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"I'll Tell You Exactly What You'll Get Up Front...

...When You Take Driving Lessons in Coventry with Phill Godridge Driving School."

Dear Reader,

I have two very simple aims...

1. I will teach you to drive.
    
2. I will teach you how to pass your driving test.

"Aren't they the same thing?" Well... No, not really. It would be nice to think that everyone would drive the way they were taught to pass a driving test, but in reality that does not happen.

My First Aim... is to teach you how to correctly control the car and to give you the skills and ability to improvise when needed. Not everything will be rehearsed and not everything will be obvious. But with my guidance, you will gain the experience to deal with whatever the road throws at you.

My Second Aim... is to get you up to a consistent level of driving so that you can drive around a complete test route without losing concentration and making silly mistakes.

That said... Here is what I will be teaching you over the next 14 lessons. If you have already done some driving, take a look and see how far you've got. That will give you some idea how far you have left to go before taking your driving test.

Lesson 1:

Assuming you have never been in a car before, at least not in the driving seat, you will need to familiarise yourself with all the Basic Controls of the Car: The Accelerator, The Brake, The Clutch, The Handbrake, The Gearstick, The Steering Wheel, The Dashboard, The Indicators, The Windscreen Wipers, The Headlights, etc., etc. You will be taught where they are, what they do and how to use them.

In the first lesson it is very important to actually get you driving. I don't want you sitting at the side of the road for an hour listening to me 'banging on'. So today you will be taught how to Pull-Away from the side of the road, then how to change up a gear or two and finally how to safely Park the car next to the kerb line.

Lesson 2:

Having learnt how the car works and practised a little with pulling away and stopping, we will move on to dealing with Basic Junctions. First up is the T-Junction or Give Way Junction, where I will today teach you how to perform the Left Turn both in to and out of a side-road. You will gain practical skills in speed management, judgement of speed and distance and above all you will start to develop a sense of timing.

Lesson 3:

Moving on... we now take a look at the Right Turns at T-Junctions. These are a little more complicated than Left Turns and includes other subjects which also need to be covered. You will learn how to safely cross the path of oncoming cars and judge the width of gaps ahead that might be between parked cars and oncoming cars. This is known as Meet and Cross. You need to answer the simple question... "Is there enough room?"

Lesson 4:

You can at this stage drive comfortably around the housing estate, but it's time to branch out. You will now learn how to deal with basic Traffic Lights and Roundabouts. Most estates have these junctions nearby, so there wont be the need to travel too far yet. The point is... once you have covered T-Junctions, Cross-Roads, Roundabouts and Traffic Lights, you will have learnt ALL the Basic Junctions.

Lesson 5:

Now you know how to drive around all the basic junctions... there's no stopping you. You can get out of your local area and start to explore the city. As you venture out onto the Main Roads you will cope with Bigger, Busier Roads and Junctions. You will learn all about Pedestrian Crossings, Road Markings, Traffic Signs and Driver Behaviour. This is the stage where You Really Start Learning To Drive.

Lessons 6-10:

Your driving is now coming along nicely. You are gaining confidence and beginning to see why you are putting yourself through all this! Now we can start to have some 'fun' with the Set Piece Manoeuvres.

You have, in total, SEVEN manoeuvres to cover... although most Driving Instructors (including myself) will only teach six of them - The reverse around a right-hand corner although still on the official syllabus is NOT used on test (at least I've not seen it used in the last 13 years!).

So the SIX manoeuvres I'll teach you are:

1. The Turn in the Road - (Lesson 6) Commonly called a three-point-turn, but could be completed as a five-point-turn as long as it was in control. Here's where you will gain real skill with Clutch Control and Steering Coordination.
    
2. Reverse around a Left-Hand Corner - (Lesson 7) They rarely (if ever) go to the right, but often choose this 'unpopular' manoeuvre. It really isn't as hard as people think - In fact once I show you how it's done, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about!
    
3. Reverse Park on the Road - (Lesson 8) Usually called the parallel park. This is the one where you reverse into a gap between two parked cars at the side of the road. Just follow the simple steps I'll give you and this one is 'a piece of cake'.
    
4. Reverse Park in a Car Park (Left) - (Lesson 9) Usually called the bay park. This manoeuvre will ONLY be done in the Driving Test Centre Car Park. In Coventry, that's at Bayton Road and unfortunately is probably the only car park in the region where practicing is NOT allowed! Thanks for that DSA.
    
5. Reverse Park in a Car Park (Right) - (Also Lesson 9) The choice of left or right bay park will normally be YOUR choice. However, if there are no available spaces on your preferred side... you will have to go the other way. I'll make sure you are happy either way... then it really wont matter.
    
6. The Emergency Stop - (Lesson 10) The final manoeuvre is requested at random by the Driving Examiner. You might have to do this, you might not. But if you do, you will still have to perform two of the other manoeuvres. Why? Since the introduction of ABS (Anti-Lock Braking Systems) in cars as standard on most models, the skill of stopping without skidding is no longer required. Simply stamping on the brake pedal could still stop the car safely, so there's not very much for the examiners to test any more. As a result, the emergency stop is no longer classed as a manoeuvre and is gradually being faded out.

Lesson 11:

One more major hurdle to go! Dual-Carriageways. Want to go faster? Now you get the chance to stretch your legs a little and experience roads with speed limits of up to 70mph (..that's the national speed limit on a dual-carriageway in case you didn't know!). With these roads comes the need to know about Slip-Roads and Multiple-Lane Roundabouts. In Coventry that means the 'Ricoh' ...and the 'M6' ...and the 'Griff' Roundabouts (Don't worry, I have a little CD Video Set to help you with those).

Lesson 12:

You're nearly there now... just one more road type to cover. In this lesson you will get the chance to have some fun on my personal favourite - The Country Road. There are plenty of national speed limit (60mph) country roads around Coventry... some straight... some curvy... some wide... some very narrow. During this lesson you will get a real feel for Speed Control and an ability to Read the Road Ahead. One of the most important lessons to learn here is how to switch from 'faster' roads to 'slower' roads so you can maintain a SAFE speed at all times.

Lesson 13:

Are you ready to take a Driving Test? ...Let's find out. I'll take you up to the Coventry Driving Test Centre and put you through a 'Mock Test'. I'll make it as realistic as possible - just giving directions, no instruction - and we'll go around one of the Official Driving Test Routes. I'll mark you just as the Driving Test Examiner would and we'll find out if you are ready to PASS.

Lesson 14:

Practice. Practice. Practice ...These are the three most important words. The Mock Test has 'probably' shown up your weaknesses, so let's put it right. When you can complete a route without making 'silly' mistakes then... You Are Ready To Go For Your Driving Test... For Real.

Please be aware that I DO NOT force you to learn all this in 14 HOURS. You can work through the 14 lessons at your own pace. Some lessons will take less than an hour but others may take 3 or 4 hours to complete. I WILL NOT hold you back, but neither will I push you if you're not ready. Most of my pupils reach the required standard in around 20 to 30 hours, but as you are an individual, I can't say how many you will personally need to pass that test, that will naturally depend on your own ability and willingness to learn.

So Who Am I Anyway?

My name is Phill Godridge. I've been a Driving Instructor running my own Driving School in Coventry for over 13 years. In that time I've taught over 500 people to drive.

Phill Godridge Driving School in Coventry has been established since 1997. Prior to that I had been a driving instructor with Acclaim Driving Academy since February 1996.

Instructing in and around the Coventry area, I cater for pupils from Coventry who wish to take their driving test at either the Coventry Driving Test Centre at Bayton Road or Warwick Driving Test Centre.

I keep accurate records of my pupils' successes and average about a 60% first time pass rate each year.

Driving lessons are given in 1 hour or 2 hour slots with no 'piggy-backing'. In other words the pupil has a full driving lesson in the car, picked up and dropped off from home, work or college.

I work on a first come, first served basis, so advanced bookings are advised.

I am a registered member of the DIA and the Professional Driving Instructors Association, Coventry.

Prices:

Read what a few of my previous pupils had to say...

        Hi Phill... Remember me?
        It is 5 years today since I passed my Driving Test (first go), I never thought I would get there, but thanks to you I did. Since then I am now driving a Volkswagon Golf TSI 2009. I have driven to Scotland and back (besides all over Scotland) 4 times. This time last year I drove in a hired car around Durban South Africa and on a Safari.
        I was 50 when I passed my test and it has opened up a whole new world, seeing places I would not have seen otherwise. I would advise anybody not to let age put them off. I cried many tears trying, and at one point I did not think I could do it, but I did and that is thanks to you. October The Lake District and hopefully many more years.
        Thanks Phill. Shelly

Hi Phill
        I am writing to you to thank you for your help in getting me through my driving test. I would like it to be known to anyone of interest that I would highly recommend you as their driving instructor, as you are calming and reassuring in the way you give instruction and tutoring. So if you ever need a reference please do not hesitate in using this email or giving my name. Once again thank you.
        All the best Lynne

Hi Phill,
        Long time since I've been in touch, thought I'd update you with my driving progress!
        3 weeks after passing the test in March I purchased a Mk3 VW Polo, '94 (M Reg) 1.3l at a bargain price with 11 months MOT and 5 months tax. It had 44,000 on the clock with one lady owner for the majority of it's life. Since March the Polo's run up to 53,000.
        Have also driven a few more modern cars with work and adapted well to them each time. Driving comes quite naturally to me now.
        I want to thank you for your patience and easy nature during my lessons. Though most of the time I was a nervous wreck or in panic mode your ability to talk me through the proceedures made it possible. Thankyou.
        I hope you are well and business is growing and continues to do so. I will surely recommend you to all friends wanting to learn.
        All the best
        Chris