Do I need Pass Plus? You’ve passed and you’ve just torn up the L-plates once and for all. This is really where you start to learn to drive. For the first time you are on your own now as a novice driver - free to drive wherever and whenever you chose. But driving after passing your test may make you feel nervous! So with the high numbers of people killed on the roads, you don't want to make any costly mistakes, about 3,500 people are killed each year in road accidents so it’s good to be careful. Maybe in your training you haven’t really driven enough on a dual-carriageway or the thought of getting stuck in busy urban traffic worries you - maybe the thought of Motorway driving petrifies you! You also buy your first car and discover that, due to your level of experience, the insurance companies are quoting you huge insurance premiums, especially as a younger car owner. This is where Pass Plus comes into play. It’s a course without exams (no, you won’t have to go through that test trauma again!) that is designed to refine your post-test driving skills and make you safer, confident and ready to hit the road. And at the same time it can knock a few pounds off your insurance premium. The extra training will give you a little more confidence - remeber though that driving is a skill that needs to be improved every day of your life, and now this course will allow you to sharpen your overall driving skills and improving your reactions you could be less of an accident liability. The course is backed by insurance companies, the Government and the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) to try and reduce road accidents for new drivers. The insurers supporting the scheme will reduce the cost of a policy by giving a no-claims bonus for the fully comprehensive, third party fire and theft and third party policies when you get your car. You can defer the new policy for up to two years; if for example, you are driving your parents or partner’s car under their policy. Lets have a look at how it works: Your Pass plus instructor can take you through six separate modules that look at different aspects of your driving. We do them as part of a course, normally split into three 2 hour lessons so that we can route plan better and you don't get too tired.Here's a list of the different modules:

• Driving in town One of the most stressful places to drive is the town or city - the places where impatience, traffic queues and roundabouts rule. It’s all about keeping your wits about you. Did you know, for example, you could get three points off your license for jumping a red light? This module can help you chill in the big smoke, making you more aware, cool, cautious and help cope in rush hour situations. There are tips like how to keep an eye on pedestrians and cyclists - a shocking 130 cyclists were killed in 2002.

• Driving out of town There may not be as many other cars and roads to contend with, but country driving, peaceful and scenic as it may seem, has it’s own hazards. Learn the rules of the country - how to respect farm traffic, horse riders (3,000 accidents involve horses on roads every year), farm animals and how to deal with those rural roads that are full of bends, humps, mud and other dangerous surprises. Have you ever got stuck behind a slow moving farm vehicle for ages? This module will teach to how to overtake safely and keep your distance.

• Driving in the dark When the clocks go back in the winter months, it is inevitable that we are going to spend most of our time driving in the dark or dusk. Most days we will be leaving and returning in the dark. Unfortunately it is during this twilight zone that many accidents happen on the roads because of reduced visibility. This module looks at basics like using your headlights and looking out for pedestrians and cyclists as well as judging speed and distance and dealing with annoying dazzle.

• Driving in poor weather conditions At the end of the day you are doing most of your driving in the United Kingdom , hence you are landed with one factor that we can’t change - the weather. If you have ever panicked when driving in heavy sleet or a snowstorm with poor visibility and slippery roads or have driven in thick fog and not known what to do, this module can help. Did you know that it could take ten times longer to stop your car on an icy or slushy road than a dry road? On the other hand, what do you do in bright sunshine when you can’t see a thing through your windscreen?

• Driving on motorways The motorway is a deceptive place. What really seems to be plain sailing is actually a place where concentration and skill are paramount – heavier traffic and higher speeds mean you need to be in control. So motorway practice is vital and there are many topics to practice, like lane etiquette and how to join and leave the motorway. Fatigue is also an important motorway issue to be discussed on the course, with over 20 per cent of accidents on trunk roads and motorways being caused by falling asleep at the wheel.

• Driving on dual carriageways This module tells you how to drive effectively when you are on the roads with more than two lanes, how to overtake, looking in your blind spot and using your mirrors as well as judgement and planning. So who should take Pass Plus? • If you are you a new driver - it’s best after two months from passing your test so you have had time to experience driving on your own.

• If you haven’t been on the road for a while and feel nervous.

• If you are within a year of passing your test and want to lower your insurance premium. You must take Pass Plus within the 12 months after your test to qualify. One thing to remember is that the course pays for itself in 2 ways. Firstly, the extra traiing is invaluable. It doesn't mean you won't have an accident, but it does help in starting to refine skills that will limit the chances. Secondly, it may even pay for itself - normally accelerating your no-claims discount by a year can be worth anything from £75 to £300 pounds!