What roads can i drive on with a provisional

Everything you need to know can be found in our practical driving test guide or on the UK Government website.

You can now exchange your provisional driving licence for a full licence. If all the details on your provisional licence are correct, the examiner will send your pass certificate to DVLA. Otherwise, you must do the job yourself. Remember that you have to apply for your full licence within 2 weeks of taking your test or else you must take it again. You should still regularly go back and refresh your knowledge even though you have a full license.

After a few years behind the wheel, drivers often forget about safe driving practices and pick up bad driving habits. Refreshing your knowledge will help you stay a safe and responsible driver. You could endanger your life and the lives of others if you drive recklessly. Mistakes like these happen because you think you know everything about driving and so cut corners literally.

You can prevent these mistakes and make roads safer for everyone by continuing to learn. Everyone should keep up to date with changes in the traffic laws, and using the Zutobi app is one way to do it. Alternatively, you could read the dull Highway Code once a year to make sure you still know the rules of the road.

All Car Motorcycle News Reports. What is a Provisional Licence? Finally, if you want to drive on your own, you must pass: A multiple-choice driving theory test A hazard recognition test A practical driving test When Can I Apply for a Provisional Driving Licence?

You can apply for a provisional licence if you satisfy the following requirements : You must be 15 years and 9 months of age. You must be able to read a vehicle number plate from 20m away. Show an original, official document to prove your identity. Provide your previous addresses for the last 3 years. Give your National Insurance Number. Make sure you have no health issues and you are old enough to apply.

Provisional licence application. Pay the fee when you apply for your licence, giving all the identity checks you are asked for. Read the available information, and have lessons from a qualified instructor. Practical experience. Practice, practice, practice. You need to practice a lot behind the wheel to gain driving experience and feel comfortable driving alone. How Much Does It Cost? You have 2 years to pass your practical test from the date you pass your theory test.

If you have NOT passed your theory test, you must renew a provisional licence every 10 years. But you will be able to: Drive a car under supervision from the age of 17 years. The ADI part 1 test covers theory and hazard perception and includes driving on motorways. The test of driving ability ADI part 2 test covers a range of road and traffic conditions, including motorways or dual carriageways where possible. ADIs are also required to undergo a standards check at least once every 4 years; these can already incorporate motorway driving.

At a standards check the ADI is required to demonstrate competence during a lesson with one of their pupils. This can include driving on the motorway as some ADIs provide post-test lessons and choose to bring a pupil with a full licence for the standards check. We consider that ADIs have already demonstrated their competence at teaching people to drive in a range of conditions and there is a system in place to ensure that standards are maintained.

If you are an ADI, do you feel that the current training and testing system provides sufficient grounding for you to provide pre-test motorway lessons? If not, where should it be strengthened? Learner drivers will need to be competent in handling the vehicle and have a good understanding of the rules of the road before driving on a motorway.

This could include:. Some people may learn to drive without using an ADI , relying instead on instruction from, and practice with, a relative or acquaintance.

If these learners want to learn to drive on a motorway before passing their test they would need to approach an ADI and pay for a lesson or lessons to cover this. This would generate some difficulty for the ADI who would have no basis upon which to make a judgement about whether or not the candidate was ready to drive on the motorway.

We are of the view that in this situation, the ADI will need to take a decision on whether to provide a lesson in these circumstances and should consider how best to judge whether the individual has a suitable level of competence. This could be through requiring them to have a standard lesson first or even assessing their driving on the way to a motorway junction. Do you agree that ADIs should exercise their discretion in providing a motorway lesson to a learner driver with whom they have had no previous contact?

When an ADI is teaching a person to drive, it is common for them to do so in a car that has dual controls. This usually means that the clutch and the brake are replicated on the passenger side of the car allowing the ADI to use them as necessary during the course of a lesson. The purpose of dual controls is to allow the ADI to take evasive action to avoid a collision. This is particularly important in the early stages of learning to drive when a learner is at an elementary level and might be struggling to master clutch control or might have poor judgement about when to brake.

We propose that learner drivers would only be allowed to drive on motorways in a car where the ADI is able to slow or stop the vehicle through use of a dual control brake, with clutch as appropriate. As discussed above, we do recognise that there are risks associated with allowing learner drivers on motorways and the government is keen to mitigate those risks.

However, we also recognise there is an argument that any learner driver who has demonstrated sufficient competence to drive on a motorway before their test should not need the intervention of the ADI. It is possible for vehicles to be fitted with a dual control accelerator.

We do not intend to require the use of these. They are not allowed in vehicles which are used for practical driving tests so it is unlikely that many cars used by ADIs will be fitted with them.

We acknowledge that not all ADIs may have a car equipped with dual controls; those ADIs would effectively be barred from offering motorway lessons. ADIs can make a decision on commercial grounds whether they want to acquire a vehicle with dual controls and take advantage of the opportunity to offer motorway lessons, or whether to maintain an ordinary car and not offer motorway lessons.

Do you agree that learner driver motorway lessons must only take place in a car where the accompanying ADI has a dual control brake and clutch in manual vehicles?

There are special considerations in the case of persons who take lessons in their own specially adapted vehicle, in order to accommodate a disability. Some people will choose to have dual controls fitted as a temporary measure whilst they learn to drive but this is not mandatory. In these circumstances, if we were to require all adapted vehicles to be fitted with dual controls for a motorway lesson, this could significantly increase the cost of learning to drive and act as a disincentive to taking a pre-test motorway lesson.

If people learning to drive in specially adapted vehicles wish to take motorway lessons, should those vehicles be fitted with dual controls? If yes, should this be advisory or mandatory? A large number of specialised vehicles can be driven on a provisional driving licence but our intention is that this will only apply to people driving motor cars.

Unlike learner car drivers, learner motorcyclists are permitted to ride unaccompanied as long as they have completed compulsory basic training CBT. CBT is intended as an elementary introduction to riding. Learner motorcyclists are expected to build up their experience and take further training prior to taking their practical test and obtaining a full motorcycle entitlement, at which point they are allowed to ride on motorways.

We do not consider it would be appropriate to allow learner motorcyclists to ride on motorways; they cannot be accompanied in the same way as learner drivers and are much more vulnerable than someone in an enclosed vehicle. We feel it is safer to require motorcyclists to have demonstrated their proficiency as a rider, through having passed both parts of the practical motorcycle test, before attempting to use motorways. People learning to drive much larger vehicles like lorries and buses are already permitted to have lessons on motorways; indeed this can be part of the test.

Those drivers already hold a full car driving licence and would not be affected by these proposals. Do you agree that motorway lessons for learner drivers who are provisional licence holders should only be permitted in motor cars? Consideration should also be given to other drivers using motorways. Currently, learner drivers of cars are prohibited from motorways so drivers do not expect to see them there. In these cases the vehicles will display L plates whilst on the motorway and other motorway users will be aware of them.

The proposed change is likely to substantially increase the amount of vehicles on the motorway displaying L plates. Any changes will therefore need to be well publicised. The Highway Code reminds road users that learner drivers may not be so skilful at anticipating and responding to events and advises all road users to be particularly patient with learner drivers and young drivers.

It is important that learner drivers can be easily identified from a sufficient distance so that other drivers can give them plenty of space and make allowances for their lack of experience. Existing requirements are that cars driven by a learner driver must display red L plates. In Wales, either red D plates, red L plates or both, can be used.

Plates must conform to legal specifications and must be clearly visible to others from in front of the vehicle and from behind. Many ADIs also incorporate additional signage, which may include detachable roof boxes. As with any other road, where used these must be securely attached, so that they do not become detached and pose a hazard to other roads users.

Cross-winds and unpredictable buffeting from lorries on motorways could cause top boxes to be damaged or detached which would have severe safety implications. Do you agree that there is an increased risk using a top box on a motorway lesson and they should therefore be removed? There is an extensive motorway network in Great Britain but there are some areas that are far from a motorway or where there is no direct access from our islands.

For these people, it will not be practical to incorporate motorways in their driving lesson. This means that a motorway lesson is a realistic possibility for many people, albeit that a longer lesson might be required. People with limited access to motorways are less likely to need to use them on a regular basis but would still be able to access post-test training if their circumstances changed.

Some organisations also offer advanced driving courses which can include driving over longer distances. ADIs will need to consider if it is practicable to incorporate a motorway lesson depending on the location of the learner driver. This is a deregulatory measure.

DVSA does not anticipate needing to make substantial changes to the learning to drive syllabus, which already refers to different road types and condition and makes specific reference to driving on motorways.

Updates to training materials would be needed to take account of the changes. Costs of training materials are recoverable through sales of new training materials. Further guidance on appropriate conditions and candidate preparedness for motorway lessons may be useful, as well as specific new questions in the ADI theory test.

Rule changes would be reflected in The Highway Code. This is frequently revised to keep up to date with new legislation and guidance and any changes required are not expected to generate significant additional costs. We would want to consider raising awareness of any changes both for the benefit of learner drivers and other road users; this could be done through existing DVSA and THINK!

It is not expected that motorway lessons would significantly increase costs, either for ADIs or learner drivers. There may be adjustments to insurance products but accompanied learner drivers have the lowest casualty risk of all road safety users, so it is not anticipated that this change will attract a substantial increase to the cost of insurance premiums. It is possible that greater mileage will increase wear and tear on ADI vehicles, leading to faster vehicle churn, but we do not expect this to have a noticeable impact as:.

Any additional costs faced by the ADI are likely to be passed on to learner drivers but, as explained above, these are not expected to be significant. Motorway lessons may need to be of a longer duration than a standard one-hour lesson, to allow time to access the motorway and return. Many learners already choose to take a double lesson and a motorway lesson may be incorporated into a learning programme rather than necessarily increasing the overall number of lessons taken.

We understand that most ADIs do have dual-controls in their vehicles so this is not anticipated to be a significant issue for the sector but we welcome views on this point.

Overall, we expect any increase to the cost of learning to drive to be minimal and in any case motorway lessons will be optional for both learner and ADI. ADIs who offer post-test instruction either through Pass Plus or dedicated motorway lessons may experience a reduction in demand. Pre-test lessons are not intended to replace post-test instruction. Some drivers may prefer to venture onto motorways only when they have built up more independent driving experience on other roads.

Currently, demand for motorway instruction appears to be very low. This leads also to low standards of instructors. The employment turnover in this business is high — many instructors go out of business. If you want to learn to drive safely and enjoy the learning it is better for you to pay good fees to a good instructor. Ask an instructor how they can help you to achieve your goal. Ask them which DSA grade they have. If you immediately ask an instructor how much they charge, they might think that you are interested only in how much it costs and not in what the instructor can do for you.

There has to be give and take — if you want to learn to drive, you should accept that it is not free and it is not cheap. You may begin driving under supervision when you receive the Provisional Licence. The cost of tuition depends not so much upon how much you pay but upon how you learn — you are unique — everyone learns in their own way, some learn more quickly than others.

See the chart issued by the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency DVSA showing statistics on the average number of hours drivers take before passing their practical test. The cash cost of tuition depends upon who coaches you and what financial arrangements you agree with them.

As with most goods and services, the best normally costs more. Most suppliers offer discounts for block payments in advance. Driver testing is provided by the DSA. You must pass a Theory Test before applying for a Practical Test. Conditions and Guarantee. To keep costs down and keep your fees realistic Alan does not employ staff. You may need to leave a voice message when you call, or you may prefer to send a text message or an email.

Send the message:. Frequently Asked Questions Is it possible to learn to drive before the age of 17? May I drive on a dual carriageway with a provisional licence? May I start taking lessons before passing my theory test? What is the probationary period? What is Pass Plus?

What documents do I need to bring for my driving test? May anyone accompany me on my test? May I take my driving test in an automatic car? May I use my own car for the test? How do I cancel or change my practical test? How long will the practical test take? Do examiners have a quota of passes and fails? Will I fail if I cross my hands on the steering wheel? Will I fail my test if I make just one mistake? Who do driving instructors work for? How much does learning to drive cost? Is it possible to learn to drive before the age of 17?

These are the minimum ages for driving on public roads in the UK: 16 : invalid carriages and mopeds; 17 : cars, motorcycles and agricultural tractors; 21 : larger vehicles such as minibuses and commercial vehicles. Pass Plus was organised by the government in conjunction with insurers who would offer a discount, but: Any discount is off only your first year of insurance and as a return on your investment in extra tuition it might be less than the cost of the tuition.