Once you have passed your driving test with us, you have achieved something life changing & something that you should be very proud of. However, as much as we all feel that we are ready to conquer to world, passing your driving test alone, doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you are fully equipped to drive on all roads & in all possible weather conditions.
Fortunately though, a course is available to help fill in the gaps in driving skills and experiences by providing the additional experience needed to allay these concerns, & this course is known as the Pass Plus Course.
What Exactly is the Pass Plus Course?
The Pass Plus Course is a course designed to teach additional skills designed around making new drivers, safer drivers. The course can be taken up to a year after you have
passed your test and has the backing of the UK Government, the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) and UK insurance companies.
There are a number of elements to the Pass Plus Course, all of which have been included to enhance the experience of newly qualified drivers. These elements include:
- Town driving: To teach the skills needed to comfortably cope with more complicated road layouts and rush hour traffic
- All-weather driving: to teach the skills needed to drive safely in adverse road conditions (i.e. rain, snow or fog)
- Night time driving: Learn how to judge speed and distance when driving in the dark
- Out of town driving: Whilst there may be less traffic on countryside roads, they present their own challenges due to roads being potentially narrower and bumpier, along with additional challenges such as bends less well marked and there may be vehicles, pedestrians and even horses in the middle of the road
- Motorway and dual-carriageway driving: allowing more space between vehicles, the correct use of different lanes and how to join and leave multi-lane roads safely.
To successfully complete the course, you will need to complete all elements of the Pass Plus course to your instructor’s satisfaction. The Pass Plus course will take a minimum of six hours to complete, although it is possible that you may need further lessons to reach the required standard in one or more elements of the course if neccessary.
There’s no test at the end of the Pass Plus course (breathe a huge sigh of relief!!), just continual assessment of your improving driving skills from your driving instructor, and we strongly recommend the benefits of using the same instructor that provided your lessons as they already have a valuable insight into your main driving strengths and weaknesses. This can help to reduce the need of lessons needed as they are able to concentrate on the areas that they think need the most attention.
Why take the Pass Plus Course?
The Pass Plus course has been designed to boost the confidence of newly qualified drivers by ensuring that your driving skills are increased to the stage where you feel comfortable dealing with almost any circumstance that you may come across when driving.
As well as the increased levels of driving skills and confidence gained through the completion of the Pass Plus course, there is also a positive financial aspect of the course due to the fact that many insurance companies offer significantly reduced premiums for drivers with the Pass Plus qualification.
If you would like any more information regarding the Pass Plus course at Surrey Driving Force please contact us and we’ll be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
