Accompanying a Learner Driver Help / Advise

Make Sure you are LEGAL !

Some people don't know, but you must satisfy the following criteria to Learn to drive / practice on the roads / public property.

The Learner / Provisional Licence Holder Must:

•Provisional Licence holders must be accompanied by and under the direct supervision of a driver qualified for the class of the vehicle being driven and have held the full licence for a minimum of three years and be over twenty one years old.
•You must have a provisional Licence to learn to drive!
•You Must have "L" plates (or D Plates in Wales) that are clearly visible from the front and rear of the vehicle (my advise is to buy the fully magnetic L plates as some only have a small magnetic bar and tend to fly off! Also remember that their are strict guidelines as to the shape and width of the "L" plate and surrounding white area so don just type an L and print it out!!)
•You also must be able to read a number plate at the required distance. (20 meters for the new style number plates and/or an old style number plates from a distance of 20.5m)
•be insured to drive the car as a provisional licence holder. ( YOU Can either be added to the cars insurance policy usually at extra cost or you can try the Learner only insurance from Collingwood learners or YoungMarmalade.(see our page on Learner Driver Car Insurance))
•Your car must be in a safe and legal working condition

The Supervisor Must:

•When you are supervising a learner driver, YOU the supervisor are deemed to be in control of the car. So this means that you must not use a mobile phone while the car is moving or the engine is on, you have the same rules on drink driving etc.As you would if you were physically driving the car.
•The Supervisor must have held a full driving licence for that category of vehicle for at least 3 years and be over 21 years of age. If the supervisor drivers the car at any time (e.g. to demonstrate or get to a safe place for the learner to take over.) they must be insured to drive the car.
•ensure the car is in a safe and legal condition
•meet the minimum eyesight standards
•ensure the car displays L Plates (or D Plates in Wales) if a learner is driving and remove them if the supervisor is driving.

Advise for accompanying a Learner Driver

Private Practice is a great way to expand on the experience gained during professional driving lessons. You should ask the ADI what to practice and any advise or what to look for to aid the tuition they receive. Professional driving instructors should always keep a logbook for you to look at so you can see how your learner is progressing. That way you can see what need practicing. If you try to fit in one private practice lesson for every professional lesson you will greatly help your learner drive safely after passing their test. If you go out for private practice make sure you have planned it and have a clear idea of what you aim to achieve during the practice (e.g. improve checking of mirrors, improve observations or accuracy during maneuvers etc.) this will enable you to get more out of the time rather than just general driving. Your ADI will be able to help you understand the things to look for also see the list of the common things that have changed /what to look for below.

Thing to Check before you start your journey

• Its a good idea to brush up on your own driving skills so not to pass on bad habits. If you cant or don't at least familiarise yourself with the latest edition of the highway code
• Make sure the car is safe and legal. Check MOT, TAX, Insurance, Driving Licence etc
• Carry out safety check with the learner. use F.L.O.W.E.R.Y.
  • F - Fuel - Make sure their is enough fuel and the correct type!(you could even talk about the different styles of driving a petrol and diesel car
  • L - Lights - In good working order and clean
  • O - Oil - How to check oil, and not to wait until warning light shows as this may already be causing damage to the engine
  • W - Water - Check coolant levels and windscreen washer levels
  • E - Electrics - Check that you battery is in good condition and any electrical equipment work
  • R - Rubber - Check that your tyres are in good general condition and the tread is above the legal minimum. Check that the tyre pressure is correct as even a slightly low pressure can lead to excessive wear of the tyre and will lead to a lower fuel economy.
  • Y - Yourself - make sure you are fit to drive. Check any medication you take wont make you drowsy. If you feel tired don't drive and make sure your not stressed as this will effect how you drive.
• Make sure the cockpit drill (D.S.S.S.M.) is checked / applied before starting the engine.
  • D - Doors - Check that all the doors are closed
  • S - Seat - Change the seat so you can reach the pedals, and adjust the height as required. Make sure the headrest is at least eye level to help prevent whiplash and spinal injures in the event of an accident
  • S - Steering Wheel - Adjust the rake and reach of the wheel so you reach it comfortable and keep control. Hold the wheel at 10 to 2 or quarter to three.
  • S - Seatbelts - Make sure you belt up before you drive and any other passengers do. The belt should not be twisted and should be in good clean working order. (you could also ask a few question form the highway code on the seat belts)
  • M - Mirrors - Adjust the mirrors from your normal seating position for the best possible view.

Things to think about before you drive

• You should make sure that the route you are going to drive is not to difficult for the learners abilities. You should start of with nursery routes. The more lessons with an ADI the more you can do as in private practice but ask the ADI for ideas / areas to go and what to cover and what not to.

Things to check as you are driving

• Make sure the proper Systems are being used
  • P.O.M
    • P - Prepare - Prepare the car to set off .
      • Parking Brake on and In neutral
      • Start Engine
      • Select Gear
      • Set gas if applicable
      • find the biting point
    • O - Observe - Safety Checks and consider a signal
      • Check Left Blind spot
      • Check Left mirror
      • Check rear view mirror
      • Check the road ahead
      • Check right mirror
      • Check Right Blind spot
    • M - Maneuver - move the car when safe!
      • Release the Parking brake
      • move the clutch up gently when the car starts to move
      • Steer the car to the safety line / normal driving position
      • Check the mirrors to progress
  • M . S M.
    • M - Mirrors.
      • Check Mirrors before any change in Position
      • Check Mirrors before any change in Speed
      • Check Mirrors before any signal
    • S - Signal.
      • Always signal in good time without misleading others
    • M - Maneuver.
      • Change / think about the position of the car
      • Change / think about the speed of the car
      • Change / think about the gear and match it to the speed
      • Look in the new road / road ahead if applicable and then again once in new road / position to check if it is safe to progress.

Keep records / notes

• You can keep notes of what happened on each drive. These can be useful to review the action of the learner to help understand and gain knowledge for the next time. You can also discuss any key points your not sure of with the ADI to make sure your on the correct path.

Keep Calm and think about the words you are using

• Keeping calm can be a hard thing at times especially when you are close (e.g. family member close friend etc.) to the person you are supervising. Just try to remember they are doing their best and if things are getting a bit stressed stop for a minute.
  • It might be that they are coming close to the parked cars and even though you keep shouting "Keep away from the cars" they keep getting closer. Remember when you are in a situation as a learner they can take a different meaning of the words you are using. They might think you mean keep away from the cars on the right so they keep getting closer to the parked cars even though they think they are close to the parked cars! Stop in a safe place and then ask them a few Questions that will get them thinking about what you are worrying about. e.g. if a car door opens from a parked car what is going to happen to my car? Then agree the best way to deal with that is too keep a car door width away etc.
  • Also remember that even if the learner has done roundabout on a lesson with an ADI they might not feel confident with them full on their own so taking them to the busiest roundabout you know will only stress them and put you in a bad mood when they keep messing them up.
  • Listen to the learner. It might be that things have changed since you learned to drive. For example one of the most common arguments between parents and learners is they they don't have to change down gears in order. Trying to get your learner to do this when they are not used to it will completely put them off the system of car control they have been taught. YOU CAN "Block change" e.g. you can change from 4th to 2nd or 1st if necessary with out using the gears in between. YOU DONT have to change down from 4th to 3rd to 2nd to 1st on approach to traffic lights. You can just match the gear to the speed.

If you have any other questions you can always contact me and i will do my best to get back to you asap.