“My Mum & Dad said that they only took a few lessons and passed a months weeks after turning 17”

This statement may be true, but at a rough estimate most candidate’s parents will have taken their test 25 to 30 years ago in very different times and low volumes of other road users trying to use the same roads. A lot of people started on Motorbikes and then progressed to cars when they could afford to buy a car and take driving lessons. The volume of traffic on the roads has increased incredibly since then, just ask to see photos of the roads where your parents grew up and you will see very few cars parked on the roads, go back today and take a look. The number of complex junctions and road systems in busy urban areas has also increased. Look at Bridgefoot Island in Warrington for example, it’s only a few years ago that it was no more than a normal roundabout, then take a look at it today.

The DSA have also changed the driving test on a regular basis over past years. In 1991 they introduced the 2 parking manoeuvres into the test, so now candidates will need to be able to safely carry out either a parking manoeuvre on the road (Parallel Park) or in a car park (Bay Park) just see how many people can’t do this, even after years of driving experience. They also, to reflect the more challenging situations that drivers face on modern roads introduced the independent driving element of the test. You will be asked to either follow a map or road signs for at least 10 minutes. This and greater skill level in hazard awareness and anticipation, needed to deal with today’s busy roads makes the driving test considerably more difficult than it was even a few years ago.

The DSA suggest that in 2012 on average a new driver of 17-21 years old will take on average 47 hours of tuition along with around 20 hours of private practice may be needed in order to reach the test standard. To be fair though we all learn new tasks at different rates and while some people may take many more hours to pass their driving test, a good many learners take considerably less than this figure to learn to drive safely.

At Horgis School of Motoring, I am here to help you throughout all of this process and will help you to quickly reach the required standard.

Take a look at what I learnt to drive in!

This is a guest Blog from Paul Bridgman. Paul works in the car insurance industry at Only Young Drivers. He has kindly written the information below for me. One of the biggest hurdles to actually getting on the road after learning to drive and passing you driving test in Warrington, can be the price of insurance. At Horgis SOM I try to keep helping my customers even after you have finished learning with me. This Blog may help you save ££££ on your car insurance, so I would recommend reading it and give them a call to see if they can help. Don't forget to mention you learned to drive with Horgis School of Motoring in Warrington as you may get an even better deal.

Drive safe, see you next lesson.

David

New Driver Insurance for Horgis SOM

Many new young drivers are faced with the same dilemma and it seems to be one of the biggest hurdles to getting on the road – young drivers car insurance. You have spent time learning to drive and dedication to pass your test and then you get stopped right at the last point with car insurance. This blog is to help you out with some hints and tips, in a help to assist you.

Firstly, do not buy a car without checking the price of insurance. Many people fall victim of this to find that the car they want is unrealistic to insure. So the best thing to do is get a list of registration numbers from cars that you like and compare prices with insurance companies.

The next thing to consider is where you should look for insurance and which companies you should use. A good place to start is price comparison websites. Such sites give you the opportunity to compare multiple companies at the click of a button. It is worth trying a few of the price comparison sites as they all work with different companies. Advantages of such sites are that they are free, there is no obligation to take out a policy and you can check the prices in your own time.

Along with looking online there are some companies that do not use price comparison websites, as they believe that they can offer the best price if you contact them directly. So it is worth giving them a go too. And finally there are some young drivers insurance specialists that should be able to help you. These sorts of companies have different ideas top help bring down the price of your insurance.

Some will require you to have a ‘black box’ fitted to your vehicle, that can help track times that you driver and mileage that you cover and charge you accordingly. This works for some people as it can offer them a good enough price to get them on the road. And your young driver companies understand your frustrations and should give you more time and attention that you need.

Remember insurance is the law and if you get caught without it, you could be banned from the road in your first 2 years of driving, as it carries 6 points.

Here are a few tips to getting that best price.

- Choose your car carefully

- Add a more experienced driver as an additional driver

- Consider paying a larger excess

- Try your best to accurately judge your annual mileage

- Complete the Pass Plus course

- Resist temptation to modify your car

We hope you have luck in finding insurance, be patient with it, its not a 2 minute job, so set some time aside to sit down and find the best deal for you. Ask family or friends to help you, and make sure whatever product you purchase it is right for you.

Cost of Driving lessons in Warrington.

We have all seen offers on driving school cars, or on websites, but what’s the truth behind the seemingly unbeatable deals we see advertised.

Seen Driving schools advertising offer like this.

10 driving lessons for £99.00

5 driving lessons for £25.00

£1000 unlimited driving lessons

Looks fantastic! So let me open these offers up for you.

10 Driving lessons for £99

You have to pay the full £99 up front, you will then get 4 driving lessons to begin with, 2 hours which have to be used as a Mock driving test. 1 hour test with 2 driving instructors in the car, so you actually only get a 1 hour mock driving test and the final 2 hours used on the day of your driving test. Some driving schools will charge you a “Sit In” fee as well if you want your instructor to accompany you on your driving test. You normally have to take at least one lesson per month or you lose the offer and your money!

5 Hours for £25.00

This one is similar to the offer above and normally works this way. You pay the £25 and will get 2 hours of driving instruction to begin with; the next 2 hours will be saved for the day of your driving test. The final 1 hour is normally put towards a Pass Plus course or a Motorway driving lesson.

Unlimited Driving Lessons for £1000

This one is exactly as it seems to be. You will get unlimited amount of driving lessons for as long as you need them. You will however need to pay for your driving test and the use of the driving school car on each of your tests. This may cost you anything up to £112 per attempt at your driving test. You might not need to take that many driving lessons anyway and may be paying for something you don’t need. Or you might be subsidising someone else’s driving lessons.

So there you have it. It seems fantastic when you first see the offers, however, they all tie in to the end type offers. Pay up front but get the reward at the end. That’s great if you know you are going to like the driving school or the driving instructor you are given. What if you don’t get on with him or her? What if you find out they have only just qualified? Or worse still they are not qualified at all and they are operating under a trainee licence.

Makes you think! Shop round by all means, ask lots of questions and if you are happy with the driving lesson deal and you understand it then book it. Or maybe just pay for the lessons you need and end up saving even more in the long run.

A DRIVING TEST CENTRE will come to Warrington if a planning application is approved. Paddington House Hotel in Woolston has been selected as a tempory site for the test centre. It is then to move to Festival Avenue Orford later in the year, probably about April or May 2012.

At last some news about a Driving Test Centre in Warrington.

Horgis school of motoring today spoke with Warrington south MP David Mowat’s office about the problems faced when learning to drive in Warrington, and the extra costs involved with taking a driving test in other towns. They informed me that he had very recently spoken with Mike Penning, Secretary of State for Transport, about when the driving test centre will re-open in Warrington.

The latest information is that “It is due to open in Autumn 2011” so we should be hearing more in the next few weeks. As soon as I know more I will post updates to this blog.

Some more news...... I was told by a member of the DSA that we are waiting for the outcome of a planning application and that testing is hoping to start in the New Year (2012) Rumours among instructors seem to sugget February.

Remember the safest and cheapest way to book either you Theory Test or a Practical driving Test is to let me do it for you. I will book the test and ensure you pay the correct fee!! There are websites out there who will charge you a booking fee, normally this is £20-25 At Horgis its completely free (NO BOOKING FEE) and never any hidden charges when learning to drive with me

Theory Test Pro has been improved. Study experience by adding knowledge and understanding to all of our question banks. Horgis SOM has always looked at ways to save you money when learning to drive in Warrington, as a customer of mine you will get FREE access to this account.

This handy information was previously unavailable to us and was exclusive to the DSA’s official publications. However we’re now able to licence it ahead of the theory test changes that will take effect in 2012.

How does it work?

When a learner reads a questions, this new information helps explains all the things that must be considered in the situation. By understanding this context, the learner will be able to apply their knowledge to the question and answer it correctly.

When a learner approaches their revision for the theory test in this way, rather than remembering questions and answers word for word, it helps them develop a better understanding of safe and responsible motoring.

Here’s an example of what the new text looks like:

Learners have the option of hiding the text if they want to reflect on the question before reading the knowledge and understanding text. They’ve then got the option of revealing the knowledge and understanding text when they need it.

If you haven't signed up for an account click on this link and follow the instructions.

Let us know what you think by adding you thoughts in the comments.

See you next Lesson, Cheers David

After you’ve passed your test, things start to become expensive for young drivers, as this is a sector that many insurance companies try to avoid. Often insurance companies will not quote for drivers under the age of 25.

Here are a few tips that help to bring these costs under control:

1, Go for the smallest engine size or insurance group

2. The premium for a newer car may be lower than an older car. The value of the car is not a key factor when the insurance company is setting the price but the newer the car the lower the premium as newer cars are deemed to be safer, thereby reducing the risks to the occupants

.

3. Always check out a Comprehensive quote as well as Third Party only or Third Party Fire and Theft. The Comprehensive quote may be cheaper

4. Technology is taking a bigger role in setting insurance premiums. This can be used to limit the time that you may drive, thereby avoiding the high risk times late at night. The latest technology allows the driver to review their own driving and cut out any high risk manoeuvres, which may cause the insurance company to view you as a higher risk and so increase your premium.

5. Always review the comparison sites and also check the premiums direct with companies that are claiming the lowest rates on the comparison sites as minor variations to the proposal can have an impact on the price.

6. Whilst you may be tempted to ask a parent to insure the car and you go on as a named driver, this is fronting and is now frowned upon by insurance companies. You may not have the cover you were expecting and this could lead to all sorts of problems in the future.

This blog post is by Nigel Lacy from Young Marmalade, a combined car purchase and comprehensive insurance scheme.

Wow, what a week. Another test pass 1st time for Anna who also managed to get through her test without recording any driving faults, At All! On the subject of taking you practical driving test I have noticed that the examiners at the begging of the test are no longer satisfied with the stock answers to the “Show Me Tell Me” questions. They have begun to look for a much more detailed answers, so brush up a little more and give as much detail as they want.

An example might be.

“ Tell me how you would check the Brake Lights are working on the car?”

We used to just tell you to say press the brake pedal with the ignition on and ask if brake lights are working. They are now checking you understand fully by asking “What will you do if there is no one about to help?” The answer they will be looking for here is that you might try to use reflections of the lights in house windows, off garage doors etc. So while learning the Show Me Tell Me answers you might want to think a little bit deeper about the answers. Don’t forget there is a copy of the current DSA Show me tell Me’s on my website. http://www.horgis.co.uk You will have to be logged in to see the members area to see them.

If you are unsure about this ask me on your next driving lesson.

In car CCTV, as you all will know I have a video camera fitted inside my car (filming forward) all the time I am on a driving lesson with you. If something comes up on a lesson and you are not sure what went wrong please ask me to find the footage and I will gladly send it to you for you to look at and learn from. It’s a training tool for us both to use. While on the subject of videos I have started to make and edit some which have been put on YouTube, take a look as they will be useful for driving for future lessons. Take a look at this one http://youtu.be/NkR92PAXYBE and while you are logged in why not subscribe to my channel and you will be emailed when I put new videos on.

Cheers all

David,

Horgis School of Motoring Warrington

www.horgis.co.uk

Facebook.com/horgis.driving