Just a quick note to let you know about a recent scam by certain untrustworthy people to rob you of your hard earned money. What they have been doing is copying the DSA's website for booking the theory and practical tests. To the untrained eye they look identical - except for the fact that the fee is double what it should be! The current theory test fee is £31 and the practical is £62. However these websites have been charging up to £40 more so beware. If you get to the paying screen and are asked for more than the above charges then try entering the correct web address in your explorer bar:
Theory bookings: http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_186295.html
Practical bookings: http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_186302.html
Welcome to my driving instructor blog for Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Maidstone. It's been designed to help all you learners out there who have any issues regarding learning to drive. Here you can keep up to date with the latest developments with the driving test and any changes within the industry. You can also leave me comments and questions which I'll be happy to answer
Thursday 22 July 2010
Friday 9 July 2010
The perils of a country road..
A couple of days ago I had an incident occur whilst out on a lesson and thought it might be of use to learners when thinking about the dangers of driving on out of town roads.
I often take my pupils out onto roads that they won't be tested on during their driving exam - after all, I'm not just teaching people to pass the test but to be able to drive safely under all conditions. Now the pupil I was with has a tendency to overlook forward planning and so we were working on anticipation of hazards. Taking him down a fairly narrow country road I was asking the usual 'what if?' questions: 'What if we meet a large vehicle now?', 'what if there are pedestrians walking on the road?', 'what if somebody pulls out of a driveway without seeing us?'. I think a big problem is that when people first start driving they only see what is directly in front of them and don't think about what could be around the next bend. Something that is key in using when on unfamiliar roads are road signs, especially the triangular warning signs. They can give us vital information as to what is ahead of us such as sharp bends, side roads, crossroads and gradients etc. All of which we should be slowing down for and checking mirrors. Anticipation of oncoming traffic is also key. Is there a wide vehicle going too fast coming around that bend towards us? Pupils must be aware that other drivers can be erratic to and so we must prepare for this.
Anyway, the inevitable happened as I was trying to get my pupil to understand this. A van was coming far too fast around the bend and slightly on our side of the road, pupil panicked and yanked the wheel to the left and we ended up with a damaged tyre. A lesson learned I would hope as had he been prepared for that then maybe he could have dealt with it in a safer way. Until it happens, it is sometimes very difficult for a pupil to envisage that and as a driving instructor it's my job to try and help them do that. Fortunately it is very rare that it ends up with a situation like this!
I often take my pupils out onto roads that they won't be tested on during their driving exam - after all, I'm not just teaching people to pass the test but to be able to drive safely under all conditions. Now the pupil I was with has a tendency to overlook forward planning and so we were working on anticipation of hazards. Taking him down a fairly narrow country road I was asking the usual 'what if?' questions: 'What if we meet a large vehicle now?', 'what if there are pedestrians walking on the road?', 'what if somebody pulls out of a driveway without seeing us?'. I think a big problem is that when people first start driving they only see what is directly in front of them and don't think about what could be around the next bend. Something that is key in using when on unfamiliar roads are road signs, especially the triangular warning signs. They can give us vital information as to what is ahead of us such as sharp bends, side roads, crossroads and gradients etc. All of which we should be slowing down for and checking mirrors. Anticipation of oncoming traffic is also key. Is there a wide vehicle going too fast coming around that bend towards us? Pupils must be aware that other drivers can be erratic to and so we must prepare for this.
Anyway, the inevitable happened as I was trying to get my pupil to understand this. A van was coming far too fast around the bend and slightly on our side of the road, pupil panicked and yanked the wheel to the left and we ended up with a damaged tyre. A lesson learned I would hope as had he been prepared for that then maybe he could have dealt with it in a safer way. Until it happens, it is sometimes very difficult for a pupil to envisage that and as a driving instructor it's my job to try and help them do that. Fortunately it is very rare that it ends up with a situation like this!
Monday 5 July 2010
The Ford Fiesta Edge - What a great car!
If you've got around £11,000 to spare (unlikely I know) and are looking to buy a car then you won't go wrong with the Edge. It's the best car I've had, both for personal use and as a driving instructor. It's a dream to teach in, stalling is less of an issue than when I was working with BSM and forced to drive about in the tiny Fiat 500. All of my pupils who drove both have sided with the Ford. And it looks great to drive about in too. Although I've had mixed reviews about the Squeeze green colour.......
Saturday 3 July 2010
The hazard perception test
One of the most common questions I'm asked regarding the hazard perception part of the theory test is 'how many times should I be clicking?' or 'do I click when I first see the hazard or when the hazard develops?'. It is true that it's possible to click too early. Just as it is possible to click too many times in which case you will be penalized and given 0 points for that clip. There's a really good website dealing with everything you could possibly need to know about hazard perception (click here).
This post was prompted by an experience that one of my pupils had a few weeks back. He failed the hazard perception part for clicking on EVERYTHING he perceived as a hazard which meant he was clicking every second or so. It really comes down to what is a hazard? The list below contains the 13 hazard groups that you should be looking out for:
1) Zebra crossings & traffic controllers
2) Pedestrians: Children and young adults
3) Pedestrians: Elderly and infirm
4) Pedestrians: Adults
5) Cyclists & motorcyclists
6) Horse riders & other animals
7) Vehicles: Moving off or pulling up
8) Vehicles: Meeting
9) Vehicles: Emerging
10) Vehicles: Turning left or right
11) Vehicles: Reversing & U-turns
12) Vehicles: Larger vehicles
13) Vehicles: Flashing lights
Without knowing exactly what you should be clicking for you can't possibly get through it without a bit of luck. Another factor is to make sure you're prepared. Do plenty of mock tests to ensure you're achieving over the pass mark consistently. Once you've done that go for your test and you should have no problem getting through the hazard perception!
This post was prompted by an experience that one of my pupils had a few weeks back. He failed the hazard perception part for clicking on EVERYTHING he perceived as a hazard which meant he was clicking every second or so. It really comes down to what is a hazard? The list below contains the 13 hazard groups that you should be looking out for:
1) Zebra crossings & traffic controllers
2) Pedestrians: Children and young adults
3) Pedestrians: Elderly and infirm
4) Pedestrians: Adults
5) Cyclists & motorcyclists
6) Horse riders & other animals
7) Vehicles: Moving off or pulling up
8) Vehicles: Meeting
9) Vehicles: Emerging
10) Vehicles: Turning left or right
11) Vehicles: Reversing & U-turns
12) Vehicles: Larger vehicles
13) Vehicles: Flashing lights
Without knowing exactly what you should be clicking for you can't possibly get through it without a bit of luck. Another factor is to make sure you're prepared. Do plenty of mock tests to ensure you're achieving over the pass mark consistently. Once you've done that go for your test and you should have no problem getting through the hazard perception!
Introducing Scampi!
Bit of a non-related blog here but just thought I'd let you meet the boss of my house, Scampi. If anyone out there knows how to train a 2 year old Jack Russell to stop chasing rabbits then do please let me know. I'll gladly trade a few driving lessons with you!
Changes to the driving test in October
Changes to the driving test are being made in October of this year to include 'independent driving', which is going to test a candidate's competency in following a series of instructions whilst still maintaining safe driving. The candidate may be shown a map, given a series of directions or asked to follow road signs to a particular destination. In my opinion this is a really good idea as often a pupil has always been told where to drive to until they pass their test. It's a whole new skill being able to plan your own route whilst maintaining your MSM routines. Have a look at the video below to get some more information on 'independent driving'.
Click the link to learn more about our driving school
Click the link to learn more about our driving school
Friday 2 July 2010
The first post with pics of the new car.
The first post is up! Thought I'd just take the time to show you some pictures of the new car, which is the new Ford Fiesta Edge 1.4 diesel. It's a great car to learn in, very forgiving with the clutch which is good news for all you learners!
Click the link for driving lessons tunbridge wells
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