Before you take your first driving lesson, you’ll probably be thinking about things you’ve learned. The problem is that you’ll probably have already forgotten a lot of it by the time you’re ready for your first lesson. So, should you do your theory test before you start lessons? We say yes, and here’s why. The theory test is a single, straightforward test designed to assess whether you have a good knowledge of road rules and regulations. Put simply, it’s designed to gauge whether you’ve retained enough of your lessons from school to be able to drive safely and responsibly on the road. The reason we say yes is that in order to pass the test, you need to know the right information at the right time. Therefore, if you’re doing your first driving lessons before your theory test, then you’ll have plenty of time to learn the material before your test.
Different Levels of Driving Theory Test
One thing to note about theory tests is that they fall into different levels. Theory test no.1 is the bare minimum requirement. It’s designed to cover the basics of driving on the road, and it doesn’t include any specific information related to driving in England. However, as you progress through theory tests, you’ll need to be more specific with your answers, so if you know everything already, then there is no point in doing a theory test before your lessons start.
Theory test no.3 includes more complex topics like driving at night and driving in a roundabout. If you don’t know anything about these topics yet and would like to get them out of the way before lessons start, then by all means do your theory test before lessons!
Theory test no.4 covers advanced topics such as child restraints and emergencies at junctions or when driving backwards or turning left from a side road onto a main road. In order to pass this level of theory test, you need to know these very detailed topics well enough before your first driving lesson starts.
Teach You More
It can be useful to do your theory test before you start lessons so that you can practice the knowledge that you’ve already learned. However, it’s important not to spend too much time studying for the theory test because doing so would deprive you of valuable driving lessons. If you’re going to use this approach, make sure that you take a break from studying during lesson time and focus on practicing what you’ve learned.
Get a Head Start
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t practice before your first driving lesson. You should practice as much as you can before going for your theory test. The only difference is that in order to pass the test, you’ll need to know what you know when it comes to the skills required for driving a car on the road. If that means doing a few lessons beforehand, then do it. Just make sure that you have an idea of what you need to learn before taking your test.
Knowledge Test
Some people will say that you should do your theory test before you take your first driving lessons. The reasoning is simple: since you’ll forget a lot of the material by the time you need it, you should be doing your theory test beforehand. This way, when you come to your first driving lesson, you have a better idea of what to expect and what to focus on. If something feels confusing or like it’s not making sense, then chances are that it isn’t the right thing and needs further scrutiny.
1:1 Driving Lessons
As well as taking the theory test before your driving lessons, it’s important that you take a driving course with a qualified driving instructor. If you decide to do this, then you can get a feel for what the experience is like and what exactly you need to learn. Because of this, it’s no surprise that there are two times more accidents on learner drivers than experienced drivers.
2:1 Driving Lessons
If you don’t want to take a full driving course, then our advice would be to take 2:1 lessons. With these lessons, you will have one hour of on-road instruction followed by one hour of theoretical instruction. It’s important that the theoretical part is done before the practical lesson so that any mistakes made during the practical lesson won’t affect your overall result.
Don’t Waste Money
Another reason we say yes is because spending money on a theory test before your first driving lessons can be expensive. You’ll have to pay for the theory test and for the driving lessons, so you could end up wasting a lot of money if you just do the theory test first. If you take your first lesson before your theory test, then you won’t waste any money as you’ll get all the necessary lessons from school before you start doing your driving lessons.
Conclusion
If you’re considering taking lessons, you may want to consider doing your theory test before lessons start to avoid any unnecessary costs.
