{"id":753,"date":"2014-05-04T14:03:51","date_gmt":"2014-05-04T13:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-red-driving-school.pantheonsite.io\/?p=753"},"modified":"2021-04-14T11:10:55","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T10:10:55","slug":"driving-test-tips-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/2014\/05\/driving-test-tips-tricks\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving test tips &#038; tricks from Dave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>RED&nbsp;instructor&nbsp;<strong>Dave Childs<\/strong>, who has been with RED Driving School for 15 years has given us his top tips on learning the skills needed to&nbsp;<a href=\/learners\/>pass&nbsp;the driving test<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\/2013\/01\/10-steps-to-pass-your-test-step-10-the-big-day\/>how to stay calm on your test day<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the day comes to take your driving test, it can feel pretty daunting to apply hours and hours (and often, month\u2019s) worth of learning in an hour-long test setting. To give you an extra hand Dave has helped us to put together an extended list of some of his best nuggets of wisdom before, during and after your test day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/live-red-driving-school.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dave-Childs-with-Masie-Williams-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"RED driving instructor Dave Childs with learner Maisie Williams\" class=\"wp-image-757\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dave-Childs-with-Masie-Williams.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dave-Childs-with-Masie-Williams-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dave-Childs-with-Masie-Williams-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dave-Childs-with-Masie-Williams-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dave-Childs-with-Masie-Williams-650x433.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dave-Childs-with-Masie-Williams-1000x666.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Before the Big day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Don\u2019t Rush it<br><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure to get enough lessons in during the lead up to your test, ask your instructor to tell you when they think you\u2019re ready \u2013 and if not, what you need to work on. Everyone wants to trade their green provisional for a pink full driver\u2019s licence, but if you\u2019re not ready it can be an expensive setback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Budget for it<br><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning to drive is a great confidence booster for young people, not only is it the first big investment you\u2019ll make, for some the first time you\u2019ll really have to budget in order to see something through. Don\u2019t forget about any of the expenses involved: Provisional licence, theory test, professional lessons (UK average is 45 hours) as well as the practical test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>\u201cSee you next week\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To help you learn at a consistent pace, and avoid forgetting what you\u2019ve learned to date it\u2019s great to keep your lessons to a regular pattern \u2013 aim to have two or more hours behind the wheel every week. Agree a number of&nbsp; convenient time slots with your&nbsp;<a href=\/driving-instructor-training\/become-a-driving-instructor\/>instructor<\/a>&nbsp;during your&nbsp;<a href=\/learners\/lessons\/beginner\/>first driving session<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Chart your Milestones<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Recording, and then practicing what you\u2019ve learned in preparation for your next lesson is great for motivation. Many RED instructors help their pupils to chart their progress with a progress log, if yours doesn\u2019t find out what the big milestones are and keep track of your progress that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Practice makes Perfect<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst lessons with a&nbsp;<a href=\/driving-instructor-training\/become-a-driving-instructor\/>professional instructor<\/a>&nbsp;are crucial in passing your test, be sure to ask a friend or relative to take you out on the road too. This extra practice time will help with your confidence driving in different vehicles and with different passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Mental Miles on the Clock<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t forget you can get some extra miles on the clock and be better prepared for every stage of learning with RED\u2019s tools:\u00a0<a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\/learners\/reds-road-brain-trainer\/ target=\"_blank\">Road Brain Trainer<\/a>, UK Theory Test tools and even\u00a0Driving games\u00a0for a bit of light relief. Practice spotting potential risks on the road, this will give you a deeper understanding of situations and hazards that may occur and how to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Theory test Done<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve had around 10-14 hours of practical training and spent some time practising your Theory Test Online, you should feel ready to&nbsp;tackle that test! Aim to do this earlier on in your training, which means you can book and spend plenty of time building up to your practical test!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:31px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2>On the Big day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Test and Learn<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll find it helpful to have at least one mock test in the run up to your test day. If you can, use a test route and have an entire lesson under test conditions. Many people will also tell you to keep schtum about the real date of your test, (perhaps giving away the week so people can wish you good luck) as the more people you tell, the more pressure you\u2019re likely to feel on test day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Get your Head Down<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No, we don\u2019t just mean paying attention \u2013 getting the right amount of sleep is crucial to&nbsp;<em>maintaining<\/em>&nbsp;that attention during your test too! If you\u2019ve got time before the test, a lesson beforehand will have you in the right driving frame of mind to ace the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Stay Cool, Stay in Touch<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So you\u2019re in the driver\u2019s seat, the day has come and&nbsp;aside from your driving there are three key things to keep in mind: Focus, concentrate and breathe. Don\u2019t let your mind wander, listen to the examiner\u2019s instructions, and don\u2019t allow nerves to get the better of you by taking deep, steady breaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you do make any mistakes on the day \u2013 most people do \u2013 don\u2019t give up. These mistakes may only be minors, so long as you avoid any serious or dangerous faults you\u2019re still in with a good chance of passing your test. If at any point you aren\u2019t clear on what your examiner is asking you to do, speak up and ask for clarification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember that learning to drive doesn\u2019t stop at passing your test, RED instructors will happily teach you to drive on a motorway, at night and in poor weather conditions.&nbsp;<a href=\/learners\/lessons\/pass-plus-course\/ target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Pass plus<\/a>&nbsp;is a popular choice and it even helps to reduce the cost of your insurance!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Telematics insurance is another option to consider, where the insurance company monitors how you drive with a \u2018black box\u2019 fitted to your car . You will be heavily rewarded with cheap insurance for being a sensible driver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RED&nbsp;instructor&nbsp;Dave Childs, who has been with RED Driving School for 15 years has given us his top tips on learning&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"readmore\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/2014\/05\/driving-test-tips-tricks\/\"> Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.10 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Driving test tips &amp; tricks from Dave | RED Driving School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"RED instructor Dave Childs, who has been with RED Driving School for 15 years has given us his top tips on learning the skills needed to pass the driving test and how to stay calm on your test day.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddrivingschool.com\/2014\/05\/driving-test-tips-tricks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Driving test tips &amp; 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