That's right !

The driving test is changing as of 4th October to now include "independent driving"

For upto 10 minutes you will be asked to drive by either

- following road signs to a destination

- follow a series of verbal directions (a diagram will also be used)

- follow a combination of both the above

The priority is to be a safe driver at all times even if you go off route. You wont fail your test if you do go off route, however you will fail your test if you make a serious or dangerous driving fault from being an unsafe driver.

The driving test has been changed to now include the above as when you have passed your test you will be driving independantly by following road signs or maybe even verbal directions from a sat nav for example

To watch a video clip explaining the independent driving section of your driving test then CLICK HERE

If you arent happy with the preparation your current driving instructor is giving you then contact us

Hi, my names Jason

I started my instructor training with 5 Star back in June 2007. I was in full time employment at the time as a press tool maker for a manufacturing company but had been told my job was at threat from redundancy. It was then I got in contact with Steve at 5 Star and enquired about becoming an instructor, I know Steve as a personal friend so we had a meeting where he explained the whole training process and costs involved. He also advised me to go along to a seminar meeting with another driving school to compare the training schedule. I must admit, straight away Steve explained in more detail how I would be trained and what was involved, the other seminar seemed to be more money focused so I knew who I was going with straight away.

I was provided with books to read and cd roms to complete my training and started training immediately to pass the part 1 theory and hazard tests. This was all home based practice that I could complete when I liked. After about a month I took the exam and passed first time, so great onto the part 2 training now.
This consisted of time spent in a car with Steve where I basically had to learn to drive all over again! I’ve always been a safe confident driver so took to it quite quickly and soon drove to a high standard that I never thought possible. I had regular lessons with Steve just like a novice driver would, and before long I was ready for the part 2 test. I passed with flying colours picking up only two minor faults. So onto the part 3 training.

I iniatly started my training with Steve and he taught me the basic skills of how to teach and how to spot driving faults and correct them using the core competences routine, this is where I struggled for a while I never knew what to say or how to instruct. But after having regular lessons again with Steve he suggested I go onto a pink trainee licence. I taught friends of my family and soon gained the experience to go for the test. I received further training lessons with Rizwan from 5 Star who improved me further. I put in for the test and failed so had further training and went for the test again and failed so it was all down to my third and final attempt.....I passed and soon after quit my factory job and haven’t looked back since. Being an instructor is great, I like teaching people a skill they never had before but will use for the rest of their lives. What other job does that?

I’m now a full time instructor enjoying a full diary, its hard work but if you put in the effort the results soon pay you back.

I can’t thank Steve and Riz enough, the training I received was first class from real instructors that know the business inside out.

Many thanks 5 Star Driving Academy!

Mr Jason Byrne DSA ADI (and proud of it)

If you are interested in becoming an instructor then give the office a call or e mail for an informal chat with Steve

My Part 3 Experience

I've Done it, and what a feeling!!

I always felt on borrowed time as a PDI with D'day edging ever closer, my confidence was fickle and with doubts about this all been right for me!

I trained with the Instructor college believing i could get through in 3 or 4 months, I soon found that to be a sales pitch!!

So 13 months later having worked only part time and passing part 1 and part 2 at the first attempt the big day was looming!

I found my Trainee license very valuable and 5 star very supportive, my lessons had always gone well but i didn't feel well enough prepared.
Having so many trainers at the instructor college gave me more conflicts than understanding at times compounded by other PDI's i trained with!

My training buddy had his test a week before me and unfortunately lost out on phase 2.
His experience changed my out look, dispelled a lot of myths and made for some last minute revisions to my technique!

Basically we had been taught to find a fault, analyze it to death then remedy, however this wasn't practical only leading to getting bogged down with 1 fault as the next chance to fix it or indeed the next fault or 2 comes along! by that time your out of it!

This set me on a mission and the way i dealt with it was to simulate faults enroute to lessons and test it out in lessons.... ID, analyze and remedy time after time cutting it down to bare essentials such as:

You signalled late... when should you signal? .... why is that important?.... (if time then ask consequences?) but most importantly by the next time a signal is needed you are asking something like..... which signal are you going to give? either as a prompt or  guided dependent on the pupils answers to the above.

You can always carry on the analyzing the consequences and further Q&A after the next instance when you have more time.

Just DO NOT miss the next opportunity to fix the fault even if you haven't had chance to remedy it make sure he doesn't do it again, jump on him by guiding him through it then explain how your way is correct and check if he agrees and understands.

Be dynamic and attack every fault, he wants you too. I had mine for taking a marginal gap at a crossroads to which he out of role said you were right but I was trying to get us back to the test centre so don't worry about it!
Even at the end of the test as he turned the engine off i had him for leaving the car in gear to which he smiled and said oops. They are human lol but until that final whistle blew i wasn't letting anything slip by!!  

Don't just prompt once either, do the next time and the next if necessary before informing him that next time you will watch to see if he gives the correct signal. If he doesn't or is late then prompt again.

You will probably have another fault by the time you get to prompting him anyway so use the same process, quick short questions to get quick short answers don't make a speech and don't make him either.

I found i was saying things like.......... right ok then you were late signaling there......
               TOO LONG
                                            ............ you signaled late then. 
                  OR                     ............ your signal was late.


The biggest piece of advice I got was from Steve and Russell at 5 Star and it was to BE YOURSELF, Your Personality not just what the book says.

Treat him just like a pupil, talk to him as one, he is acting as one so treat him like a pupil who has gotten into your car needing help.

Don't worry as i did about how to start the PST's or who drives he will tell you which side of the car to sit in! if unsure ask him before going into role. Relax and enjoy a pupil who learns at warp speed as you remedy his faults, if only they were all like that lol!


Anyway it worked for me so I hope it helps somebody else, see you on the other side!!

All the best,    Simon Chetwynd .........proud ADI !!!

If you need help or just some advice contact 5 Star Steve would be happy to talk to you

As a learner driver you will have one goal when taking driving lessons and that is to pass your driving test and become a full licence holder allowing you the freedom to drive unsupervised.

The driving test will last for approximately 45 minutes and the examiner will expect you to drive to a safe standard on a variety of roads and also to carry out a range of manoeuvres one of these being a turn in the road. The examiner will then choose another manoeuvre for you to carry out, it maybe a reverse round the corner, a bay park or a parallel park. You may also be required to perform an emergency stop aswell.

By learning with a DSA licenced driving instructor such as those with 5 Star Driving Academy you will significantly increase your chances of passing the driving test as we know how to teach and coach you upto the required standard in as little time as possible. Infact we sometimes even manage to go that extra mile and have students pass their driving test not only first time but with NO DRIVING FAULTS at all!.

Everyone starts their driving test with a clean score sheet so in theory everyone starts their driving test already passed. Its only by making driving faults throughout the drive do you start moving towards a fail. If you make the same driving fault continually then it becomes a serious or dangerous fault which means you have failed your test. Your driving instructor will explain how the scoring system works in more detail before you take your test

In the past 2 months we have had 2 students pass their test with ZERO Faults which is a fantastic result for both the driving instructor and student. This just goes to show that with hard work and commitment to your driving lessons then the driving test should infact not be a testing drive but more an enjoyable and chance for you to demonstrate your driving skill to the examiner.

We would like to send out a big congratulations to Jay James and Rickie Bowdler who both passed with ZERO faults

Their instructors who both give driving lessons in wolverhampton are looking forward to their next student to pass with zero faults.

If you would like to be the next student to possbily pass with zero faults then contact 5star driving academy. Your 1st 2hr lesson is only £14.99

Regards,

5 Star Driving Academy

For those of you going through your driving instructor training you may well here the phrase "Part 3 Rescue Training" mentioned. This usually relates to when a trainee has failed 2 attempts at their final exam and realises that they need extra help or another trainers opinion on their current skill level to pass their final attempt.

Part 3 is all about the core competencies which are fault indentification, fault analysis and remedial action as its these that will decide your grade and if you pass or fail (you need to score a minimum grade 4 in both phase 1 and phase 2 of your part 3 exam). It's only when you learn from an experienced driving school and training provider such as 5 Star Driving Academy that you will gain the necessary skills to pass your part 3 exam.

Recently we had a PDI approach us from another driving school who had already failed his part 3 twice already. He realised he needed more coaching on his "core comps" before going for his final attempt at his part 3 and wasnt getting the necessary support and training from the school he had chosen to go with for his training. After an additional training from our grade 6 trainer he finally passed his part 3 exam and became an A.D.I (Approved Driving Instructor). Everyone at 5 Star Driving Academy would like to congratulate Terence Darcy on successfully passing this exam

Remember this... if you keep doing what youve always done, you will keep achieving what you've always achieved. If you have failed your part 3 already then you may need to get some new training possibly with a different provider otherwise you may not be succesful at your next attempt.

If you are going through your part 3 training and feel that you arent improving , or have failed your part 3 and need to gain the correct skills to pass then contact us and we can assess your current skill level and then provide you with the support and training you need.

Regards,

5 Star Driving Academy

!Jacob Hoy passed his driving test with flying colours!

Passing with only 5 faults, jacob is the first student to pass his test who attended the 5 Star Driving Academy "i Drive" program The students that have attended the course have found it very informative and enjoyable to do.

The objective of the i drive program is to give young people an advantage when learning to drive enabling them to have a better chance of passing both the theory and practical test first time.

Once again Jacob has proved that this pre driver education system works and saves the student excess costs associated with additional tests.

You would like more information regarding the i drive program then dont hesitate to contact our highly experienced team at 5 Star Driving Academy (make conact)

If you have something you want to say or would like us to blog, then please contact us

We've all seen the adverts on tv by a certain large national training company promising that anyone can become a driving instructor and earn upto £30k a year with a company car. So is this really the case? Can anyone become a driving instructor and can you really earn £30K a year by working the hours you use?

Well, unfortunately not. Being a driving instructor is a very rewarding job but the hours can be unsociable working evenings and weekends which isnt for everyone. Be wary of anyone promising a company car as the majority of instructors (if not all) are self employed so the car you either have to buy or lease (both of which incur a cost to you) 

As for the  instructor training, this is a 3 stage program and how long it takes you to complete varies from person to person. You will see some training organisations claiming that you can be an instructor within 12weeks, and whilst this maybe possible in extreme cases it is not the norm. Realistically you can expect your training to take atleast 6-9months minimum and most cases even longer than that. There is an option to teach on a trainee licence but this is for you to gain experience before taking your final instructor exam.

You also need to look at who's going to be training you. Is it a training organisation who have salesmen on commission to sell training packages to as many people as possible even if they are not suitable or have the potential skills to train as a driving instructor.

This blog isnt meant to answer all your questions on training to be a driving instructor, just to make you think a bit more about the questions you should be asking and the answers you get.

If you would like to find out more then we will be happy to advise you further.

Regards

Russell 

An important change has been made to the practical driving test by the DSA which comes into force from April 6th 2010. Before taking you out on test the examiner will ask you if you would like an observer to sit in on your test. Now there are many benefits to having your instructor sit in on your test. We all know that you are going to be a little nervous on your driving test so not everyone will want another person in the car watching them driving. Having your instructor observe your test though will provide you with an extra pair of ears at the end of the test to hear your feedback off the examiner and then go through it with you later.

Your instructor should also help you prepare for your driving test nerves by carrying out mock tests with you in your lessons so you know exactly what to expect on the big day. If your current instructor doesn't then you ask 5 Star Driving Academy to assess if you are test ready?.

Now we have noticed that some driving schools are charging the student extra for having the instructor sit in and observe the test. However, we dont agree with this and 5 Star Driving Academy wont charge any extra for having their instructor observe your test and provide additional feedback afterwards.

Good luck to anyone taking thier practical driving test soon. If you have any worries or questions about your driving test then just ask 5 Star!

Regards

Russell

It's always nice when a student takes the time to write into 5 Star Driving Academy to praise not only the service they receive when they call the office but even more importantly the quality of the driving lessons from their 5 Star Instructor.

Lisa Marie Haden is one of those students who was so impressed by the quality of tuition she received from her instructor Colin (who gives driving lessons in South Birmingham) that she wanted to tell everyone about it. Below are some quotes from Lisa's glowing praise.

"... all communications with your office staff have been positive and helpful.....they appear friendly and offer high quality customer service."

"...my great appreciation and thanks to my driving instructor Colin....I genuinely couldn't ask for a better instructor....he is willing to put himself out for his pupils....I genuinely feel like he wants me to pass..."

Many thanks to Lisa for taking the time to write in and tell us how much she values the quality of service we give. Just goes to show we're not called 5 Star Driving Academy for nothing!

If you would like to experience the same quality of tuition and customer service as Lisa then we would love to offer you your 1st 2hour lesson for only £14.99!

Thanks for reading and come back soon to read our next blog !

Regards,

Russell

5 Star Driving Academy are working in partnership with a new local school in Wolverhampton.

Mrs Kay Stokes of Moreton School has employed our services to deliver i-Drive, the young driver education program to key stage 5 Students. This 5 week course will help the students of Moreton School become safer learner drivers in wolverhampton.  Our experienced facilitators will be teaching the students how to apply for a licence, giving them practice at taking a theory test and encouraging the students to be safe and courteous on the roads. The students that successfully complete all modules will be awarded with a diploma and a free 1hr driving lesson!

This is another great achievement for both ourselves at 5 Star Driving Academy and Moreton School. If there are any other schools across the West Midlands who would like to offer their students this forward thinking innovative program then contact us

Keep watching this blog for more interesting news and advice for you all on passing your driving test.

Have a great time driving!

Regards

Russell