Learning to Drive with Family

One way you could put strain on your marriage is getting your partner to help you learn to drive. It might not cause a divorce, but it can be a very stressful and apprehensive time to teach someone to learn to drive who has not instructed anyone before, especially if it is in their pride and joy.

However, learning with family and friends is an important part of the learning to drive process as it allows you to gain further experience between your lessons and to practice what you have recently been taught. Whether it be driving to work or taking the time to practice on an evening, the practice you will gain will prove to be invaluable and could mean you will be in for your test sooner than you think.

However to sit in with you as you learn requires a few legal guidelines to be met, the first is that the person sitting in with you must have held a full licence for at least 3 years and must be 21 years of age or over. If they don not meet these basic requirements then they can not legally assist you in learning to drive.

You must also ensure that you have adequate insurance to drive the vehicle and if at any stage you want the friend or family member to drive then they must also have the necessary insurance.

As a few pointers, it is advisable that the instructor takes these few pointers into account:

Don't relax too much!

Ensure you are ready in case an emergency or hazard appears, you won’t have dual control so you need to put your trust in the learner.

Don't have too high expectations!

The person you are teaching is still learning and they will make mistakes, this may mean that your alloy wheels get a few marks in the early days.

Keep descriptive and consistent with directions/terms!

Be clear and precise, give good clear instructions relating to directions and driving techniques.

Choose appropriate routes carefully!

Avoid motorways as you cannot legally drive on one until you pass your test, also avoid really busy roads that may cause the learner to be put off.

Stop and discuss!

Take a few breaks and chat about how the driving is going, give a few pointers, however take the time to listen to what the instructor has also said. Keep a calm environment! Don’t shout and stress, no matter how stressful this could be, instead keep calm and be at hand to help.