Driving Lessons - Where will my Instructor pick me up and drop me off?

"Hi, I've got a lesson later today can you pick me up from.....?"

Or...

"Do you mind if you drop me off in town at the end of the lesson?"

Your Instructor might be able to, but don't be surprised if the answer is a polite no!

There may be a number of reasons for this, but it definitely isn't just to be awkward.

Most Driving Instructors set their diaries up to provide lessons of between one or two hours duration. This means they are teaching quite a few different pupils each day and usually over a weekly cycle. Your instructor will agree a pick up and drop off location at the time of booking and then fill their diary spaces with pupils from a similar location. 

To keep costs down and to maximise their use of time, they organise enough time between lessons for travelling to the next pupil and to take a short break - it can be hard work teaching people to drive, so regular breaks are required. 

In these pandemic times we even have to plan a cleaning down break or a comfort break as many of the usual local public toilets have been closed.

In addition to this they will have to consider the impact this request will have on the lesson plan and how suitable the location is to your level of ability and also the impact it will have on arriving on time for the next pupil.

I recall a pupil asking, as his lesson started, if he could be dropped off in the area we intended to practice, which was around a 15 minute drive away from his home. My next lesson was due to start 15 minutes after his ended and his home was 10-15 minutes from my next pupil - but in the other direction from where he'd asked me to drop him off. This would have meant we finished the lesson half an hour away from my next pupil. Do you see the problem? 

This would have had a knock-on effect with all of my subsequent bookings and put me behind schedule for the rest of the day. 

I gave him two choices - both are in my terms and conditions; either finish at home as was agreed when booking the lesson or end his lesson fifteen minutes early to allow me the time it would take me to travel back. This travel time is taken from the scheduled lesson time. He chose to be dropped off early. 

On the next lesson he insisted that I owed him fifteen minutes extra because he'd finished early. I had to politely explain that when booking he had booked an hour of my time. His obligation when booking was to pay for the time he had reserved as no one else could use that time. 

It's wise to keep in mind that you are employing the services of a professional - you are paying for both their time and expertise.

My best advice is to plan your commitments around your lessons so that they don't impact on your learning or your finances and remember that the lesson journey isn't just a drive around the area, it's planned learning time based on your learning needs.

Driving test tips - How to Save Money by Hiring a Professional

When you are working to a limited budget hiring a professional often appears to be a luxury. This is probably why DIY is so popular - it can't be that hard can it?

My garage is full of tools I've bought for a particular job and never used again, I've completed the job to a fair degree of satisfaction and saved some money but it never really looks like a professional has done it. My garage also has it's fair share of part completed 'projects' where what seemed to be a straightforward easy job turned out to be slightly more complicated than I'd imagined.

To a large extent this is the case with learning to drive. Loads of people can drive and therefore think it must be easy to teach someone to do it and part of me agrees - driving is not rocket science and even an amateur is allowed to teach you and there's a chance of passing the driving test, even when using techniques that are less than car or wallet friendly.

"If you think hiring an expert is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur"

So why pay a professional?

The difference lies in both the effectiveness and efficiency of learning from a professional.

The cost of learning is quantifiable and therefore it's really easy to see exactly what it costs and think "wow that's expensive." However, it takes a long-term view to see how the techniques taught by a good instructor could save you £1000's. The techniques an excellent instructor teaches you could save you even more.

Take for example the average driver's mileage of around 10,000 miles per year and the cost of fuel at 20p per mile, that's £2,000 per year. But what if you applied the fuel-saving techniques taught by your instructor and reduced this to 15p per mile, it would save you £500 per year.

I recently helped a pupil, initially being taught by her parents, get an extra 18 miles per gallon. Over a lifetime she could save enough money to buy a new car!

Added to these savings is the potential reduction in maintenance costs such as, amongst other things, replacing worn out clutches, brakes, tyres and steering and of course a reduction in insurance premiums by avoiding crashes.

You may not fail a driving test for using certain habits or techniques that are unlikely to be corrected when learning with an amateur, but over a period of time these are serial clutch killers. Habits such as 'riding the clutch' or occasionally unnecessarily 'slipping the clutch', or sitting at traffic lights in first gear with the clutch at the 'biting point' for long periods. These faults may not be deemed worthy of marking on a test but can take thousands of miles off the lifetime of the clutch. Considering that a replacement clutch is going to set you back a good £400-£600 these are expensive habits to have. This cost is comparable to around half of the current fee for learning to drive with a professional. The difference being, you only pay to learn to drive once. When treated well a clutch can last the lifetime of the car, yet if treated poorly may need to replaced regularly.

Another common habit we see that leads to additional wear and tear is changing down through each gear instead of using the more effective, and cheaper to replace, brake components . You really don't want to know what it costs to replace a gearbox.

I often recall a conversation I had with a friend many years ago. He was buzzing because he'd just taken his 4 year old car for a service and he still had 50% of his brake pads left.

"Not bad for 40,000 miles" he beamed.

I replied "that's interesting Rob, haven't you recently had your clutch replaced?"

"Yes" he said.

"How much did that cost you?"

"About £400"

"Oh, and how much would it have cost you to replace your brake pads instead? About £40?"

He didn't reply, but you could see the sudden dawning of realisation on his face.

You may have noticed that I've used the words 'could' and potential' a lot so far. This is because these savings rely on YOU doing what you've been taught, not just in the first few weeks of driving but for a lifetime (a lifetime that can be greatly reduced if you don't). And don't listen to that nonsense about learning to drive properly once you've passed your test, this just makes others more comfortable with their bad habits. You're as much an expert as they are.

Saving a few quid here and there may seem like a good idea in the short-term and I'm all for parents or friends helping out by giving learners the chance to gain experience in addition to driving lessons and actively encourage this, but a wise person should look at the money they are paying for an Approved Driving Instructor as a long-term investment in theirs or their child's future.

Something that has stayed with me is a phase my old House-master at school often said "the saddest two words in the English language when put together are...if only"

He's right you know.

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk



Advertising in the driving school industry - how bad is it?

Legal, decent, honest and truthful

These four words form a key part of the intrinsic values of every Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) – don’t they?

For some time now I’ve had a bee-in-my-bonnet about the standard of advertising within the driver training industry, including both the intended and unintended messages these communicate.

I realise that for many ADIs this is the first time they have been self-employed, becoming not only a training deliverer but also, amongst many things, their own website designer, copy & proof reader, and marketing manager. However, websites and social media content generally goes unchecked and a lot of the transgressions are unintentional, but I guess even when giving them the benefit of the doubt, is ignorance really a valid defence for a responsible business owner?

Some businesses should know better

I recently received an email from one of the voucher scheme providers and one headline caught my interest

“Get 4 beginners’ driving lessons - £12”

After the usual round of eye-rolling and tutting I looked past the headline and clicked on the “fine print” which told me that the "Deal consists of 2 hours worth of driving lessons at the start and 2 hours before the driving test."

This revelation got me wondering what I’ve been doing wrong all these years –I’ve been doing pre-test preparation lessons two hours prior to the test and tend to get the beginner lessons out of the way quite early on when the pupil is...huh erm.... a beginner (Seemed more client-centred to me).

Now taking into account the fine print this particular headline appeared to be a little misleading, so I followed the advice of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and sent the following business-to-business email politely requesting a change to the wording.

Dear Voucher Scheme Provider,

I would like to bring to your attention the misleading nature of a current advert you have running for XYZ Driving School. This advert clearly states:  "Get 4 beginners' driving lessons"

However; the terms and conditions restrict this to two beginner lessons.

Quote: "Deal consists of 2 hours worth of driving lessons at the start and 2 hours before the driving test". This means the customer cannot take four beginner lessons and [the advert] is therefore misleading and should either be removed or reworded.

Very shortly after I received the following reply from Voucher Scheme

“Thank you for your E mail.

Any customer purchasing the deal with the merchant XYZ will get two 2 hour free lessons at the start when you begin learning. Any lessons the instructor feels the customer needs leading up to the driving test the customer will pay the merchant XYZ for. Before you take your driving test the 2 lessons all customers will have before their test will be free of charge. This equates to 4 lessons in total each at one hour in length.” 

For us mere mortals who couldn’t follow that logic, here’s a summary;

Two x 2 hours + 2 hours = 4 (1 hour lessons) and these are free

Where did the £12 go?  And how does 2 x 2 + 2 = 4? And how does a two hour lesson become a one hour lesson?

Time Travel

This made me wonder how I managed to miss the ADI training classes on how to bend the space and time continuum....

...and then it struck me, I realised just how it is they can deliver beginner lessons just before the test and only charge an equivalent £3 per hour – they must have a time-machine taking them back to the beginner lessons and then at the end of each day it takes the instructor back to the 1970’s when the cost-of-living was lower.

If they haven’t invented time travel then I suggest this particular advert isn’t accurately representing the service being offered and so I made it clear to Voucher Scheme Provider that if they continued the campaign with its current wording then I would have to formally complain to ASA. This did the trick and Voucher Scheme Provider sent another email informing me that the wording had been changed, although by this time the campaign had ended with over 220 vouchers sold.

Now you might be thinking so what? What’s this got to do with me anyway? Well, as a consumer and business owner it’s all about a sense of fairness and no doubt at some point we’ve all questioned the validity of an advertisement’s content, so why wouldn’t I challenge those in my industry which directly affect my business?

Buyer’s Remorse

Here’s the problem. Those 220 customers are now 220 fewer customers for all those businesses who follow the rules and play fair. Also, those new customers may regret not having read the fine print when they eventually find out that their expectations are not met and consequently a distrust of the industry as a whole grows. I recently took a call from a potential client who'd bought a voucher and spent the entire duration of the lesson driving around a car park because the instructor didn't know the area.

Over the next few weeks I continued to look out for further advertising by this company and sure enough around a month later a similar email was received. This time though, the wording had indeed changed and the “beginner lessons” simply became “lessons”. The effect was dramatic, as this time around the number of people purchasing the voucher dropped from 220 to 77. So, it appears that a large number of consumers were possibly misled by the wording of the previous advert and may well have made a different transactional decision had it not included the word “beginner”.

Many ADIs work independently and are unaware of the rules and regulations. Without an awareness of the advertising codes ADIs are likely to fall foul of the rules and leave their businesses open to all manner of issues. 

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk

©Stu Walker 2021

Driving test tips - Parking on pavements - you could be breaking the law

No way past

Pavements are for people

Parking a vehicle on the pavement, either wholly or partially happens all around the UK every day and has become a habit for millions of drivers. This often thoughtless and unnecessary act can cause all sorts of problems for pedestrians, especially those with pushchairs, wheelchair users, mobility scooter users and of course blind pedestrians. 

During your driving lessons you are taught to choose a safe, convenient and legal place - along with all the other rules around parking, this doesn't generally include using the pavement.

What does the Highway Code say?

Rule 244 of the Highway Code states: “You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it.” 

Despite a number of efforts to implement a blanket ban on pavement parking over many decades, none has ever been implemented so we currently have no national ban on pavement parking. The reason for this is probably down to the enormous cost of additional resources the police and local authorities would need to tackle the problem. However, following a report into the problem in 2019 and further consultation in 2020, there may well be a ban in store within the near future.

Apparently it is difficult to bring a prosecution for simply parking on the pavement and so the police often turn a blind-eye. This said, there are circumstances in which the police will take action, especially if a vehicle is parked 

• on zig-zag lines at a pedestrian crossing
• within 10 metres or opposite a junction
• over a dropped kerb or obstructing a driveway
• blocking a road or pavement which causes pedestrians to enter the road
• preventing an emergency vehicle from accessing an area

The offence of unnecessary obstruction of the highway, which includes the road as well as the pavement, already exists and can be prosecuted under criminal law.

You may well be tempted to pull up on the pavement because "everyone does it". 

If you were to park on a pavement during the driving test, unless signs permit this, a serious fault will be recorded and you will fail your test. 

This is because although there is no blanket ban and there's a very slim chance of being prosecuted, you are breaking a law in the act of driving on the pavement and an examiner does not have the discretion to turn a blind-eye to this. 

The law in question is in the Highways Act 1835 Section 72 

Highway Code Rule 145 states "You MUST NOT drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency"

Since January 1999 a fixed penalty notice (FPN) can be issued for this offence. This can include penalty points and a fine for the offender. 

For a new driver, under "The New Drivers Act" these points could prove disastrous and eventually lead to losing their licence, should they tot up six points within the first two years of holding a full licence. 

Can you imagine how you'd feel losing your hard earned licence for this easily avoidable reason?

The key to making any driving decision and avoiding danger or prosecution is answering yes to these three questions

Is it necessary?

Is it legal?

Is it safe?

Apply this to your driving and you are unlikely to get into trouble.

Check out this video illustrating the danger caused pavement parking .

https://youtu.be/6jOT41gnXlo

For expert driving tuition or more driving tips, visit my website www.udidit.co.uk

For more Highway Code rules follow this link. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/waiting-and-parking-238-to-252

Insider Tips to Save Money When Learning to Drive

I make a living out of teaching people to drive, so I shouldn't really be telling you this, but there are a number of ways you can save money when learning to drive.

1. Don't just think you are only learning when sat at the side of your instructor. If you study the Highway Code and other books frequently in the periods between lessons and get to know and understand the rules, you can spend less time talking and more of your lesson time experiencing the wide range of situations you'll need to deal with on your test. Result - fewer lessons

2. Practice with friends or family. As long as you're insured and the person supervising you is at least 21 years old and have had their full driving licence for 3 years or more then this is perfectly legal. Make sure you speak with your instructor first to ensure you are ready for private practice without the help of dual controls. Result - fewer lessons

3. Ask your instructor if you and a friend can learn together. You get to sit in the back watching and listening to your friend's lesson and therefore learning from any explanations the instructor gives or any mistakes your friend makes and vice versa. And you get twice as long for your money. Result - fewer lessons

4. If you can help it don't take 1 hour per week at the early learning stages. If you can afford it, try to fit at least a couple of 90 minute lessons in each week. This helps you retain more information over a shorter period of time. You can always reduce this when practising with friends or family. Result - fewer lessons

5. Watch YouTube videos. There are loads of good ones showing you what to do and there are even official videos showing you what to expect on the test. This visual way of learning helps you retain more information. Result - fewer lessons

6. Make sure you're ready for your test. There's the test fee to consider and the cost of a double lesson on the day. Don't go if you're not ready as this results in you paying for another test and more lesson time. Ask your instructor to conduct a number of mock tests and to keep you regularly informed on your progress. DVSA provide free Progress Records. Result - fewer test attempts

7. During your lesson, listen carefully to what your instructor is telling you. Ask questions if you don't understand and make notes whenever possible. Reviewing these notes after your lesson will help you retain information longer. Result - fewer lessons

8. Avoid being suckered into cheap deals. As the saying goes, you only get what you pay for and you could end up spending more in the long term. Result - fewer tears before bedtime and fewer lessons

9. Tell your instructor if you don't feel you are progressing well enough and come up with a plan to help progress more. If this doesn't work you should consider changing your instructor. Styles clash sometimes and you may find a different style suits you better. Result happier lessons and fewer of them.

10. Make it important that you do well and learn to drive safely and responsibly. Being a good student and having the right attitude to learning means that you will achieve your goal sooner. Result - fewer lessons and fewer tests.

There you have it straight from the horses mouth. If you study well and find the right instructor for you, there's no reason for you to scrimp on quality, even if you are on a tight budget.

For more expert tips visit www.udidit.co.uk 

Driving test tips - Who has right of way? - You could have been doing it wrong.

There's no such thing as a driver's right of way

"It's my right-of-way you idiot" or words to that effect are often voiced by a driver who believes that the driver of the on-coming vehicle should have given way - but is the angry driver correct to claim it's his right-of-way?

Let's look at what the Highway Code says; 
"The rules in The Highway Code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help to avoid an incident."

That's pretty clear advice right? Then why is it that many drivers believe they have the right to force another driver to swerve or stop in any circumstance just because the obstruction is not on their side of the road?

I believe that this is largely down to what they have been told by an influential person during their learning to drive process. This person passes on their own received wisdom or misguided theories which in turn goes unchallenged, resulting in a whole lot of aggressive, obnoxious drivers. 

It obviously makes good sense to give way to any oncoming vehicle, regardless of which side of the road they happen to be on when faced with the prospect of either crashing into a parked vehicle or causing an head-on crash with the oncoming vehicle. It's a no-brainer!

If you compare the way two drivers deal with one another on a two-way single-tracked road with how they deal with one another on a wide two-way road with obstructions, the mindset is often totally different. Cooperation is easier to come by on the single-tracked road but equally required in both situations and yet you often meet an oncoming driver who simply drives straight at you regardless of the fact that you are most of the way through a long channel of parked vehicles, with no place to wait safely. I've experienced this myself, where a taxi driver insisted that it was her right-of-way and that I should reverse 12 car lengths when she'd had plenty of space and time to stop before entering the channel. She would have had to reverse 1 car length. The stereo-type became a reality.

Priority is based on safety. 
Who goes first isn't based simply on which side of the road the obstruction is on, it's based the safest option in every changing situation. Whether it be in a meeting situation or a junction, including traffic light controlled junctions (Green doesn't mean GO! it means go, if it's safe to go!).

The road is a shared space and especially with today's busy driving conditions, we need to work together to make safety work.

With an obstruction on our side of the road we generally have three options when  encountering an oncoming vehicle: 

1) Keep going because we can safely pass the obstruction and get back onto our side well before the oncoming vehicle gets there. 
2) Slow down and arrive at the obstruction after the oncoming vehicle has passed. 
3) Stop and wait until the oncoming vehicle has passed.

The key to surviving is - Don't expect the oncoming driver to do the right thing. 

Even when you see this sign, if someone is already occupying the space you should give way if that's the safest option!

Choosing the correct option relies on you being aware of the situation well in advance, anticipating the approach of oncoming vehicles and planning your actions in good time in order to avoid any sudden changes of speed or direction.

There's no such thing as "my right-of-way" so be prepared to give-way.

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk

Why You Should Pay for a Lesson You Haven't Had

The vast majority of the UK’s Approved Driving Instructors are self-employed and only earn a wage when a client pays them – just like those awful zero hour contracts they're wanting to ban.

Imagine getting ready in the morning and turning up at work on time only to be told by your employer "sorry, we don't need you today". It has cost you time, and probably money, to be there and you might well have turned down other work and missed an opportunity to have been paid by someone else. How would you feel in those circumstances?

In a similar way it is you, the client, who employs the Instructor and therefore if you fail to turn up for your lesson or you give short notice of cancellation, your Instructor doesn't get paid.

The double-whammy is that the Instructor may well have turned down someone else for the time you have reserved and now can’t sell the lost time at such short notice. Not only does the Instructor miss out, other clients may miss out too.

When choosing a Driving Instructor, along with excellent teaching skills and a friendly manner, no doubt you will be expecting someone with a professional attitude and someone who provides excellent customer service. Within this you would certainly expect reliability and punctuality.

Looking at it from the Instructor’s perspective, they also hope that their clients are reliable and punctual, have a good attitude and are willing to accept responsibility for their own learning and responsibility for the bookings they've made.

If you had an instructor who consistently let you down, what would you do? I know what I'd do; I'd look for a replacement and many instructors do the same with customers.  I personally try to be as flexible as possible and I understand that life often gets in the way of learning. Maybe the kids are ill, unexpected bills need to be paid, work calls you in etc, or you simply haven't budgeted well and have run out of cash until payday. This all becomes obvious to an experienced Instructor, especially as the last week in the month sees more cancellations than any other. 

You may even be in the middle of a confidence crisis and can't face the lesson. Whatever the reason, to avoid having to pay, talk openly to your instructor and look for a solution before it's too late. 

Whenever possible and subject to availability, I personally allow some flexibility by offering another lesson time within 3 working days and waive the late cancellation charge if it is attended. However, as patient and understanding as I am there’s a tipping point and in these cases I have to take everything into consideration and reluctantly part ways with clients who consistently cancel at short notice or fail to turn up.

In my experience many Instructors have a standard 48 hour or so short notice cancellation policy whereby should a client cancel within this time then the lesson fee is payable either in full or in part. There are variations in these terms and if you're not sure, I recommend that you ask your Instructor what their business terms are.

“Why should I pay for something I've not had” cried the client who failed to turn up...

You may not have attended the lesson, but you have reserved that time for yourself and yourself alone. This is not dissimilar to booking a flight; a holiday; a hotel room or even a dental appointment - in fact any appointment you make and fail to pay for or attend,  costs someone something. One report estimates the cost to the taxpayer for NHS no shows as £162m per year, with more than 12 million appointments missed.

Unlike buying goods, if you reserve a service at a particular time and you don’t turn up, you have to pay because it can't be resold.

Sadly as consumers we all end up paying a little more to cover losses caused by other people’s actions, whether it’s for goods or services. Apparently we motorists pay around £30 extra per year on our motor insurance premiums simply to cover uninsured drivers. As a consumer I don't like the idea of paying extra to cover other people’s poor actions, but inevitably we all do and driving lessons are no exception.

“What can be done to reward the clients who are in the majority and are reliable?”

I often extend the lesson time for clients who turn up for every lesson and who give me plenty of notice if they ever need to change an appointment. It’s a nice way of rewarding them. I sometimes give away a free lesson as a way of saying thank you.

What I do know from my experience is that those clients who are reliable and hard-working are the ones most likely to succeed and ultimately spend less in getting their licence. 

The key to avoid paying for lessons you didn't attend, is to talk openly to your instructor, keep them up to date and together you will be able find a solution and maybe even get a nice little reward.

I'll leave you with a final thought - If businesses gave customer reviews, how would you rate?

For expert driving tuition or driving tips visit my website www.udidit.co.uk