I have wanted to learn to drive for as long as I can remember so you can imagine how delighted I was when my parents bought me 10 driving lessons for my 17th Birthday last May. I had also been saving up my pay's from work to pay for driving lessons and a car. So here I was on my journey of learning to drive…

It is really important to ask around. Don't just pick a random instructor from the telephone book. If you know someone who is learning to drive ask him or her if their instructor is good and how much they charge etc. As my birthday is in May quite a few of my friends started learning to drive before me. One of my friends recommended her driving instructor to me, I passed the telephone number on to my parents as they said they wanted to get me driving lessons for my birthday. My mam's hairdresser also recommended a driving instructor to us so she made a note of his name and number too, only to find out that both recommendations were for the same man! So this is the instructor that I learned to drive with.
And I'm so glad I did as he's excellent. He's really patient and never once shouted at me no matter how many silly mistakes I made.

First of all, before you can even start learning to drive you need to apply for a provisional licence. This will cost you £38. You can apply for your provisional licence three months before your 17th birthday, which is what I did, ready to start on your 17th birthday.

My driving instructor offers a double lesson free for your first lesson. During this lessons he took me through the controls of the car so I understood what everything was for. He then let me drive on a fairly straight, quiet road to get used to the car. He drove me home, as the roads were a lot busier. This was an excellent insight into driving.

I had two or three lessons a week. During these lessons I learned how to drive a car. It seemed to take me ages to get used to changing gears and slowing down for junctions and roundabouts etc but I picked it up eventually! During my lessons I also had to learn to do three manoeuvres; parallel parking, reversing round a corner and a turn in the road (3-point turn). Once my instructor showed me how to do these I did at least one manoeuvre per lesson. Once he thought I was ready, he told me I could book my test. I would not recommend booking your test before your instructor tells you you're ready, as the chances are you would fail. If your instructor is genuine he or she will tell you as soon as you are ready so you have more chance of passing first time.
As my test date got nearer my instructor started asking me maintenance questions in preparation for my test.

My instructor's car is a Ford Fiesta and it is dual control. I think this is a major advantage of learning to drive with a school rather than with a family member. I don't think I would have had enough confidence to drive a car with single controls when I first started learning.

I passed my theory test first time about three months into my driving lessons. The theory test involves answering 35 questions relating to road safety. You then have to do Hazard Perception which involves watching some video clips and clicking the mouse when you see a hazard. This is important as observation skills are important when on the road. I would recommend that you revise for the theory test as it costs £21.50. If you do fail you can resit though. The practical test must be completed within 2 years of passing your theory test.

~ Practical Driving Test ~

Learning to drive is one of the best things that I have done. I feel so much more independent because I can go wherever I want whenever I want. I drive myself to work now :-) in my nine year old red Citroen Saxo which I bought myself :-)