Welcome to the RED Driving School Blog

RED Driving School, one of the largest national driving schools, shares its expertise and opinions on topics related to learner drivers and the driving instruction industry as a whole. The dedicated team at RED will be sharing tips and advice on the learning to drive process, driving lessons, getting you through your driving test and our passion for road safety.

Read on and leave us a comment or two to let us know your thoughts!

 

March 9th, 2012 by RED Blogger

10 Steps to Pass YOUR Test – Step 8: Complete your Mock Test

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We continue our 10 steps series with step 8, complete your mock test.

Undertaking a mock test should be about 3 weeks before your actual test and is usually carried out by another instructor. It is recommended that you do have a mock test so that it will save you time, by making sure that you really are ready for your test. It will save you money by making sure that you’re not going to test too early, and it will save you worry as you will have a better idea what to expect on the test.

The mock test instructor will keep your mock test as close to the real thing as possible. They may not be as ‘chatty’ as your usual instructor and may have a test paper on them. Again DO NOT try to read it whilst on your mock test. Your mock test will determine your strengths and weaknesses driving under test conditions. Once you have completed your mock test your Instructor will confirm or re-plan your course of tuition between now and your Driving Test. You may feel that you would benefit from some extra lessons at this point to really polish your driving ability.

 

January 6th, 2012 by RED Blogger

10 Steps to Pass YOUR Test – Step 7: Booking and taking your Practical Test

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We continue our 10 steps series with step 7, booking and taking your practical test.


Booking and attending your practical test

You can book your Practical Test on line at www.direct.gov.uk/bookpracticaltest, you can book over the phone on 0300 2001122 (0300 2001133 – welsh language), or you can ask your Driving Instructor if they can book it for you. The practical test currently costs £62 on a week day or £75 on a weekday evening, weekend or bank holiday. Please be aware though that not all test centres carry out practical tests on a Saturday and that weekday evening tests are only conducted when there is daylight.

To book the practical test you will need your provisional license, your theory pass date and certificate number, and a debit/credit card (or cash/cheque if your instructor is doing it for you). When you go to test you will need to bring with you a suitable car displaying ‘L’ plates (‘L’ or ‘D’ plates in Wales) or a driving school car. You can find out more about these rules at www.direct.gov.uk The documents you MUST take are both parts of your driving licence – photocard and the paper counterpart, or if you have the old-style paper licence, you must take your signed licence and a valid passport. No other form of photo I.D is acceptable. Before the test starts the examiner will ask you to sign a declaration confirming that the car is suitably insured and at the same time check your documents, (if you do not take the relevant documents the DSA may refuse to carry out the test and you may lose your fee). If you want someone to accompany you on test, i.e. your instructor, you must make this known to the examiner at this point.

About the practical test

At the start of your test and before you drive the examiner will check your eyesight and ask you two questions on how to carry out vehicle safety checks (you will fail the test and will not drive if you cannot meet the eyesight requirements at this point). The examiner has a marking sheet which allows them to accurately record your performance. DO NOT try to read what the examiner is noting as it will distract you from your driving and lead to mistakes. After all, the examiner is noting things that have already happened and you need to fully concentrate on what is happening.

The practical test will last about 40 minutes. Throughout the test the examiner will be looking for an overall safe standard of driving.  You will be given directions to follow and be asked to perform one of the manoeuvres involving reversing, which could be a ‘turn in the road’, ‘reverse park’ –either into a bay or parallel at the side of the road, or ‘reversing around a corner’. You may also be asked to perform an emergency stop.

The latest additional element to the test is called ‘independent driving’, which means making your own decisions. This will be part of your 40 minute test and will last for about 10 minutes. The examiner could give you a series of directions to follow and show you a diagram to help you understand where you are going, or you could be given a set of instructions to follow road signs, or a combination of both. The aim of this part of the test is to see that you can drive unsupervised, make safe decisions without any help in unfamiliar driving situations.

You are ‘allowed’ 15 driving errors, however just one fault considered serious or dangerous will mean a fail. Your examiner could also stop the test at any time if he considers your driving to be a danger to others, but this happens rarely with well prepared candidates. Should this happen you will have to walk back to the test centre unless your instructor has been sitting in the back of the test in which case he will drive you all back for a debrief.

Next time – Step 8: Complete your Mock Test

 

December 28th, 2011 by RED Blogger

BORED? WHY NOT PRACTICE YOUR PARKING!

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Are you suffering from holiday boredom? We thought we would take the opportunity to highlight our retro RED Driving School Games for any newcomers – as well as a reminder for those of you who have been with us for a while.  So if you’re looking for something fun to do when you have ten minutes, why not spend some time playing on our games!

Can you pass all three parking challenges? Can you keep those petrol heads happy in fuel duel? Have a play and find out how skilled you are!

Hopefully these will keep you entertained.

 

December 23rd, 2011 by RED Blogger

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2012!

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We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at RED.

Visit here for Christmas spirit – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A8KT365wlA

 

December 16th, 2011 by RED Blogger

DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC

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This time of year there is increased congestion on all types of roads; Christmas shopping, families travelling away for the holiday break, and poor weather all contribute to extra traffic on the road.

Here are some useful tips to help you avoid the increase in journey times and frustration this can cause.

Journey planning

  • Wherever possible plan to avoid busy times of day.  Major congestion is caused by school/work related travel in the early morning and late afternoon/early evening, so avoid these times if you can.
  • Avoid specific areas where congestion is likely on the approach to Christmas, unless you need to drive there.  For example, town centres, out of town supermarkets and shopping centres.  Do your own shopping early!
  • Avoid specific days when travel will be at its heaviest, especially for long journeys.  For example, early Christmas Day is likely to be much less congested than Christmas Eve.
  • Plan your route before you start, particularly for long journeys.  Have an alternative in case your original route is blocked.  Make use of Sat-Nav systems, internet route planners, maps and consult the Highways Agency Information Line on www.highways.gov.uk/traffic  for updated information on likely congestion.
  • Build in additional time for your journey, especially for long distances.  Being early is better than becoming anxious and frustrated by worries about being late.

During the drive

  • Always keep a good space around your car and keep looking well ahead. This will give you good visibility and you will get early warning of congestion problems ahead.  Drive so that you can always stop in the distance you can see to be clear.
  • Be patient and don’t respond to any hostility from other drivers.  Reacting badly will only make the situation worse.
  • Some stretches of motorway have variable speed limits during times of congestion.  These appear on the gantries above the lanes and you must not exceed these limits.  They are designed to keep traffic moving at a constant flow and so avoid bunching and stopping/starting.
  • In shopping areas, drivers may be looking for parking spaces and may stop suddenly.  Roads around car parks may be partly blocked by traffic waiting for spaces.  Always anticipate other road users and plan accordingly.
  • Pedestrians may be concentrating on their shopping rather than the road, so be aware they may step into the road without looking properly.  At this time of year excited children may not take as much care as usual, so ensure you are alert at all times.
  • If you are in congested, slow moving traffic, watch for pedestrians stepping out between your car and the vehicle in front.
  • In congested traffic watch out for cyclists.  Especially look for them in your mirrors as they may be able to travel faster than you.  Allow them plenty of room.

Drive with extra caution during this winter weather.  Check out our previous blog posts about winter driving to ensure you are fully prepared before setting out on your journey.

 

December 15th, 2011 by RED Blogger

10 Steps to Pass YOUR Test – Step 6: After passing your Theory Test

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Congratulations! You have now passed your Theory Test. The test centre staff will have given you a certificate which you MUST keep somewhere safe as you will need it to book your practical test. The theory test is valid for 2 years so get cracking with your driving!

You need to inform your Instructor and he/she will discuss with you when best for you to sit your Practical Test. You can now arrange with you Instructor a date for you to have a Mock Driving Test and when to book your practical test.

Next time – Step 7: Book your Practical Test

 

September 30th, 2011 by RED Blogger

10 Steps to Pass YOUR Test – Step 5: Booking your Theory Test

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It is step 5 in our guide to passing your test and we have now reached booking your theory test.

The driving theory test consists of a Multiple Choice Test and a Hazard Perception Test (HPT).The theory test consists of 50 multiple choice questions and you will need to get a minimum of 43 out of 50 in less than 57 minutes to pass this section. The HPT consists of 14 clips of every day road scenes. Each clip is approximately 1 minute in length and contains at least 1 developing hazard, and in one of the clips there will be 2 developing hazards. You need to get a minimum of 44 out of 75 to pass this section.

You can apply for your Theory Test on line at www.dsa.gov.uk or you can book over the phone on 0300 200 1122. The theory test currently costs £31 and to book your test you will need to have a credit/debit card and your provisional license.

In order to pass the theory test you will need to pass both parts of the test. When you have finished your test you will be given the result by the test centre staff.

Next time – Step 6: After passing your Theory Test

 

September 23rd, 2011 by RED Blogger

10 Steps to Pass YOUR Test – Step 4:Purchasing theory study materials

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We have now reached step 4 in our 10 step guide to passing your test, purchasing theory study materials.

The first and best piece of advice that we can give is that you should study to pass your theory test. Do not believe that it is easy, do not believe that a few hours cramming will get you through.  Do believe that it is with preparation that you will pass, and avoid having to pay again to re-take the test.

To help you prepare there are many books available to choose from, as a quick search online will show you. So to help you make your choice we recommend that you consider the following:

  1. Purchase a Highway Code. You should make this your first purchase as not only does it contain the “rules of the road” but it is the information in contained within that will guide you through your theory and practical test.
  2. Driving: The Essential Skills is a manual that aims to be the essential guide for novice and qualified drivers and should help the driver to acquire skills necessary to improve driving for safety and awareness.  It includes instruction on night-time, motorway and European driving, and useful tips and advice on defensive driving. A good purchase.
  3. The Theory Test is a book that contains a ‘bank’ of example theory test questions and answers for you to practice with again and again. The book also explains the theory behind each question so that it can be learned and applied to the actual test.
  4. As the theory test now contains a hazard perception section, it is important to learn what this means and to become familiar with it. There are many CD’s available where you can practice the hazard perception technique.
  5. Finally, make sure that any books you purchase are recommended by the DSA. It is the best way to ensure that what you are learning is accurate.

Next time: Step 5 – Booking your theory test.

 

September 16th, 2011 by RED Blogger

10 Steps to Pass YOUR Test – Step 3:Booking your course of tuition

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Your instructor will plan your course of tuition.

Today we reach step 3 in our 10 step guide to passing your test, booking your course of tuition.

Your Instructor will be able to guide you on the best course of tuition for your needs.  Your course will be specifically tailored to suit your needs and requirements to reach your ultimate goal of a full driving license. With RED Driving School for example you will have a 40 point plan to cover every area required in the test.

On your first lesson your new instructor will want to see both parts of your provisional license. They will also check your eyesight by asking you read a new style number plate from a distance of 20 meters. Make sure that you have appropriate eye wear with you if needed.

At the start of each lesson your Driving Instructor will recap over what you have done in the previous lesson. He will then tell you what you are going to cover in this lesson and set the objective followed by a detailed brief on how to complete the task. If it’s a new subject he may offer to show you how it should look when you are independent of any assistance from him. He will then talk you through how to do it step by step giving you reference points which will help you to complete the task without any help from the Instructor. Afterwards he will summarise your performance giving you areas that you may need some extra practice with but also telling you what went really well.

As you approach your test date your instructor will book a lesson for a couple of days after the test as a motorway lesson or as a de-brief and remedial lesson should you not be successful on your test day.

Next time: Step 4 – Purchasing your Theor Test study material.

 

September 12th, 2011 by RED Blogger

10 Steps to Pass YOUR Test – Step 2:Choosing the right Driving Instructor

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Choose an instructor that you can trust.

We continue our 10 step guide to passing your test with step 2, choosing the right driving instructor. 

The most important consideration you should have, when choosing your instructor, is that you have confidence in them and their ability to teach you.  Here we highlight some things for you to  consider when choosing your instructor. 

Presentation of the vehicle and of the Instructor 

An instructor that is well presented, a car that is clean and in good working order will speak volumes about the type of instructor they are. Do they match up to your standards? 

Which test centre you would take your test in? 

Does the instructor that you are considering using take many pupils to test at your local test centre, or the one you want to use. Your instructor will be able to give you valuable insight on the test and potential hazards on routes around yours. 

How much do they charge per hour? 

Is the instructor affordable to you, or is the amount they charge a valuable investment in your future. 

Do they offer discounts on block booking? 

Many instructors will offer discounts if you book 5, 1o or even more lessons at once. This is a great way to save money and guarantee your lessons happen in a timely fashion. 

Do you get a full hour/2 hour lesson? 

Are you picked up at the start of your lesson and finish your lesson at the end of the hour (or 2 hours). You will be surprised how many instructors do not always do this. 

Do they pick up the next student before dropping you off at the end of your lesson? 

Particularly for the nervous or new learners, having a complete stranger in the back of the car whilst you finish your lesson can be very distracting 

Do they offer Pass Plus? 

Not only is Pass Plus a great way to learn additional skills post-test such as night driving or motorway driving, but passing the course could also save you money on your insurance. 

Do they do evening/weekend lessons? 

Is your life too busy to accommodate lessons during normal work hours. 

Do they offer help with the theory test? 

More and more instructors are offering help with the theory test not only to help you pass but also to ensure that when you start your practical tutition it is with them. Take advantage of this professional advice. 

Next time: Step 3 – Booking your course of tuition.

 
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