Before you can actually get on the road you have to be 17 (can be 16 if subject to Mobility Allowance) and have actually received and signed your provisional licence. You will also have to be accompanied by a qualified driver who is aged at least 21 and who has held a full car licence for at least 3 years.

The full rules and regulations are given on the form DL100 (from main post offices). It's quite a heavy read and gives you all the information that you need, plus a whole lot more! Your Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) will be able to help you out with most queries so you shouldn't need to have to wade through all the small print.

As a last resort, you can contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) on : 0115 901 2500 or go to the website of the Driving Standards Agency. It is pretty easy to find your way around it: www.direct.gov.uk/motoring

To apply for a Provisional Licence you need to get a form D1. These are obtained from a Post Office, although, once again, your ADI should be able to provide one. The Provisional licence normally lasts up to age 70 although most will apply for a full licence as soon as the driving test has been passed. They will then be able to drive unaccompanied and also go on motorways. The safest option is to go for Pass Plus in order to give you confidence in other areas such as motorway, bad weather & night driving. Pass Plus doesn't involve a test but your completion of six hours extra tuition. Very handy for getting experience and also money off your insurance.

Before you can take the Practical Test, you have to have passed the Theory Test (see the page for more information) although you can always start the practical lessons before actually sitting for the theory part. The important thing to remember is that you must actually hold your provisional licence before you can venture out with "L" plates on and a qualified driver next to you.

Choosing your Instructor

Unlike your relatives, your Driving Instructor is someone that you can choose yourself. So, what will make you decide on who is going to prepare you best for the test? After all, if you make the wrong choice then you will end up not looking forward to the next lesson. If you stop enjoying the lessons then learning will soon take a back seat!

So then, what will affect your choice? All Approved Driving Instructors are qualified to give instruction so they should all be the same. Yes? or No? Well, only time will tell if you have made the right choice, but here are some reasons that could well make up your mind :

Above all, you need to feel comfortable with your Instructor. A course of, say 20 lessons means a lot of time spent working with and learning from the Instructor in the close confines of the car. A lot depends, therefore, on both of you being able to get on well. Don't make the mistake of paying beforehand for a course of lessons without firstly having an assessment lesson.

Another good way is to ask the Instructor to visit you at your home in order to meet them and hear what they have to offer. This can also give parents or friends the opportunity of making a judgment. If the Instructor shies away from this suggestion then you need to ask yourself "Why?"

... and now a few warnings!!!

Always be aware of "Marketing Hype". There is no such thing as a "Guaranteed Pass"

You are looking for "Value for Money" and not just the cheapest lesson rate that you can find. Having 10 lessons with a good Instructor could be a lot better than having 20 with one that, to be honest, you shouldn't have gone with in the first place.

Make sure that they teach the full syllabus as approved by the Driving Standards Agency. They should also work with some form of Logbook into which details of each lesson given are entered. This should stay with the learner so that they can see just how well they are getting on. Will your Instructor do this?

"No back seat passengers" - do make sure that if you have booked and paid for a full one hour, one to one lesson, that you do in fact get it. Some instructors will expect their pupil, towards the end of the lesson, to drive to the house of the next pupil. The new pupil then drives the other one back home. Our new pupil will then be expected to do the same routine towards the end of their lesson. This will mean that a one hours lesson, on a one to one basis, just will not happen. Perhaps the advert should read "45 minute lesson with Taxi service thrown in".

A final point about the "back seat passenger" routine is that the Instructor will not be prepared for the new pupil. There will be no time to look at their notes on previous lessons or see what needs to be covered in the lesson. Unless of course that is done in the remaining 45 minutes.