Tips on learning to drive

Learning to drive can be an expensive yet exciting moment in your life.

Many of us start with little knowledge of how a car works or where to start when it comes to passing our driving test.

There are many factors to take into consideration, as it will be a lot easier and smoother to have proper driving lessons before you book in for your practical test.

So, if you’re looking to learn how to drive but don’t know where to begin, we’ve got some key tips and tricks to remember to help you out on the road in no time at all.

Pick a reputable driving school or instructor

Firstly, you need to decide which driving school or private instructor you want to use. We’d recommend shopping around and checking out customer reviews to see how the instructor teaches and what sort of lessons they carry out.

If you find a private instructor, the chances are there will be just one car, whereas driving schools usually have a fleet of different vehicles.

Once you’ve found the driving school or instructor that best suits you, book in for some sessions, with many companies offering a block of 10 driving lessons for around £300 to £400.

Practice the theory test

The theory test is a set of 50 multiple-choice questions based on different driving scenarios. In order to pass it, you need to score at least 43 or more. Furthermore, there is also the ‘Hazard Perception’ test, which involves several computer-generated driving scenarios where you have to click on every potential hazard ahead. To pass this, you must score at least 44 out of a possible 75 points.

Our advice would be to practice these two tests back-to-back, as you’ll start to familiarise yourself with the questions, and any answers you get wrong, you can go back and learn them, so you can remember next time around. It’s the same story with the Hazard Perception, as there are plenty of mock tests available online for you to practice with.

Buy a car to practice in

If you can afford it, try and aim to buy a car while you’re learning to drive, as it will speed up the process between the time you are learning and passing your test. Make sure you do some quotes for insurance before purchasing, too, to make sure you’re not caught out by the price.

Having your own car means that you can get provisional insurance to allow you to drive with a passenger who has had to have a driving licence for more than two years, allowing you to go out and practice on the road.

The more practice you have, the more confident you’ll be when the day comes, reducing the risk of hesitation, an accident, or failing your test.

Choose your preferred transmission

There are two types of transmission, manual and automatic. If you’re not a confident driver, an automatic will be your best choice as it’s easier to use and lets you get on with just accelerating, braking and steering. However, the downside is that it qualifies you to only drive vehicles with two pedals. If you want to drive a manual, you’ll have to retake your test in a manual car.

Passing your test in a manual allows you access to all types of transmissions, so you’re free to drive both types once you’ve qualified. We’d always recommend learning to drive in a manual, as it gives you greater accessibility to vehicles once you’ve passed your test.

Learn ‘show me, tell me’ questions

One of the first parts of the driving test is the ‘show me, tell me’ questions, in which the examiner will ask you two vehicle safety questions before you drive the vehicle.

Typical questions might be, ‘show me how you’d check that the horn is working on this vehicle?’ or, tell me how you would switch your headlight from dipped to the main beam and explain how you’d know the main beam is on.

Your driving instructor will normally run through typical questions that you might encounter on the day of your test, so it’s best to get to know the vehicle you’re using, practice where everything is and revise some of the typical questions. If the examiner is not satisfied with your answers, you can potentially fail your driving test before even driving the vehicle.

Learn the driving test routes

Before you take your driving test, there will be several test centres with different test routes that you might be taken on.

There’s a good chance that your driving instructor will know the test routes, so ask them to take you out and learn them, as it will make you a lot more confident on the day of your test.

It also benefits you, as you can assess the type of roads you’ll be driving on, if there are any hazardous blackspots, and you will feel more confident driving on a route that is familiar to you, making you less nervous and you can complete your driving test in a stress-free manner. Plus, you’re more likely to pass on a route that you have learnt through driving lessons.