What Do You Need Before Your First Driving Lesson

Learning to drive, like many other educational endeavours, requires a little bit of preparation before you dive right into your first lesson. There are a few things that you need to make sure that you have before you book that first lesson and there are also some things that you have to make sure that you do to ensure that you are ready to take on whatever the open road has to throw at you.

With that in mind, we have compiled a short list of the things that you should have squared away before you take that first driving lesson.

1. Have Your Provisional Licence

It may seem completely obvious, but some people still seem to believe that they can learn how to drive without having first applied for and received their provisional licence.

The simple fact of the matter is that nobody is allowed out on the road without the relevant licence. This goes for learners as much as qualified drivers, so if you turn up to your first lesson without having a provisional licence to hand, expect to be turned away until you get one.

In fact, just to be on the safe side, make sure that you bring both the paper and photocard version of the licence.

2. Reading Plates

Driving is heavily reliant on your eyesight so you must be sure that it is up to par before you head out onto the road. If you require glasses or contact lenses to drive then make sure that you have them with you, as you could cause an accident if you forget them or simply believe you don’t need them.

A good rule of thumb test to see if you have vision problems that would affect your driving lesson is to read a licence plate from 20 paces away. This is something that your instructor will probably do with you fairly early, so you may as well try it yourself beforehand.

If you can’t do it and you don’t already wear glasses, it may well be time to book a trip to an optician.

3. Be Seventeen

Another obvious one but we really cannot stress this enough! You have to be at least seventeen years of age before you can start taking full driving lessons. You will not be able to receive a provisional licence until you reach this age and no driving instructor will allow you into their car if you are below 17.

…With one exception. Some driving schools, including The Driving Force, offer under-17s off-road driving lessons. At no point will you be allowed out onto the road, but the training could give you a good basis for your eventual lessons.

4. Have ‘L’ Plates

Some people choose to learn how to drive without the help of a driving school, or they decide to touch things up a little bit by heading out on the road themselves. To do that you need to be accompanied by somebody who is at least 21 years of age and has held a driving licence for at least three years.

Just as important is that you need to make sure the car is equipped with visible ‘L’ plates. Not only does this denote that you are a learner, thus alerting other drivers to be a little extra careful around you, but it is also a legal requirement for anybody not driving with a full licence.