Pass Plus Course – Is It Worth It?
The Pass Plus course has now been going for many years. It is actively promoted by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency(DVSA) and driving instructors alike. Insurance companies used to offer very generous discounts to those drivers who had completed the course. However, these discounts are now reducing and becoming less common. In this article I want to share my experiences and feedback I have had from my pupils at my driving school to help you make a more informed choice about the course.
Firstly I should explain what the course covers. It is completed after the test and consists of six modules.
These are : –
1) Town Driving
2) All weather driving
3) Out of town rural roads
4) Night time driving
5) Dual Carriageways
6) Motorways
It is a requirement that it is completed over at least six hours.
The course is very structured but a good instructor should balance the structure of the course with the previous experience of the pupil. Depending on where you have driven before and how much experience you have had can have a bearing on how useful the course is. For example if you took your lessons in the evening, at winter and in the city, you may have covered much of the subjects already. If you live somewhere rural with few roundabouts, traffic lights and did lessons during the day then it becomes much more useful in its own right. In fact, we sometimes find if this is the case then it may take more than the six hours to reach standard as things like roundabouts ad traffic lights need to be mastered first.
For the average person then you will still learn a lot on the course. I have never once had a pupil take the course who said they did not enjoy it, find it useful and would recommend it to others. It helps develop your driving style to a more positive, confident and progressive driver more adequately prepared for the demands of today’s roads. You will be put into demanding situations and be shown harder areas or junctions on which you may have to travel on your daily commute. for example.
In the long run, this kind of experience is vital to your future, it makes you less hesitant and therefore less likely to hold up traffic flow and get in the way of other road users. It makes you more aware of what is going on around you and awareness and anticipation are the keys to safe driving for life.
So in conclusion, I would say that although the financial benefits of taking the course are no longer as good as before, the benefits to your driving and safety are higher than ever before due to increasing traffic and hazards on our roads so would therefore highly recommend the course. There are also some local authorities which can help fund the course as they see it as important to road safety. This means, in some cases, you can actually complete the course for free. Again, due to the current economic climate, these offers are reducing gradually but it may still be available in your area.
