I AM NOW RETIRED AND NOT TAKING ANY PUPILS

Before You Start Learning

Here are a few things you should know before you take your first Driving Lesson.

The DVSA

Everything to do with driving lessons and tests is supervised by the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency known as the DVSA (formerly the DSA) which is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Transport.

Apply for Your Driving Licence

You need a valid driving licence before you can drive. Get an application form from a post office. Bring your licence to your first driving lesson. After that, keep it safe but don't forget where you have put it. If you have already got a licence but the address is out of date, you can still use it.

Your Driving Instructor?

Is your driving instructor qualified? They should display the appropriate ADI certificate on the windscreen. Qualified instructors have a green one and trainee instructors a red one. Of course, I have a green one.
It is illegal to give or to pay for unqualified paid instruction.

Your Eyesight

Make sure your driving instructor checks your eyesight. You need to be able to read a number plate at a minimum distance of 20.5 metres (67 feet).

Drugs and Alcohol

 Please do not drink before your driving lesson. Alcohol and other drugs can do major damage to your ability to drive and if you feel you need them then maybe you have serious anxiety problems that need sorting before you attempt driving .

Your Clothing

 Please wear suitable clothes and footwear. A split skirt that keeps sliding up your legs can bad for your heterosexual driving instructor's blood pressure unless you are a male yourself in which case, it could be very distracting. Jeans or trousers and flat soled shoes are best.

Appointments

Appointment let downs are the driving instructors nightmare. Some clients cancel lessons with monotonous regularity or at a moments notice or, worst of all, are not home when the instructor arrives. Late cancellation leaves the instructor with a dead hour that he cannot earn from.

I require TWO DAYS notice of cancellation of the lesson to give me time to get something else organised. You will be required to pay for the lesson, if you cancel later than this.

By the way:

If you feel uncomfortable during your lesson (need the loo or too hot etc) then do tell your instructor. Do it before you get desperate.

kev stevenson