. We provide you with the basics so you’re ready to pass your test, and best of all, we are there ready to celebrate when you pass.

If you’ve experienced any of these terrible mistakes, then it’s time to change schools. We’re here to help, just give us a call or email us and we’re ready to take you on a course that will finally help you pass.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

Driving lessons in Lockdown 3

Sun, 10 Jan 2021 17:37:26 GMT

Driving lessons in Lockdown 3

So, with soaring Covid-19 cases nationwide, the government has locked us all down for a third time. What does this mean for driving lessons under the new lockdown 3 restrictions, and is there a possible resumption date on the horizon?

Back on January 4th, BJ announced to the nation that the virus was out of control and that from midnight we'd all be back under national lockdown restrictions. Six days later, this looks and feels very different from the first (and best) lockdown. For a start, so many more shops are open. The list of key workers is extensive, and the nation seems to be suffering from either Covid fatigue or an extreme lack concern for their fellow man.

Enigmatic DVSA

The DVSA finally announced (some 11 hours after the PMs' address) all driving tests and lessons were to be suspended until further notice. The guessing game began as to when our lockdown blues would end. The yard stick to use here is the rescheduled exams of learner drivers. I've had 4 tests cancelled over lockdown 3.0 and the young lady who missed out taking her test by 3 days has had hers rescheduled for March 11th. It's safe to say the lockdown will last at least 8 weeks then.

If the infection rates don't improve, we'd expect to see this extended further. With the fallout of the previous two lockdowns still being felt by learner drivers looking to take tests, this isn't going to help reduce waiting times: especially here in Bristol.

Another Bristol test centre closes

Brislington, one of only three test centres across the city, was due to close in February 2021. It's no surpirise its retirement has come early. All cancelled tests, will have to be redirected to the two remaining centres. Only adding additional weeks, if not months, to waiting times which were already extremely long.

A reduction in examiners, coupled with test slots, since the start of the pandemic has seen waiting times in Bristol shoot up to almost 16 weeks in some cases. Southmead test centre has yet to be replaced, and, adding to driver's woes, the loss of Brislington will mean eye-watering waiting times for learners. Planning tests for students will become almost impossible as who can guess how a student's progress will look in 4 months time. The overall effect is one of extended waiting times and headaches for both learners and instructors.

Learning to drive during coronvirus

The really important news that will have slipped under everyone's radar is regarding private tuition with friends and family. Currently, in England, this is illegal. That's right, you read it correctly. You cannot practise driving in England at all. In Wales and Scotland you can with a member of your family or support bubble for essential journeys only. This image was lifted from the DVSA Twitter feed.

Mirror checks habits and pedestrian crossings

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 17:42:40 GMT

Mirror checks, habits and pedestrian crossings - Cheat sheet for parents

This next blog post for parents teaching their children how to drive over this Covid infested period is about mirror checks and habits. After students starting to grasp the basics of control and feeling semi-comfortable with driving on the roads, I like to form good habits early. The mirror check for speed reduction is one of the most difficult habits to form due to it feeling counter intuitive. Why would looking away from a potential hazard make any sense? Getting them to know how close something is behind them before needing to brake means they know how much pressure to apply and when to do it.The best way of training for this mirror check is through the use of pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. They can be seen easily from distance and shouldn't take anyone by surprise. The premise is that as soon as the student sees a crossing, they check their interior mirror. They're looking to see how close the vehicle is behind them.

Zebra crossings

They next need to scan and plan. They look either side of the crossing and make a plan on what they see. If there's no one in view, they maintain their speed. If someone might get there before them, they should reduce their speed just in case. If it's obvious someone is crossing, they need to stop.Drivers should make it all the way up to the line of the crossing when stopping. Consider a handbrake if the pause is more than a few seconds or there's a chance of roll back.When pedestrians walk from right to left, they have to be on the pavement before the car proceeds. When pedestrians walk from left to right they just need to clear half way before the driver should make progress.Drivers should never wave pedestrians across the road. Let them make their own decisions.The zig-zags on the floor on approach mean two things. No parking and no overtaking of the lead motorised vehicle on approach to the crossing. If there's an island in the middle of a zebra crossing, this makes it two separate crossings. Meaning that if the driver can reach the crossing before a pedestrian walking from right to left can reach the island, the driver should carry on.

Traffic light crossings

It's the same deal in terms of the mirror check and and action needed when seeing any traffic light.Make sure they know the sequence of traffic lights. Red, red and amber, green, amber then red. Make it clear that amber does not mean speed up!A pelican crossing is slightly different with the flashing amber light. Go if it's clear.Any traffic light system with an island in the middle is different from the zebra. It's just one crossing. The island in the middle is a traffic calming measure.

Mirror check training

It's something that requires constant reminding of to the student for at least an hours session. High streets with shops are a good training ground. Going up and down the same street numerous times is fine. It doesn't matter that they know where the crossing is, just that they practise looking behind them in the interior mirror whilst on the move. This should be your objective.They need to convince their brain it's OK to leave looking out of the front window for just a split second fairly early in their training. Trying to teach this habit way down the line can be unbelievably difficult.The other check you should be encouraging is the door mirror check for moving around objects. Interior and right for moving to the right and interior and left for coming back in again.

Crossroads Cheat Sheet

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 18:00:24 GMT

Crossroad junctions - Cheat Sheet For Parents

This weeks cheat sheet for parents to help their youngsters drive is all about basic crossroad junctions and how to negotiate them. Crossroads are essentially approaching and emerging situations depending on which way you are coming to them. So you should be familiar with both of those type of junctions before attempting these.

Major to Minor

We'll use the MSM routine for both left and right turns and we have priority over the side junctions. The difficult issue is turning right and having another road user coming towards us doing the same thing. We have two options.

Minor to Major

It's an MSM routine for emerging left and right, so keep that the same. Be cautious due to the extra dangers. The cars opposite are the new concern for a learner driver here.

If we're going straight across, be in a position to get into your new drive position ASAP. Allow space for cars to turn left past you if the road opposite is more off to the right.

If you're turning right and there's a car opposite with no signal, they have priority. If you're turning right and they're turning right, neither have priority. Try to get eye contact and work things out between the two of you. Don't be encouraged to go with hand waving and do not wave yourself.

Once your learner is more confident and clinical with their control, consider the larger ones. But avoid them to begin with. We have a full advanced crossroads tutorial here for those who want to try. It's very high pressure and stalling in the middle of one isn't what anyone wants to see.

Christmas driving lesson availability in a tier 3 Bristol

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 18:13:51 GMT

Christmas driving lesson availability in a tier 3 Bristol

Lockdown 2.0 in England has come to an end, but what does this mean for Christmas driving lessons in a tier 3 Bristol? Covid hasn't gone away but driving tests and lessons can still go ahead in all tiers nation wide. The only real change is that there are only going to be 5 tests a day and masks are 100% mandatory. Even if you have a valid excuse not to wear one. If you have a test booked in tier 3, keep an eye on your email as yours could be cancelled to keep to the strict 5 tests a day schedule. Oh, and Avonmouth's test centre waiting room has opened up again. No more waiting in the rain for students on test, hooray!

With lessons resuming, we;re getting lots of inquiries about A-Class Driving School's availability over the festive period. We went into the second lockdown fully booked up with waiting lists. The month long lockdown has only extended it further. However, Covid has changed the plans of many students. I've lost two myself due to moving and have found myself ploughing through the list trying to find replacements. Many have found instructors elsewhere, so don't be put off the possibility of waiting list lengths.

Xmas space

Space does keep popping up, so if you're looking for Christmas driving lessons with us, please call to find out more. The lists are changing in length daily. Especially north Bristol students with day time availability. Christmas sees all sorts of unusual behaviour from students. Those at university go home, who knows how long for. Brexit looks like it's going to financially punish us all, so some students might need to stop classes to tighten conserve their cash.

Call us today on 07837 796842 to inquire about our availability or fill out our online inquiry form here .

Emerging from Junctions

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 14:10:50 GMT

Emerging from junctions

This printable post is for parents and friends of learner drivers to help guide them learn how to emerge from junctions. Emerging is travelling from the minor road into the major. A more detailed explanation on emerging left and right can be found here on our free online driving tutorials. We'll assume you know POM and MSM by now. If not, go back and look it up on previous posts .

Turning left

Emerging at junctions has similarities with stopping at the side of the road. It's the MSM routine we'll be using. To begin with, assume you;re stopping at the end of the road. When more proficient, you can start to look to emerge without stopping at give way lines, as ling as it's safe.

When told to turn left at the end of the road you'll first check your mirrors. Interior for cars, then the left door mirror for cyclists. Secondly you'll signal to the left. Not too early or too late. Thirdly we'll manouevre. Start to reduce the cars speed. As soon as you feel like you can make it to the end of the road with the momentum you have, dip the clutch to the floor. Keep it down.

You'll have time now to put the car into 1st gear, hand back to the wheel. Resist the urge to look to the right too soon. You'll not be able to see any traffic, focus on the end of the street and adding the turn needed to follow the kerb. It's essential to be in a good position at the end of the street, following the contour of the pavement, wheels facing to the left.

If you're too straight, when you emerge, you risk ballooning onto the other side of the road and slowing down oncoming traffic.

Stop at the line. Here the clutch and brake should both still be down. Look both ways as many times as is needed to make sure it's safe and when happy, emerge. Do this by coming off the brake, setting some gas and finding the bite. The car should start to move. Follow the pavement around and make progress in the new road as you straighten up.

Turning right

Emerging right at a junction is the same as to the left, just with a twist. The approach should be easier, however, the decision to emerge at the end is more challenging.

Check the interior and right door mirror for things overtaking you. Apply the right indicator at the correct time. There is some scope for movement here. Position yourself along side the hazard lines down the centre of the street. When you feel like you can make it to the end, off the gas and dip the clutch. Change to first gear and stay on the clutch like your stopping.

Brake as much or as little as you need to to make it to the give way lines. Try to be at walking speed by the time you're a few meters away. Avoid looking to the right too soon. Focus on getting to the line to make emerging easier in terms of visibility.

Stop at the markings. You should have a straight car with straight wheels at this point.

Look right and left as many times as you need to and when you're not going to make anyone slow down for you, emerge. Trying to get onto your side and into your normal drive position ASAP.

Approaching Junctions Cheat Sheet

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 13:06:18 GMT

Approaching Junctions(turning left and right into the minor road) - Cheat sheet for parents

This weeks cheat sheet for non- driving instructors is to help teach learner drivers how to go about approaching junctions. This is the term we use when talking about turning from the major road into the minor. Approaching junctions for left and right are both similar, using he MSM routine ( click here for more help on that), but with little twists between each one.

Approaching junctions on the left

Approaching junctions to the left tends to be the easier. Getting a nice circuit where you can repeatedly turn left multiple times is great practise. Once they look happy at doing this, only then consider the more difficult right turn.Mirrors Interior first to see how close the vehicles are behind you. Then you know what level of braking to apply. Then the left door mirror to check for cyclists.Signal Not too early, not to late. To early and it could be misleading, to late and others can't respond in time to what you're doing.Position Stay in your normal drive position, 1 meter from the kerb/parked cars.Speed By the time you're 1 to 2 car lengths from the turn, you should be down to 10 to 12 mph. Braking can occur way back at the signal stage, because the brake light is a signal.Look At the shape of the corner and to see if any pedestrians are crossing the mouth of the road.Once at your point of turn, in you go. If students are struggling with this, wait until the kerb of the new road vanishes behind the left front windscreen pillar.

Approaching junctions on the right

Approaching junctions on the right is more difficult due to having to take in to consideration on-coming traffic and the steering is much sharper. Mirrors Interior first as before, then right door mirror. Looking for overtaking road users, most likely with a engine. Signal Same as before. Position If there is scope for movement to the right, come across to free up space for other road users to move past you as you slow for the junction. Stay on your side of the road however. Speed Same as before. 10 to 12 mph a few car lengths before your junction allowing you enough time to ... Look There's more to think about this time. Firstly, priorities. The oncoming traffic has it. If you feel by making the turn you'd slow them down in any way shape or form, you need to stop. The place you stop is level with the hazard lines if they were continued out from the minor road. In a position where you'd block a car leaving the side street turning right. POM, then as soon as they've gone, away you go.If we rewind a little and notice there are no oncoming vehicles, then we go first time. The thing to be looking for here is not cutting the corner in the new road. Doing so is dangerous and could cause an head on collision with traffic.I'd advise having a high right hand on the wheel before making the turn and sharply add and unravel at the correct moment. The pull - push method of steering is recommended. Practise with a dinner plate at home.

Moving Away and Stopping Cheat Sheet

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 13:31:11 GMT

Moving Away and Stopping, the basics - Cheat sheet for parents

I've decided to keep creating these driving lesson cheat sheets for parents, to assist them in teaching their children how to drive correctly. Check out the manoeuvres in our online Tutorial here .

Moving away and stopping is a vital skill core skill and often neglected to perfect before taking a test. There are 3 moving away exercises the examiner will ask to see performed on the exam. The hill start, pulling away on a busy road and from behind a parked up car. These are a little more advanced and will be covered later. Students will also be pulled over for the start of the independent driving section, the manoeuvre and possibly the emergency stop (time depending). If the exam looks like finishing early, the examiner will slow it down with more moving away exercises, making the test as close to 40 minutes as possible. So being able to do this correctly is very important.

Prepare, Observe, Manoeuvre

Otherwise known as POM, is one of the key routines all drivers should learn right from the start. We get the car ready, check that it's safe, then go.

How to prepare

Clutch down, and into first. This pedal stays down.
Set the gas with the right foot. 1.5 to 2 RMPs Use the rev counter if needed.
Find the bite by slowly releasing the clutch. This is about half way up in most cars. You can tell you've reached that point in one of several ways; a vibration change, the bonnet rising slightly and the pitch of the engine noise dropping. Once you have it, keep the left foot still. This is the car prepared.

Next we observe

The golden rule is DO NOT slow any road users down unnecessarily. If you can do this you're half way there to passing.
Check the interior mirror, right door mirror and then the blind spot (show the examiner the back of your head). By checking these three places we can tell if it's safe behind us.

Get going

If it's safe, waste no time and get moving.
Release the handbrake. The car should immediately start to moving away.
Slowly release the clutch all the way to the top. It should take 1 to 2 car lengths (that's 4 to 8 meters). Too quick a release will see the car stall.
Whilst the clutch is rising, the right foot wants to apply more gas. The feet should move like a little set of scales, one up and one down.
Simultaneously the wheel needs to be turned to come away from the pavement and get the car parallel to the kerb.
Once away from the kerb and parallel to it with the clutch all the way up, rest the left foot out of the way on the floor. Try not to hover over the clutch pedal. You're now driving.

Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre

This is the other core routine (MSM) and is used whilst on the move for pulling in and stopping and for junctions.

Check it's safe

Before any change in speed or position, the mirrors should be checked. The interior one first. Look to see how close the vehicles are behind you. Then you'll know what level of braking to use.
The left door mirror is next. Checking for cyclists.

Tell people what you're doing . The left indicator needs to be applied.

Then do it, manoeuvre. Which can be broken down into 3 smaller components of Position, Speed and Look (making the routine actually MSPSL).

If the space on your left is safe, move into it, gently, towards the kerb.
We know full well we're stopping here, so as soon as you know you have the momentum to get to your final position, the clutch needs to be dipped al the way down. The left foot stays down.
The right foot does what ever braking it needs to to finish in your parking place.
Try to look at stopping somewhere deliberate. Next to a tree, a certain raised portion of pavement, not in front of someone's driveway. Having a target will help in learning what level of braking to apply to achieve a certain result.
As you are pulling in, straighten the cars position with the steering wheel to be parallel to the kerb. The brake and the clutch should remain down.
Apply the handbrake, put the car into neutral, cancel the signal, then release the feet. You are done.

Practise POM and MSM

These routines are so important for learners. It's multi-tasking on a level they've never come across before, they need structure to form muscle memory which so much of driving relies on. Practise this enough so that they can do it without any help before moving on. Start with staying in first gear a couple of times, then get them into second gear before pulling over.

Combing POM and MSM will be imperative for junctions, especially emerging (give way junctions) and stopping for things like traffic lights. So make sure this is in place before moving on.

One last thing...never park on the kerb. It's an instant fail come test day. Look to park about a big shoe size from the kerb.

Reverse Bay Park Cheat Sheet

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 10:23:18 GMT

Reverse Bay Park Cheat Sheet

The reverse bay park manoeuvre come test seems to only happen on DVSA property in Bristol. I can't speak for all test centres nationwide. I suspect it's due to being more time consuming plus having a higher degree of difficulty and risk. Therefore you'd expect this at the very end of the test, although I have seen it occur right at the start too.

This blog post is for non-driving instructors to print out and use to help their friends and families, correctly perform the reverse bay park manoeuvre.

The set up

The examiner will stop you in the car park and will ask you to reverse the car into a bay of your choice, paying due attention to other road users, finishing between the lines. You can always fix things if you're wonky at the end. Don't worry about cutting the lines a little.

POM - Observations as always are extremely important. That and control are the only two elements you're being marked on.
Start the correct distance from the bay. You want to ideally be around 1.5 to 2 metres away. Any closer and you'll struggle to get the car in and parallel with the lines.
I use reference points from the drivers line of sight to help get this correct for my students. See the photo for help.
Once parallel with the tops of the bays and a decent distance way, stop the car along-side them, hopefully out of the way of other drivers for less pressure.
POM again before moving and reverse (or go forward) so that the driver, is in the centre of the bay. Think to extend the line of your back against the seat into the bay.
Stop at this point and make sure it's safe before proceeding.

Reversing into the bay

Once it's safe, slow car, quick hands, full lock in the direction of the bay. You ideally want the car onto full lock by the time it's moved the length of a small ruler.
You'll have time for additional observations as you swing the car around and back into the bay.
Be slow. You do not want to go beyond parallel. Little fish eye lens mirrors can be exceptionally helpful at this stage (£3 from Amazon). They will allow the driver to see the lines on the floor and help them with when to straighten the wheel. Ignore all other lines in the car park for help. They aren't all symmetrical to the one you're using.
When you can mistake the car for being parallel (stopping when 80% of the way in can help some students with timings) with the lines, take the turn off. Stop. Handbrake and neutral, you're done.

T hings to consider

This take 3 bays! The one you line up along side, we skip one bay and you end up in the 3rd. Plan ahead for this.
These reference points are for my car, a Fiat 500. Other vehicles may require slightly different points of turn.
All drivers sit in different positions, so reference points can vary from one student to the next. Experiment with them. Pick an empty car park, out of the way for a low pressure environment whilst you find what works for you. Once you have those two points, this actually turns into perhaps the easiest manouevre.
Stopping more often. Keep the car under control. It also allows for more observations. The back window needs to be looked out of periodically for danger, even though you'll be more interested in looking for the bay lines.
The set up is key. Always start in the same position and you'll always get the same results.

Forward Bay Parking Cheat Sheet

Sun, 06 Sep 2020 10:29:47 GMT

Forward Bay Parking Cheat Sheet

The forwards bay parking manoeuvre is the easier of the two bay parks. Students often get worked up over getting into the parking bay, it's the reversing element you want to worry about, plus navigating around a car park. This cheat sheet is designed for non-driving instructors to print out and to use when practising with friends and family.

Enter the car park

When asked to turn into a car park, assume it's going to be chaotic and that you'll need to be stopping. Perhaps even use an emerging route as you come in, ready to stop. Which the examiner will ask of you at some stage once in.

They will ask you to choose a parking bay, park bonnet first, then reverse out paying due regard to other road users, then to leave the car park.

Know which parking space you're wanting before moving. Try to be away from other vehicles and make it easy for yourself to get in and out.
POM - Danger could literally be all around you. You'd be amazed at what other cars will do to get past a learner whilst trying to park. Your observation needs to be a 360 degree sweep before moving.
Position wise, do not start too close to the bays. Try to be at least 1.5 to 2 meters from the tops of them. Starting too close will not give you the space needed to get the car in. Try to find a reference point to help like in this photo.

Be very slow. Perhaps give a door mirror check before a change in direction towards the bay and try not to touch the first line of the bay you're entering. Being over the second line is fine as the car will come back in on itself, finishing in the bay.
Try to make the turn sharp, like entering a very narrow road. Quick turn on, quick turn off. A slow, labored turn will see you cut the corner of the bay and possibly not get the back end in. A slow speed here is key.
The clutch should be down when you have the momentum to reach your parked position. Try to straighten the wheels at the last second. Hand brake up and put the car into neutral once you're done.

Leaving time

Once you're in the parking bay, the examiner will thank you, then ask you to leave. Make sure you know which way the exit is and identify if there is a one way system in place. Arrows on the floor is a good way to figure this out.

POM before leaving and be slow as you're coming out. Be on the look out for pedestrians as well as motorists.
If there are empty bays either side of you, turning the wheel quickly here would be good. If there are cars along side you, wait until your door mirrors clear their ends, then turn the wheel to avoid hitting them.
Come back out of the bay until your facing in the correct direction, then take the turn off at the last second.
POM again, and an all round observation is needed before moving away safely.

Things to avoid whilst forwards bay parking

Parking near other cars. Show you're able to plan by not gravitating towards danger.
Leaving a space with cars parked either side of you massively reduces visibility and therefore increases the risk whilst moving backwards.
Being too quick in the car park. I think navigating around a busy car park can be harder than the manoeuvre itself. Keep your eyes peeled for movement between the parked cars and reverse lights. Show the examiner you've seen danger if develops. Don't be afraid to stop.
Read a more in-depth tutorial on the forwards bay parking manoeuvre here .

Parking on the right cheat sheet

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 10:42:52 GMT

Parking on the right cheat sheet

The parking on the right hand side of the road manoeuvre, on paper, looks like the easiest of the four that learner drivers have to master before test day. Take note, there are potential spanners in the works at any given moment.This cheat sheet is designed for non-driving instructors to print out and to use when practising with friends and family.

Find somewhere to pull up on the right

This will be the verbal instruction from the examiner come test day, if you get this. There will be no stopping before hand to mentally plan, like with the other 3 manoeuvres.

Once you hear this, don't panic. If it takes you 2 minutes (ages in driving time) to find somewhere, so be it. Don't rush.
LADA is the acronym you want to use first. (look Assess Decide Act). Find somewhere safe, legal and convenient. Read our moving off and stopping tutorial for more details on what this entails.
Once you've found the perfect spot to park you'll need to make sure it's safe in terms of oncoming traffic, check your interior and right door mirror for danger.
Put on a signal to the right to tell everyone what you're doing.
Change position if it's safe to do so. A lot of students take an age to get this done. If it's safe, move into the space shortly after checking. Don't delay, things change quickly.
The speed needs to start being reduced when you know you can make it to your parked position. Clutch down and use your momentum to get across. Use the brake to make the reduction in speed smooth.
Don't aim the bonnet at the position where you intend to stop. It takes much longer to get across to the right than it does the left. Aim the car several car lengths before your final stopped position. You'll need the extra space to straighten up the car and iron out any kinks with the back of the vehicle. It's very important to finish parallel to the kerb.
Once you stop in a safe, legal and convenient position. Handbrake, neutral, cancel the signal.

Reversing on the right

The reversing part is what makes this a manoeuvre. You'll be asked to come back two car lengths (8/10 metres). It needs to be controlled with plenty of observations.

I would check my right door mirror before moving back. Look to make sure you are definitely parallel. Any wonkiness will see you reverse back into the road, or up onto the pavement.
POM (Prepare Observe Manoeuvre), because we're stationary; reverse gear, little bit of bite, observations all around, especially of the right shoulder. Looking for pedestrians stepping off the pavement. Make sure you're looking over your left shoulder out of the rear window when moving backwards.
Hand brake off and keep the speed low. You should be able to look around you in multiple places for danger. Anything gets too close, show the examiner you've seen it and are aware of the risk by stopping.
Once you've moved back the required amount, stop. Handbrake, neutral. Await further instructions.

Pulling away from the right hand side

It's just like pulling away normally, but with a left blind-spot check and left hand signal.

POM first. Make sure you consider the oncoming traffic too. Remember, don't slow anything down needlessly.
First gear, set the gas, find the bite.
Check your interior, left door mirror and left blind-spot.
If it's safe, handbrake off, signal on and get across to your lane and up to speed.

Parking of the right tricky bits

Things to be mindful of that make this exercise harder than it should be.

If there's oncoming cars that stop you getting across, just stop. Imagine the space you want is right outside your house. You wouldn't ditch that parking space if you lived there.
Never pick a space that is difficult to get into and out of. They will only pick a road where this exercise is easy to do with plenty of options.
Never park behind a van. Your view for leaving will be terrible.
Avoid parking on bends, it's harder to get parallel with the kerb.
Do not come back too quickly. Control and observation are the only two elements they're marking you on for this.

For a more in depth look, photos, and video on how to perform the correctly, click here .

Parallel Parking Cheat Sheet

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 11:13:51 GMT

Parallel Parking Cheat Sheet

One of the most feared maneuvers come driving test day is parallel parking. The high level of technical control required plus being on the road under pressure from road users culminate in making this tough for learners. This post is to specifically help clarify (as briefly as possible) to test candidates (and helping parents) what to do to pass this come exam day. More free tutorials (in greater detail and with videos) on all things driving related can be found here .

It's worth clarifying right from the off; the only thing you'll be marked on whilst maneuvering is control and observation . So by stopping regularly, the car's under control, and you can also observe effectively.

How to parallel park

You'll be asked to pull up on the left well before the car you'll use for the exercise. Give yourself plenty of room to get out.
POM and try to come out and get in line with the side of the target vehicle ASAP. Then you'll have time to work on the distance between you and the target vehicle as you approach.
An interior mirror check would be nice here. If suddenly a car appears behind you, signal left to warn them you're doing something unusual.
Stop 1/2 a car length beyond the end of the target vehicle with 1/2 a meter (width of a steering wheel) between the cars. Being too wide blocks the street, creating pressure on the learner to complete the maneuver quickly.
POM and come back until your point of turn. You want the ends of the cars level with one another. In many cars this is when the end of their car is in the corner of your back left window. See image below.

At this point stop. Your all round observation here is very important. It needs to be clear enough for the car to swing out without slowing anything down in either direction. And of course be safe behind you.
When it's safe, get the car moving and turn the wheel one turn to the left, towards the pavement and the gap you want to go into.
As the car swings, be observant in all directions until the car reaches a 45 degree angle from where you started from. You'll be pointing diagonally across the street. Stop.
This is the make or break moment. Ask yourself; is the angle too shallow, too steep or just right? Fix accordingly otherwise you'll be too wide or risk bumping the kerb.

If you need help with the angle, wait until the corner of the target vehicle is inline with the passenger side door handle.
POM then as soon as it's safe and the car moves, apply two full turns to the right. The opposite way to before.
The car will start to swing into the gap. Be ready for the car to roll down the camber, cover the footbrake.
When you can mistake the car for being parallel to the pavement, take the turn off. That's one turn back to the left.
Then stop. You're done. Hand brake neutral. Await further instructions.

Remember the sequence

1 left, 2 right, 1 left. Left, right, left, 1, 2, 1.

That's as simple as anyone can possibly make it.

This works for my car, a Fiat 500. You may have to tweak it a little for other vehicles with different wheel bases and turning circles.

For an more in depth description on how to go about this, check out the free tutorial here .

Driving Test and DVSA updates

Sat, 01 Aug 2020 11:27:44 GMT

Driving Test and DVSA updates

As time ticks by we're starting to see more of the DVSAs plans on how driving tests are going to resume over the coming weeks. When lock-down struck some 260,000 driving tests were cancelled . On July 16th we were led to believe that after a lot of confusion that all those disappointed candidates would be allowed to re-book. This was not the case. batches were to be the way forward in waves of 60,000. Each batch will have a week to get online and secure their preferred test date.So by my calculations it's going to take at least five weeks to get through the backlog. And that's just for booking, not taking the tests!I've so far only had one of six cancelled students receive an email asking to book a new test. We should be on the third batch by now, so I'm beginning to wonder if these figures are correct. BTW these figures are from the mouth of the DVSA customer support lady on the phone.As to when new test candidates can book their driving tests is to be seen. September at the earliest is what it currently looks like.

DVSA u-turns and updates

Most driving instructors over lock-down became frustrated and then infuriated with the lack of information over their industry. We pay for the privilege of working by the way, so keeping us informed as to when we'd be back and what was needed to satay safe seemed like a given. So with no guidance most driving instructors would have signed up to the governments alert emails regarding the industry. After a baron 3 months, a tsunami of updates then u-turns surged into our mail boxes. Seven in one day is hard to keep up with. Especially when we're being asked to ignore the last message as a change of heart/error has occurred.The Great British common sense reared is head finally over the compulsory use of face masks for driving tests. It's still surprisingly lacking for lessons which is odd seeing as it's now mandatory in all buildings. Seeing as social distancing can't take place in a car it seems stranger still it's simply a recommendation.Could the next flip-flopping be over the extension of theory test certificates? These last 2 years, in which time students are expected to have qualified. Due to the global pandemic, tests haven't been taken place for over three months. And perhaps another three to six more. Anyone with a theory test running out it's just tough luck for you sadly.MOTs were given a grace period when Corona struck, even though garages remained open. It's been impossible to take a practical test since March, but the DVSA need your money, so they're happy to let theory certificates run down.

How will driving tests work with Covid-19 around?

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 11:21:23 GMT

How will driving tests work with Covid-19 around?

For those wondering how driving tests are to proceed with Corona still present, and fears of a second a wave, you're not alone. With 3 months worth of Covid-19 driving tests cancelled, candidates were expecting emails on July 22nd informing them how to re-book. But for the majority, that email has yet to materialise. As the British government u-turns several times a day regarding all things Covid-19 related, the driving industry hasn't been spared from its indecision.

Tests will be re-booked in batches

The plan seems to be for those who were due tests shortly after lock-down, to be granted access to the booking system first. How many are in this initial batch is unknown. They will have a week to act in securing a new test slot. Then the next wave of learners will be contacted and, we're assuming, the same weeks grace will be given. How long it takes to process this back log, is anyone's guess. Three to six months could be the eye-watering figure.

Once this has been cleared, new test candidates will be permitted to access the booking system.

Why the long wait for a new driving test?

Be ready for a very long wait if you're a new candidate. The DVSA advice on tests states that some test centres have been closed for over 12 weeks. A deep clean is needed, including ridding water supplies of legionaries disease at test centres.

Some examiners may not return to work leading to a severely reduced service. If a test centre has a high number of older, or high risk category examiners, they may not be allowed/want to come back to work. This will result in less tests taking place, further exacerbating the problem.

How will the driving test change due to Covid-19?

The planned changes laid out currently by the DVSA are as follows:

You must declare when booking if you're unable to wear a mask. You'll need a good reason such as physical or mental illness. Steaming up of glasses doesn't count.
Examiners want to see clean cars and will use wipes to clean anything they have to touch, including door handles.
You're not allowed to arrive more than 5 minutes before the test commences.
The test centre waiting room will be closed. Toilets will be open on request.
No one will be allowed to sit in the back and accompany candidates on tests.
Face coverings must be worn (unless you have a legitimate reason as stated above).
Your test will be cancelled on the spot if you fail to turn up without a face mask.
If you make a serious or dangerous fault (a major), your examiner will direct you back to the test centre ASAP. This is to minimise time in the car and reduce exposure to candidates and examiners.
At the end of the test, all paper work and feedback will be conducted outside the vehicle.

Most of these rules seem like common sense. Having said that, several of the bullet points have been amended over the past week: including the mandatory use of face masks. The most notable change is the immediate return to the test centre should a candidate fail. This is a real shame as the candidate has paid for that time with an examiner. It's still possible to learn experience after committing a major mistake during your test.

How long Covid-19 driving tests will be affected for is yet to be seen.

When can I take my driving test?

Sat, 18 Jul 2020 11:37:10 GMT

When can I take my driving test?

Can I book my driving test again yet?

With lock-down easing after the Covid-19 outbreak, driving lessons are resuming again. The big unanswered question is when can I take my driving test? Back in March, myself and thousands of other driving instructors across the country had numerous driving tests booked in. The DVSA then tortured test candidates with lack of information, rescheduling, numerous cancellations and finally suspension of all tests over a 4 month period. Some students not knowing their tests weren't going ahead with as little as 24 hours notice.

Even theory tests with manageable office environments were postponed multiple times until July 6th, even though office workers had been back for weeks.

Currently no one is able to book a test. Not even those who had their tests cancelled and suspended since March 23rd. After a series of bumbling messages to candidates, some telling readers to ignore information not just from previous days, but from previous sentences in the same message! To say the DVSA has handled this poorly is the understatement of the year.

Re-booking of Covid affected driving tests first

On July 22nd, tests will apparently re-start. Or at least we hope. I've a student who had a test rescheduled for July 30th and his was then cancelled due to Covid. He's still awaiting a new test date. So too are all my other students who were supposed to be tested before lock-down. So who's getting these July 22nd test slots?

What I think is happening is that on the 22nd the calendar for booking tests will reopen for all those who had a driving test affected by Corona. It'll be first come, first served. A huge bum fight of tens of thousands for the best test slots. What are the odds the system will crash due to high demand? It's almost a certainty.

Once the rush is over, perhaps a week or so later after the DVSA have sent out all the messages to those suspended test candidates, they'll then open the books up to the rest.

Headache for driving schools

This mad rush for test slots of going to be extremely difficult for driving instructors. We're wanting of course to help students, but have diaries with others wishing to learn. Suddenly hearing that 5 or 6 old students have booked their tests all within a few days of one another starting from tomorrow, needing 4/5 lessons to get up to speed is going to be hard to manage. I can see quite a few upset people on the horizon missing out in one way or another. Please be understanding if your lesson needs to be cancelled to accommodate someone with a test happening immanently.

So, to answer the question of when can I book my driving test? It depends. Covid affected rescheduling tests will be from July 22nd. New applications probably from the end of the month is my guess.

Summer 2020 driving school round up

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 17:22:42 GMT

Summer 2020 driving school round up

I think everyone pretty much agrees that 2020 is one we want to see the back of. Hopefully lessons have been learnt and some sense of normality can resume. Here at A-Class Driving School we've been back up the road since the moment we were allowed. Getting all those cancelled tests re-booked and those not quite ready up to test standard.

Here's a little round up of some of the students who earned their licence post lock-down.

Daisy

Daisy lives in Stoke Bishop and had learnt quite a bit with her dad before I started teaching her back in March. She originally planned to take her driving test in April, however, due to Covid-19 it was finally rearranged for mid August.

Daisy passed with flying colours, picking up just two minors on her way round the test route.

Ian

The very next day after a successful restart to driving test passes, Ian stepped up for his. Being a local guy from Lawrence Weston, he knew the driving test area well. Coupled with his amazing driving talent, he nailed his driving test first time too!

Ian picked up just four minors on his way around the test route allowing him to chauffeur his wife, children and new puppy around.

This was my 15th consecutive first time pass.

Claire

Claire Cole passed her driving test just a few days later with the help of her driving instructor, Paul Hanley.

Claire had her test rearranged 3 times, so was ecstatic when she heard the words "congratulations" from her examiner.

Another first time passer and with just two minors makes this extra special.

For anyone looking to learn with Paul, give him a call on 0774 7101 973 .

He's starting to take bookings once again for intensive driving courses.

Didier

Didier comes from Clifton and started to learn with me back in 2019. He also had his test cancelled multiple times due to the pandemic, but knuckled down when it finally got rearranged.

After a very unfortunate tyre blow out the lesson before his big day, Didier managed to over come his nerves and passed his test at the first attempt.

Testimonials

Amelia

I have just passed my driving test on my 1st attempt which is all thanks to the legend that is Jim. I have had the absolute pleasure of his company for the last 3 months. I was a complete novice and like everyone else looked around for next available instructors. As soon as I spoke to him on the phone he put me at ease and I knew he was the one!! There is not enough words to describe how knowledgeable, professional and funny he is plus he is always good for a humbug or sherbet lemon, Jim is a true gent and a credit to A class. He genuinely wants to see you progress and succeed I am over the moon that I have passed, but I am also devastated that my time with Jim is over. Thank you for everything Jim.

Claire

Paul was a great teacher, allowing me to pass my test first time! Having no driving experience and no car to practice in, Paul got me from being nervous and apprehensive of driving to being confident and comfortable on the roads. Our lessons were interrupted due to COVID, and after four months off driving I was nervous to take the test. But after a few refresher lessons I was back to being calm on the road!! Can’t recommend him enough.

Didier

Starting off as a nervous driver, I owe a huge thanks to Will Dracott to helping me pass my driving test first time. A patient and friendly teacher he has helped me to develop my confidence on the road. Thanks again Will.

Ian

I could not recommend A Class driving school enough. Very professional and more importantly very patient. I was very apprehensive beginning my lessons but I felt at ease very quickly and my confidence grew each week through excellent communication and structure of the learning. 5 stars.

Driving lessons in a Covid 19 world

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 11:47:49 GMT

Driving lessons in a Covid 19 world

How can I take driving lessons with Covid around?

Driving lessons have had to take a back seat now for almost 100 days thanks for Covid 19. Unless you were a key worker with a test booked in that is. For the vast majority of people, it's seen huge blows to their plans on getting their licence. Driving tests have been cancelled and suspended numerous times over lock-down due to the Corona pandemic. However, it was announced last week that lessons can resume as of July 4th . But how can driving lessons take place in a Covid 19 world?

It's all about the PPE, ignore the distancing

Social distancing is killed any possibility of driving lessons concurring over the last 4 weeks. It's impossible inside a car. In my Fiat 500, students and I have around a 50cm gap, shoulder to shoulder. Covid doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon, so we're going to have learn how to live with it. This is why social distancing for lessons has to be ignored and PPE is king.Here's what were going to be doing in terms of keeping our clients as safe as possible over the coming months until the world returns to normal.

Please wash your hands with soap and water just before your driving lesson.
Have some kind of face covering. No mask, no lesson.
We will call you when we're ready. Coming up to your house and knocking, chatting with family members increases the risk of transmission, so for the time being, please be ready for a call and come on down when it's time.
You'll enter a car that has been fully sprayed down with antiseptic aerosol from it's last class. External door handles too.
If you're able to bring a pair of your own, clean rubber gloves, great. If you don't have any, they will be provided for you at a rate of 50p per pair. Gloves are also mandatory.
Speaking face to face needs to be kept to a minimum.
Windows down as much as possible to keep the environment fresh and air circulating.
At the end of the class please dispose of your gloves responsibly and wash your mask before using it again.
We recommend changing your clothes as soon as you get back inside your home.
My day will be split into two. Two hours of teaching in the morning, then two hours in the afternoon. This gives me a chance to deep clean the car in the middle of the day, eat at home and change my clothes.

Joint responsibility

Just in the same we as the student and instructor have a joint responsibility in the car when on lesson, so is true before classes now. If you're not feeling well (in the slightest), if you've been near someone who has Covid 19, or potentially has Corona, then please cancel your lesson. Anyone infected getting in a vehicle with someone else for 60 to 120 minutes is transmitting that disease. No matter how much PPE they have on. Be kind, be responsible, be safe.

What's happening with driving lessons, driving tests and the DVSA?

Mon, 22 Jun 2020 11:54:23 GMT

What's happening with driving lessons, driving tests and the DVSA?

Dear heavenly father, it's been 86 days since my last driving lesson. I've had multiple driving tests cancelled and now all practical exams in June and July have been suspended. Our almighty governing body, the DVSA, has sent one solitary email since lock-down, keeping it's 40,000 driving instructor disciples in purgatory as to our futures.

Easing of lock-down

Will we be allowed back on July 4th when lock-down eases further like hairdressers? Doubtful. The problem could be close proximity for over 60 mins at a time. Hair cuts don't take that long and there's plenty of room in those establishments. I personally think it's highly unlikely seeing as all theory tests have been pushed back (four times now) to July 6th. If the DVSA aren't happy with students sitting in an office at a computer where social distancing can be maintained fairly easily, there's little chance they'd be happy with lessons resuming in a tightly packed car.

Critical lessons and tests

Not all driving lessons and tests have been cancelled however. You may have seen your local driving instructor zooming/crawling around over the past 12 weeks all through lock-down. This is because instructors were allowed to teach critical workers with driving tests already booked in. Who qualifies as a critical worker you might ask? Here's the list from the DVSA -

health and social care
education and childcare
key public services
local and national government
food and other necessary goods
public safety and national security
transport
utilities, communication and financial services

The DVSAs email to driving instructors

The email we received to help clarify what's going on didn't help. What we and our students need are dates, or possible ones, to help get us all ready for the day tests resume again.

This is what we got...

The plan to rebuild: the UK government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy

On 11 May 2020, the government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which:

sets out the progress the UK has made to date in tackling the coronavirus outbreak
explains the plans for moving to the next phase of the response to the virus

Our priority remains to protect the public and save lives. That’s why any easing of measures must meet the government’s 5 tests. These are:

Protect the NHS’s ability to cope.
A sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rates from COVID-19.
Reliable data showing that the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels across the board.
Be confident that the range of operational challenges, including testing capacity and PPE, are in hand, with supply able to meet future demand.
Be confident that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections that overwhelms the NHS.

Driving instruction and driving tests

Other than emergency training and tests for critical workers, driving instruction and driving tests have not yet been able to restart because the risk of transmission of the virus in vehicles is higher.

In his statement on 10 June, the Prime Minister reiterated that the government will remain cautious and measure the effect of the changes it makes. The Prime Minister explained this means moving slower than we’d have liked in some areas.

Driving instruction and tests will only restart when the government is confident that the assessment of risk warrants it, subject to the 5 tests and further detailed scientific advice.

In the meantime, I want to re-emphasise that you should continue to limit driving lessons to critical workers who are preparing for an emergency driving test.

Once again, I would like to thank those of you who have been able to offer driving lessons to critical workers during these unprecedented times.

We will, of course, share more information with you as soon as it’s available – including the dates that driving instruction and driving tests can restart.

Planning to restart our services

Teams across DVSA have been working extremely hard over the past few months to make sure we’re in the best possible position to restart our services as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Our priority is to make sure that you, your pupils and our staff stay safe.

The work is split into these main areas:

preparing guidance for driving examiners on carrying out driving tests
making sure our driving test centres are ready to reopen
making sure we have PPE in place
understanding which driving examiners might not be able to return to testing straight away
planning driving test schedules so that anyone who had a test cancelled because of coronavirus is considered a priority
understanding how the situation might be different in England, Scotland and Wales

I want to explain what each of these involves in a little more detail.

Preparing guidance for driving examiners

We are reviewing and updating the guidance for driving examiners about carrying out driving tests. This includes things like the PPE they need to wear, greeting candidates and cleaning equipment such as sat navs and tablets.

We’re also working hard to make sure we’ll be able to quickly help the NHS Test and Trace service (Test and Protect in Scotland, and Test, Trace, Protect in Wales) should a driving test candidate or driving examiner develop symptoms in the days after a test.

Making sure driving test centres are ready to reopen

Some of our driving test centres have now been closed for 12 weeks. We need to make sure they’re thoroughly checked before we can reopen them.

As just one example, we need to make sure the hot and cold water systems are free from legionella bacteria (which causes Legionnaires’ disease).

Many of the contractors that we rely on to do this work also put their services on hold during the lockdown. We’re busy working with them to get our test centre network safe and ready.

Making sure we have PPE in place

To help keep you, your pupils and driving examiners stay safe, we’ve ordered PPE for all driving examiners. This includes face coverings and gloves.

Since the start of pandemic, there has been a high demand for this type of equipment. Like many organisations, we’ve had to wait for supplies to become available.

Understanding which driving examiners will be available

As you’ll appreciate, some of our driving examiners are either clinically vulnerable from coronavirus, or extremely vulnerable. Others might live with or care for people in those groups.

We’ve been working with all our driving examiners to find out more about their situation so we know how many will be able to return to carrying out driving tests as soon as we’re able.

Planning driving test schedules

When we suspended driving tests, we rescheduled all your pupils’ driving tests to a named date and time.

But we now have 3 issues to think about:

rescheduled dates might not be suitable for you and your pupils, as situations may have changed
not all driving examiners will be available
social distancing measures might limit the number of tests we can carry out

This means we need to think about the best way to make sure your pupils can take their test at a convenient time, in a way that’s fair to everyone.

The fairest way we can do this is to put all the rescheduled tests ‘on hold’.

This means the test will no longer go ahead on the originally rescheduled date.

We will then ask people in the backlog to go online and choose their preferred date and time. We’ll invite them to do this in batches, based on when their test should have originally taken place.

We will contact you before we start this process, so you can make your pupils aware of what’s happening. We will also contact them directly with more information.

We are also planning how we can continue to help critical workers to get a test as a priority throughout this process.

Driving lesson rumors

The DVSA have sent out one email and tweeted twice on their main Twitter feed (see image higher up the page for the latest vague statement) to help keep a 40,000 strong industry informed over the past three months. Suffice to say there's a lot of angry, worried and confused instructors out there looking to get help from anywhere they can. Some are already teaching once again, going against government advice, potentially risking their career because they've no other choice. Red driving school and Young Driver are telling their students that they'll be resuming in the first week of July. What do they know that the rest of us don't? I think they're crossing their fingers and hedging their bets.

The rumor that rings truest, but isn't what you want to hear, is an August re-start date. This come from a chap speaking to a chief examiner who mentioned the unions wanting to keep their members safe. Anyone sitting in a car for 40+ minutes with someone infected with Covid 19 is catching it. No matter what PPE you have on. I think this virus has to become scarce before we see the resumption of DVSA approved lessons and driving tests.

Seven centimeters of water are enough to lose control of the car

Sun, 08 Mar 2020 13:29:53 GMT

Seven centimeters of water are enough to lose control of the car

When the rain is brief, but very intense, in a few minutes it causes strong ravines and floods, making the roads impassable. How to face a similar situation from the driver's point of view?

With water, the asphalt becomes slippery and dangerous, and it must be borne in mind that one's own safety and that of others comes first. We propose a series of general recommendations that will minimize the risks that occur when driving a vehicle with rain, since it is demonstrated that, almost always when there are storms of this nature, people die from the use of the car and from the excess of confidence in the vehicle as a place of refuge or rescue boat.

In the car

The first thing to say is that if we are onboard our vehicle or we are going to use it and we are surprised by a storm with heavy rain, we must get away as quickly as possible from the places of passage of the runways and points potentially flooding, always looking for a high and safe area.
Unless there is certainty that the current does not have much depth, one must refrain from passing through it, as it may have been able to drag stones or mud and even tree branches that can leave us stuck; and it can also happen that inside there is an open sewer, which would become a real trap.
Even without any of the above problems , the water in motion and only a few centimeters high will be enough for us to start losing control over the vehicle. Experts in this type of situation affirm that, in general, with only seven centimeters deep in the current, the engine of the vehicle that tries to cross it will stop and if the water reaches thirty centimeters, the vehicle will begin to float and be dragged by the current, if the water reaches approximately sixty centimeters. So do not boast of brave "camel trophies" and do not risk more than necessary.

Once on foot...

The stones or branches of trees that have been able to detach themselves due to the heavy rain and be careful with the areas of the road that can give way as a result of the weakening of the ground and collapse under the weight of a vehicle must also be monitored.
If you are forced to walk through flooded areas , you should not forget that the waters that do not move, logically if they are not deep, are the safest, because if there is a current seven centimeters high they would be enough to make us lose our balance, throw us at ground and put ourselves at the mercy of the current.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

Do not drive if you drink alcohol or with a hangover

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 13:40:24 GMT

Do not drive if you drink alcohol or with a hangover

If you go to bed drunk, your body almost does not metabolize blood alcohol, so when you wake up, you will be almost as drunk; do not drive.

In addition, we remind you that it is not necessary to be too drunk to have a traffic accident; even if you have consumed little alcohol , it produces disinhibition, that is, "you dare to everything".

Beware of “non-alcoholic” drinks , they really have it, in amounts of 1%, but if you take several…

Note that:

Alcohol consumed during meals also affects , perhaps a little less, but very little, so do not drive.
There are no tricks to cheat in a breathalyzer test : not running, drinking water, candy, or eating grass!
Try, if you go out several friends to have drinks at night , that one of you does not drink, so that it is he who drives later.
Never ride a passenger in a vehicle , if you notice that the driver is under the influence of alcohol. It may be funny at the moment, but the consequences can be deadly.
Energy drinks do not counteract the effects of alcoho l ; You may feel more awake but, after all, you are drunk.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

How to stop when there is ice on the road

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 13:35:00 GMT

How to stop when there is ice on the road

Do you know how to slow down if you find snow or ice on the road?

Should you always brake with the engine making sharp reductions? The answer is no.

The engine brake must be used to keep a reduced speed constant and adapted to the conditions of adherence, but to brake, we must use the foot brake gently .

It is better to use the foot brake because, with it, we brake 4 wheels and not two and, in addition, the braking aids are connected.

Eye to speeding

With snow or ice, the speed must be greatly reduced because there is hardly any adhesion of the vehicle to the pavement.
Remember that the braking distance can be increased up to 8-10 times more than usual, that is, we can go from needing 40 meters to stop our tourism if we drive at 90 km / h, to need 400 meters!

What gear should I choose to drive?

A march that does not force you to be continuously braking or accelerating, will depend a lot on the situation, although, preferably, it cuts, to use the engine as a brake simply when decelerating, and a long one to start the march; the second is generally the most appropriate.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

Tips to avoid fogging your vehicle’s windows

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 16:34:28 GMT

Tips to avoid fogging your vehicle’s windows

If you have to move in the rain, it does not hurt to take into account some recommendations for driving in the rain.

We give you some tips to avoid fogging your vehicle's windows.
Open the windows as soon as you get in the car. Although it is cold it is the same temperature inside as outside. Connect the thermal window.
Start the engine and connect the heating , with the aerators directed to the windows.
When 5 or 10 minutes have passed, go up the windows little by little as you notice that the air is hot.
Keep the aerators to a minimum .

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

Tips for Driving with Rain

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 16:30:00 GMT

Tips for Driving with Rain

If you have to move in the rain, it does not hurt to take into account some recommendations for driving in the rain.

Increase the safety distance , at least 3 seconds with the vehicle in front. On rainy days the car's brakes do not react the same and it is advisable to distance twice the usual distance. Be careful and do not step on the white lines, since the grip of the tires on this surface is less than that of the asphalt.
Check the tire pressure (if we replace only two, we will install them on the rear axle). Check the condition of the tires, keep in mind that if the tracks of the tires are not able to evacuate all the water accumulated in the tread, it could cause you a loss of adhesion producing the aquaplaning effect. The minimum depth of the tire groove should be 1.6 mm.
Brake occasionally to cause friction and keep the brakes dry .
Do not wear warm clothes when driving . You will avoid the known "underwater effect".
Do not drink any alcohol , even in small quantities. If you do it you will increase the possibility of suffering an accident, since you will add more loss of control and risk perception, which already exists due to weather conditions.
Turning on the road light is not highly recommended , although it is mandatory on interurban roads, poorly lit when we drive at more than 40km/h (and do not dazzle).
Do not keep the rear fog lamp on in retentions, village roads at low speed because it is very dazzling.
Keep the wiper blades in good condition. The brushes are one of the elements that we care less when maintaining the vehicle and are essential for good vision in case of driving with rain or snow. Manufacturers recommend changing brushes if they are chopped or in poor condition and in any way periodically every year or every 15,000 km.
Use the aerators directed towards the windshield to prevent fogging.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

At the wheel, wide awake

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 16:24:08 GMT

At the wheel, wide awake

In addition to the consumption of some medications, such as antihistamines, there are some situations that favor drowsiness at the wheel.

Here are some recommendations:

Driving between 3:00 am and 5:00 am in the morning and between 14:00 h and 16:00 h is dangerous because it is the hours of greatest risk, because our biorhythms are lowest .
Sleeping fewer hours than usual does not help , as well as having poor quality sleep or suffering from sleep disorders such as apnea or narcolepsy .
It should also be noted that not all people are equal. Many are more active in the morning ( morning people) and others are in the afternoon ( evening ), so their care regime will also be modified.
If we add to that a monotonous traffic situation , such as a traffic jam, or night driving on a fast road with little traffic, we will have a perfect scenario for drowsiness to appear.
The consumption of certain medications, such as antihistamines , can cause drowsiness at the wheel. Try to avoid them if you are going to drive, as well as the excess heating that numbs.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

Summer vacations: 13 Frequent driving mistakes

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 16:41:07 GMT

Summer vacations: 13 Frequent driving mistakes

Are you going to spend the summer by car? These are some mistakes you should avoid the wheel.

1. Do not prepare for the trip. Driving on any road without thinking that there may be retentions or a more fluid alternative route is not a good idea.

2. Drive at night , to go cooler and avoid traffic jams. But are you going to take the car at times when you're usually asleep? You will drive sleepy, something very dangerous. (And having one or two coke or coffee is not the solution.)

3. Leave the vehicle maintenance for the last minute or not even do it. It is vital, at least, to check the tyre pressure , raising it to what the manufacturer indicates if we are going to drive on highways or highways and/or with the vehicle loaded.

4. Do not respect the safety distance , the big problem of the drivers. Maintain the separation of two or three seconds with the vehicle in front, especially with the vehicle loaded, since your braking distance has increased between 20% and 30%, that is, if you previously needed 60 meters to stop the vehicle now you need about 80 !!

5. Cover the rear window with luggage . If you do, make sure you have the right outside rearview mirror. This is a somewhat compromised and risky situation because we are used to looking through the interior mirror. Therefore, try not to cover the rearview by the interior rearview mirror.

6. Hook a trailer to your tourism and not slow down . The maximum speed in highway or highway, if you take a trailer, is not 120 km / h but 80 or 90 km / h depending on whether the trailer is heavy or light, respectively.

7. Put luggage inside the cabin and do not secure it with the belts . In an accident at 90km/h, an object of 25 kg becomes equivalent in weight to 625 kg.

8. Do not make sure that all occupants wear the seat belt , without exception.

9. Do not respect the speed in crossings . The maximum speed in this type of road is 50 km/h but your brain will think that it is very low speed if it has become accustomed to 90 or 100 km / h of the conventional road.

10. Do not turn on the dipped beam during the day (if your vehicle does not have daylight). It is highly recommended to turn them on to be seen by other users, especially on conventional roads to position your vehicle as soon as possible in overtaking, incorporation of other vehicles, etc.

11. Take medication that causes drowsiness and/or drink any alcoholic beverage . Never do it. Try to stay hydrated during the trip, the metabolism slows down when you have a water deficit.

12. Use the center lane when the one on the right is free, on tracks with 3 lanes in the same direction. It is anti-regulatory, punishable and fundamentally dangerous. It is not true that "leaving one free on the left to get me ahead is enough."

13. Don't make you see . In case of failure, you have to put the signaling triangles, use the reflective vest, keep the position light if visibility is low or night and, in addition, always turn on the emergency light.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

What to do when we drive under a thunderstorm

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 16:37:01 GMT

What to do when we drive under a thunderstorm

A thunderstorm can be the most dangerous situation behind the wheel of your vehicle.

Although there is no rainfall, it can be accompanied by a strong wind. Keep these tips in mind:

It is important that, during a thunderstorm, drivers decrease their speed , being the ideal way to completely immobilize their vehicle. Although it depends on the vehicle, the beam is most likely to generate a voltaic arc between the tire and the ground, discharging and, generally when this occurs, the tires burst due to the temperature rise.
When stopping, it is convenient to choose a safe place away from metal fences or power lines . It is convenient to get away, also, from areas with puddles or water rafts and wet areas.
Inside the vehicle , you should try not to come into contact with the metal parts of the vehicle , turn off the radio and close the windows .
It is necessary to wait for a little before leaving the car , since its metallic surface, as it happens to an airplane in flight to which a lightning strikes, has been charged, "polarized", of the electric field of the lightning. If the occupants get off, and the vehicle has not unloaded mass, they can close the circuit by touching the metal surface and stepping on the ground. It depends on the conductivity at that time, the resistance that is caused, etc., so that the consequences vary from a strong cramp to more serious injuries.
If the vehicle has a ground wire , of those used to avoid static current and the annoying small cramps when touching the vehicle, it will be safer to get out of the vehicle because it will mean that the sheet tension has been discharged to the ground.

Also note that:

Although some brands announce equal protection in convertible cars, Cabrio vehicles with hoods do not offer the same protection as a closed one against lightning.
If you are in an urban center , the probability of being struck by lightning is practically zero, if not impossible. On out-of-town roads, the probability is no longer null, it rises, so you should place yourself somewhere where you are not the most likely ground for the lightning path, that is, you should not be the highest point. If you park next to a building that has a lightning rod , you can rest assured that the lightning will not fall on us.
As pedestrians , it is advisable to get away from tractors if they do not have a cab, bicycles, and motorcycles, and in general, any metal structure that can serve as a ground for the path of lightning. It is best to be covered, but if it is impossible, we should not display metal elements or touch fences, bars, etc.

The car, the safest place

The rays carry currents of 30,000 A intensity and 800,000 voltage and generate energy in the form of heat of about 8,000 ° C.

Due to the so-called Faraday effect, more specifically its application in Physics called “Faraday Cage” cars are safe places in case of lightning since these will pass through the outside of the body and will reach the ground, which is your destination, without damage to the occupant.

The scientist Michael Faraday postulated, and proved himself undergoing the experiment, that the electric field within a closed and continuous conductive surface is null. He himself designed a large metal sphere through which he passed a high electric current and remained inside the sphere sitting in a wooden chair. He showed, with different measuring devices, and preserving his life, that the electric field was zero inside.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

Tips to get your driving license

Sat, 28 Sep 2019 15:45:56 GMT

Tips to get your driving license

Many youngs take advantage of vacations , in which they have more free time, to attend theoretical and practical classes at a road training center, in order to obtain a driver's license. A-Class Driving School in Bristol (UK), provides quality education that fosters a more civic and safe driving behavior. We advise you to inform properly before choosing a driving school.

Below are some of the things to keep in mind:

Once the possible training center is located , it is convenient, before making the registration, to ask relatives, friends or former students who have passed through the driving school for the treatment received and for the result they obtained.
Request information in the driving school , which must be clear and concrete and must include in detail the schedules of the theoretical and practical classes, as well as their prices.
The teaching of driving is a whole. The theoretical classes are as necessary and important as the practical classes. The student will do well to demand quality training from the beginning, which includes the reasoned explanation of the subject so that he can understand and assimilate it perfectly.
The practical classes must be used to apply what has been learned in the theoretical classes. It is the teacher's responsibility to guide the learning, correct the student's mistakes and inform the student with all truth about their progress.
It is mandatory to sign a contract between the student and the center. It must include, among other concepts, the price of the theoretical classes, that of the practices, the processing of documents or the renewal of them. It is very important to read the contract carefully in case it contains any abusive clause. If the driving school has an offer, make sure that it is faithfully reflected in the contract. It is very useful to save the advertising with the offer, along with a copy of the contract.
Make sure that the concepts and amounts charged are those specified in the contract , and always ask for proof of all payments made.
All driving schools are required to have complaint forms available to students.
Neither the driving school nor the Traffic Department can force the student to go to the exam . Examining is something totally voluntary and personal.
The student can demand with total freedom the conditions offered in the advertising leaflets of the driving schools, and if he considers that these do not conform to what has been announced, he can inform the provincial association of driving schools (which is the representative of the Confederation in each province) and the consumption services of its autonomous community.

It is very important to remember that the basis for being a good driver is to receive good training, which also helps prevent road accidents or minimize their damage and consequences.

Are you looking to pass your driving test as quickly as possible? At A-Class Driving School we can help.

We offer a 1, 2 and 4-week intensive driving course as well as semi-intensive driving lessons for learners in Bristol, Avonmouth, and Southmead.

Learner Legal

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 15:08:08 GMT

Learner Legal: How To Stay Safe On The Roads After Passing Your Test

So you’ve passed your driving test — congratulations! You’ve earned the freedom and independence to join the other 48 million motorists on the UK’s roads.But with that independence comes responsibility. We should always strive to be better, safer drivers. Now you’re able to drive the roads solo, here are a few tips to help you stay safe on the road.

Never Use Your Phone While You’re Driving

This might seem like an obvious one, but there are thousands of motorists across the UK who regularly ignore this, often with dangerous results. Of course, using your mobile phone while you’re driving is illegal, and could result in you getting points on your licence, a hefty fine, or even an outright ban.Even if you don’t actually use your mobile while driving, even the sound of it ringing can be enough to distract you from the road momentarily.Keep your phone on silent and hidden away in a bag or glove compartment. If you really need to take a call, pull over somewhere safe to do so.

Don’t Give Lifts To Your Friends Right Away

When you’ve passed your test, it can be tempting to have your friends pile into your car for a long road trip somewhere. But while that sounds fun, it’s important that you keep distractions to a minimum in your early days of solo driving.Having other people in the car talking to you or each other can divert your attention away from the road, increasing the chances of an accident. Instead, focus on getting used to driving alone.When you’re comfortable being behind the wheel solo, you’ll be better prepared to drive with other people in the car.

Take Advantage Of The Latest Tech

Driving has changed hugely over the past ten years. In the past, drivers would have had to make do with common sense, heavy planning, and lots of practice. But today, there is a wide range of tech available to make driving easier and safer for everyone.For example, many new cars come with built-in screens that provide real-time traffic updates and lane departure warnings. It’s sophisticated stuff that makes driving that bit easier. Also, you don’t even need to purchase an expensive sat nav anymore! You can just buy a specialised car holder for your mobile phone and you’re good to go. There’s plenty of other tech you can use too, such as parking sensors or a rear view camera like this.Shop around to find the tech that you need to be a better, safer driver.

Always Take The Time To Rest

As you become more confident in your driving, you’ll feel ready to take longer journeys on the roads. These can be tiring, so it’s important that you take regular rest breaks whenever possible. Accidents happen when you’re fatigued or sluggish, so don’t be afraid to pull over at a service station for a rest.And even if you’re only nipping to the shops quickly, you should only do so if you feel fully rested. If you’re feeling tired, either get the bus or get someone else to drive.

Always Keep Learning

Just because you’ve passed your driving test, it doesn’t mean your learning stops. You should always keep learning and staying abreast of driving best practices.You might also be interested in taking some advanced driving courses. These are optional lessons that are designed to give you a more solid footing behind the wheel.Many are aimed at specific areas of driving, such as motorways or travelling in bad weather, so they’re great for improving on aspects you’re not confident about.As well as advanced driving courses, there are also driving schemes such as Pass Plus that can improve your driving and keep you safer on the roads. Pass Plus consists of at least 6 hours of extra one-on-one tuition, and can even help bring down your insurance.Now you’ve passed your test, you should always try to be the safest driver on the roads. Follow the tips above and always keep bettering yourself — it’s up to you to stay safe behind the wheel.

aclassdrivingschool

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