If you are thinking of taking a course of Pass Plus Driving Lessons, firstly, congratulations on passing your driving test!
It is likely you may not feel fully prepared to take to the roads on your own just yet. This is a natural reaction, after all, every bit of driving experience you have to date has come with an instructor by your side to offer advice on the challenges you face on the roads.
What are Pass Plus Driving Lessons?
Pass Plus Driving Lessons are a short six-hour course of lessons covering elements of driving you may not have covered in much depth before passing your test. The course is designed to help make you a better overall driver and help the confidence of those not quite ready to drive alone just yet.
There is no test to pass with the course, however, all drivers must reach a required standard in all categories in order to receive a pass plus certificate.
All Weather Driving
Depending on the time of year you had driving lessons you may have encountered adverse weather conditions already. Learning to drive in heavy rain, fog or even snow and ice can be greatly different to learning to drive on a sunny summer afternoon.
Your instructor will help you learn how to control your car in the worst weather conditions and go over the stopping distances for different weather conditions you learnt to pass your theory.
Town Driving
While you are likely to have taken many driving lessons in a town environment, a pass plus course can help improve your confidence and ability in congested areas.
The course will help you navigate busy and complicated junctions in your local area, in addition to extra awareness of others including cyclists and pedestrians.
Rural Roads
Driving in rural areas is different to town or city driving in many ways. Rural roads often take a winding course with many bends and hedgerows which can easily hide obstacles in the road. You are also far more likely to encounter animals and pedestrians on roads in rural areas. With a lack of footpaths pedestrians and cyclists are forced to walk on the road, again often out of view.
You are also more likely to encounter different road types in the countryside, with roads generally maintained to a lower standard than inner-city roads.
Dual Carriageways
It is likely you have driven on dual carriageways prior to passing your test, however, you may have limited experience on the more complex multi-lane roads.
Your instructor will guide you through elements including turning with the use of a central reservation, entering and emerging. Overtaking is also a large part of confident driving in dual lane roads. You will learn how to safely progress past a slower moving vehicle and how to assess other road users during overtaking.
Motorway Driving
Despite motorway lessons becoming available to learner drivers in 2018, your time driving on them will have been limited at best. Having increased time on motorways with a qualified instructor will increase your confidence and safety when driving on some of the busiest roads in the country.
During a pass plus course, your instructor will offer guidance on safely entering and leaving junctions, safe lane changing, planning your journey and what to do in the event of a breakdown.
Are Pass Plus Lessons Worth It?
From a monetary perspective, while some insurance companies do offer a discount to premiums for drivers who have completed the pass plus course, this is generally not enough to cover the cost of the course.
Despite this, if you are looking to progress your skill set as a driver or gain the confidence to be in a car alone, Pass Plus is a great way to achieve your goals. We have found that nervous driver in particular benefit from a few extra hours behind the wheel before they go it alone.
Remember, if you don’t want to complete a full pass plus driving course and would prefer targeted help on one area of driving, ask your Bill Plant Driving Instructor for a small number of refresher driving lessons on that specific area.
