insurance and supervising Learner drivers

[pavlovs_dog]

im am going back to my driving lessons and wanted some advice about supervised practice on the roads.

my other half works shifts, so it is not always convenient for him to take me out for practice drives. my friend has kindly offered to sit with me and go over the test routes, so i can get in some extra practice.

both have held a license for longer than the three years, so there is no problem in that sense. but obviously my friend is not insured to drive our car, as up to now there has been no need for her to be. however, would this be necessary, legally, for her to accompany me?

i understand that the person who accompanies me should be able to safely and legally drive the car, should i no longer be able to, for whatever reason. i would interperate this to indicate that she ought to be insured as a named driver on our policy. however, searching through google, i can only find reference to the fact that i as a learner driver must be insured to drive the car that i am practising in. i can find no specific answer to whether the person supervising me must be insured to drive the car. can anyone clarify the law please?

[anewman]

www.2pass.co.uk (http://www.2pass.co.uk) has a good forum for learner drivers :) I would personally think paying for extra lessons for practice is the best option.

If she has her own car and her insurance policy states she can drive other cars with owners permission third party only (will be explicitly stated on insurance policy document), then this will probably cover her if insurance is required for a supervisor.

[pavlovs_dog]

I would personally think paying for extra lessons for practice is the best option.

thats all well and good if you can afford it, but given that the recommendations generally come in at 45hrs of lesson time/time with an instructor (at £20-25 per hour) and 22 hours of supervised practice in order for the average person to pass their test, its simply not an economically viable option for most.

[Conor]

Only the driver needs to be insured. The friend can only drive the car if their insurance covers them to drive other vehicles but for what you want to do, you'll be OK.

[anewman]

thats all well and good if you can afford it, but given that the recommendations generally come in at 45hrs of lesson time/time with an instructor (at £20-25 per hour) and 22 hours of supervised practice in order for the average person to pass their test, its simply not an economically viable option for most.
22 hours at £25 is £550. Insurance will probably cost more than that, and any pro rata refund will no doubt have silly admin fees slapped on top. Plus don't forget you still have to pay for petrol - and of course the slight added cost on repairs and tyres etc. Plus you also benefit from the input of a trained and approved instructor by your side rather than a mate who may be well intentioned but may not notice certain errors. Those driving instructors can't be making much money at £20 an hour.

[cajef]

As Conor say only the driver needs to be insured, but remember if you get into difficulties they would not be able to take over unless they are covered to drive your vehicle.

Do you really think that your OH or friend will be able to teach you all the correct and necessary driving skills and manoeuvres that are required by the DSA and that the driving examiner is looking for in order for you to reach the required standard to pass a driving test.

You will need some professional instruction whether you like it or not.

[PasturesNew]

Not answering the original question, but I stumbled across some YouTube videos by BSM the other day. Also handy for some people

http://uk.youtube.com/results?search_query=bsm+driving&search_type=

[pavlovs_dog]

You will need some professional instruction whether you like it or not.

if you would do me the courtesy of reading my OP you will see that i said i AM going back to my driving lessons, and that my question referred to extra practice. as competent as my OH and friend are behind the wheel i have no intention of asking them to continue where my driving lessons left off.

the value of supervised practice outside of the lesson is well recognised, and i fully intend to make use of my friend's kind offer.

thanks to all for the helpful replies

[Conor]

the value of supervised practice outside of the lesson is well recognised,


Not what my missuses instructor said about her going driving with me. She picked up a lot of my bad habits.:D:D

[suki1964]

As someone who passed just a year ago I can see both sides of the argument.
I never had any option for the first few months of taking lessons to practice anywhere with anyone so I was totally relent on lessons which were basically all about getting me through a test and not really teaching me to drive. When I finally got my own car and started to drive places myself as a learner with a qualified driver as passenger I soon felt I gained the confidence to take my test.

I think if you are going to have a friend sit in beside you, its a good idea they know what your comfort level is. My mum was good as she didnt try and TEACH me to drive but allowed me to ask for advice when coming across something new where as hubby was forever trying to tell me "do this do that" - just had to learn to tune him out and focus on what driving instructor had taught.

BTW - I had MONTHS of lesson because of living so far out of town, instructor couldn't always fit me in every week and most of lesson when i did get them was taken up driving to and from the town at 45mph that us learners and new drivers are restricted to over here