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Becoming a Fully Fledged Driver

Thursday, January 16, 2020


Getting onto the roads as a driver is an extensive and complicated process. But there are so many reasons to drive! Driving is more convenient, allowing you to go where you want when you want. You won’t be stuck with set stops that you have to walk long distances to and from to get to your destination. You won’t have to stick to train or bus timetables. You can travel in the night. You can also travel long distances with diversions and drop offs easily. Learning to drive is definitely a skill worth having. So, to help you along the way, we’ve created a few key pieces of information that will help you to become a fully fledged driver. Take them into account and you’ll be a pro on the roads before you know it!

Passing Your Test

First things first, you’re going to need to get your driving licence. You’ll start out by getting a provisional licence. This will allow you to take lessons on public roads. Then, you will need to take your test. Generally speaking, your driving instructor will guide you through this whole process, teaching you how to navigate the roads, what different signs mean, how to operate the vehicle, and other skills, such as how to fill the tank, how to use a sat nav, and more. When it comes to your test itself, relax. Your instructor wouldn’t put you forward to take it if you weren’t ready. If you don’t pass the first time, don’t worry - the majority of people don’t. You just need to take note of the mistakes you made and aim to improve on those areas of your driving and attempt to avoid making those same mistakes when you go forward.

Improving Your Driving Skills Once You’ve Passed

Of course, passing your test isn’t the end of your driving journey. You’re going to need to focus every time you take to the roads, not only to drive safely, but also to make sure you uphold the skills you learnt in your lessons and constantly improve to become a better driver. Here are a few things you can do to achieve this!

Acknowledge Mistakes and Poor Driving

In order to actively improve your driving skills, you’re going to have to learn to acknowledge your own mistakes and faults. Owning up to poor behaviour on the roads is absolutely essential. Not only in terms of legality, but also in terms of being able to notice your mistakes and improve on them going forward. Don’t feel bad about incidents. We all make mistakes from time to time and these can range from minor issues to major behavioural problems that we may continue to engage with if we do not intervene. Identifying mistakes that lead to larger issues and incidents gives you a base to improve from.

Be Prepared for Incidents

You can learn a lot in your driving lessons. However, the majority of people who pass their test will take to the roads without ever having been told what to do in an emergency situation. We generally know that we should stop if something goes wrong on the roads, but so many people don’t know the protocol following that step. If you find yourself in a road incident or collision of some sort, it’s absolutely essential that you follow steps to rectify the situation. If you don’t know this in advance of the situation occurring, you may find yourself experiencing too much shock to look up what you’re actually meant to do - or you may not have sufficient time to safely look up what you’re meant to do. Basic steps include checking everyone involved is okay, calling for medical help if necessary, taking down insurance details for insurance claims, contacting a car accident lawyer if any laws have been broken or you aim to seek compensation, and then going on to repair any damage to your vehicle to ensure it is still roadworthy.

Get to Know Your Vehicle

There’s a good chance that the car you decide to buy for yourself when you pass your test isn’t going to be the same make and model as the vehicle that you learned to drive in during your lessons. If this is the case, you need to make sure that you get to know your new vehicle before driving it. Different switches and controls are likely to be placed in different spots in your own car and it’s extremely important that you know where they are before you get moving. You don’t want to find yourself driving in heavy rain, only to realise you don’t know where the switch for your windscreen wipers are. You also don’t want to suddenly enter fog, only to realise you don’t know how to turn your fog lights on. Your vehicle will usually come with a guide to let you know where different buttons and switches are, and what certain lights on the dashboard or other areas signify.

Consider Extra Courses

There are plenty of extra driving courses that you can take once you’ve passed your test. It isn’t a case of you having to pass and then standing on your own two feet without any further support. As you may know, individuals without a full licence aren’t allowed on motorways, so you may not feel comfortable heading straight onto these road systems without supervised practice. Further lessons following your test can see a driving instructor help you and guide you on this next stage of your journey. They can also give you further advice and help you to tidy up your skills once you’re legally allowed to drive independently.

As you can see, learning to drive can be a pretty intense journey. Driving isn’t generally a skill that is natural for us, as driving itself isn’t something we naturally do. But you can pick up the skills and become a confident driver with the right guidance, tuition, and practice. Hopefully, the above advice will help you to achieve everything you want when it comes to becoming a fully fledged driver!

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