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JDM Driving School, 54 Thorpe House Road, Sheffield, S8 9NT

0114 258 9872

jdmds@btconnect.com

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FAQ

How many hours will I need to pass my driving test?

Everyone is different when it comes to driving. Some people always find tasks like driving easy to master from a skill point of view, but may not have the road sense to pass a test. Others may find it easier to show courtesy and respect to other drivers, but struggle to master reversing or dealing with busy roundabouts. Some struggle with everything, others don’t struggle at all.

The governments own survey estimates that an average person will take 40 hours plus private practice to pass first time.

Unfortunately, who is average? Now that’s a question I can’t answer, but I will say that at JDM, we will coach and assess you to become a good and safe driver and to pass your test within the shortest time practical.

Do you provide help for taking my Theory Test?

YES! Our latest method of assisting you (as a JDM customer) is to provide FREE access to a subscription website:
http://www.edrivingsolutions.com

This website has a full range of tutorials and mock testing for both the HPT (hazard) and MCQ (question) sections of the theory test.

Please send your contact details on the website form, below and mention which JDM instructor your are booked with and we will send you a password for free access for one calendar month.

We also have our own CD-ROM and Q&A sheets to lend you as you prepare for your theory test.
However, there are so many books, DVD’s and CD-ROM’s knocking around which have been used by someone who passed long ago, that you will probably not need too much help.

However, if you do need our help, it is available and it is free.

Full up to date information can always be found on the government’s Driving Standards Agency website which is also linked to the directgov service.

http://www.gov.uk/motoring

Click above to visit and follow links or click on ABOUT THE TEST or CONTACT US for links to other Theory Test sites.

Also, why not visit the official online highway code

http://www.gov.uk/highwaycode

Surely cheaper driving schools are better value than dearer schools and if not, surely dearer schools have better quality than cheaper schools?

The recession of the last decade was a very punishing time for driving instructors. Many people who were out of work came to this trade as a way of finding their feet, whilst a lot of potential learners were put off from learning due to the state of the economy and the rising costs of fuel and insurance. For several years, lesson prices were offered at low prices and general prices did not rise.

Times have thankfully moved on. There are far fewer instructors at this time and far more people choosing to learn to drive. Prices have risen towards the level they would have been, had the industry not frozen them for several years.

Some instructors are still cheap. I can only assume they are being charitable or do not have the reputation to warrant a price that good teaching deserves.

Some instructors, particularly those with a speciality, such as towing or automatics, are way above the average

Some driving schools are dear, simply because the lesson fee needs to include the costs of overheads and the profits of shareholders and investors

WE believe our prices are fair and rewarding for our team. We won’t keep good instructors by giving their time away, but we haven’t forgotten that among our customers are the sons and daughters of people who passed with us years ago. We hope they see our FAIR charges as so-called ‘MATES-RATES’ and that no matter which postcode they come from, they see us as GREAT VALUE FOR THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY!

Real value is getting MORE than what you pay for and we aim to give much more.

Why are prices so much higher in 2023 than a few years ago?

The recession of the noughties resulted in price reductions, over-generous special offers and a reduced income for most instructors. This led to a mass exodus of qualified driving instructors. Post pandemic, fewer instructors are having to cope with enormous demand. Most of our price increase is merely catching up with where we should be after years of no increases. The rest is trying to cope with supply and demand. Even at £40 per hour, we could never cope with the volumes of enquiries that come to us every single day.

First Steps

Apply for your provisional driving licence

Your First Step on the Road to Freedom

To become a qualified driver, British citizens have to firstly purchase a Provisional Driving Licence, application forms are available at Post Offices or visit the following link for more information:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-provisional-driving-licence

To get your first provisional driving licence online for a car you must:

  • Meet the minimim age requiment of 17 years old
  • You must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres. For more information of meeting the minimum eyesight requiment visit the following link: https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-rules
  • 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

Your licence should arrive within one week if you apply online.

The following link provides further detail on applying for your Provisional Driving Licence:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-provisional-driving-licence

Theory test

The Theory test is a 2 part test comprising of 50 questions (MCQ) with multiple choice answers provided and a Hazard Perception Test (HPT) in which you will watch 14 clips of video on a computer screen and click whenever a hazardous situation apears to be about to develop.

You will take these tests in a local office and not at a practical test centre. For example, in Sheffield, the Theory test takes place in Orchard House. This building is entered from Leopold Street near to the entrance of the Orchard Square shopping centre. (The corner of Fargate is to the right of the entrance)
NEW! We have teamed up with E Driving Solutions to provide FREE access to a website which can help you with both the Hazard Perception Test (HPT) and the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
To access this website free of charge, please email us from the “Contact Us” page of the JDM website and request a password. Please tell us WHO your JDM instructor is:

http://www.edrivingsolutions.com

For further study for your theory test, we can help you by lending you the JDM CD-ROM and giving you mock MCQ sheets for homework. We strongly recommend you begin with a highway code and then use either a book, DVD or CD-ROM to learn the answers and reasoning behind the questions.

Why not use the FREE ONLINE highway code at:

http://www.gov.uk/highway-code

You can also learn for the theory test by using any of these weblinks and subscribing:

http://www.practicetheorytests.co.uk

http://www.edrivingsolutions.com

There are many other online Theory Test Websites and apart from just searching the web, you could try clicking the link below:

http://www.ukdrivingschools.co.uk

Practical Test

The Practical Driving Test radically changed during 2015.

The NEW test will involve using the examiners Sat-Nav to follow a pre-programmed route for 20 minutes.
in addition you may be asked to park on the right hand side of a road and traditional maneouvres such as turn in the road (3 pt turn) and reversing around corners will be DROPPED from the test.

Either way, the practical driving test has been frequently modified and will be different in some way from the one a well meaning relative or friend took a few years or decades ago.

Rest assured that your JDM instructor will have been been briefed on any changes and we believe our clients will face the new test as well prepared as possible.

Currently The test consists of a single reverse manoeuvre, chosen randomly by the examiner from four possible types of reversing exercise.
The newest major element is independent driving in which the candidate will be given several route directions at a time rather than a prompt at each junction. This is not a memory test, but will require the driver to deal with ongoing traffic and obstacles whilst looking ahead for junctions.

Your driving instructor has the expertise to prepare you and advise you for your practical test. After passing your theory tests and reaching the required standard, you will book a practical test. You will have a choice of test centers, so follow your instructors advice. For example, in Sheffield we have two DTC (Driving Test Centres) Handsworth* (Orgreave Way) and Middlewood (Winn Gardens). One is obviously handier for people in the East and the other ideal for those in the North West of the city. Candidates living in between will be advised based on factors as simple as the instructors personal preference and the test center with routes most suitable for YOUR ability as well as comparative lengths of waiting list etc

Your test is taken in the instructors car unless you choose to take your own car. On the day, you will need to pay your instructor for his time and use of car. Usually this is two hours, to include pick up one hour before the test, practice and final prep and then arrival at the DTC. You then use the car for your test and then the instructor takes you home afterwards.

The original *Handsworth test centre on Richmond Park Road closed in March, 2009 and was relocated to Acres Hill Lane in the Parkway Markets area from 6th April, 2009. The New Handsworth Test Center was opened in 2013 at an existing government truck testing facility on Orgeave Way

Test routes at the new Handsworth DTC are similar to those used at both the closed Parkway and the long demolished old Handsworth centers, so candidates have not had to worry about wholesale changes in preparing for their test.
However, reversing in to a parking bay IS a feature of the new test center.

What the test involves

You will arrive at the DTC (Driving Test Centre) with your JDM instructor. You will be in the waiting room by the appointment time. You will have both parts of your provisional licence (Photocard and Counterpart) your valid Theory Test Certificate and a letter confirming your test or a print out from your internet test booking.

At the appointment time, the examiners will appear and call your name. They will security scan your photocard licence and ask you to sign a declaration that your car is insured for this test. As a JDM customer, please rest assured you ARE fully insured!

The examiner now leads you outside and will ask you to read a car number plate from the required distance (New style plates from 20.5m). He or She will then ask you to lead them to your car and at this stage will ask you 2 questions on car maintenance. (We will have prepared you for this during a previous lesson or by giving you a JDM leaflet) Once this is concluded, you will be asked to set off following the road ahead unless instructed otherwise by the examiner or by signs or road markings.

Tests are spaced 57 minutes apart. In this time YOU must be out for a minimum of 30 minutes. You will perform 1 of the reverse manoeuvres that you have learned, you will perform a contolled stop behind a vehicle and then set off at an angle, you will drive on a variety of roads and junctions and you may (1 in 3 chance) be asked to do an emergency stop.

From 4th December, 2018, the test requires that you complete 20 minutes of independent driving. This will require the candidate to either follow a series of Road Signs or to take instruction from the Sat-Nav provided by the examiner.

The purpose of this is not to test your memory or knowledge of geography, it is to see if you can drive correctly, unassisted and handle realistic distractions!! This part of the test is designed to let daydreamers forget what they’re doing and ensure they either concentrate or make serious errors.

The examiner will ask you to pull up and will then describe how the next 20 minutes will take place. If it is to be the Sat-Nav, the device will have been placed on top of the dashboard and will now be activated. If it is the road-signs. After one or several junctions, the examiner will give you another location to follow and so on until the 20 minutes are completed., You can ask for confirmation before going wrong and you will not be penalised for wrong turns.

This is not a memory or geography test – It is better to correctly go the wrong way than to incorrectly go the right way.

After completing the Independent driving, the examiner will resume directing junction by junction.

You will return to the test centre and your result will be given to you. You will be asked if you would like your instructor to listen to the debrief so he/she can help you rectify problems etc. For those who pass: Your two part licence can now be given to the examiner and you will receive the pass cerificate until your full licence arrives in the post from the DVLA.

Your instructor will drive you home as you will either be too excited or sadly too upset. The national average pass rate is in the region of 44% with only a quarter of candidates passing first time. However, we will do everything WE CAN to help you pass and we expect YOU to do the same. Trust our help and advice. Drivers pass driving tests, not learners, so make sure you are driving as often as possible before your test.

0114 258 9872

jdmds@btconnect.com

Information

JDM Driving School
54 Thorpe House Road,
Sheffield, S8 9NT