Learning to Drive

The minimum age which you can legally drive a car on the public roads is 17. However, if you are disabled and in receipt of mobility allowance, the minimum age is 16.

Until the day you pass the practical part of the Driving Test you are not allowed to drive on your own.

You will need to apply for a provisional driving licence. You can apply for a provisional driving licence quickly and easily online (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Motoringtransactions/BeforeyouapplyA/DG_10032690) or by completing the D1 application form available at most post offices.

The current cost of a first provisional licence is £38.00 (car, motorcycle, medium/large vehicle, minibus/bus). All applications made by filling in the D1 form will also require original documentation to be sent to the DVLA to confirm your identity.

The following documentation is accepted by DVLA as confirmation of your identity:

• Full Valid Current Passport
• Birth Certificate
• Certificate of Registry of Birth (Provided your name is present on the certificate)
• Adoption certificate
• ID Card issued by a member state of the EC/EEA
• Travel Documents issued by the Home Office
• Certificate of Naturalisation or Registration

If your name is now different from that shown on the document you submit to confirm your identity, you must also supply original documentary evidence to confirm your change of name e.g. Marriage Certificate, Decree Absolute or Decree Nisi papers, Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration.

* Information supplied by the DVLA - subject to change without notice

You MUST NOT drive until you have received this first licence and you have signed it in ink.

Your eyesight must meet a minimum standard. When you take your practical driving test one of the first things your examiner will do is to give you a test before you get into the car.

They will point out a vehicle and ask you to read the number plate.

You must satisfy the examiner that in good daylight you can read a vehicle number plate with letters 79.4mm (3.1in) high at a minimum distance of 20.5 metres (about 67 feet).

Number plates with a narrower font, such as the new style number plates introduced during 2001, should be read from a distance of 20 metres (66 feet).

If you need glasses or contact lens to read the number plate, that is OK.

However, you must wear them during your test and whenever you drive.

The Driving Test is split into two parts:

1. A computerised Theory Test of mainly multiple choice questions together with a video-based Hazard Perception Test.
2. A Practical Test of your driving.

You must pass BOTH parts before you can apply for a full driving licence.

Note:
You must pass your Theory Test before you are allowed to apply for your Practical Test

Copyright KDS 2007