Private Practice : Prepare your Car
Make Sure The Car Is Roadworthy
Make sure the car is in a safe and legal condition. It must be properly taxed, have a valid MOT and both you and the learner must be insured to drive it.
This is also a good time to have it serviced ,if necessary.
Pre-Drive Checks
Involve the learner in the basic checks (lights, tyres, windows, oil, coolant, windscreen wash) so that they know how to keep the car in a safe and legal condition. He or she will be asked to demonstrate this knowledge in the Driving Test.
Take the learner through the P.O.W.D.E.R. checks:
P Petrol
O Oil
W Water
D Damage
E Electrics
R Rubber (tyres)
It is important to get your learner driver into the habit of frequently checking the car: a recent poll found out that 32% of new drivers, who were students, never carried out safety checks.
Make sure the car displays L plates (or D Plates in Wales) while the learner is driving, but remove or cover them when you are driving.
Tyres should also be checked to ensure that they are not damaged. The tyre pressure should be inflated to the manufacturers recommended figure, and the treads should be checked to ensure that they are above the legal minimum of 1.6mm, although a tread depth of above 3mm does give much shorter braking distances in the wet.
Click here for further advice on tyre safety.
Interior Checks
The driver's seat may need to be adjusted so that the learner can easily reach all the controls and has a good view of the road over the bonnet, and around the vehicle. The learner will probably need to adjust the mirrors also; unfortunately, it is common for learners to realise that they need to adjust a mirror once they have set off driving; if this happens, find a safe place to pull over so that the learner can do this.
Seat Belts and Head Restraints
Make sure that both you and your learner always wear your seat belts.
You should each also adjust the head restraint to prevent whiplash, in case you are hit from behind. Click here for advice on using head restraints.
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