“My experience with Anne was very positive. I now feel very confident on the roads and this is attributable to Anne’s professional guidance and tuition throughout.” Felix
Private Practice – to do or not to do?
Private practice is useful, as long as it is done at the right time and in the right way. I recommend not going out too soon to practise with a family member or friend in your ‘learning to drive’ experience. It can be stressful for all concerned, (especially without dual controls) and your driving ability needs to be at a certain standard before heading out without a professional. Starting too soon may be unnerving and could lead to anything from a loss of confidence through to serious lack of control. I can advise you on when you are ready to start doing private practice and which skills to cover, so please don’t start straight away.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
According to new research carried out by Vauxhall Motors, 20% of private driving lessons carried out with Dad results in a crash compared to only 8% with Mum. The research also showed that for parents who bravely take their children out on private practise drives, one in five trips will end in a dented car. This proves the importance of waiting until the pupil is ready for private practice, without the safety net of dual controls.
Are you the accompanying driver?
If you are the supervising driver, you need to be at least 21 years old and you must have held a licence for 3 years. The vehicle you use must be roadworthy and insured for the learner, as well as displaying L plates to the front and rear. You must not use a mobile phone whilst supervising a learner.
Remember that you are responsible for the learner’s actions. Stay calm. Be patient. Offer advice when needed. Plan your routes together carefully so you don’t end up in situations the learner isn’t ready for. Give them plenty of warning before asking them to change direction. In the early weeks you cannot say “turn left” and expect a positive response! You need to…
| ALERT… | DIRECT… | and IDENTIFY. |
| “In a minute I would like you to… | take the first left… | it’s just after the post-box.” |
| “At the end of the road… | please turn right… | it’s just before the bend.” |
Your pupil will then need prompting: “off the gas, more brake, less brake, slow down, clutch down, find gear 2, straighten up, on the gas, more gas, check your mirror”. Remember you are not a passenger so try not to sit there in silence. Aim to verbally support, guide and encourage the learner when you are on the move. Try to do your practice sessions at different times of the day to give your learner experience of driving in the dark and different traffic conditions. Have a chat with me so we can decide how best to help the learner outside their official lessons.
“My Dad keeps telling me to do things differently than how you’re teaching me. Who is right?“
This will happen because methods of driving have changed since your parents learned to drive. (How long ago was that? A quarter of a century maybe? Longer?) If you are having disagreements, please ask me and I will help to sort them out.
The DSA says, “Recommended driving techniques have changed over the years and there can be conflict between what you have learned with your driving instructor and what the person supervising your private practice tells you. Furthermore, your supervising driver may have picked up some bad habits that could be passed onto you.”
Here are some common disagreements…
- Your Dad might tell you to change down through the gears as you slow down for a junction or roundabout. That’s how he was taught, but it’s not how you should do it now. We no longer use our gears to slow down. Let’s say you are in 5th gear travelling at 50mph on the main road and you need to turn off left at a junction. Engine brake first by coming off the gas, then as you get closer to the junction start to brake, keep on braking until you reach the speed required for the junction, pick your gear to match the speed and how tight the junction is (probably 2nd or 3rd), clutch up, make the turn and get back on the gas.
Remember: Brakes are for slow, gears are for go.
- Your Dad might tell you to always apply a signal to move away from the side of the road and again to pull up at the side of the road. However, we should only signal if there is someone to benefit from it. If there are no vehicles and no pedestrians around and the road is empty, there is no need to signal. Use your mirrors and observations to make an informed decision as to whether you need to signal or not. Don’t just do it out of habit!
Remember: only signal if someone else will benefit.
- Signalling past stationary parked vehicles is a common source of disagreement. Your Dad might tell you to signal as you drive past a parked car but this isn’t usually necessary. There are some residential streets in York where cars are parked right along the length of the road. You wouldn’t signal past each one because your signal would be constantly on! However, there are exceptions. Let’s say you had to squeeze into a gap and stop between two parked vehicles to let another car pass. You might choose to apply a right signal at that point, to let cars behind know that you want to come back out. Another example may be if you have to stop and wait behind a bin-lorry. There is a queue of traffic building up behind you. You might choose to apply a right signal to let those vehicles know you are planning on passing the bin-lorry it when it is safe to do so, and they need to wait their turn.
Remember: we usually do not need a signal to pass a parked vehicle, BUT it can be situational.
The learner will be far more ‘up-to-date’ in their driving style than you as the accompanying driver, and may do certain things differently. If you are unsure about anything, please ask!
The DVSA have published brand new guidance targeted at parents of learner drivers on how to best supervise private practice sessions. Click here for the full post: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supervise-a-learner-driver
My friend is progressing faster than me. Why?
Everyone learns differently and finds different things difficult. Some people really struggle with steering to begin with and need extra time to master the skill. Others pick it up immediately. Some pupils find clutch control tricky. Some people find it hard to co-ordinate the pedals with the gears and the steering with the observations, all at the same time! Driving is a complex and multi-task activity and for some people it takes quite a while for everything to click.
Maybe your friend has had some previous experience? Perhaps they grew up on a farm and messed about on tractors or quad bikes? Do they trial motor-bikes or go rally driving? Perhaps they’ve done a lot of go-karting! They might just be more co-ordinated than you or be generally more confident and relaxed. If you are usually quite a nervous person who worries a lot, or feels anxious and gets stressed easily about exams and pressure, then learning to drive will take longer than the average person.
Maybe your friend has access to private practice but you don’t? Try not to compare notes with your friend; it’s really not helpful. Your ‘learning to drive experience’ is your own, not anybody else’s and you will progress through the skills at your own pace. Learning to drive can be very stressful, frustrating and sometimes quite demoralising but it is also great fun and as long as you keep positive and keep practising, you will get there. It just might take a bit longer than your friend.
Click on the link below for more information from “Insure the Box”:
https://www.insurethebox.com/safe-parents-teach-children-drive/
drivewithmemrsd.co.uk 