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Learners Guide highly recommend that any pupil learning to drive has some form of progress chart / pupil record booklet to help monitor the progress being made and the standard of driving on various roads, manoeuvres and dealing with hazards etc.

Click this link to download your Learner Driver Logbook  – This can help the driving instructor / supervisor to identify what has been covered up to date, the standard reached on each individual topic, the consistency of driving / dealing with each topic. Keeping a good record should ensure that topics a learner driver is comfortable with don’t get unnecessarily covered and any areas of focus are easily identified, so time / money can be spent wisely to get to a good standard and give the best preparation for the driving test. 

If you can’t print out the free downloadable Learner Driver Logbook, then if you send a self addressed envelope suitable for a 4 page A4 booklet (your free learner driver logbook) to Learners Guide, 45 London Road, Cheltenham, GL52 6HE – You will need supply the Stamps required for a large envelope!

Coming soon on the Learners Guide, are details on second hand car dealers throughout the UK that regularly stock small used cars suitable for a first time buyer / young driver. With the cost of insurance for young drivers being quite simply extortionate, it has become more and more necessary for a young person to source a car which will fall under a low insurance group. As well as listing used car dealers in all areas of the UK, there will be pictures and details of each dealers small used cars they currently have in stock. These cars will have a low insurance group (between 1 – 5), car insurance groups can range anywhere from 1 – 20, with 1 being the cheapest to insure and 20 being the highest.

Only Young Drivers provides cheap car insurance for young drivers by using a unique over the phone risk assessment application and Only Young Drivers gives young motorists a quote based on their own merits. Only Young Driver are not on price comparison websites. If you are between 19 & 24 years old then you might want to get a quote for Young Drivers Insurance . If you’re a genuinely careful and responsible young driver, with a track record to prove it Only Young Drivers will help reduce the cost of your car insurance. What’s more our Only Young Drivers policies are provided by leading insurers to give the reassurance that you’re covered by companies you can trust.

Female driving instructor wanted to join a local driving school

I am a Female Driving Instructor covering the Isleworth, Hounslow & Twickenham areas. A franchise opportunity has become available for the right person wishing to join a well established School….Owner Driver required… Low Start up fee!….For more information please contact Libby Driving School on 07890 892562 or email alirachido@aol.com

A European ruling coming into affect in December 2012 will make car insurance companies charge the same premiums for male and female drivers. This will have a huge impact on current car insurance premiums for woman and male drivers, especially young drivers newly qualified without any no claims discount. Currently each insurance company can choose how much they charge, taking into account the risk each insurer presents whilst trying to ensure a reasonable profit is made, which mainly dictates the insurance premiums charged for anything!

The average insurance premium is currently around £1700 for young newly qualified female drivers and a staggering £3700 for young male drivers first insurance premiums. The new rulings coming into effect in December 2012 will undoubtedly raise the premiums of young female drivers to match that of young male drivers and only time will tell whether the insurance companies are greedy and try raising female premiums to match that of their male counterparts without lowering young male drivers premiums. The likelihood is that insurance premiums for male drivers drop due to huge competition in the car insurance business, however it wouldn’t be a shock if insurance companies benefit from the new ruling and fail to average out premiums – £1700 + £3400 = £5100 leaving an average of £2550. By December 2012 the Learners Guide predicts an average insurance premium for both male and female drivers - newly qualified without time to take into account no claims discount, being just under £3000.

As car insurance for newly qualified drivers is getting a little bit silly, please click this link to read the Learners Guide’s article on how to get cheaper car insurance.

With the highest amount of unemployment between 17 and 24 year olds since the 1980’s, it’s no surprise that driving schools are struggling to keep anywhere near a full diary. Also there has been a trend for some time for woman to have children later on in life which has left less youngsters turning 17 and the numbers are set to decline even further for many years. We’re still seeing the like of Red driving school, spinning people the line that there is a good career in driving instruction, where you can “Earn over £30,000″, “ Train for a recession proof career” ,  ”Work the hours you choose”   “It’s a job for life”...etc

With referrals being the backbone of most independent driving schools, many are finding it very hard when they start to dry up. This is because generating pupils through other means can be very expensive and hit and miss. With speaking to literally thousands of driving instructors over the last several months, not one form of advertising has stood out as a consistent worth while option. Many are in stuck between a rock and a hard place, in that they are so quiet they can’t afford to advertise and yet they need to do something to pick up the work to earn the money ! If  you are a driving instructor reading this and you would be interested in being promoted not just on this website, but having the most cost effective way of getting your driving school noticed, then you can trial our service for the first year for a token fee of just £40. There are limited places available and this offer is for a limited period only – the standard fee is still a very reasonable £80 with no obligation to continue if you don’t see the value. For more details on how it may work for you, please call Roger on 07931 137777 or email roger@thelearnersguide.co.uk .

John Staples Hull Driving Instructor

The Learners Guide is happy to recommend another grade 6 driving instructor to our ever growing list of top quality highly experienced driving instructors. John Staples is offering lessons from £18 per hour (when 10 lessons are booked up front) with his standard hourly charge still being a very competitive £20 per hour. Why does the Learners guide feel this is extra value? Firstly grade 6 instructors quite simply have the highest grade (4 – 6) awarded by the Driving Standards Agency on ability to instruct. You can call John on 07790659872 or view his driving school details here John Staples Approved Driving Instructor Hull. With over 20 years experience, John has high pass rates, so increasing your chances of success on the driving test will ultimately save you money with less driving lessons required and test fees to keep paying out.

More and more I’m hearing from highly qualified driving instructors often with pass rates well above the national average, that the only thing people are interested in, is how much do they charge per lesson!

If you search for a suitable driving instructor based purely on their hourly rate you may find it costs you a lot more in the long run, not just in monetary terms but possibly the experience you have learning to drive and how many attempts it takes you to pass the driving test.

Statistics from the Driving Standards Agency are that nationwide the average number of lessons required to pass the driving test is around 44 hours of professional instruction and 22 hours of private practice. Approximately one in every three driving test candidates will pass on their first attempt.

Here are some examples of the true overall costs:

If you paid £22 per hour with a good driving instructor and took 44 hours, then you would have paid £968 + the test fee of currently £62 = £1030 if you pass first time. If you need a second attempt then let’s say you had 4 more hours tuition and paid another £62 test fee, this would be an extra £150.

So first time pass = £1030

Passed on second attempt = £ 1180

The cost of driving lessons will vary from area to area and some good instructors will still offer cheaper lessons, but if you went purely for the cheapest without taking anything else into consideration then this next example would be very typical!

Let’s say you paid £18 per hour, but this time it would be quite likely if your driving instructor was unable to teach you in a style that suited you, perhaps didn’t monitor your progress, make you feel at ease, design the lessons to suit your ability and needs, your confidence and ability to drive to test standard would inevitably take longer.  You may need 60 or 80 hours to get to test standard!

60 hours at £18 per hour = £1080 + £62 test fee = £1142 if you pass first time!

In the majority of cases if it has taken longer before you go in for your first driving test, then it’s likely you will need more attempts than average to pass. Pass rates will vary from test centre to test centre but fall in the region of 30% -45%.

So if you passed first time, the total is £1142

Second attempt – if 4 more hours were taken = £72 +£62 test fee = £1276

Third attempt –an extra £134 (4 hours + test) = £1410

Fourth attempt -£1410 + £134 = £1544

Fifth attempt = £1678 etc

It goes without saying that passing first time will make you a lot happier than needing several attempts and the appointment for a retest is often several weeks away, which can be really frustrating. The 4 hours extra to prepare for a retest given in these costing examples are absolute minimum as 2 hours are for the test day itself! So the cost would likely be more if you keep having a lesson a week which would be the minimum advised to increase your chances of passing.

For details on the Learners Guide’s Approved Driving Instructors in your area - INSTRUCTORS

One of the recent members of the Learners Guide is Bridlington School of Motoring , run by Ray Jackson, a highly qualified and experienced driving instructor. Ray has been teaching people to drive for over 23 years in and around the Bridlington area and is a grade 6 instructor, which is the highest grade awarded by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) on ability to teach.

Ray is well aware we are in hard economic times and as a result is offering 25% discount off driving lessons to all pupils who book now! Usual hourly rate £20, so for a limited time only lessons are just £15 per hour (quote the Learners Guide).

For more details on Bridlington School of Motoring view http://www.learners-guide.co.uk/instructors/driving-schools-bridlington-bridlington-school-of-motoring/

Rushden School of Motoring:

The Learners Guide is very happy to welcome it’s latest driving school Rushden School of Motoring. With many driving schools registered on the Learners Guide, due to being fully qualified, experienced instructors often with high grades awarded by the Driving Standards Agency for ability to instruct, our latest addition goes one better by being awarded an MBE for the many years in teaching people with disabilities to drive. Rushden School of Motoring is the most established driving school in the Rushden area, having set up in 1957. It is a family business, run by Ellen Inwood MBE, Ellen received her MBE for the work she does with people with special needs, work she continues doing to this day. Other driving instructors include Ellens daughter Linda and Steve.

Rushden School of Motoring also covers the surrounding areas up to 15 mile radius, including Wellingborough, Kettering and neighboring villages. To view more details view http://www.learners-guide.co.uk/instructors/rushden-school-of-motoring-automatic-female-instructors/.