The road to your Full Driving Licence begins here
1. Provisional Licence
When learning to drive a car or ride a motorcycle in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, you are required to hold a provisional driving licence.
With your provisional licence you are able to drive on all roads except for motorways.
You must be supervised when you are learning to drive a car. This can be by a driving instructor or someone else who meets the rules, eg family or friends, but the car you learn in must display ‘L’ plates.
To apply for a provisional driving licence online for a car, motorcycle or moped you must:
- be a resident of Great Britain – there’s a different service in Northern Ireland
- meet the minimum age requirement
- meet the minimum eyesight requirement
- not be prevented from driving for any reason
- pay £34 by MasterCard, Visa, Electron, Maestro or Delta debit or credit card
- have a valid UK passport or other form of identity
- have your National Insurance number if known
- provide addresses where you’ve lived over the last 3 years
2. The “car driver” Theory Test
Passing a “car” theory test is a mandatory requirement and a prerequisite to booking your practical driving test. The theory test consists of multiple choice questions and a hazard perception section and both are taken on the same day.
You need to pass both sections to complete the Theory Test. You’ll then receive a theory test pass certificate, which bears a unique certificate number which you will require when you book your practical test.
To apply for your “Car” theory test, you must already hold a provisional driving licence
To prepare for the multiple-choice part of the theory test you should use 3 books known as the ‘source material’. They are:
- The Highway Code
- ‘Know your traffic signs’
- the relevant book from the ‘essential skills’ range
You can buy all the publications from most high street book shops and download the ‘Know your traffic signs’ booklet
3. The Practical Driving Test
The practical driving test is designed to check whether you can drive safely in different road and traffic conditions, understand the Highway Code and can demonstrate this through your driving ability.
Demonstrate the standard required and you’ll pass your driving test. There is no minimum number of lessons or hours you must practice driving before you can take your test. There is no pass or fail quotas!
To apply for your Practical Driving Test, you must already have passed your Theory Test
The driving test is 40 minutes long, and will involve at least 1 out of 4 of the following manoeuvres
- Reverse round a left hand corner,
- Turn in the road,
- Reverse into a parking bay,
- Parallel parking.
- Potentially, an emergency stop.
During the test, you are required to follow the examiners direction and also perform 10 minutes of “independent driving”, which involves following certain signs and directions, given to you by the examiner.
Driving lessons in Bedford, Shefford, Hitchin, Biggleswade, Ampthill, Flitwick, Letchworth and surround areas