Simon Bell Driving School - What to do After your test

What to do After your test

This section is to help you once you have passed your driving test. It includes your legal responsibilities to driving, documentation requirements, maintenance, help with buying a car, car insurance and breakdown cover, journey planners and links to buy car related items. My aim is to help you learn to drive and get a car on the road from start to finish just the way you want it.

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Road Traffic Reports

Frixo.com is a real time traffic information website to give you traffic information before your journey. Prior planning of your journey allows you to avoid unnecessary delays, stress and risk on your journey. Consider avoiding any closed roads, bad congestion and plan your route to avoid major cities and congested areas around rush hour time. Also consider where you might wish to stop on long journeys. A break should be taken for at least 15 mins for every 2 hours of driving. Frixo is available by clicking the following link

Frixo.com

Young Drivers Act

The main thing to be aware of once you pass your test is not to lose your licence. Under the Young Drivers Act, any driver who acquires 6 points in the first two years of driving will have their licence revoked. They will have to go back to a provisional licence AND be required to resit the theory and practical driving test. Remember how hard it was to sit and pass your test. You don't want to do it again. Offences such as speeding, red-light offences, box junction offences, legal parking offences and use of handheld mobiles all carry at least 3 point penalties. That means you only get one chance, second time and your out. IT NOT WORTH IT. No insurance, dangerous or careless driving and drink driving are likely to result in immediate loss of licence.

Drivers Legal Documentation

Before driving on the road you need to have a driving licence. To learn to drive you need a provisional licence. When you are learning you MUST be accompanied by someone who is over 21 years old and has driven for at least 3 years. When you pass your test, your examiner will take your licence off you and you'll be issued with a shiny new full licence within about 3 weeks.

Forms to apply for these licences can be obtained from main post offices. Information and electronic forms can be viewed and filled in online using the following link.

http://www.dvla.gov.uk

Car Documentation

Your car must have the following : -

Road Tax
A V5 registration document
Car Insurance
An MOT (if the car is over 3 years old)

Road Tax is renewed every 6 months or annually. You usually recieve a reminder from the DVLA about 2 weeks before your tax runs out. However it your responsibility to ensure your car is taxed. Car tax is available from the post office. You need to take along a valid MOT certificate and your certificate of car insurance. Alternatively you can now purchase your tax online(if you have a new-style computerised MOT) and this electronically checks your MOT and insurance. The link for that is http://www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc

Your V5 Registration Document(also known as your logbook) should have come with your car. DO NOT BUY A CAR WITHOUT ONE. This proves the car's identity and also that the previous owner is the registered keeper of the car ie. it is not stolen. It is your responsibility to ensure your car is not stolen and it could be taken off you if it is. If you lose it or your car does not have one you can apply online at http://www.dvla.gov.uk

Car Insurance must be bought for your car before you use it and before you can tax the car. It is illegal to drive a car without insurance. Car Insurance is available at three different levels. These are Third Party only, Third Party Fire & Theft and Fully Comprehensive. Third Party pays to damage caused to someone elses car if you are involved in an accident. Fire & Theft would add a payment of the market value of your car if it caught fire or was stolen. Fully Comprehensive covers all this plus would pay for damage to your car/give you a market value payment for your car if you have an accident. There are very high fines for driving without insurance and also up to 8 points on your driving licence. Some fully comprehensive ploicies allow you to drive other cars but not all. YOU MUST CHECK POLICY DETAILS FOR WHICH CARS YOU CAN DRIVE. You usually have to be over 25 to drive another car and if you do it only covers you for third party risks so should only be used in an emergency. Premiums(prices) of car insurance can vary significantly between insurance companies and for different people. For example, just because an insurance company is good for your parents you may find it is not good for you. Also Pass Plus can lower your premiums especially if you are young. I offer a Pass Plus course. If you are unsure about savings you can ask inurance company/search for insurance with and without pass plus and compare quotes. The best way to find insurance is to do an internet search of the market. I have one above for you. Click the above bold text.

Car Maintenance

You should regularly check the following on your car :-

All lights and indicators MUST BE WORKING. It is an offence for them not to be. Check them daily.
Tyres must be safe and legal to use. You can be fined £1000 per illegal tyre. They can cause an accident if over/under-inflated, if in bad condition or if the tread is too low. Look in your handbook for tyre pressures. The legal requirements of tyre safety are the they should have no cuts or bulges and that there should be a continuous band of tread around the central 3/4 of the tyre which is at least 1.6mm deep.
Fluid levels. You should check the levels of your oil, coolant(water), screen wash and brake fluid weekly. While the is not a legal requirement the car can be seriously damaged if these aren't correct. Oil is checked using the dipstick. Other fluids by using min/max markings on the side of the tanks in the engine compartment. Check your car manual for details. A car can use up to 1 litre of oil every 1000 miles so make sure you check inbetween services even if your car is regularly serviced.
Registration plates must be clean, in good condition(not badly cracked) and lit at night. They must also be in the correct format.
Windscreen wipers must be in good condition and clean the windscreen effectively so you can see to drive.

Buying a Car

There is lots of advice about buying a car out there. Make sure you take it. Investigate thoroughly and don't be pushed into buying. Don't assume franchised dealers will give you better service but be careful when buying from private dealers maybe using someone who you know has a good reputation. Car auctions can be a good place to pick up a cheap car but be VERY careful as you have no comeback as cars are sold as seen. Take someone with you who knows a bit about cars.

If you go to a dealer don't be afraid to haggle for a better price, extras or cheaper finance. But be aware they will probably try to make the money back elsewhere(on the finance or by giving you less for a part-exchange). If you are buying a new car ask them if they will match elsewhere and/or the WhatCar target price. To get information on cars and for help on these matters try the following links:-

What Car Magazine site - help with buying, reviews, prices, Target Price

Parkers Online Car Valuations - Find out value of cars

Auto Trader Magazine - advice on buying/selling, cars for sale

Top Gear Magazine/TV Show - website of popular car show, road tests, car info

Ford Motor Company site - view range, buy online

VAuxhall- view range, special offers, buy online

Renault - view range, offers, dealer info

Peugeot - view range, offers, dealer info

Fiat - offers, buy online, dealer network

Mini- start your adventure, view range, dealer info

Arnold Clark - many local dealers, all cars new and used

Motorpoint - cheap car supermarket, many makes and models

Buying car-related items

Buy car-reg plates- search to see if your name is available. Look for any car accessory you want at Halfords! And the Carphone Warehouse can provide hands-free kits for your mobile. Remember you can get 3 points and a £60 fine fo talking on a hand-held phone

Car Registrations

Car Breakdown Cover

Car Breakdown cover is a must unless your car is new and you get it automatically. If your car breaks down you don't want to be stranded. There are many providers and many different levels of cover(roadside, homestart, recovery). Use the links below to compare the main providers and packages. You may also get cheaper breakdown cover if you purchase it with your insurance. Be aware to look at policies carefully, particualarly recovery is not the same at all providers.

http://www.theaa.com

http://www.rac.co.uk

http://www.greenflag.co.uk

http://www.tescofinance.com/personal/finance/insurance/breakdown/index.jsp

Planning a Journey

It is vital that before you set off, you plan your journey carefully. This will avoid you getting lost and help avoid traffic hotspots(such as cities at rush-hour). Planning your journey reduces your stress levels making it less likely you will speed or have an accident. There are many websites which can help you plan your route. These are : -

http://www.theaa.com

http://www.rac.co.uk

http://www.streetmap.co.uk

OR YOU CAN BUY A SAT-NAV. Try my links above to Halfords or the Carphone Warehouse!

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