Top Tips for New Drivers
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Brilliant – you’ve passed your test. Now it’s time to head out onto the roads and get some miles under your belt. Sounds a bit scary, doesn’t it? Well, the 1st Call Windscreens team has some tips for you that will hopefully make your first steps as a new driver a little bit easier.
Get to know your car
If you already had a car when you were learning that you used a lot, you might be able to skip this step, but if, like many, you mainly used your instructor’s vehicle, you might want to properly get familiar with the car that you’re going to be driving. Learn where the hazards are, how to dip your full beam, get to know the way the steering feels and the stopping distance. Once you’ve really spent some time with your car, you’ll feel a lot more confident when going out by yourself.
Put some P plates on!
Learner plates can make you feel a lot more comfortable around other drivers when you’re still having lessons, and the same goes for P plates when you’ve passed. They will let people know that, although you’ve passed your test, you’re still learning the rules of the road and people need to be considerate.
Get any chips or cracks fixed as soon as possible
After passing your test, you want to make sure that your driving experience is as simple and comfortable as possible. This means sorting out any chips or cracks in your windscreen that might be obscuring your field of view or distracting you. Here at 1st Call Windscreens, we offer a reduced chip repair price for repeat customers, so it pays to stick with us!
Don’t go on a road trip with friends right away
Given that you’ve just passed your test, you’re probably already planning trips away with your friends around the country. We would advise you to hold off on this until you’ve got a little more experience. Long road trips can be dangerous, particularly when you’re with a group of friends who have a tendency to egg each other on, so get a few months of driving under your belt and then start planning!
If your car doesn’t have a sat nav, buy one
Driving when you’ve just passed can be stressful enough without taking into account trying to figure out where you’re going. With this in mind, make sure you’ve always got a sat nav ready when you’re travelling somewhere unfamiliar, and make sure you set it all up before you set off!
Don’t be afraid to have more lessons after you’ve passed
Just because you’ve passed your test, it doesn’t mean you don’t still have more to learn. Many new drivers continue to have lessons after they’ve passed, particularly to learn how to tackle motorway driving, so if you think you still need a confidence boost, maybe give your instructor a call!
Get on the motorway sooner rather than later
Speaking of the motorway, we would recommend that you start getting used to it right away. It can seem scary at first, but once you’ve spent a little bit of time there you will realise that it’s actually one of the easiest parts about driving!
Keep distractions to a minimum
We’ve already discussed putting road trips on hold for a while, and this goes for other distractions too, particularly music. Listening to music whilst you’re driving can be a really pleasant experience once you’ve got comfortable behind the wheel, but you’ve got too much to focus on when you’ve only just passed, so keep the radio off!
Refer to the Highway Code if you’re unsure
We’re not suggesting you spend hours and hours studying it, but taking a look at the Highway Code and trying to internalise some of the more important rules will go a long way to making you a more confident driver!
Believe in yourself!
This is one of the hardest tips to actually carry out, but it’s also one of the most important. Remember: you’ve taken your lessons, you’ve passed the test, you have as much right to be on the road as anyone else, so stay calm and confident.
1st Call Windscreens is one of the leading windscreen repair companies throughout Maidstone, Sittingbourne and Kent. If you have a chip in your windscreen that you need sorting ASAP, give us a call and we’ll get it booked for you!
1st Call Windscreens
We are proud to be a leading windscreen company covering our local areas of Maidstone, Sittingbourne and the rest of Kent since 1996. Our 25+ years experience in windscreen services includes windscreen repair and replacement for cars, vans, trucks and more! Our expert technicians hold the relevant qualifications so you can rest easy knowing that your windscreen is in safe hands.
- Reviews.io
Excellent service, gave me the choice of windows for my KIA AS I was unsure of the type of tinting I would like. Job completed, looks very good, will use 1st Call for any future work and will recommen...
- 1 day ago
I spoke to David today, he couldn’t be more helpful! He was VERY honest, HELPFUL & KNOWLEDGEABLE! What an amazing service, if anyone is looking to use 1st Call, I couldn’t recommend them more! ...
- 1 week ago
we are very happy with the repairs carried out and the speed of the response. Great job, would recommend !st Call Windscreens any time....
- 2 weeks ago
Excellent service. A niggling leak on the windscreen was fixed quickly and efficiently. The screen was removed without fuss or damage and resealed. It's a job that insurers won't touch,they only de...
- 1 month ago
Discovered my Volvo V50 was not sealing at the top. Autoglass wanted to replace it for £700, called 1st Call and they removed and resealed it for £100+vat and said that if it had broken it would only ...
- 1 month ago
Absolutely the best. From the first phone call to collecting my car with new side window that had been vandalised being replaced. next day service so my car was back on the road promptly. Extremely ...
- 1 month ago
Excellent Workmanship Good Value and Top Quality Customer Service: I recently had my Ford Fiesta ST heated windscreen replaced by 1st Call Windscreens, I couldn't be happier with the whole experienc...
- 2 months ago
Brilliant service. Would recommend 1st call windscreens to anyone looking for an efficient service. Friendly and helpful above and beyond ! 0...
- 2 months ago
Asked for a quote online which came through quickly. Just £48 inc vat for windscreen stone chip. Phoned to book a repair. I could either take the car to them or they would come out to me the next day....
- 3 months ago
Tom turned up on time, he was professional but friendly, he kept me informed on what he was doing and progress, and did a great job! Thanks Tom. Would highly recommend...
- 3 months ago
I needed my windscreen replaced due to a large crack; I was booked in straight away and I couldn’t be happier. They came to my house to fit the replacement, only took them about 20 minutes and they ev...
- 4 months ago
Couldn't be happier, had my Evoque windscreen re sealed as was leaking. Highly recommend 1st Call Windscreens. The guys were extremely helpful & friendly both on phone and doing the work. The work was...
- 4 months ago
Fantastic service, booked for a site visit to alleviate any disruption to the engineers day and it all went seamlessly. I would definitely recommend 1st Call Windscreens and will use them in the futu...
- 5 months ago
Customer service were great responded to my call out vey quickly and the guy that came out was very nice and helpful Thank you...
- 5 months ago
Had my chip fixed at my home this afternoon - cannot praise the service enough!!!! Lovely man who took 10-15 minutes - perfect job and no issues - very good price and highly recommend them Jo Seveno...
- 7 months ago
Very helpful and carried out a repair at very short notice on our way to catch a ferry. Very polite and stabilised the chip in our windscreen so that we could continue abroad for our holiday uninterru...
- 7 months ago
Made a call to 1st call windscreens as I was worried about a chip in my screen. The guys were very helpful, turned up on time and carried out a fantastic repair and was cheaperthan my insurance acce...
- 8 months ago
We had an emergency windscreen repair needed when travelling down from Oxfordshire to Kent. The Sittingbourne team went out of their way to help us at very short notice and allowing us to resume our j...
- 8 months ago
Jake was friendly, polite and helpful. He left no mess inside or outside the car and took away the boxes the seals came in even though they were supplied direct by the BMW dealer....
- 8 months ago
Arrived on time at my home address. Was very professional, polite and efficient. No hassle and no mess. Screen was replaced on my mini in no time at all and looks perfect. Thank you will highly recom...
- 8 months ago
So happy with Byron and Jake today very friendly and professional from 1st Call Windscreens Ltd. They come extremely well prepared with attention to detail. A great job was done on replacing my wind...
- 8 months ago
See Our experts in Action
Watch 1st Call Windscreens video, featuring our experts in windscreen repair & replacement in Sittingbourne, Maidstone & Gillingham in Kent.
You can come to us or we can come to you. We repair and replace windscreens from single vehicles to whole fleets.
Get a free quoteMAP LOADING...
© 1st Call Windscreens Ltd 2024 · All Rights Reserved · Registered Number: 3942185 · VAT Number: 683 356 803
