Welcome to i-Course Driving
From December 23rd 2017 the ADI Driving test will be in line with the L test. Although the test will be longer than the L test and will have stricter making the driving requirements will be the same.
Link: Full details about the changes here.
The main changes are the removal of the turn-in-the-road and left/right reversing and the addition of stopping on the right and driving into parking bays. The independent driving time has also been increased to 20 minutes.
Note that although the corner reversing and turn-in-the-road manoeuvres have been removed from the new test, they are still included in the DVSA driving syllabus and you may need to teach them after you qualify - remember that your job will be to teach driving skills for life, not just for the driving test. With this in mind we are keeping the manoeuvres in our course and they are a required part of the course work.
The test and non-test manoeuvres are fully covered in this course.
Please be aware that lots of practise is essential for the sustained concentration required under test conditions - this is especially the case with independent being 20 minutes. Our recommendation is at least 40 hours dedicated driving practise before attending any practical training.
Sat-nav during the test
You may be asked to follow a sat-nav for the Independent Drive element of the test. DVSA provide the device for the test and you might wish to practise using the same type, although this should not be essential.
We recommend that next time you update your sat-nav you purchase the same model as that used by the DVSA for use when teaching. The DVSA device is the TomTom Start 52.
Whether or not you choose the same device as that used by the DVSA you should get some practise using a sat-nav.
You can see 2x videos about the use of sat-nav during the Independent Drive by clicking here.
Important information about the Part-Three test
For Part-Three you will need a 'live' learner.
You could consider taking a full-licence holder - perhaps a friend or family member - as your learner. We suggest that you start to think about who you might use as your learner now. Our recommendation is that a Full Licence Holder is taken to test as they are generally more reliable and more likely to be available for practice.
However, our usual advice is that you take a learner driver, a beginner who is learning something new for the first time on quiet roads (you drive the car from the test centre to the practise area). The reasons for this are that this scenarios would present fewer variables and make the exam process a little easier. However, the choice of customer and subject is entirely up to you.
Link: You can find details of the ADI Testing process here.
VERY IMPORTANT: You need to know the test area well. Simply learning a couple of routes could cause major problems during your exam if you need to change a lesson plan or if there is an external problem (road closed, etc.).
Our experience working with trainers across the UK is that it takes anything between three to ten days to learn an area around a test centre well enough to teach there. With this in mind we strongly suggest that you do the practise exercises for iCourse Driving in the location that you will be taking Part-Three to ensure that you are familiar with the area.
iCourse Driving
You can start working through i-Course Driving as soon as you start your instructor training study - by combining your driver improvement with i-Course Theory you will gain a greater depth of understanding. Make sure that you set aside plenty of time for dedicated driving practise.
The programme links to the resources in the SmartDriving Drivers Area to help you gain a full depth of knowledge and expertise - there is a overview of each section below.
Introduction: A quick overview of the course aims and methods.
Section One: Section One considers the basics - a revision of the basic stuff that many people take for granted. The starting point for becoming an expert driver is ensuring that you are building on a firm foundation but before you even start to drive, you need a little background understanding and information.
Section Two: Section Two introduces the skills of ensuring your car is safe, entering the car and driving away. It also introduces commentary driving.
Section Three: Section Three concentrates on 'smooth driving' with expert use of the controls. It also looks at emergency braking and develops your commentary skills with a simple exercise.
Section Four: Section Four considers the importance of using a driving routine and moves on to information to stay safe on hills and more commentary driving development.
Section Five: Section Five considers slow speed manoeuvres such as parking. It also adds a new twist to your commentary driving skills.
Section Six: Section Six concentrates on the importance of keeping a safe speed, space and the skills of reading the road.
Section Seven: Overtaking, motorway driving and the finishing touches to your commentary driving.
In addition to studying this course and completing the projects we recommend that you also familiarise yourself with what is required during the Part-Two test. You can find information about the learner's test at DriverActive - this follows a similar format but is shorted and does not include all the manoeuvres; The Driving Instructor's Handbook has an overview of the test; for in depth study you could look at the examiner's guidance notes ADI1.
Follow the course sequentially completing all the projects - CLICK THE START BUTTON ABOVE TO GET STARTED with the introduction to i-Course Driving.