What to Expect on Your First Driving Lesson

April 22, 2016 3:49 pm by Brain Young

Everyone starts somewhere, and with driving lessons that of course means your very first lesson. At Freedom Driving Centre our driving instructors in Johnstone and Paisley have coached literally countless people through their first driving lesson. We understand how nervous learner drivers can be as they attempt to learn a completely new skill for the first time. Our lesson plans are designed to introduce you to the world of driving at a pace that you are comfortable with.

When your lessons begin your driving instructor will introduce themselves and run through the lesson plan for that day. This is meant to put you in a good frame of mind and give you confidence in knowing exactly what is coming.

At this point you will sit in the passenger seat whilst your instructor takes you to a quiet, low traffic location (usually in a residential area). This is the perfect place to begin learning basic skills and awareness, on roads and streets that hopefully you are already familiar with.

The main thing to remember when you arrive for your first lesson is to make sure to bring your counterpart driving licence with you.

The Cockpit Drill

One of the first drills that we will introduce a new student to is the Cockpit Drill. This is designed to help students understand the different elements of car from the point of view of the driver, and introduces you to the basic checks you need to making every time you step into the driver’s seat.

We will also run through the main controls of the car, talking about how to change gears and making sure to cover the clutch, accelerator, brake, handbrake, mirrors, blind spot and indicators.

We will then run through the procedures for safely moving off and stopping the car.

After Your Lesson has Finished

Once the lesson is over we spend some time with our students discussing some of the insights we can give and giving practical advice about what to improve and how. We also outline what any lessons might look like.

One of the essential elements of our driving lessons is that we build a rapport with our students. Throughout our lessons we encourage our students to ask questions at any point, as we believe that this is the best way to learn.