Soldato
- Joined
- 25 Mar 2003
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- 5,776
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- Birmingham
What's the advanced driving test like? How many here have done it or doing it?
Pass Plus
- Thread starter Wayne~
- Start date
IAM?
Pretty tricky, your driving standard needs to be pretty high. They'll mark you down for things like indicating too much or not using all the available road for positioning.
However, they wont let you book it until they're sure you're ready
Soldato
- Joined
- 25 Mar 2003
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- 5,776
- Location
- Birmingham
Cool, I might look into doing it.
Soldato
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- 24 Jul 2006
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- 8,876
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- Hoddesdon, London, UK
Experience being the greatest teacher and all that? No one ever taught me how to drive on a motorway, just 'had to' one day about 2 weeks after i passed my test and i did it alone and didn't see what all the drama was about, rather boring i found it! You learn everyday you drive and usually i don't do the same daft thing twice, passing a test is the beginning of the true learining imo.
Say what? If you can't realize that motorways are not much more than glorified Dual Carriageway with a hard shoulder and no right turns, and that driving in the night requires a bit more attention/concentration you should not be allowed out on the road on your own in my humble opinion.
Come to think of it, I'd have thought that most learner drivers would have experience of Night Driving if they are at college/work - My driving test was my first experience of driving in the day!
Again, What? Precisely what more do you think a motorway Virgin needs to know that wasn't covered by their instructor during the Dual Carriage way lessons (overtaking, using lanes correctly, changing lanes, etc) and the stuff they should have learned for the theory test (Hard shoulders, the fundamental differences between Dual Carriageways and Motorways, etc). Again with night driving, what more is needed than knowing to pay more due care and attention... that and to put your headlights on!
I pounded the motorway just 3 days after that wonderful "You've passed" moment, following a friend in a modified MX-5 giving it the beans all the way and it was an absolutely great learning experience. Getting out there and gaining the confidence is the biggest step. Now I don't blink at the thought of going on a motorway.
Almost any trackday/car control day in your own car is going to be available for an 18 year old and is far more useful. 99% of new drivers won't have the slightest clue about their car's limits and probably will never know them (or know how to control them) until they are in a ditch upside down. Similarly I think 99% of new drivers know what to do when the sun goes down and they are behind the wheel
I passed my test without having to answer a single question on dual carriageway driving, nor did my test include any such driving. Maybe I got lucky, I don't know. It's irritating that such things aren't covered and I think a lot of new drivers would benefit with a few hours with an instructor to help them improve. The test is far too easy and the stuff Thats covered in pass plus should be part of the test because the standard of driving in this country is nothing short of a joke. Perhaps I learnt from it as I was open to it and I gained a fair bit of knowledge because I was taught how to pass the test, not how to drive properly.
I've never suffered from a lack of confidence and I have had no issues driving in torrential rain, snow and any other extreme condition. I did it because my council subsidised it heavily, it saved me a packet on my insurance and it was a chance to drive a Mini Cooper about for six hours but I still think people can learn from it because the normally lesson/test layout leaves loads of gaps.
As hard as it can be to realise, there are LOADS of new drivers out there who really don't have a clue, nor do they have any common sense so things like the pass plus would be more beneficial than a day on a skidpan or a rally day.
I've never suffered from a lack of confidence and I have had no issues driving in torrential rain, snow and any other extreme condition. I did it because my council subsidised it heavily, it saved me a packet on my insurance and it was a chance to drive a Mini Cooper about for six hours but I still think people can learn from it because the normally lesson/test layout leaves loads of gaps.
As hard as it can be to realise, there are LOADS of new drivers out there who really don't have a clue, nor do they have any common sense so things like the pass plus would be more beneficial than a day on a skidpan or a rally day.
I don't think a new driver would have the confidence to gain anything from a rally day of a skin pan day. I'd imagine half would be terrified and the other half would crash/die horribly or not learn very much. It would probably be a bad idea teaching a little yoof the limits of his Corsa as it'll only encourage him to keep pushing until he wraps it around a tree.
I think Joshy is assuming 99% of people have common sense. A pretty poor judgement.
I think Joshy is assuming 99% of people have common sense. A pretty poor judgement.
I dont think many 17 year olds need much encouragement to push a corsa to/beyond it's limits...
I think the figure for people with common sense is more like 1% - that's not just young people either, judging by the middle age moron in a TVR T350C who nearly munched the side of my car while performing an undertake earlier...
Worth doing, it saved me a bit more than it cost on the first year insurance and was handy experience as I had only had instructor lessons before that. If you've had use of another car as well then you may not find it that helpful.
But surely you'd agree that those who "Don't have a clue" aren't going to be cured by 6 additional hours of practice with an instructor (especially considering they are still awful drivers after 40+ previous hours with their instructor!)?
- Joined
- 30 Jul 2006
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- 12,130
Excellent attitude, I am genuinely impressed
What did you end up doing?Agreeing with the many people on here who say that there is more to road safety than speed limits, I believe that Pass-Plus should be compulsory for all new drivers and something like DriveCheck every five years could be made mandatory as well . . . I still agree with speed limits
Soldato
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- 14 Jan 2009
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- 4,325
Exactly, I drove down to cardiff a couple of days after passing my test, I'm pretty sure that was the day I got my car on the road. Found motorways easy as hell.
Motorways are essentially dual carriageways but more boring. Not sure why they're not allowed to take learners onto them but there you go, they require little driving skill but high observation.
I passed after 18 lessons first time. After a few weeks on my own my confidence was massive, I've yet to crash or even get a parking dent.
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Got some comparative quotes with and without and it all evened out - the money saved with it would have been lost by payin for it. As such, because my instructor was a top fella, I decided to spend the money on the pass plus so he had the money in his pocket instead of the insurance company.