The process of learning to drive can get expensive and time-consuming so to help with both of these things and to help you gain your confidence alongside your driving lessons we have written this blog to help you get the best out of any private practice you may be doing.
**IMPORTANT** The accompanying driver needs to meet some requirements to be able to sit by your side:
- Must be 21 years of age or older
- Must have held a full licence for more than 3 years
Before you go out it is always best to chat with your driving instructor to make sure you are ready to start private practice, what you do not want is to attempt to practice, for it to go very wrong and get abandoned. We would always recommend that you book a driving lesson with your driving instructor and bring along the person who is willing to practice with you, the driving instructor will be able to give them advice on what to do and what not to do as well as give them pointers as to what driving faults to look out for e.g. checking mirrors, block changing the gears etc as well as help them on phrases to use.
Remember the person helping you practice is not a driving instructor and may be nervous taking you out so to help you and them start with short journeys that are not too technical. If something comes up during your practising pull over and make a note of it and when you have finished drop your driving instructor a text or ask them about it on your next driving lesson, a good driving instructor will want you to ask questions.
*If your practice starts to go wrong stop*
Do not try to learn new things when practising as a lot of accompanying drivers will not know the correct or best methods for you to learn. Driving styles have changed a lot over the years and back in the day things like ECO driving did not exist, Eco driving includes things like block changing the gears which were not taught many years ago.
The biggest benefit to private practice is, without a doubt, confidence, you will gain confidence with more time behind the wheel and this helps you when it comes to your driving test but it must be the right type of practice as on occasion driving instructors end up spending more time fixing problems that come from private practice than teaching their learner driver new skills.
Attached is a guide to private practice and a log for you to record your practice, take your log with you on your driving lessons and it should prompt you to remember any questions you may have. Above all, practising will not replace your driving lessons but it will help you to become a safe, independent driver and get that 1st time pass on your driving test.