Free Professional Advice.
Welcome to the free advice section of the website. Please feel free to ask a question regarding your driver education. You may be learning wth parents ,your partner or even a driving instructor and have a question that you would like clarified. We are not looking to undermine who ever is giving your tuition,but we will give the same advice as we give to our clients ,which has produced a 1st time pass rate during 2007 of 81%. Please use the contacts page and simply leave your first name and location i.e  (John.Taunton) so we can publish your question.
Questions and Answers
Question.   Question. (from Mary ,Woolavington) Can I take the test in my own car,even though I do not have a 2nd mirror for the examiner. Answer. Hi Mary,yes you can take the test in your own car,but you will have to buy a 2nd mirror. Most car accessory shops will stock them, they are approx £3.50 and simply stick on the winscreen.
Question.   Question .I read in the paper that the minimum age for driving is going to be 18.   (Helen,Taunton) Answer. Hi Helen, There are many changes that are being considered to reduce the apalling casualty rate among new drivers,the minimum age is one of them. At the moment no decision has been made so the minimum age is still 17.
Question   My instructor tells me to always use my headlights during poor day time visability,but I see lots of driving school cars using side lights,is this correct. (Adrian,Bridgwater.) Answer. Hi Adrian,your instructor is correct ,using headlights during poor visability will make sure that other motorists can see you in plenty of time.Side lights are of little use when you need to be seen from the front.The more visable you are the less likely that someone will pull out in front of you.
Question   Question. My friend says that its possible to go on a pass plus workshop in Bridgwater,where I can get £60.00 towards the cost of my pass plus course,do you know if this is correct please?  (Julie,Bridgwater). Answer. Hi Julie,your friend is quite correct.Somerset road safety partnership run the course of which I am the tutor on a monthly basis,the next one is on Wednesday 20 February from 19.00 to 21.00. You will receive a cheque for £60.00 for attending and you may bring a parent along if you wish ( they wont get £60.00 though) The workshop has been running since September and has proved to be very successful,so much so that from March there will be two per month,should you attend it could turn out to be the most important 2 hours of your life. The workshop also runs at Taunton and Yeovil,to find out more dates telephone me on 01278 450142 or to BOOK on the course telephone Rina Cameron at Somerset Road Safety on 01823 340013.
Question   Question. If I have to do a three point turn on my test ,will I fail if I hit the kerb?. The reason I ask is, when I am practicing I often hit the kerb or stop to far away and then I can,t turn the car around. Laura ,Taunton. Answer. Hi Laura, generally if you "touch" the kerb,this will not be seen as a serious fault and would not be a fail.However if you hit the kerb with force then this would be a serious fault. My advice would be to use reference points to help you decide when to stop with out touching the kerb.
Question   Question. I have just read in the paper that if you splash a pedestrian at the side of the road you will fail your test .Is this correct? Answer. As drivers we cannot simply drive around soaking pedestrians just because they are stood next to a puddle. A partially flooded road should be dealt with the same as any other obstuction , you should give way to any approaching vehicles and take a course around the obstruction when safe to do so. If the flood is so deep or wide that you have to drive partially through it then remember to test your brakes soon after.

Free professional advice on learning to drive and passing your driving test