The information in the image is from a research survey by Vauxhall Motors. The research, looking at the driving habits of 1,000 children and their parents, revealed that while 57% of parents can’t wait for their kids to be able to drive themselves – nearly the same amount (52%) wouldn’t trust themselves as their instructor.
Shockingly though, one in 10 mums said they would rather give birth again than be driven around by their children – harsh! The study also shows that when parents teach their young ones to drive, one in five ‘lessons’ end up with a dented car, with a quarter admitting they had lost their temper. To add to this, 41% of drivers are ‘terrified’ being driven around whilst their child is let loose in the car and 42% stated that have forgotten the highway code.
When I see my pupils’ driving has progressed to a fair standard then I do recommend extra practice in a suitable family car if available, but starting from scratch in a car with no dual controls on public roads can be dangerous. The father of one of my pupils decided to take his son out for a drive after only one lesson with me. (I had no idea they were going to do this). They drove from Harpenden through St Albans, onto a dual-carriageway and wrote the car off on the big roundabout on the A1 by the Galleria in Hatfield, whoops. Thankfully no one was hurt.
Anyone sitting in as the supervising driver with a learner must:
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- be over 21
- be qualified to drive the type of vehicle you want to learn in, for example they must have a manual car licence if they’re supervising you in a manual car
- have had their full driving licence for 3 years (from the UK, the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein)
You can be fined up to £1,000 and get up to 6 penalty points on your provisional licence if you drive without the right supervision.
You can drive with as many passengers as the vehicle can legally hold up to 9 including the driver on a Category B (car) provisional or full licence, however in the early stages of learning the extra distraction of more passengers can cause problems. Approaching test standard getting used to real life distractions is a good idea. That’s why the test was updated to include following a satnav or signs and switching on headlights, wipers or the demister whilst on the move.
It’s illegal for your friend or family member to use a mobile phone while supervising you or be under the influence of drink or drugs, the same as if they were driving.
Insurance
You need to be personally covered by insurance to drive under supervision as a learner driver. Check if your policy covers whoever sits with you for practice in case they need to take over, or their own car policy may cover them but always check for sure with the insurance companies first.
If you’re practising in someone else’s car, you need to make sure their insurance policy covers you as a learner driver unless you have your own separate policy to drive their car.
Some insurance companies require the person supervising you to be over 25 years old or older.
You can get an unlimited fine, be banned from driving and get up to 8 penalty points for driving without insurance.
