Learning to drive in and around Blackpool with Colin Storey and the AA driving school

What do you see as the successful outcome of a course of driving lessons? To pass the driving test .... NO!!! .... to be able to drive safely for the rest of your life ..... ABSOLUTELY YES!!!!

The Secret of You Getting A Full UK Driving Licence Properly is ......... there is no secret, simply Get The Best Instructor You Can Afford.

I have absolutely no doubt that all of the Blackpool driving schools and fully qualified driving instructors want you to pass your practical driving test first time and each of us is totally capable of passing on some skills that will be of benefit to you.

However, TO SAVE YOU MONEY, I respectfully suggest that you are very careful of offers of cheaper driving lessons with false promises of a first time pass as it will add ££££'s to the costs in the long run if you don't pass.  On some of these intensive courses you might not even be the only pupil in the car. 

Consider, realistically, how long it will take you to pass the driving test. If you are up to 20 or 30 or 40 years of age, the Driving Standards Agency figures show that an "average" pupil will take up to 42, 56 and 70 hours of professional tuition respectively and on top of that training you will need some additional practice.

Will your limited hours on an intensive course reach the above numbers .... and will you be able to drive safely after that course? ..... I hold an honest belief that you won't.  It is only fair at this point to say that some "outstanding" pupils do get through the test after a week's course but ......

Come the day of the test which unbeknown to you might or might not have been booked for the town where you have been learning to drive, the instructor, who may or may not even be fully qualified, could refuse to let you take the test as you are more than likely not up to the minimum standard ... trust me .... you certainly wouldn't be up to the standard that you and I would reach together. 

The driving instructor on a week-long course isn't going to be as concerned about you passing as would an instructor that you are to be with for a number of weeks and months.

A car is a heap of junk in reality as it cannot think for itself. You have to think for it and if you get it wrong, the car will do exactly what you have told it to do. Any idiot can drive a car .... to drive safely however, it is the road sense skills that go hand in hand with the technical mastery of the vehicle that you need to be taught to be a success.

The system I use, with my police, Driving Standards Agency and Institute of Advanced Motoring driving approach, teaches you on a one-to-one basis to drive safely for the rest of your life, not just to pass the driving test ... the skills you gain with me go beyond the driving test standard and your safety will always be foremost now with me and with you for the future.

Remember, an examiner's job is not an easy one ..... TO INDEPENDENTLY ASSESS YOUR DRIVING SKILLS TO A HIGH STANDARD and believe me they will ..... therefore you pass the driving test by demonstrating the quality of the skills that you have been taught, not only with respect to your technical mastery of the vehicle that you are driving but also on the basis of your perception of and in the dealing with hazards that might compromise road safety around you so go for the best instructor with the best teaching methods.

With my corporate hat on now as an AA driving school franchised instructor, I ask the question as to "What better way to learn to drive safely than in the comfort of a brand new Ford Focus replaced every six months alongside a fully qualified driving instructor."  Without exception, every single one of the AA driving school instructors is fully qualified but that cannot be said about all driving schools or instructors.

Ask the question of your potential driving instructor as to what Check Test Grade he or she has been awarded.  If they have been graded by a Driving Standards Agency Senior Examiner at a Check Test of continued ability and fitness to give instruction, you know they are qualified. There are currently around 44,000 driving instructors the UK but less than 6% of them are top-graded as a Grade 6. That means that only one in every seventeen instructors is a Grade 6 and from around 370 test centres in the UK, there are just about 7 instructors in your local area who can boast a Grade 6. How many instructors are there in your area? Get the best .... ask the right question and ask to see the proof!!

I am proud to be one of that highest-graded group of instructors in the country at that Grade 6 level but Grades 5 and 6, if you can get one, are the best ones to go for. Definitely think twice about a Grade 4 instructor ... it could cost you more money than you had intended to fork out as it is not a cheap exercise, learning to drive.  A Grade 5 instructor might only have had one Check Test so ask how long he or she has been teaching. It's not usual for a first Check Test to result in a Grade 6 so talk to your potential instructor and finally, when you go to a search engine, type in the box to ask for a "Grade 6 driving instructor" in your town or even better, go directly for a Grade 6 AA driving school instructor.

To me, the passing of the practical driving test is less important than you being able to drive safely. Working together, we will get you a level higher than the minimum test standard and as I say, if you drive the way I teach you, I will guarantee that you will pass the test.  How is that for total confidence in the system we will work on together?  I am not particularly interested in test routes as my philosophy is that if you can drive with me, within reason, you can drive anywhere.  Just as an example of that, I have had many pupils who have only had one or two recorded driver faults against them at the end of the test and indeed how about a zero faults test result.  I know the system works correctly.

There are many benefits you can take advantage of by being an AA driving school pupil that you can see if you visit the AA website.

Even if you are a full licence holder but you have not driven for a while and you want to brush up on your driving skills that have got a bit rusty, whether it be around the town or even on the motorway, please do not hesitate to call me.  We will soon get up to scratch together.

So, if you live in Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Thornton, Carleton, Poulton, Hambleton, Pilling, Preesall, Singleton, Great Eccleston, Garstang, Bispham, Blackpool, St.Annes, Lytham, Wesham, Kirkham, Weeton, Freckleton and Warton you know you can save money with the AA driving school right now.

If you reached the bottom of this, I thank you for your patience.  You might just probably detect that I am rather passionate about what I do best for my pupils. 

The Magical Mystery Tour as I call it (the driving test) is not difficult to pass at all, once you have been taught the correct skills to get there but the examiner will so easily fail you if you haven't. There is nothing more pleasing than to see the beam across the face of a pupil who returns from the test with a clean sheet. No faults at all. I know, I have been there and it could be you next. Whatever the situation, a good driving instructor will give you all the guidance and support that you need but it has to be you the pupil who must really want to achieve success ... an instructor cannot do it for you. My father used to say to me ... "If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail!!!" and that is sound advice.

I used to be a driver instructor trainer. If you fancy a challenge, then join the AADS as a driving instructor and they will teach you how to do it. I taught the AA driving school way of doing things, not like any other form of teaching. You being in a totally holistic manner so that if you purchase the whole training package, you will learn elements of the training in a structured format that covers the theory, the driving and the instructional ability almost from day one so there are no surprises around the corner as you progress into the tuition. It's good fun ... why not give me a ring and I will talk you through it.

Not only that, I am a full member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, a Registered Driving Instructor with the Institute and a Qualified Observer with the Blackpool and Fylde Group. You can go on with me beyond your practical driving test and be successful on the Advanced Driving Test as an Associate Member of the Institute which has a number of benefits if you wish to take advantage of them. If you live in the Fylde Coast area, simply have a look at our website at www.bafam.org.uk and that will give you all of the information that you need and even simply call me for a chat about it.

All of the stuff I have mentioned above about my background to teaching driving is of little importance to you, the question for you about any driving instructor is, "What do I get out of this?"

Success at the end of the tuition, because learning to drive with a good instructor is not cheap, should have you at the very least, consciously and competently in technical control of the vehicle. More importantly, with the coaching that goes with the driving techniques, the then holder of a level of sufficient knowledge, experience, skills and with you displaying the appropriate attitude to driving, capable of dealing with safety matters that arise whilst you are driving on your own, long after you have passed the test.

Have you heard of the BTEC Driving Sciences. This is a course that might be available at your school or college and is new to the UK and run by a firm called a2om. (Atom for short, derived from alpha to omega).

Do you know anyone that has been killed or badly hurt in a car crash? Most people between 15 and 25 know at least one person who has and that's not surprising because1 in 5 new drivers will crash within a year of passing their test. The a²om BTEC in Driving Science has been designed to make you a better driver from Day 1, so after passing your test you will be above the required standard and safer on the road.

The a²om BTEC in Driving Science is the world's first academic qualification in novice driver training. Equivalent to a GCSE Level, it is your chance to be a pioneer in revolutionising the way driving is taught and learnt. The a²om BTEC in Driving Science is completed over a normal course of driving lessons. It will result in a more fully informed driver with a full appreciation of all the factors that influence safety. You can only receive the tuition from a trained instructor and guess what? I am one of those instructors. Have a look at the website www.a2om.com and see for yourself.

As you are of great importance to me, I give you my guarantee now as you read this that you will get the best of tuition and service to reach your success point at the end of our journey for the road ahead. I think that will do for now.

Go to www.colinstorey.co.uk or email at colin@colinstorey.co.uk

Call me for a no obligation chat on 01253 824941 or 07811 099160.