How do I book a driving theory test?

If you’ve read and digested the Highway Code, you’ve spent some time trying out mock multiple choice and hazard perception tests online, and you’re confident that you know the rules of the road and are competent at reading the road ahead of you, then you can go ahead and book your car driving theory test.

In order to book the theory test you must have your provisional licence and be at least seventeen years old.

To find your nearest Driving Theory Test Centre you can either go online at www.gov.uk/driving-theory-test-centre or you can phone the Theory Test Enquiry Line on 0300 200 11 22 between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday. There are other unofficial theory test booking sites, but treat these with caution as you may end up paying more, or finding that you are not booked in at all. You can also use the official website if you need to cancel your test for any reason, or change the date or venue.

You can book online, or you can obtain an application form from the test centre. You will need your Provisional Licence number and a credit or debit card to pay the £25 fee. To book online you’ll also need an e-mail address to which they can send your confirmation. Your confirmation will arrive within four days, with a booking number.

What if English isn’t my first language? In the past the driving theory test was available in a number of languages, but after consultation this facility was removed in 2014. It’s important that all new drivers are confident enough in English or Welsh that they will understand traffic updates or emergency information, and will be able to communicate with law enforcement officers. It will also help to prevent test fraud. The test is now available in English or Welsh.

What if I have Special Needs? If you have reading difficulties such as dyslexia, then you can listen to the test being read to you in English or Welsh, and you may be able to have an extension on the time allowed for the test. You will need to provide proof from an education or medical professional that you need this. The Theory Test is also available with a BSL interpretation for deaf learners, or if you do not read BSL an approved interpreter can be arranged. Contact the Theory Test Enquiry Line (number above) for more information and to let them know if you have these or any other special needs.

What if I can’t make the date I booked? You must give notice of your cancellation at least three working days prior to the test, otherwise you will lose your test fee.

I failed the theory test. Can I book again straight away? If you fail the test, don’t worry. You can take it again, but you must wait a minimum of three working days before you take your test again. This gives you plenty of time to revise the content of the Highway Code and take a couple of mock tests for practice.

To book your Glasgow Driving Lessons with TX Driver Training call us now on 0141 764 1213.

How many driving lessons will I need?

There is no simple answer to this question. Everybody is different. Learners come to driving lessons with different experiences as a passenger and different rates of learning. Some learners have more opportunity for practice outside of their driving lessons than others too.

Some learners claim to have needed as few as five to ten driving lessons with an instructor, so it’s assumed that they have been taught most aspects of learning to drive by a friend or family member. Some learners spend many years learning, and find combining the skills very difficult or are very nervous. The average learner is somewhere in the middle of this continuum, requiring in the region of forty hours of lessons with a qualified instructor and about twenty hours practice with a friend or family member.

It’s important to remember that we are talking about being in sole control of a vehicle weighing at least one tonne and capable of travelling in excess of seventy miles per hour. Learning to drive isn’t all about being able to pass the test in the fastest possible time, but about teaching you to drive safely and confidently. It’s surely better to take a couple of extra lessons and pass safe and confident, than to squeeze through too quickly to save money and time, and end up either failing, or not being a safe driver and potentially causing an accident.

A few factors that might have an impact on how many lessons you require include:

• People who live in congested urban areas, or who usually have their driving lessons at rush hour are likely to need a few more lessons. They are spending more of their driving lesson time sitting in traffic, and less time driving at normal speeds learning to read the road, or practising manoeuvres.
• People who live further from the test centre may need a few more lessons because they get less practice on the test route, or spend more of their lesson time travelling to and from the test area.
• Nervous drivers will need more lessons because they need to feel completely confident at each step before they can be moved on to the next, and driving lesson time will be spent going over material that’s been covered and reassuring the learner.
• Learners who don’t have the opportunity to practice between lessons may need more. They don’t have the chance to embed their learning with a friend or family member, and will probably need to recap the last lesson before continuing. On the other hand, it’s possible that those who do practice with a friend or family member could be picking up bad habits, or becoming frustrated and tense with their driving between lessons, and time may need to be spent undoing this damage, leading to more lessons being required.
• Learners who have spent more time in the front passenger seat, or who have ridden a bike regularly may need fewer lessons, as they have more understanding of the rules of the road and more experience reading the road ahead.
• Having two or three lessons each week will also probably reduce the number that you need, as you’ll not be forgetting what you have learned in between your lessons and needing to re-cap.

Before you start driving, there is no magic way of telling how many lessons you’re going to require, and it’s certainly not worth trying to scrimp and save on something so important. Spending some time reading and learning The Highway Code before you start, and paying more attention to the way other people drive will all help to prepare you for your lessons.

Contact TX Driver Training on 0141 764 1213 to start your driving lessons now.

Should I try a crash course in driving or go for individual lessons?

The inappropriately named “crash course” or intensive driving course, where you take all your lessons and your test in as little as two weeks, has increased in popularity recently as our hurried young people rush to get their driving licence sooner.

Here is a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of both crash courses and individual lessons:

Time taken –

A crash course can condense all your lessons into as little as one or two weeks, meaning that you can reach and pass your test very quickly.

Taking an individual one-hour lesson each week can take as long as a year.

Remembering or embedding –

In a crash course you’re taking your lessons one after the other or the next day, so there isn’t time to forget everything you’ve learned. It means that you don’t have to spend a portion of the following week recapping your knowledge and getting back up to speed. However, this means that you don’t have time to embed and assimilate the knowledge and skills or to practise with a family member or friend between lessons.

Breadth of Experience –

In a crash course you are going from being a complete novice to an independent driver in a very short time, but without the breadth of experience that somebody who has been learning for longer can achieve. Taking individual lessons across several months will mean that you have experience in varied weather conditions, in the dark and on different road types. You may well have had practice in between lessons too. In a crash course there is the pressure of a test booked for the end of the week, so it’s likely that most of your lessons will be focused on the test route and things that will come up in the test, rather than on developing a broad range of driving skills.

Concentration –

In a crash course you have all your lessons in a very short space of time, so you can fully immerse yourself in driving, reading the Highway Code, and driving DVDs and simulations for the duration of the course. However, it can be easy to become fatigued. Driving lessons are mentally tiring, and at the end of a five hour lesson you may be struggling to concentrate or take any more in.

In individual lessons you are only driving for one or two hours at a time, so come to it fresh and ready to concentrate.

Struggles –

Sometimes driving lessons are difficult and you can become demoralised. In a crash course your instructor can help you to work through this and overcome it, or it can be compounded and make learning for the rest of the course very difficult. In individual lessons you will have time in between your lessons to get moral support and perspective from friends and loved ones, so that you can come back to your next driving lesson ready to have another go.

It’s worth taking the time to think through these issues and choose the type of learning that will suit you best. If you are unsure, talk to people who have learned to drive, or choose your instructor first, and ask their advice.

To find out more about Intensive Crash courses in Glasgow call 0141 764 1213.

How To Find A Good Driving School

While some driving instructors are independent, many belong to a Driving School. The School takes care of the business side of things, allowing the instructor to concentrate on teaching driving.

There are so many driving schools out there clamouring for attention with advertisements that it isn’t always easy to work out which are the best. Personal recommendation helps a lot, especially if you can select the particular instructor that you learn with. Looking at User Reviews also gives a good indication of how other learners have found the school and their reputation. If reviewers are commenting about instructors regularly turning up late, including grocery stops or not having the instructor’s full attention, then this probably isn’t a school you’ll want to use. Pass rates are not all that helpful, as they aren’t standardised and there are so many variables involved that they can’t really be compared.

Think about the type of learning you want to undertake – do you want to undertake one hour long lesson per week, a two hour lesson per week, or an intensive course? Check which driving schools offer what you want. Once you have a shortlist, don’t be afraid to ask them questions. You’re going to be giving them a lot of money, so you need to be sure that you’re getting what you need out of the arrangement. Some of the questions you should ask include:

• What cars do you use? (Model and age – most will use smaller cars under three years old)
• Are the cars dual control?
• Will I have the same instructor for all my lessons? This is helpful, as they will know you, will know what your skills are and what you need to work on.
• And the same car? Also helpful as you will gauge how much space you have when manoeuvring.
• Do you have female instructors? This may or may not be important to you.
• Do any of your instructors specialise in nervous drivers? A useful question if you are one.
• Are all your instructors fully qualified? Trainee instructors doesn’t mean poorer quality, but they do have less experience and should charge less.
• How much are your lessons? Price isn’t everything, but it is useful to know.
• Am I entirely 1:1 or does the instructor pick up the next pupil during my lesson? This can be distracting, and will also mean that you may be spending less time practising the test route, because some of your lesson time will be taken up travelling to the next pupil, but it saves the instructor/school money because they don’t have uncharged time between pupils.
• Do you offer a discount for booking a block of lessons in advance? If they do, then book a small block to begin with, to make sure that you’re happy with the instruction before you commit to a longer block.
• Which test centre do you use? Also find out whether practice on driving test routes used by that centre is included in lessons.
• What’s your pass rate for first attempts? This tells you if they try to put people through their tests too soon.
• Can I have lessons early morning / evening / weekend / weekdays (whatever your preference)?

Once you’ve gone through all these questions, you should have an idea which driving school will suit you best, and can make a decision. If you are unhappy with your instruction, you can ask for a different instructor, and if you’re still not happy, don’t be afraid to change driving school.

Contact TX Driver Training on 0141 764 1213 to find out why we think we are the best driving school in Glasgow.

Learning To Drive in Glasgow

Learning to drive is an exciting milestone for anybody. It takes you from being dependent on public transport or other drivers, to a feeling of freedom and independence. The whole process can be divided pretty neatly into three parts: theory, car control, and road-craft.

The theory part includes knowing about road markings and signs, and the rules about using the road. For example how to overtake a cyclist, when to use your hazard lights and so on. You can start learning driving theory before you first sit in the driving seat, and you probably already have some knowledge from using the road as a passenger, pedestrian or cyclist. Reading and digesting The Highway Code is the best way to check your knowledge and learn driving theory.

Car Control will be covered in your first lessons. It’s about handling the car itself, putting a whole new range of skills and reflexes together to start and stop the car, and to manoeuvre it. To begin with this will require a lot of concentration as you use hand-eye co-ordination to put the physical processes of steering, changing gear and using the pedals together with looking through the windows and mirrors. After some practice driving in quiet roads this multi-tasking becomes second nature. It’s a bit like when you first got on a cycle – pedalling, balance and steering all at once was really tricky, but it doesn’t take long for you to get it together.

Road-craft is about dealing with everything else on the road. You’ll learn about how to deal with other vehicles, varied weather conditions and levels of light, with roundabouts, signals, pedestrians and other hazards. Once you’ve mastered the basic control of the car, most of the rest of your lessons will be focusing on building experience and skill in road-craft.

As you can see, there’s quite a lot involved in becoming a driver, but you can and will be able to do it. The best person to teach you to drive is a qualified driving instructor. They have a thorough understanding of driving theory, car control and road-craft, and lots of experience in teaching people to drive safely. They also know how driving tests work, and are able to judge when you are ready to take and pass the test.

There is no minimum or maximum number of lessons, everybody learns at different rates. You may choose to do all your driving practice with your instructor, or you may practice with a patient friend or family member between lessons, as long as the car insurance includes you as a learner driver, the car is displaying L-plates when you are driving, and the person supervising you is over 21 and has had a full driving licence for at least three years.

There are two parts to the driving test, and your instructor will be able to advise you when you are ready for each one. The first is the Theory Test. You need a provisional licence to do the Theory Test, and you must pass it before you can book a practical driving test. It includes driving theory and hazard recognition, and is done on a computer at a test centre. The practical driving test will involve about forty minutes on the road with an examiner, who will be looking at driving theory, car control and road-craft. At the end of the forty minutes you will be told the result of your driving test. If you pass, you’ve done it! You’re now a qualified driver. Learning to drive doesn’t end there though, you’ll be continually building up your experience, and should look again at the Highway Code periodically.

Contact us now if you are interested in finding out about learning to drive in Glasgow.