You may be wondering what happens during your first lesson, or, assume that the same will happen to you that a friend or colleague may have experienced. We have certainly heard of driving schools that have you for the whole hour of your first lesson stationary and the car does not move! Our aim at SJK Driving is to get you driving as quickly as possible without compromising you or, other road users safety.

Overview:

1. We are required to test your eyesight and "you must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres," approximately five car lengths. After we have checked your eyesight we will then look at your provisional licence and take down some details, including your driver number.

2. We will spend approximately 2/3 minutes asking some questions in order to find out your previous experience, even if you have not driven before, you may have experience of riding a moped, practised with family, previous lesson etc. By quickly assessing your knowledge, we can pitch the level of instruction accordingly.

3. Depending how busy the roads are where you live we may have to drive you to a quieter area, (during this time we will give you a running commentary of what we are doing whilst driving the car.) It is important on your first lesson that you start where it is relatively quite and free from activity, like junctions or lots of other vehicles, this may take 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Once we are in a suitable place, we will go through the controls of the vehicle, such as seats adjustment mirrors, indicators as these can vary on different cars. Knowing the pedals etc; are very important before you start moving the car, these are crucial foundations which many pupils are not aware, on their first lesson. This is covered in order that the pupil does not panic when they get the car moving. A controls lesson can last between 5-20 minutes depending on the your knowledge, understanding and experience.

5. Before starting the moving off and stopping manoeuvre, it is important that you understand how the clutch functions, so we will practise this to make you familiar with the process and the sensitivity of the clutch. The clutch is used during all driving manoeuvres (unless you drive an automatic) including the moving off and stopping manoeuvre which you will be shortly starting. So getting this right definitely helps. This can take a few minutes.

6. Starting the First Manoeuvre! We will brief you on the process, this can take up to 8 minutes depending on your knowledge, and experience. After the brief we will start the manoeuvre, initially in first gear, but after you start to gain in confidence we will encourage you to go through the gears, possibly up to 3rd gear. You should expect to have up to 5/8 goes at this manoeuvre and more if time allows!

7. After the practise you will have a debrief and depending on where you live we will drive you home. On the drive home we will give you a running commentary of what we are doing while driving. On arriving at your drop off point we will offer further feedback, including your strengths and weaknesses for you to consider. Before leaving we will offer you the opportunity to book another lesson.