Courses On Offer
There are a number of different driving courses you can take these days, including crash courses, advanced courses, and residential courses, as well as the standard hourly tuition courses.
Here we give you the lowdown on the different courses available at driving schools in the UK, and once you know which course you want to do, you can use our listings section to find a driving school in your area.
Hourly Tuition
If you’re learning to drive for the first time then the most common type of driving course to take is the hourly tuition, where you have just one or two hours of driving lessons a week with your instructor. You take your theory and practical tests at a time when you and your instructor agree you’re ready, usually after a few months worth of lessons, although there is no fixed time scale for learning to drive in this way.
Crash Courses
Driving crash courses have been designed to make learning to drive a quick and easy process, so you pass your test and get your full licence in the shortest time possible. There are numerous crash courses available these days, each with different durations but all offer you the chance to learn to drive much faster than the standard hourly driving lessons.
Crash courses are taught by experienced driving instructors and usually run over a few weeks, where you spend many hours out on the road and learning your theory. You will take your theory test early in the course and then take your practical at the end of the few weeks.
Residential Courses
Specially designed for those who want to get away from it all while learning to drive, residential courses operate in a very similar way to crash courses, with the learner having several hours of tuition each day, every day over a few weeks. You will take your practical driving test at the end of the course, and with a residential course you have the added bonus of being away from home and daily distractions so you can just focus on passing your test. There are residential courses available throughout the UK, provided by a number of different driving schools.
Pass Plus
The Pass Plus scheme has been specially developed by the Driving Standards Agency for new drivers. It aims to build up the skills and knowledge of new drivers and provide them with valuable driving experience to reduce the cost of insurance premiums for the newly qualified.
During the course, which takes a minimum of six hours over a few weeks, you will be taught how to deal with a wide range of road and traffic situations, including motorway driving, and boost your awareness of road hazards. You can only take the Pass Plus course in the first 12 months after passing your test, and you will need to pass modules during the course but there is no test at the end of it.
Advanced Test
The Advanced Driving Test takes around 90 minutes and usually covers between 30 and 40 miles along many different types of road, including town driving, motorways, dual carriageways and country lanes.
An examiner must hold a Police Advanced Driving certificate and will have extensive experience from working within the traffic sections of the police force. This test allows the candidate to show off their driving ability, altering the way they drive according to the conditions and environment of the road.
On each road you travel along there will be hazards and situations that need to be avoided and you will be assessed on how you use the methods and techniques that advanced driving gives. You should bear in mind that the Advanced Driving Test is not easy to pass but most people who take say they enjoyed the experience.
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