Refresher Driving Lessons

What are refresher driving lessons? Refresher driving lessons or refresher driving courses are often short as they are designed for individuals who require professional driving tuition for various reasons.

Due to the various reasons associated with individuals requiring refresher driving lessons, refresher courses are often structured around an individual’s particular requirements and often take just a few lessons.

All driving schools and instructors offer refresher lessons and can be essential for many reasons, many of which are listed below.

Refresher driving lessons for nervous drivers

You may have just passed your driving test but still feel too nervous to drive alone. Or you may have passed your test some time ago but have been involved in an accident and are nervous about the prospect of driving again.

Refresher driving lessons are an ideal solution as they can often quickly regain a drivers confidence. Refresher courses for nervous drivers will often start in a quiet location and gradually build up to busier and more complex traffic conditions, but only at a rate that the driver feels comfortable with.

Refresher driving lessons
Refresher driving lessons is a short course often designed specifically around the individual

Refresher driving lessons for the elderly

With the yearly increasing number of elderly drivers on the road, some may feel they will benefit from a refresher driving course for seniors. As a driver must legally their licence at the age of 70, plus every 3 years after this, it is the driver themselves who determine whether they are fit to drive.

Refresher driving lessons for the elderly offer the driver increased confidence in their abilities by eliminating bad habits and increasing hazard awareness. Such courses are not intended to prevent or discourage elderly drivers from staying behind the wheel.

Some local authorities offer free refresher driving courses for the elderly although they are advised they are currently voluntary. If in your area your local authority does not provide free refresher courses for the elderly. a driving school or instructor will often provide such a course at a discounted price for senior citizens and the course often takes only a few hours.

Refresher driving lessons for non UK residents

One of the dilemmas visitors to the UK face is if they intend on driving, they may not be used to driving on the left. The majority of countries drive on the right, so driving on the other side of the road can be a little daunting without a little professional tuition. The high frequency in which roundabouts are used in the UK can also pose a problem to many who may only come across them rarely.

A short refresher driving course will get you used to driving on the other side of the road in no-time, gain you confidence on roundabouts and resolve any other issues you may experience.

Exchanging foreign licence for UK driving licence

Those that have a permanent British address and have a full foreign driving licence exchange their licence for a permanent UK full driving licence depending on what country issued your current driving licence. If it was issued from:

  • Northern Ireland
  • European Community/European Economic Area
  • Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man if it was issued on or after 1 April 1991

If your licence is issued from:

Gibraltar, or Designated Countries: Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe, You can only exchange your current driving licence for up to five years from when you become resident, provided your licence remains valid.

From any other country not listed above, you are permitted to drive for up to 12 months from the date of residence. After 12 months, you will either need to cease driving or apply for a UK provisional driving licence, pass the theory test and practical driving test. Those that have a full foreign driving licence will benefit from refresher driving lessons. This short course will ensure you are proficient in all aspects required to pass the driving test.

What’s involved in refresher driver courses?

Refresher driving lessons cover many aspects of driving and unlike leaner driving lessons, are bespoke to the individual. They can simply cover an individual who wishes to receive motorway tuition, through to nervous drivers to a foreign licence holder wishing to get the UK drivers licence.

Benefits of refresher training

Refresher driver training is designed to fulfil a particular requirement of an individual. Other benefits include eco-driving. A short refresher driving course will employ key skills such as better awareness, anticipation and planning. Such skills enables a driver to read the road better and as a result will reduce wear and tear on a vehicle and reduce fuel consumption.

A short course lasting only a few hours won’t cost a fortune and the result in safer, confident driving along with the reduction on vehicle maintenance and fuel will in itself pay for the course within a year’s driving.

Refresher driving lessons in own car

Most driving schools and instructors will allow you to take refresher driving lessons in your own car. They may however ask that the first lesson is conducted in the instructors car for safety reasons due to dual controls being present. It can be beneficial to take refresher lessons in your own car, especially if you intend on taking the driving test. You will be familiar with how your car manoeuvres and drives.

Refresher driving lesson prices

Refresher driving lesson prices vary depending on which part of the UK you are located. Refresher driving lessons are often an identical price to standard driving lesson prices within the same organisation.

6 thoughts on “Refresher Driving Lessons”

  1. Margaret A Hill

    I have been a driver since 1961, my job as a domiciliary midwife involved driving in towns and rural..
    when I remarried 10years ago, my husband automatically took over the driving….but has recently been
    a victim of corona virus, and it will take some time for him to drive again..I am 82, no ailments, good eye
    sight, and would only wish to drive locally, not any distances, just as a convenience for local shopping..

  2. Hello Margaret
    Are you asking if you should take refresher lessons? If so, I always recommend refresher lessons to brush up on driving skills. Helps with confidence too.

  3. Michele

    Hi, I haven’t driven since I broke my foot on the 12thJanuary 2014. I will be 55 on 6th August and I’m taking 25% of my pension early. I would love to get a little run around and have some independence again. I thought a short refresher course would help me build my confidence again, then I can decide whether to go ahead with getting a car. Could you give me an idea of how much it would cost please. Thankyou, Michele

  4. Hi Michele,
    Refresher driving course help to update your skill set, but as you say, they’re great for improving confidence. In my experience, individuals that haven’t driven in some time pick it up very quickly – regardless of age. After you’ve refreshed your skills, refresher lessons can continue for a little longer until you feel confident enough to go it alone. The confidence side of refresher lessons is an individual thing. Most driving instructors do not have set courses for refresher lessons due to each individual having their own requirements. After your first lesson you’ll get a good idea of where you’re at and can discuss any further requirements with the instructor. Some individuals are happy just after a single two hour lesson. Others prefer another lesson or two.

    In terms of cost, it depends on where you live and which instructor you go with. Hourly prices vary from anywhere between £20 to £30 per hour. If you were to have two lessons, each consisting of two hours, you’ll be looking at a cost of between £80 to £120.

  5. JOHN MC KEOWN

    I AM 81 YEARS OLD I LIVE IN CANADA I DRIVE BOTH MANUAL CARS AND AUTOMIC I HAD A N IRELAND FOR 10 YEARS FROM 1957 I HAVE A CANADIAN LICENCE FOR 56 YEARS I WANT TO SPEND 6 MONTHS IN THE UK AND 6 MONTHS IN CANADA I WANT TO KEEP MY CANADIAN LICENCE I WILL RENEW IT WHEN NEEDED I WILL BUY A CAR AND WHEN I WILL KEEP AT MY SISTERS PLACE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT RATE OF INSURANCE WOULD BE THANKS JOHN

  6. Hi John,
    Most individuals with a Canadian licence have to drive automatics in the UK (unless they can prove that they passed in a manual car). But if your N Ireland licence is manual and valid, you should be fine for manual. In terms of what rate your insurance will be, you likely be looking for full comprehensive insurance, but I don’t know what the price will be. It’s always advisable to use car insurance comparison sites to look for the cheapest quote. There’s about 3 popular UK sites to check car insurance. If you carry out a search on Google UK for ‘car insurance comparison’, those sites will come up in the top listings.

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