Learning to drive can be costly, but all too often we see learners that have decided to go for cheap lessons and ultimately wasted a lot of money. They then come to us and ask us for help!

Why have they wasted money?

They decide to go for the cheapest option as they believe all driving instructors and lessons are the saem! They are not! There are some good and some poor instructors around.

Learners also don't understand the importance of the Theory Test! This lack of understanding is also a massive factor in how much learning to drive will cost them in the long run!

Driving instructors are guilty of this as well, as they don't push the learner to study for their theory or even push them to do their Theory Test.

The longer you take to pass your theory Test the more oney it will cost you to learn to drive.

So how important is the Theory Test?

Studying correctly for the Theory Test will not only ensure you have the best opportunity to pass your Theory Test first time, but it also gives you the knowledge that you need to be able to drive safely. So therefore, reducing the amount of hours required in driving lessons!

What is the best way to study?

The best way is to learn to the knowledge and theory behind driving. Using the Highway Code, Know Your Traffic Signs and Driving, The Essential Skills. Couple these books with Theory Test Pro and you won't go far wrong.

What about Apps?

We get a lot of learners that tell us their mates used this App or that App to study and didn't need to read the Highway Code. That is great that they have passed the theory test, but do they know the rules of the road which will keep them safe? All the Apps do is give you a question and an answer, so therefore you are learning only the questions that may come up in the theory test, you are not taking in knowledge.

To help you with your theory and cut down the amount of lessons required we strongly recommend you read the Hoghway Code and Know Your traffice signs as well as sign up to Theory Test Pro. Links can be found below.

The Highway Code
Know Your Traffic Signs
Theory Test Pro

If you prefer to buy a the books you can find the links here
The Highway Code
Know Your Traffic Signs
Driving, The Essential Skills

Another busy day at Xpert, plenty of new pupils booking in, 5 today alone! We must be doing something right! We are not the cheapest but we are the busiest and largest driver school in the area and we get results!

We achieve this by utilising our coaching skills that we have developed through many hours of extra courses that we attend each year! These extra courses improve our skills so that we can pass them on to you our learners.

These courses also ensure that our lessons move with the times and that our learners are able to learn to drive at their pace and I mean learn to drive not just to pass the test! We don't talk about "if you do that, you will fail your test!" All that does is put you under pressure! Instead we concentrate on being able to drive safely, if you can do that then you WILL gain your full license! It's as simple as that!

If you are learning to drive and are using dots or any other such reference points, for your manoeuvres you will probably find that its difficult to remember what to do and when to do it. That's because it’s been over complicated. There is no right way or wrong way to complete a manoeuvre, as long as it is done safely. All you really have to do is look around and work out what you need to do. Don’t put yourself under pressure to complete and concentrate on one aspect at once. So for instance, if you are doing a reverse bay park, concentrate on the speed first, keeping the car slow, don’t worry about steering and getting it in to the bay, that part can come after you have mastered the speed! By trying to master it all at once we are again over complicating it!
 
Talking about steering, did you know that;

1. You will NOT fail your test if you DON’T hold the wheel at 10 to 2! You can hold the wheel however you like as long as it is safe to do so! 
2. You will NOT fail your test if you cross your hands as long as the car is safe and under control. 
3. You will NOT fail your test if you take a hand of the wheel! How do you change gear? As long as the car is safe, whilst you remove your hand. 

Whilst we are on the subject of myths;

1. You ARE allowed to wear sunglasses on your test, if it is sunny it may not be safe to not wear them! Your examiner will still be able to see if you are checking your mirrors! 
2. DON’T offset your mirrors so that you have to move your head more, therefore the examiner will know you’re checking your mirrors. It’s not safe to not have your mirrors set correctly, and your examiner will be able to tell that they are not set, purely by the excessive head movement! This may result in a fail! 

So you are probably wondering where all these came from? Yes, they came from my learners, over the last week, from the ones that have had driving lessons with other instructors. These are just some of the things they have been told on lessons!

Now can you see why we go on development courses and the knowledge that we pass down on to you the learner. Up to date knowledge and not out of date knowledge.
 
Why not ask your instructor why you have to hold the wheel at 10 to 2! The answer may just be “you’ll fail if you don’t”
 
So why don’t instructors take extra training? I know the answer to this as they post it on Facebook all too often. They don’t believe in paying someone to attend a course! Yet they expect you to pay them to teach them to drive!
 
At Xpert Driver Training we are often away on course, my last course that I attended was November 2018 my next course is next month! The total cost of these two courses alone is £650. Not cheap but worth every penny when you see our learners pass the Xpert way quickly!

Learner drivers will shortly be allowed to drive on Motorways.  Some believe this is a bad move and a disaster waiting to happen!

At Xpert Driver Training, we are more positive about this move. It will benefit not only learner drivers but full license holders as well.  Unfortunatley, in the past learners have not been allowed on the Motorways until they pass their test and then they can go on them without any formal training. Hence the reason why there are so many full license holders that don't know how to drive on Motorways safely and correctly.

At Xpert we will be passing on our knowledge to all our learners as they undertake Motroway driving at some stage before they pass their test.  This will ensure that all our learners are confident and safe to drive on them post test, and possibly they may even pass on the knowledge they have learnt to other full license holders who maybe not driving to the same safe standard!

Only Approved Driving Instructors, can take a learner on to the Motorways and the car must be fitted with Dual controls.  At Xpert we will be helping our learners gain and improve the following skills:

• Effective observation
• Good anticipation
• Effective use of mirrors
• Continual re-assessment of other vehicles
• Reading the road ahead
• Joining from slip roads, judgement of speed and position of other
vehicles
• Following distances
• Safe overtaking
• Courtesy to other road users

We will also cover the following topics of motorway driving:

• Forward planning and observation
• Reaction to other road users
• Lane discipline
• Safe lane changing
• Separation distances
• Reaction to road signs and markings
• Awareness and planning
• Judgement of faster moving traffic
• Vehicle lighting requirements
• Journey planning, use of Service Areas
• How to avoid fatigue, adequate ventilation
• Joining and leaving motorways, using acceleration and deceleration
lanes
• Emerging and safe overtaking
• Assessing other traffic
• Understanding Crawler Lanes and slow-moving traffic
• Dealing with LGVs, high sided vehicles, side winds and turbulence
• Driving in adverse weather conditions, high winds, rain, spray, fog,
snow/ice
• Smart Motorways, Gantry Signs and lane use
• Understanding Marker Posts and Safety Telephones
• Accident and breakdown procedures
• Dealing with multi-agency incidents
• Dealing with contraflow and other road maintenance
• Safe use of Hard Shoulders
• How to react to Emergency Vehicles and Highways Agency Officers

You may have seen it recently on social media that a certain UK police force published that your SatNav had to be in one place only, the bottom right hand corner, or it was illegal! Like in the picture they tweeted below!

Your SatNav has to be positioned so that it is not obscuring your view.

If you place your SatNav in the very bottom of your windscreen, it will keep the vast majority of your windscreen unobscured.

DO NOT PLACE IT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF YOU, THIS IS OBSCURING YOUR VIEW AND COULD BE DEEMED TO BE AN OFFENCE!

DO NOT PLACE IT ON THE SIDE WINDOW, YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR MIRRORS CLEAR AND COULD BE DEEMED AN OFFENCE!

I place mine in the centre of the windscreen as low down as possible, it is fine here as does not obscure my vision, but all cars are different so you may need to play around with the positioning.

For further advice on motoring matters why not like our facebook page and send us a message?

https://www.facebook.com/Xpertdrivertraining/

Xpert Driver Training is pleased to announce that one of our instructors has been selected to be a lead car for this years big learner relay.

Carl Elsby will be leading his leg on Sunday the 5th November, from Market Weighton to the Humber bridge and then from the Humber bridge to Grimsby .
 
 
This two week event, now in its fourth year, features driving instructors and pupils across the country all getting together to raise money for Children in Need.

Driving Instructors will be relaying a top box, (the kind that driving instructors have on the roof of their cars), from one driving lesson to another around England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The relay starts with a day in Northern Ireland on Wednesday 1st November. The top box will then continue its convoy around the rest of the UK on Friday 3rd November. The grand finale will be a fabulous drive through the lion’s enclosure at Knowsley Safari Park, Liverpool on Friday 17th November, which is the Children in Need Appeal Day 2017 - 14 days, 3000+ miles, over 190 lead driving lessons and many thousands of instructors and pupils joining the convoy!
 
With many months of planning, the route will cover in the region of 3,000 miles and driving instructors have been preparing to take part since May. Each instructor will come up with ways to raise funds in whichever way works for them, their pupils and their businesses. Some are getting together and are going to do something as a local group, some are working with local driving instructor associations and some are just doing things within their franchises or on their own. Ideas so far include sponsored lessons, fancy dress lessons, PJs for Pudsey and car washes. But by far the biggest fundraiser is 'sponsor a spot'. Pupils, businesses and the general public are donating money to sign a coloured spot and stick it on the instructor’s car. Keep your eyes peeled for spotty cars across the UK.

In 2014 the total raised stood at over £65,000. This was £60,000 more than we believed we would achieve. In 2015 we were staggered to reach just a few pounds short of £100,000. In 2016 we raised £92,000 making the total raised by the Big Learner Relay for Children in Need over £250,000.

You can help Carl raise money for BLR 2017 by sponsoring spots on his car, more details to follow.

Look out for more posts from Carl as he builds up to the BLR 2017

http://www.biglearnerrelay.co.uk/

Learners drivers often find that learning to drive is stressful and they can’t relax until they are test ready. However, by following these simple tips, hopefully they will help you relax and get more out of your driving lessons, so that they become enjoyable.
 
If you can relax you will learn quicker, therefore reducing the number of lessons you will require and saving you money in the long run.  There are various reasons why learners don’t relax in the early stages of their lessons and we will cover them below.
 
DON’T BE FRIGHTENED OF CRASHING THE CAR.

As you may have already seen on the news or on social media, the driving test is changing in December 2017.  Having been one of the driving instructors that took part in the trial for the new test in 2015/16, I believe the current test is out dated and needs changing due to the ever-changing ways in which we drive, and that the new driving test is far better.
 
Some people, instructors included believe that it shouldn’t change and that some if not all the changes are either pointless, dangerous or have not been recommended to be done in the past by instructors, however we must move with the times.  I will give you an example, reversing in to a bay has always been thought of as the safest way to park. Driving forwards into a bay is not the done way and is frowned upon by some! As when you reverse you can’t see as clearly.  So, the next time you go to the supermarket, have a look at how many cars are reversed in to the bays and how many have drove in forwards!  The latter will greatly outnumber the former.  Therefore, it stands to reason that if the clear majority of drivers are driving forwards in to the bays, that we test learners on driving forward in to a bay!  Thus, the test being more fit for purpose and like every day driving than it is now with a turn in the road, I mean when was the last time you attempted one? On your driving test probably?
 
Some are complaining about the use of the Satnav on the test. Saying, it is a distraction, dangerous and I have also had a comment that there is nothing wrong with an old-fashioned map! Let me address these thoughts.

This week we have taken on two learners, Nicola and James (names have been changed) that have decided to come to Xpert Driver Training, having previously had lessons elsewhere.
The reason they went elsewhere in the first place was because of the cheap deals they were doing!
Both companies were quite large driving schools. let’s call them School A and B
Nicola had about 20 hours with school A number of years ago, and then called school B earlier this year. She was told when over the phone that they would need 20 hours of lessons, this was prior to even speaking to the instructor, never mind being seen to drive by the instructor! After 20 hours Nicola went in for her test, she was not ready and failed. She has rebooked her test and contacted us for help. When we first saw her drive, it was evident that she was a long way from being ready to pass her test. However, we are trying our best to help her become a safe driver and pass her test. The issue she has though is the cheap lessons she has received has actually given her some bad habits, poor clutch knowledge and control. She has been told what she must do and must not do, to pass the test. This may sound good, however most it what she has been told is wrong or very restrictive. Making her drive very rigid and not flexible! We are working hard on giving her more freedom in her driving and she is slowly getting there, responding that it is so much easier this way!