The beginning of your driving journey
The first steps is applying for your driving licence and ensuring your eyesight won't let you down.
How to get started.
To start learning to drive you need to be at least 17 years old, which is the minimum age that you can legally drive a car on a public road in the UK. You can apply for your provisional licence three months before your 17th birthday or if you’re disabled and receiving mobility allowance, you can start at the age of 16, and apply for your licence three months before your 16th birthday.
Applying for your provisional licence
Before you can start learning to drive, you need to obtain a provisional licence from the Driving and licensing Agency (DVLA). To apply for a provisional licence, complete forms DL1 and DL750 available from any Post Office or you can apply online through Sara Stokes' School of Motoring.
Learning to drive as a British citizen, you will need to enclose two passport-size colour photographs, proof of your identity and a fee of £50 when you submit the forms. The DVLA aims to deliver your licence in about 3 weeks. More details will be with the application form or on the Sara Stokes' School of Motoring website. The rules are slightly different if you are an EU citizen or have come from outside the EU. Check with DVLA for details.
When applying for your provisional driving licence, before you start learning to drive, you should inform the DVLA if you have:
*Any visual condition which affects both eyes (not including short or long sight or colour blindness)
*Any visual condition which affects sight (not including short or long sight or colour blindness), for example, if you have sight in one eye only.
*If you have had sight correction surgery you should declare this when you apply for your provisional licence.
This will not stop you from learning to drive, but it is necessary information.
Eyesight up to scratch?
Learning to drive involves taking a practical driving test. Before you get into the car the examiner will ask you to read a number plate on a vehicle. If it’s one with an old-style number plate the required distance is 20.5 meters (about 67 feet). Number plates with a narrower font, such as the new-style number plates introduced in 2001, need to be read from a distance of 20 meters (66 feet) and are easily identifiable, they start with two letters e.g. PA55 ABC. If you wear glasses or contact lenses to do this, you’ll be expected to keep them on during the test.
Private Practice
As a learner driver you have to display RED “L” plates in a visible place on the front and rear of the car you’re driving. Until the day you pass the practical part of the driving test you’ll have to display these and drive with someone who has passed their test, but they must be over 21 years old and have held a full UK driving licence for at least 3 years.
When you start learning to drive, you’re responsible for making sure that any vehicle you drive is legal, roadworthy and properly taxed. When you learn to drive with Sara Stokes' School of Motoring, you can be sure that all these things are taken care of, so you can have stress free driving lessons.
When you’re paying for lessons, the insurance should be covered by the driving school, as it is at Sara Stokes' School of Motoring. If you’re practising with friends or relatives, it is your responsibility to make sure you are covered on their insurance policy or your own, if it is your own personal car.
Get a head start
Some essential reading, like the Highway Code, is a great place to start before you start learning to drive, as well as Know Your Traffic Signs and Driving the Essential Skills. Also start to practice your driving theory and hazard perception for FREE via Theory Test Pro and boost your skills and improve your chances of passing both the Theory and Hazard Test.
"A year ago I passed"
A year ago today I passed my driving test. Thank you.
Jordan
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