Safety issues
Once on the road, you are into the jungle and so you have to make sure that you know the appropriate safety measures before you get yourself into that. Make sure that you know where the brakes are and how to use them when needed. Adjust your mirrors before you start the car so that you can see on all sides and behind too. Put on your seat belt and make sure that your passenger has put his/her on too. You are ready to take to the roads then.

Practicing
First and foremost, make sure you have learner insurance in place. Obviously you will not be learning to drive on busy roads, but somewhere less crowded like an empty parking lot or a street with light traffic. Using the brakes does not mean to just stomp on them so these places will be great for you to learn how to get the hang of the brakes. Also, each car is different so you have to use some fineness in different ones. You definitely have to try them out and practice until you know how to use them properly; the same applies to the steering wheel where you have to practice turning it for the car to go as per your wishes. Make sure that you have learnt enough of steering and braking before taking to the road.

Driving
You must be aware of the road rules by now since you obtained the drivers handbook when you got your permit. Be careful and go by the road signs. Keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front of you; use the proper signals when making turns; let the radio alone when you are a novice driver. Concentrate on the road and try to avoid distractions of all sorts. Moreover, listen to your instructor as he knows the rules of the road.

Instructors
When you decide on having driving lessons you may go for a professional instructor or a family/friend. A professional instructor is a good enough candidate as you will be taught in a professional environment while friends and families may teach you the wrong things that may become bad habits in the long run. Learners getting instructions from professionals grasp the right concepts of the road and also get their license on the first try. This may also help you in getting better insurance. Driving instructors can be located in the telephone directory or from an acquaintance who has had lessons.

Have fun as you drive and be safe.

This part of the test is still a part of testing your driving skills and it doesn’t matter if you can’t follow the examiner’s instructions to the letter. You might be given a diagram to follow or the examiner may just tell you where you are going and give you directions on how to get there. He or she may do both, give you verbal directions and show you a diagram. However, if you go off the route, it doesn’t matter, as long as you don’t make any driving errors (such as going the wrong way in a one-way street for example).

You can ask for clarification as you drive and the examiner will tell you where you should go. You should ask at a time when it is safe to do so and that is for you to decide. If you haven’t realized that you have gone the wrong way, the examiner will tell you how to get back on the right route and you will not be penalized. You should realize that even experienced drivers make mistakes when following directions. You will not be expected to do what an experienced driver can’t. The whole point of this new part of the test is for you to show that you are capable of making your own decisions rather than just following instructions.

You will not be able to use a Sat-Nav device as this gives you step-by-step instructions, and the whole point of the examiner not giving you instructions would be negated if you were to use such a device.

If traffic signs are poor or obscured for some reason, your examiner will direct you. It is not necessary for you to be familiar with the route, and from October onwards details of test routes will not be published, so that you cannot memorize the route. You will be tested in realistic conditions.

The Driving Standards Agency has a short video on their YouTube channel which you should watch before your test if you can as it explains the independent part of the test.

There are other times when you may need temporary insurance cover; for example if you borrow a friend’s car for the weekend or hire a car, then you will need temporary insurance cover, unless you are a named driver on your friend’s policy. Can’t just borrow a car for whatever reason and not take out an insurance policy that will cover you in the event of an accident. Remember that it is an offence to drive a vehicle on British roads without insurance.

If you are a named driver on your parents’ policy because this is the cheaper option for you, don’t forget that you will need extra insurance to drive a car other than that specified on your or your parents’ policy. Insurance companies will give you instant insurance if you go online which will cover you if you are borrowing a car for a day or a couple of weeks. In fact you can get temporary insurance cover from 1 day to 28 days.

A temporary driver can also be added to an existing policy for a maximum of 14 days, and if the need is still there for that driver to drive the car he or she can be re-added for a further 14 days. After that the temporary driver should be added as a named driver to the policy.

One word of warning; when you apply for temporary insurance cover, tell the insurer the truth. Don’t be tempted to lie as a way of reducing the costs of the insurance cover. If you have lied or falsified information, then if you had an accident, the insurance company would be within its rights not to pay a penny to anyone. This could leave you in desperate circumstances, especially if someone outside your car was injured or killed. This is really not a situation you would want to find yourself in.

Insurance companies are not ogres and they understand that young drivers need temporary insurance because they have not got their own policies because of the prohibitive costs. Temporary cover can be got for around three pounds a day, so won’t break the bank. If you are going to borrow a car for a few days, shop around and get the best deal you can for temporary insurance cover.

You can learn driving in a car that belongs to your parents, relatives or friends, once you buy the temporary learner drivers’ insurance policy. This special type of insurance policy would be in your name and you would be compensated if on an unfortunate day, a car in which you were practicing, is involved in an accident which causes damage to it. You can purchase provisional licence insurance on a short term basis contrary to annual car insurance policy which runs for a whole year.

Not many companies are ready to provide insurance policy for learner drivers because the risk factor is very high and they would ask for very high premium rates if they do. However there are only a few companies which will provide you with driving insurance at lower premiums when you haven’t passed your test yet and don’t have your full UK driving licence. Initially the policy is for 28 days, however you can extend it for a week or more if you need more cover and are not done with learning yet.

Facts of the provisional insurance policy: -

• This insurance policy is only for learner drivers
• The car must be insurance group 16 or less, value of which must be under £20,000
• There must be a supervisor with the learner driver whose age should not be less than 25 years and he must have a valid permanent licence not less than 3 years old
• Superior could control the insured car if he would feel so in certain situations
• Policy would be applicable for the registered vehicle only, however there are some companies which would give you the option to switch over between cars, but would charge additional cost on the policy
• Provisional driving insurance policy is valid until the learner driver has passed the driving test
• You can renew or cancel this policy whenever you after the initial period has elapsed

Benefits of provisional licence insurance policy: -

• You can learn driving on your kin’s vehicle after getting this policy without going with a private instructor or any driving school (however it is recommended to have at least a couple driving lessons with an approved driving instructor)
• It will cost you cheaper to learn than going with driving school
• It is better than an annual car insurance policy, wherein you’re stuck with contract, however the provisional insurance policy is for short duration and flexible; you can move out once you’re through with learning and can look for better deals elsewhere or can stick to same by renewing it if you are getting lucrative benefits
• When you know that you learning with policy that insures you for anything, you will feel confident and you will learn faster

With all these benefits at your disposal, it would be silly to drive uninsured now!

Benefits of this learner insurance policy

• No need for an annual learner car insurance as this is available on a short term basis
• Ability to renew the policy if you need additional insurance cover
• Protect the no claims discount (NCD) of the car owner as claims are made on your policy and not theirs
• Instant coverage as policy can be purchased online
• Ideal for gaining driving practice privately

When learning to drive with a qualified driving instructor, the vehicle which is used is insured for both the learner and the instructor. So if the learner was to reverse into an obstacle, the instructor would be able to claim repairs to his car through his insurance company. However if you were to practice driving in your friend’s car, it would only be insured for your friend and if anything bad were to happen, you (or your friend) would have to find the money for repairs or losses. That is why is it important to get yourself a private car insurance policy which will protect you as a learner against such bad luck.

You should also be reminded that driving a car without adequate insurance is illegal. The car you are driving should be insured and your name needs to be on the policy documents as well as this is proof that you are allowed to drive the car in question.

Appointing a driving instructor to teach you is usually a good move. There are specific skills which are required for you to pass your driving test and learning from someone in that profession is the best option that you have. Some people might be able to drive and have years of driving experience but may lack the skills which driving examiners are looking for during the practical test. Hence, even if it is for a short time, it is recommended to go with an approved driving instructor.

As the fees for learning to drive can be very expensive and it is not always an option to have the maximum amount of driving tuition from the instructor as the costs can have serious financial implications, it is therefore better to practice driving in a car owned by somebody you know and who’s willing to let you drive. Bear in mind that you should always be accompanied by someone who is over 21 and holding a valid UK driving licence for over 3 years though even if you bought the learner driver insurance. You can practice what the instructor taught you and that includes the different manoeuvres like parallel parking, bay parking, reverse parking and turn in the road. You can also drive on different types of roads like dual carriageways, one way traffic and roundabouts to become more familiar with the different things you’re likely to see when driving. However you should avoid motorways as this stage as it can be very dangerous and you should always observe your surroundings carefully for hazards. Hopefully if everything goes well, you wouldn’t need to claim on your learner’s insurance and will pass your test first time round.

Love at first sight
We decided that we would go to car dealers and see what we liked then research what we saw. We went to a car dealership and found we were spoilt for choice. How could you possibly choose one car out of the hundreds that were there. Suddenly our £2000 that we worked so hard to save seemed like peanuts and it seemed impossible to find a car that fit our budget. Then just as we were about to leave my husband saw a one year old blue Nissan Micra hiding at the back. We never considered a Nissan before (the new shape Nissan not the old one). We decided to sit inside and see if we liked it. We went in had a little fiddle around with the controls and hubby had to make sure it wasn’t uncomfortable; at just over 6ft it could cause a problem. He didn’t have any problems driving comfortably with his long legs and I could see myself driving this car to work. At £4800 it was two times over our budget. We had a hard decision to make – buy it and be broke or find some way of raising the money.

Financing our car
We researched and found that we couldn’t go wrong with the Nissan Micra and decided to take a loan because hubby had graduated and he could get a student loan at a reasonable rate. We agreed that we would pay it off within a year as it was a 5 year agreement and this would dampen our chances of getting a mortgage approved later on. We decided to check insurance for the car and was shocked the quotes were coming in at £2500 – it was crazy! If we add this to the price of the car it brings it up to £7400 and it was just too silly. This didn’t even include road tax and general maintenance. We persisted and got our car insurance quote down to £1200. We went back to the car dealer and got the price of the £4800 Nissan Micra dropped to £4500 with a year’s road tax included. The car already had one year left on the warranty so we didn’t have to worry if anything should go wrong with the car.

Driving away with our new car was like a dream – we were very cautious not to get it dirty and sticking to the speed limit. Hubby stalled it countless of times before we got it into the driveway but then again it was the first time he had driven a car he wasn’t used to. It’s been three years since we purchased our Nissan Micra and I’m pleased to say we haven’t had any problems and it the most reliable car we’ve had yet. It’s now time to purchase a new car as we are now expecting twins and our 3 door Nissan Micra will be a tight squeeze with two car seats at the back so the search begins again.

Fixing the paintwork on the bumper after the silly mistake
I suggested that we go to a garage to get a quote but my husband was adamant that he could fix it. I looked on the internet for Nissan spare parts; replacing the bumper itself was £78 but then it would have to be spray painted to match the colour of the car. We then decided to just patch up the spot that was scraped so we went on the internet searching for paint suitable for the car; we went to Halfords but couldn’t find an exact match. While I was there I saw that they do minor work on cars so enquired on how much it would cost to fix the scraped bumper. We were quoted £80 for the scrape along the bumper so my husband refused because it was just rediculous. I went online and contacted Nissan directly asking for a little can of spray paint the same colour as our car. Through Nissan it was actually cheaper costing only £7.

Preparing to fix bumper with spray paint
Before we could actually paint the bonnet of the car, the area had to be sanded down so it was smooth. Then a primer had to be added before we could spray paint it. All this only came to about £15 including the specialist sandpaper needed to sand down the bumper. When finished, you couldn’t really tell where the bumper had been scraped but it was dull rather than shiny. A year later I was involved in an accident so it had to be replaced anyway so all that for nothing.

My first instructor was an Asian man about 45 years old; he was friendly and patient and was a really good teacher. As the lessons went on, he kept getting phone calls from family members whilst he was supposed to teach me. I was just left sitting there trying to figure out where I had to go next. After 3 lessons, he changed his car from petrol to diesel and I hated it. I decided enough was enough and he was wasting my time and money. Personally I hate diesel cars as they make so much noise – it’s unbelievable. People used to love diesel because it was so cheap but now the price of diesel is more than petrol, they should be banned!

I decided to call my husband’s instructor as he had by then passed; he managed to find a suitable time for me to take lessons on Sunday mornings between 10am – 12pm. He was a lovely man and very patient and made me laugh. His mobile phone was always switched off for the lessons and he was always 10 minutes early preparing in my driveway. Within two months, I was ready for my practical test!

As you know before I could take my practical driving test, I had sit and pass my theory test so off I practiced. I knew many friends who would study for months to take their theory test and I thought it was weird how could you sit a test you knew nothing about. Since I was a driving for a couple of months practicing questions for the theory test was easy. I now advise everyone to learn for the theory test after they have started driving as it makes answering the questions so much easier.  On the day of the test, I was like two minutes late but the security man let me in and told me to run – I can’t believe I was so stupid to get there so late; I could’ve been turned away and lost the money that I paid. After settling in and becoming familiar with the layout of the screen, I calmed down and tried to answer the questions. The theory test wasn’t very hard and I passed with flying colours. The hazard perception test is what scared me the most. If you clicked too many times, you could score zero and that could cause me to fail and not pass as I had to pass both for me to take my practical exam.

After I passed my theory I booked my practical test for a week later and chose an 11am slot. I took my test in Salford, Manchester and it was the quietest time of the day. I had an hour’s lesson before the practical test and it was a disaster – my instructor just pretended he was the examiner and tested me on what I would be asked and if it was the actual test I would’ve failed. I calmed down and then it was time for my actual practical exam. I was asked two questions in tell me show me about the car; one was about how to check that the lights are working and the other was how to check wiper fluid. The examiner then asked me to read a licence plate 20.5 metres away (this is to check that I have the minimum sight requirements for driving). The exam was easy – I had to do a turn in the road and reverse around a corner; it was all simple and I only had one minor that was stalling the car at the traffic lights and apart from that I passed. I went home to gloat to my husband as he failed his first time!