Terms and Conditions for Driver Training
Start your Journey to Freedom and Flexibility with a First Drive South West Driving Course
- Basic Requirements for Driver Training
- Your Health and Wellbeing
- What You Should Wear to Your Driving Lesson
- Lesson Times
- Payments and Refunds
- Postponing your Driving Lesson
- Booking Your Driving Test
- Observing Your Lessons
- Your Conduct
- The Legal Small Print
We want to help you get on the road – safely and legally.
Here’s what we need from you:
Basic Requirements for Driver Training
Make Sure You have Everything You Need
If you want to start taking driving lessons, you’ll need to hold a current, valid driving licence that entitles you to drive in the UK. You’ll also need to prove you’re medically fit to drive, which includes being able to read a number plate from a prescribed distance of 20.5 metres.
We’ll ask you for your driving licence before you begin your first driving lesson, so be sure to have it ready to present to the instructor. And, be aware, it will also be checked periodically by your driving instructor throughout your training.
Any points, endorsements, bans, convictions or restrictions on your provisional licence need to be declared to us straightaway, as well as any medical conditions or disabilities you have, and any issues that might affect your entitlement to drive.
Your Health and Wellbeing
Help us to Keep You Safe
Know When it’s Not Safe to Drive
It’s your responsibility to make sure you’re fit to drive, so we ask you to take your health very seriously. This means you’ll need to let us know as soon as possible if you have any medical condition, disability or injury that might affect your driving – so we can keep you and other road users safe, and stay within the law.
If you’re feeling unwell, tired, stressed or distracted, either before or during a training session, you need to let us know, and we’ll do our best to reschedule your session at a calmer and more convenient time.
You must not drive if you’re under the influence of alcohol or drugs – some prescription and over-the-counter medications can also cause drowsiness, so always read the leaflet attached.
What You Should Wear to Your Driving Lesson
It’s important to consider your clothing and footwear choices carefully, to ensure you’re fit to drive. Your shoes should be comfortable and suitable for a driving lesson. The AA* recommends a soft shoe with a thin sole and a little grip, like a basic flat shoe or pairs of trainers. This will help keep your ankles flexible, and you’ll be more sensitive to the pressure you’re putting on the pedals.
Clothing should be loose and comfortable, and give you a full range of movement while driving. Restrictive or inappropriate clothing could impact your ability to drive safely.
If you’re a glasses or contacts wearer, and need these for your driving sight test, you must bring them to every lesson and wear them for the duration of the class.
Remember, your health and safety is our priority, and it always comes first.
Lesson Times
If You’re Late
It’s important to check your lesson dates and times on our app, so you avoid missing appointments. If you’re late, your driving instructor will call you 15 minutes after the scheduled appointment time. They’ll cancel the lesson if you arrive any later than this, so it’s important to be as punctual as possible.
If Your Driving Instructor is Late
Your driving instructor will make every effort to be on time, but there may be occasions when traffic conditions make this difficult. If your instructor isn’t waiting for you when you arrive, you should allow a 15 minute window for them to get to you. If they still haven’t arrived after 15 minutes, you can assume that the lesson is cancelled.
In the event that this happens, don’t worry – you’ll still get all the time you’ve paid for. Your instructor will be back in touch with you as soon as possible to rearrange your lesson. And, if they arrive late, extra time can either be added on to the end of your current lesson, or added to your account for future use.
Payments and Refunds
Paying for Lessons
Driving lesson payments can be made by cash, bank transfer, credit or debit card, and must be paid for at least 24 hours in advance. If you get behind on your payments, we reserve the right to discontinue your tuition until you can bring your account back up to date.
Requesting a Refund
If you’ve paid in advance for lessons you’re not able to attend, you’re entitled to a full refund of the remaining balance at any time. If you received a discount for pre-paid lessons and request a refund, the lessons you’ve already taken will be charged at the full single lesson hourly rate, and the balance refunded.
Postponing your Driving Lesson
Sometimes Life Gets In The Way, and that’s Okay.
If You Need to Postpone Your Lesson
If you want to rearrange or cancel a lesson you’ve booked, you’ll need to let us know at least 24 hours in advance to avoid being charged at least 50% of the lesson fee. If you’re planning to cancel an appointment, it’s important to do this well in advance of a bank holiday or weekend, and preferably not during our out-of-office hours, as there might be a delay in your message reaching us.
If We Need to Postpone Your Lesson
We strive to keep all our commitments and appointments with you under normal conditions.
In the unlikely event we need to postpone your lesson at short notice – due to illness, mechanical breakdown, an emergency, or another unforeseen event – we’ll get in touch to arrange an alternative lesson to suit you. We’ll make every effort to let you know your lesson has been postponed as soon as possible, if we’re able to do so.
Booking Your Driving Test
Trust Us to Take Care of your Test
We can take over the hard work and manage driving test bookings for you.
If you choose to book your own test, you’ll need to let your driving instructor know the time, date and location of your test as soon as you can – and the appointment email must be shown to your driving instructor for verification at your next driving lesson.
We won’t take any responsibility for incorrect bookings, unless the driving test appointment email is produced, or for driving tests booked at times when the driving instructor is unavailable.
You’ll only be allowed the use of the driving school car for a driving test if the driving instructor agrees that you’re ready to take the test. And, to keep you and other road users safe, we reserve the right to withdraw your use of our car for the driving test, if the instructor feels you’re not up to test standards. To make sure you’re exam-ready, our instructors can give you mock tests to help assess your current ability.
If the driving school car has been reserved for a driving test, we’ll do our best to give you as much notice as possible, so you can cancel your test without losing out on the fee. However, this may not always be feasible if you’re booked onto an intensive driving course.
Observing Your Lessons
Help Us Improve Your Course
To help us maintain and improve our standards, as well as competently assess your driving abilities, it might occasionally be necessary for another driving instructor or examiner to observe, while your instructor teaches a lesson. We’ll do our utmost to let you know if a supervisor is joining your class in advance of the lesson, but this might not always be possible – so it’s important to expect that you might be observed during any of your lessons with us.
Driving Examiners are periodically supervised during driving tests, so be aware that you might be accompanied by a supervising examiner during your test. This is a legal requirement, but don’t worry – they’re assessing the examiner’s ability to teach and not your ability to drive.
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Your Conduct
We have the Highest Respect for You. Please have the Same for Us.
We have a strict No Tolerance Policy on verbal or physical abuse, whether it’s directed towards our First Drive South West driving instructors, our driving examiners, or other road users.
Your driving instructor has the right to end a lesson at any stage, if they feel your behaviour, sobriety or state of mind is in question – so keep a clear head and your road rage in check.
If you give the instructor a reason not to continue with the lesson, you’ll not only lose your fee, but, very possibly, your lift home as well. Your instructor is also not responsible for the cost of your transport home, if they need to end a lesson under these circumstances.
The Legal Small Print
While we’ll do our best to train you to the highest possible standard, you, as the driver, are legally responsible for any traffic offences you commit whilst in charge of the vehicle. Our instructors understand that sometimes drivers make mistakes as they learn, but they can’t be held legally liable for your standard of driving, or any errors you make outside of class – either before or after you pass your driving test.