Frequently Asked Questions

This has been designed by our instructors so you know what you can expect of him/her and vice versa.

It can help in clarifying things, avoid misunderstandings and ultimately save you time & money.

Your Instructor's Responsibilities

1.   All tuition provided complies with DSA guidelines.

2.    As a representative of Alert Driver Training, our instructor's must comply with the Highway Code ( especially when late for an appointment ) and maintain a polite, professional and respectful manner towards pupils, other road users, ADI/PDI's and DSA staff.

3.   Keep a driver progress and payment record for all of your pupils. Ensure that the whole syllabus is covered and the student is consistent in as many elements of the syllabus as possible.

4.    Endeavour to arrive 5 minutes before the start of each lesson and allow sufficient time for travel between lessons, especially at rush hour(s). For example, a lesson scheduled for 10:00am  should have the pupil sat in the car by 10:00am ready to start.

5.    Ensure that you are test ready more than 3 working days prior to the test to allow a decision on test postponement.

6.   Use of the mobile phone is not permitted except in an emergency or booking theory/practical tests, utilising the hands free functionality of your handset.

7.   Dress appropriately. Denim, tracksuits, T Shirts or Trainers are not permissible.

8.   No smoking during lessons and especially whilst driving in transit between lessons.

9.   Avoid impairing your effectiveness as an instructor through alcohol/drug abuse or excessive working hours.

10.   Contact all new pupils before the first lesson to confirm licence details, pick up points, payment details etc. Give the pupil 48 hours notice if you cannot make a lesson.

11.   To help in avoiding any misunderstanding, ensure that pupils/parents have read through terms and conditions before their first lesson starts

 

Your Responsibilities

1.   Ensure that you keep safe all provisional licence documentation required to go to test (paper & photo licence, test confirmation letter & theory test certificate). Double check the night before your test. Inform your instructor of theory and practical test dates and ensure you book the correct practical test centre as some areas have more than one!

2.   Keep your appointment cards safe. Arrive for every lesson in good time and in a state of mind fit for driving: (awake, calm, relaxed, wearing suitable shoes/glasses/contact lenses and not hung-over). Your instructor reserves the right to terminate/postpone the lesson for your, his/her and others safety in the event you are not mentally/physically ready for the lesson . The lesson will be chargeable at the instructor's discretion

3.  Give 48 hours notice (excluding Sundays) of any intent to cancel/postpone lessons (including the very first lesson booked) . This avoids any cancellation charges. Inform the instructor of your intent to put on hold temporarily a course of lessons, or whether you want to cease tuition all together. Please do not be afraid to let us know of this!

4. IMPORTANT: You should be responsible for ensuring that you have enough lessons booked ahead in the future as demand for some of our  instructors is so high that lessons are booked up very quickly, sometimes up to 8 weeks ahead. In the unfortunate event of test failure, the instructor's car will not be available for test if you have not seen your instructor since the previous attempt.

5. Ensure that you have sufficient funds on your person or in your bank account if paying by cheque for the lesson. Going to cash machines eats into the time of your lesson!

6. It's down to you on the big day. Your instructor's responsibility is to get you there, on time, car is set up ready to go,  having e nsured that the whole syllabus is covered and you are consistent in as many elements of the syllabus as possible.

 

1) How many lessons will I need?

This is asked a lot, we don't mind answering it at all........... but it's very difficult to answer!

The honest answer is governed by both your experience and as many lessons as it takes us to

a) go through the whole syllabus once

b) recap parts of the syllabus you found difficult

c) have a couple of mock tests and repair sessions to help you get ready for the big day!

d) drive around for 45 minutes with minimal/no intervention by your instructor

Certainly allow up to 40 lessons if you are starting from scratch, hopefully we'll do it in less.

2 ) How long will it take for me to pass?

Regardless of experience the quickest anybody can go to test from scratch is governed by two factors:

The length of time it takes to study/apply/pass the theory, (only when you have passed can you apply for practical)

 2-3wks

ADDED

 to the waiting time for going to test

It typically is 6-7wks*

Current Waiting Times:

In Southampton Townhill Park: Current Waiting Time , In Southampton Maybush: Current Waiting Time , In Winchester: Current Waiting Time

In Portsmouth: Current Waiting Time , In Gosport: Current Waiting Time , In Chichester: Current Waiting Time ,

= ~ 10 WEEKS**

Here are some examples (the most efficient and effective ways to learn are highlighted in yellow :

 

 

3) Can I do all of my lessons in one week? How are the intensive courses structured?

 

'Start Monday Drive Friday' courses are ill advised ( especially without prior assessment lessons ). Whilst practical in terms of saving time there is simply too much information to take in in one week and more often than not come Thursday both instructor and student look at each other and think "Hmm, wish there was more time".

What we do is conduct an assessment lesson weeks in advance first to estimate how many lessons you might need, then we spread the majority of lessons out over 2+ weeks, with the last lesson being over 3 working days before the test, allowing a test postponement if necessary (very rare) with no charge from the DSA to yourself.

Remember, if you look at the table above for intensive courses , it is going to take a minimum of 7 weeks on average from today if you have passed your theory, 10 weeks if not.

There's plenty of time.

4) Why do I have to wait a long time for my first/next lesson?

First lesson

Driving instructors would be running a risky business if they were not fully booked up for the next 3-4 weeks. After all, how could they guarantee that they could pay their mortgage? Also a busy instructor is a sign of a good instructor! We do understand it can be frustrating ringing around for instructors, find one, then have to wait a month to start. Why not commence studying for your theory immediately? Ensure you don't just book one lesson when you speak for the first time, you have the 48hr cancellation rule available to you, so get the appointments pencilled in and you will avoid having to wait another 3-4 weeks after your first lesson

Next lesson

If you are already signed up with an instructor, it is up to you to book all of your lessons ahead. Try to ensure you always have 3-4 booked in the future. You may find that your instructor will not chase you for lessons and his/her diary becomes full of appointments made by new students and existing students....... who always book ahead.

 

5) How can I increase the chance of passing my test?

To maximise the possibility:

> Study/Practice/Talk to your instructor in between your lessons. We all forget 60% of what we are told 3 days later. It might be 7 days till your next lesson.

> Check out the reference point page here.

> Make notes immediately about what was covered after your first lesson

> Take regular lessons. Often we deal with cases where the student was available but it has been months since the last lesson, simply because no lessons were booked by the student.

> Memorise how, what and when you do things and Understand why you do them

> Ensure you always know what are your top 5 weaknesses (you always so much more strengths than weaknesses)

6) Why have you charged me for the lesson I cancelled?

We created this web page mainly to minimise the number of times instructors have to charge for cancelled lessons. With sufficient notice (>48 hours) the instructor can do something about the cancellation and replace your lesson with another student. Less than 48 hours notice is near impossible to do this.

Each cancellation charge is judged individually and often instructor's use their own discretion, financially meeting the student halfway.

If all instructors were on a monthly fixed salary cancellations wouldn't not affect the take home pay of the instructor.  All driving instructors are self employed and on average the moment a driving lesson is cancelled the instructor stands to lose 2% of his monthly turnover.

As instructors we hate having to charge but bear in mind that

> private dentists charge for the appointment regardless of whether you turn up or not

> book a cinema ticket online at a cinema, fail to show, you still have to pay...

Top 3 instances where cancellation charges could have been avoided:

1) failing to write down your appointment on a piece of paper/ instructor's business card, especially if the appointment was made over the phone or the next appointment is a long way off

2) texting notice of cancellation to the instructor. not all SMS messages arrive and arrive on time. don't be afraid to speak verbally to your instructor about not being able to make it

3) going to bed at a reasonable time avoiding painting the town red especially at the weekend

Note: the above applies even before you have the first lesson

 

TXT "INTENSIVE" TO 07786206303

There's a lot to read here, but thank you for spending the time to do so.

The advice here could literally save you time and money