Like alot of  skills, driving a car safely requires alot of training and practice. Safe driving requires a high degree of situational awareness—you must know what’s going on not only in front of you but all around you. Driving requires the coordination of all of your senses as well as keen awareness, and sometimes requires instantaneous decisions to avoid accidents.

Driving schools in Surrey, BC, can provide a lot of this training.  As you look around for driving schools, make sure you select one which knows the area of Surrey well.

Graduated Licensing

British Columbia has a graduated license system. Each step of the system requires a period of safe driving.

The Learner’s License is available to you once you turn 16 years old. To get your “L” license, you need to pass both a vision and knowledge test at any Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) driver licensing office.

ICBC offers many resources to help you pass the knowledge test. They note that many of the questions will be on road signs, and offer a practice road signs test. You may take the knowledge test as many times as you need, but each attempt is $15.

Under your L license, you may only drive with a proper supervisor. A proper supervisor can be a parent or guardian, or a licensed driving instructor from a driving school. Many families use a combination of themselves and driving instructors to provide the supervision. The supervisor must be at least 25 and have a Class 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 license.

You may not use an electronic device while driving. In addition, only one passenger other than the supervisor may be in the car. You may not drive between midnight and 5 am.

The Novice License is available after a year of supervised driving under the L license. The Novice (“N”) or Class 7 license requires a road test at ICBC. The test itself takes about 45 minutes, and will cover most of the skills expected of an experienced and capable driver on the road. ICBC states that they are not looking for perfection in passing your N test, but you should demonstrate that you know your rights of ways, parking maneuvers and have demonstrated experience behind the wheel which is a recommended 60 hours.

On the N license, you may drive on your own. You are limited to one passenger other than immediate family, unless you have a proper supervisor driver in the car also. There are no time restrictions for driving on an N license.

While there’s no set number of hours of behind-the-wheel driving required by ICBC, they do recommend that you have at least 60 hours of supervised driving around Surrey and nearby areas completed. They do provide a log sheet which you can use to track your hours, as well as a list of skills you should master.

Both L and N licenses require the display of a magnetic sign on the back of the car.

The Full License (or Class 5 license) can be yours after two years of clean driving on an N license. You will have to take a more challenging road test to receive the Full license.

ICBC examiners have a number of key tips to help you pass the Full or Class 5 license test. If you follow these, you will increase your chance of passage.

• Watch your speed
• Keep your distance
• Come to a full stop
• Scan intersections carefully
• Shoulder check
• Make clean turns
• Practice, practice, practice

Should I Use a Driving School?

Some parents may wonder if using a driving school is the best way to go.  Most parents are experienced, safe drivers. They know the driving habits they want to teach their teenage children as they drive around the area of Surrey. Many parents were also taught by their parents.   They may enjoy that time between themselves and their teenage children as it can be a good bonding experience between themselves and their teens.  It is this as well as the fact that this gives their teenage children the much needed practice behind the wheel that each person must have in order to pass their ICBC road tests.

Being able to do something well yourself however does not necessarily mean that you can teach it well. In addition, your driving habits may be so much part of you that you don’t think of them consciously, which means you may take it for granted.  Most experienced drivers have short-cuts which could be safe to an experienced driver but not for someone who is a new driver.  For example, you might know that driving with the flow of traffic is safe but that’s not necessarily good for a new driver who needs to practice driving the exact speed limit of the roads during their learning time.

Driving school instructors in Surrey, BC also can provide sample road test assessments as part of their lesson curiculum.  As well, you may want to look for a driving school who can pick you up and drop you off at home as part of their fee for service.  At Streetwize Driving School, we do include pick up and drop off in our fees for service.  We want to make sure that the customer has the most convenience in their lesson experience with us.

Senior Driving Lessons

Since things are ever changing on the roads through the years, Seniors may want to reconsider driving lessons as a brush up from time to time on their driving skills.  Driving schools can assist not only people learning to drive but  people who want to brush up on their skills and/or build confidence as well. Around 5,000 seniors take re-exam road tests each year.

Re-tests can be required for several reasons. Medical conditions may affect your driving ability. A crash or other police report may indicate the need for a re-test. An expired or suspended license will also lead to a re-test.

Senior citizens may want consider going through a reputable driving school to help them get the skills they need to pass their road tests when it comes time to being re-tested.  These lessons will help them to be aware of each and every thing they need to do to avoid accidents as they age and the roads become more and more populated with drivers.

Driving Around Surrey, BC

Everyone living in the Surrey, BC area wants the roads to be safe. Safety requires all drivers to be well-trained, responsible drivers. Using the services of a driving school in the Surrey, BC area will help to make you the most safest driver on the roads.

The money you spend for your professional driving school may be the best investment you can make in helping to not only keep you safe but those around you as well.