It’s a waiting game
DCS, along with other driver trainers in the Oswestry, Welshpool and Shrewsbury areas, has been back training new drivers for best part of 3 months now, and it’s pretty full on for learners, trainers and examiners alike. Unfortunately this huge backlog in demand has inevitably led to big waiting lists for most driving schools in the Oswestry area, DCS included.
The DVSA has recently ended a recruitment drive to take on new examiners in most areas (including Shrewsbury / North Shropshire) so there is a realistic possibility that waiting lists for tests – and therefore, by knock-on effect, instructors – will gradually start to ease off. Combined with a recent increase in the number of tests being conducted every day, and the restart of attended-university in Autumn (which usually frees up one or two spaces with instructors), the situation locally will no doubt improve in a short while, so don’t give up on trying to get started.
In Theory
Theory training is all too often dismissed as a ‘pain’ these days, a barrier that must be cleared in order to get on with the exciting part of applying for the driving test. It certainly is a ‘barrier’, and for a good reason!
Back in the 80’s, it was a standing joke that in order to pass your driving test you needed to answer 1 (yes, 1!) question from the Highway Code , in the car, asked by the examiner who had the book sitting open on his leg on my test. When I got the answer to the roadsign question wrong, then wrong again – and again! – he basically told me the answer. I felt a bit of a berk, but we went out and did the test (20 minutes, no roundabouts…) and I passed, as did all of my friends, with flying colours first time.
Could I drive? Apparently, at least well enough to pass the test anyhow. Did I have an in depth knowledge of road rules and safety? Erm…
A few years later, and the government introduce the theory test part of obtaining your licence. Many learners regarded this as an unnecessary extra step, or even just a money making exercise for the DSA (as was) I might have regarded it as that myself to be honest, if I hadn’t already passed by then. But it was, of course, much more important, a genuine attempt to ensure new drivers were armed with the knowledge required to enable them to stay safe on ever busier roads.
Since then, the theory test has undergone several upgrades, to get to the point where it is a real challenge to pass for most learners. If you doubt this, have a look at some sample questions available on the DVSA website. You might be amazed at how much rules and advice has changed since you learned to drive! It is not just necessary to pass the test, but in every case, the practice you get at answering well over 700 questions, and filtering through several clips of ‘hazard perception’, imparts essential, and sometimes critical understanding and knowledge of situations and scenarios that we may never get chance to cover on driver training in the Oswestry or Shrewsbury areas, such as motorway rules.
So if you, or someone you know, is currently struggling through theory training, keep up the positivity. One day, you / they may just rely on the knowledge you gained from this, sometimes difficult, always rewarding, part of driver training.