Learning how to drive is a step towards greater independence. You can suddenly go wherever the road takes you, it opens new avenues of employment, and it helps you to get away from it all whenever the mood takes you.
This all comes at a cost, however. Passing your driving test takes time and money, and we have three things that you should consider before getting behind the wheel for the first time.
Learner Drivers Need Insurance Cover
The only way to learn to drive is to get as much time behind the wheel as possible, as often as you can. Driving with an instructor in their car will help you to learn the new skills you need, but practice makes perfect. With the help of family or a friend, you can get some extra experience driving their car. Another option for learners is to consider learner driver insurance, which offers a flexible and cost-effective way to insure a vehicle for a specific period of time.
The car owner can add you to their insurance policy, but this can affect their premiums. Learner driver insurance lets you drive a car without risking the no claims bonus or monthly costs of a friend or family member’s car insurance.
You can search and compare learner driver insurance policies from experts such as CompareNI.com, just like any other type of insurance, often finding deals that you will not see elsewhere from major insurance providers. This can help you save money and begin to build an insurance profile that will help lower car insurance premiums in the future.
Do Not Wait To Book Your Theory Test
The driving theory test is an important hurdle to climb when you are learning to drive. There are loads of books, apps, and websites around to help you prepare for the test and take mock exams to practice.
Booking a driving theory test comes with its own problems. There are long waiting lists across the UK, and learner drivers are struggling to get the test done so they can move forward to taking the practical test.
The best advice is to book as soon as possible, as you will often have to wait months before a slot becomes available. This will give you plenty of time to prepare and give you a deadline to help motivate you to revise for the test.
You Will Need To Budget
There are a lot of costs associated with driving, and even more when you are learning to drive. Lessons are getting more expensive, with the average cost across the UK currently around £27 per hour and slowly rising.
Driving lessons are only the beginning of the expenses. Learner driver insurance adds a little extra, and so do the costs of taking your tests. Both the theory test and the driving test add up to £85, and you may need to take them more than once to pass.
The driving test costs £62, but you will often need to book your driving instructor for two hours so you can take it. This can add another £54 to your expenses, making taking your driving test more than £100 each time.
If you follow these top tips, you should be able to save yourself both time and money when you are learning to drive. The more you save, the more you can spend on your own set of wheels.
