How Many Hours Will it Take to Pass My Driving Test?

FACT NOT FICTION
The current figures released by the DSA state that the average 17-20yr old who has had no previous experience will need 45hrs of training and 22hrs of private practice to Pass the UK driving test
 note the word Pass.
From our experience it can be done with a total of 40-50hrs of on road experience minimum of  50% with a driving school and 50% of private practice assuming no previous driving experience, one of the main reasons the pass rates are so low is because people go to test to early and do not have enough on road experience to reach the current test standard.
The figures quoted here originate from the DSA the people who conduct the driving test and these are their findings from the people who did Pass their test it is total fiction to believe you can pass the current driving test with only 10hrs of on road experience the stats speak for themselves you can check these stats out at the following url http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/LearningToDriveOrRide/DG_4022483

How to pick a good Driving School

The main things to consider when choosing a driving school, do they only use fully qualified Instructors or do they use trainees as well, what are their pass rates, do they supply training records to their pupils, what is their hourly rate these are the questions you should ask when contacting a potential driving school.
 Do not assume that if you pay more you will get a better instructor, that is not the case in the driver training industry, national driving schools will charge more because of their overhead costs not because they have better instructors, many national driving schools do use trainee instructors so you have been warned.
Check out their website see if they quote pass rates, ask if they use trainee instructors, ask if they supply training records they should, this should record what you have covered and at what level you have achieved.
A driving instructor needs your training record so they can update it on a regularly basis so they know where you are in your training and at what level it is important to have one.

So the things to ask are will I get a fully qualified Instructor, what are your pass rates,will I get a training record, what is your hourly rate, please remember do not assume that if you are paying more you will get a better instructor it relates to overhead costs the bigger the company the greater the overhead costs simple as that, even if some one recommends a driving school do find out the other information first, most driving schools do offer a free lesson or cash payments to a pupil if they get a referral from them, so do not just base your choice on that fact only. The best referral is from some who has previously passed so has nothing to gain from it.

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Independent Driving Will be Introduced to The Driving Test from the 4th October 2010

From 4 October 2010 your practical driving test will include a section of ‘independent driving’.
During your test you’ll have to drive by either following a series of directions, following traffic signs, or a combination of both, for about ten minutes.
To help you understand where you’re going, the examiner may show you a diagram.
It doesn't matter if you don't remember every direction, or if you go the wrong way - that can happen to the most experienced drivers.
Independent driving is not a test of your orientation and navigation skills. Driving independently means making your own decisions - this includes deciding when it’s safe and appropriate to ask for confirmation about where you’re going.
If you ask for a reminder of the directions, the examiner will confirm them to you.
Some newspapers have claimed that independent driving would lead to a fall in the driving test pass rate. This claim is based on early research where conditions did not reflect the eventual design of the new element of the test. Newer research has shown some difference in the pass rates, so get your skates on if you want to avoid these changes.

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Adept Drive now has a Face Book Page

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We have just launched our Face Book page for Adept Drive you can add comments and photos if you wish and become a Fan, we will still update this blog with use full information on a regular basis.

Adept Drive the 1st Time Pass Experts for our current pass rates just check out our website,we only use fully qualified Instructors with above average Pass Rates do check for the Green BADGE above when your driving Instructor arrives for the 1st Time, you have been Warned No trainees for us.
Our Face Book Page URL is shown below
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Letchworth-Garden-City/Adept-Drive-The-1st-Time-Pass-Experts/116265201717904?ref=ts&v=wall

Proof that Longer Lessons Do Improve your Chances of Passing 1st Time

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Our 1st time Pass Rate results for February shows how 1.5hr lessons do improve your chances

of passing 1st Time, we had 7 tests in February 5 Passed all of these passed 1st Time. This means our overall

pass rate for the month was 70%  national average is 43%, the 1st time pass rate was a staggering 100%

5 passed 5 passed 1st time the national average 1st time pass rate is 33% 1 in 3.So this is proof positive that longer lessons do increase your chances of passing 1st time the best length lesson we have found is 1.5hrs.

New Changes to The UK Driving Test, It justs gets harder.

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From the 6th of April 2010 pupils will be asked by DSA examiners if they would like their Instructor or Observer to sit in on their driving test, this is optional, but will encouraged by the DSA.

It will be up to the pupil to decide this, the reason the DSA say this would be better, is when pupils

fail or pass their test often they hear very little of the feedback on the debrief, however all pupils have to do is ask that their driving Instructor is present for the debrief this will achieve the same.

We do advise pupils if they wish we can sit in on the test, we leave it up to the pupil to decide it helps some pupils not others, we also do sit in on the debrief if the pupils request it.

One thing over looked by the DSA is the fact that pupils normally have only two people

in the car on a driving lesson, most pupils find it daunting enough to have an examiner in the car with them

let alone an observer, then add a senior examiner doing a check test on the examiner, now we have four

in the car, not a great idea for some one trying to pass their test for the first time.

The pupils will not be used to the extra weight in the car, which will mean they will not be aware that they will

have to break harder and earlier, and they will not be aware that it will take longer to pick up speed when emerging at junctions, therefore needing a bigger gap to allow for the reduced acceleration of the vehicle.

It would be far simpler and less daunting if Instructors were always asked to seat in on the debrief at the end of the test, the same end result would be achieved and not put the pupil under even more pressure.

The only saving grace is it is up to the pupil to decide, your Instructor will sit in on the test if you wish and I would suggest you do request your Instructor to sit in on the debrief at the end of the test.

Another change due to be introduced in October 2010 is Independent driving where the pupil will have to navigate their way to a set destination using road markings and road signs, with out directions from the examiner.There is an upside to this, to allow for the Independent driving scenario the DSA will cut the number of reversing manoeuvers to one, so if you sucked at reversing around corner you may still get a chance to pass your test.

To any one wanting to pass their driving test you will need driving lessons from a fully qualified Instructor,
do make sure they are fully qualified, do look for a green badge so you know they are fully qualified,
the driving test is not getting any easier.

I was recently asked to give some one a couple of lessons to take them round the test route before their test, hate to tell you there are at least twenty test routes at every test center which one do you want? gone are the days when Instructors just took their pupils around the five test routes so they new them like the back of their hand, gone are the 30 minute tests.

You must be able to drive the car using safe systems of driving in any road conditions and be able to deal with any road hazard for a period of 40 minutes, this is a lot harder to achieve than people think, so do your self
a favour do get some lessons with a fully qualified Instructor.

I did actually give the person concerned a couple of lessons, they did not check their mirrors once, they did not observe at all before moving off, and they did not know how to do any of the maneuvers. They actually had a test booked for the next week, you must be using safe systems of driving to pass your test and be able to carry out the maneuvers safely as well, this takes time to learn and be consistent around 50 hrs of on road experience to be exact according to the latest DSA figures so do get real.

Will longer Driving Lessons Improve my Chances of Passing the Driving Test

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Do longer driving lessons improve your chances of passing 1st time, yes they do around 25%
of people who fail their test fail in the last 10 minutes of the test, the main reason for this is lack of concentration. As most driving schools offer 1hr or 2hr lessons and most pupils will do 1hr lesson rather than a 2hr lesson, mainly because of cost, this means they never actually drive to test standard for the length of time the practical test takes, which is approx 40 minutes long.

With a 1hr lesson once you have done all of the maneuvers including the emergency stop your drive time
will be 30 minutes or less which means you never have to concentrate for longer than this period of time.
We have found the best length lesson to be 1.5hrs, a 1hr lesson is to short a 2hr lesson can be to long
for many people, with a 1.5hr lesson  this does mean  pupils will drive for periods of 45 minutes plus, so they do learn to concentrate for longer periods of time, which does increase their chances of passing 1st time.

This is one of the reasons our 1st Time pass rate is so high, the national average is only 33% but we consistently achieve a 1st Time pass rate of 50-60%, we do also suggest to pupils if they are doing private practice to drive for longer than 1hr session this does help as well.

The aim is to get pupils to drive to test standard for longer periods of time and to consistently follow the safe systems of driving they have been taught, if they can achieve this then this will greatly improve their chances of passing 1st Time.

All Approved Driving Instructors are Not Equal

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All driving Instructors who take payment for driving lessons must legally be registered with the DSA, they have to pay a license fee to be registered.

A fully qualified Instructor normally referred to as an ADI is issued with a green badge, this means they are fully qualified and have completed and passed all of their training, a trainee Instructor is issued with a pink badge
normally referred to as a PDI, this means they are training to become a driving Instructor but are not yet
qualified.

The current pass rate for trainee Instructors is only 25%- 30%  so most of these trainees will fail, the trainee
license is normally only issued for 6 months while they are training, both badge types must be displayed in the
training car when teaching pupils, this is a legal requirement.

Both types of badges are shown below, a Green Badge means the Instructor is fully qualified the Pink Badge means they are trainees and are not yet qualified.

ADI BADGE FULLY QUALIFIED INSTRUCTOR

PDI BADGE TRAINEE INSTRUCTOR

Be aware many driving schools use trainee Instructors, they are legally allowed to do so, just as long as they are licensed by the DSA, the driving school is not obliged to tell you this and may still charge you the same price for your driving lessons, in fact only one of the National driving schools only use fully qualified Instructors. They do promote this on their website and in their advertising many people over look this,

YOU SHOULD NOT.

Do not just ask price, ask if you will be getting a fully qualified Instructor you can verify this when the Instructor arrives for your lesson, ask to see their badge it should be on display. You normally do not get a discount on the driving lesson price if you are being trained by a trainee, so why pay the full amount for a trainee Instructor who more likely or not will fail their training.

If a driving school advertises for driving Instructor training they will more than likely use trainees, two of the major players do, in fact one of them does advertise extensively on the TV for driving Instructor training,

they do use trainees and are linked with driver training colleges, Think before you book.

You have Been Warned, don't just ask price ensure you get a fully qualified Instructor unless you can get a reduced rate.

How to Prepare for Learning to Drive

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The first thing you will need is a Provisional  Driving License without this you will not be insured to drive a car,

you will need to be 17yrs old, but you can apply prior to your 17th birthday, but do allow 2-3 weeks for the application to be processed.

You can get your application form from your local post office, you will need several passport sized photos for your ID card, then send the completed form, photos and driving license fee to the DVLA, the address to send it to will be on the form also the the fee for your Provisional License.

Next thing to do is to sort out a good driving school and start studying for your theory test, you can be studying at the same time as you are taking driving lessons, you can either get books on the theory test

questions and the hazard perception test or cd's for your PC what ever you find the easiest.

You must have passed your theory test before you can book a practical test, once you have passed the

theory test you will get a pass certificate number, which you must quote when booking your driving

test.

Both the theory test and practical test can be booked online on the DSA website this is the website address

http://www.dsa.gov.uk/

Please be aware of scam websites they are around they charge you a fee for booking the tests for you,
they all look very official, so make sure you do go to the official site, currently the theory test fee is approx
£30 and the practical £60.

I have had pupils charged £48 for the theory and £75 for the practical, they did book on a scam website
the additional cost was their booking fee, you have been warned.

You will need to budget for this training it will not be cheap,  for a complete novice with no previous experience aged between 17yrs-20yrs you  will need 40hrs of training plus 20hrs of private practice,
these are the figures currently quoted by the DSA, which you can verify on their website.

We have found that people with around 50hrs of on road experience can and do pass 1st time,you
could split this between driving lessons and private practice equal split 50-50 is best, this will save you
money and is the cheapest option so would cost around £400-£500 but if you do not get private
practice the cost will be £800-£1,000.

These figures are based upon a complete novice with no previous experience.

The 10 Hour Myth

www.adeptdrive.co.uk The 10 hour myth, the number of pupils that have said my dad only had 10hrs of driving lessons to pass his test, that was then this is now.

The driving test is far harder than when parents took their test, the introduction of the theory test including hazard perception, the practical test is harder because the test time is longer approx 40 minutes, greater number of test routes each test center has approx 22 test routes, examiners are also far more stringent and the  inclusion of show and tell.

No longer can Instructors just drive around the 5 tests routes with the pupil several times before their test, so they get no surprises on the day. You do have to be able to deal with any hazards and drive to a very high standard, using safe systems of driving, be aware of all of the rules and apply them to your driving at all times.

This takes time, the average learner aged 17-20yrs old will take at least 50hrs of on road experience to reach current test standards that,s fact not fiction.

This is based on a complete novice with no previous driving experience, the more previous experience the less hours you will need, but I would have at least 50% of your training with a fully qualified Instructor, but you must apply all you have been taught in your private practice, you must be consistent, that takes time.

How To Keep The Costs Down when Learning to Drive

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To keep your costs to a minimum, I would split your training between private practice and driving
lessons, half with a driving school and half private practice.
A complete novice aged between 17-20yrs old with no previous experience, will need 40hrs of training plus 20hrs of private practice to reach current test standards, these are the latest figures published by the DSA.

 Check out this link to verify this http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/PracticalTest  /DG_4022483.

We have found that you can get away with around 50hrs of on road experience, split equally between driving lessons and private practice with our Instructors, so it would cost you £500 with the rates we charge which is £20/hr to get to test standard. We do achieve a very high 1st time pass rate using this technique,
this is based on the fact that the pupil is having a minimum lesson time of 1.5hrs, this does increase your chances of passing 1st time, pupils taking 1hr lessons  are a lot less likely to achieve this.
So if you budget for 1.5hr lesson a week the cost would be £30/week, if you do 1.5hrs a week private practice it will take just over 4 months to get to test standard the over all cost would be £500.

If you don,t have access to a car then if you target 50hrs of training, with a minimum of 1.5hr driving lessons
the cost will be £1,000 to reach test standard and take just over 8 months, so if you can do private practice you can halve the the cost and halve the amount of time taken to get to test standard.

You can reduce the time taking dramatically by increasing the number of lessons you have each week and
increasing your private practice, with just 2 lessons a week and 2 private practice sessions a week at 1.5hr durations you could reach test standard in just 9 weeks.This will of course increase your spend to £60/week
but halve the timescale  taken to reach test standard, but will still only cost £500.

If you go to test with less hours than this you will more than likely fail, this is one of the reasons why the pass rate is so low, so target 50hrs minimum of on road experience and do 1.5hr training sessions duration and this will increase your chances of passing 1st time dramatically, we achieve 50% plus 1st time pass rate using this technique and a 70% overall pass rate. The national average pass rate is 43% and the 1st time pass rate is
33% so if you do not want to keep going back to the test center for retests please take this on board.
Around 90% of our pupils pass 1st or 2nd time around 10% can take more, but it is nerves or lack of concentration that causes these pupils to fail not their ability to drive.
So If you don,t want to achieve double figures before passing your test and quite a lot do, then follow this plan who ever you learn to drive with.

The Top 10 Reasons for People Failing Their Driving Test

www.adeptdrive.co.uk The top 10 reasons that people fail their driving test are

1. Acting Improperly at Road Junctions:- approach speed to fast, not stopping behind the give way
                    line, lack of observations at a junction.

                2. Left Reverse Around  a Corner:- hitting the curb, reversing wide, lack of observations.

                3. Incorrect Steering:- crossing hands, driving with only one hand on the wheel, letting steering 
                    wheel spin back after turning a corner.

                4. Reverse Park:-hitting the curb, to far from the curb, lack of observations.

                5. Improper Use of Gears:- incorrect gear for the speed you are traveling at.

                6. Effective Use of Mirrors:- not checking before change of speed, not checking before a change
                    direction, and frequently.

                7. Driving to Slowly:- not making progress, drive to the speed limit if it is safe to do so.

                8. Right Turns:- cutting the corner, observations.

                9. Undue Hesitation:- stopping at junctions when not necessary,waiting to long at junctions before
                    emerging.

                10. Moving Off Incorrectly:- not checking your mirrors, not checking your blind spot.

How to Deal with Driving Test Nerves

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If you do suffer from nerves on the test day, I would suggest you take some thing for it such as rescue remedy, calm, confidence these are all herbal remedies and do help take the edge off for many pupils.
If you have tried these before and they did not work for you, I have had people go to their doctor and get prescription drugs, in some cases I have had pupils have hypnotherapy and this has helped them pass their test.
You can now download hypnotherapy tape for driving test nerves which is a cheaper option here is a link
which you could go to www.hypnosisdownloads.com this has worked for a few of my pupils.