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Q357: I am going to act as the supervisor for a learner driver. What are my basic legal responsibilities and those of the learner?

Answer

Supervisors
Supervisors must:

  • Be at least 21 years of age.
  • Hold a full UK or Community (EC) licence covering the class of vehicle.
  • Have held that valid licence for a minimum of 3 years – periods of disqualification don't count. Therefore, if you've held your licence for 3 years but were disqualified for 6 months, you have only held your licence for 2½ years and cannot act as a supervisor.
  • Comply with the minimum eyesight requirements.
  • Check that the car is registered, taxed, insured, has a valid MoT and that it complies with the law in relation to vehicle condition e.g. tyres, lights etc.
  • Make sure the car displays L-plates (D-plates in Wales) if the learner is driving.
  • Ensure they are not over the drink/drug-drive limits or are unfit to drive through drugs.
  • Not use a handheld mobile phone or handheld device whilst the provisional licence holder is driving on a road - see Q955. 
  • Wear glasses/contact lenses if they need them when driving themselves.
  • Not receive any payment for supervising the learner unless they are an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI).

Learners
Learner drivers must:

  • Have reached the minimum age – 17 for a car.
  • Hold a valid provisional licence for the type of vehicle.
  • Comply with the minimum eyesight requirements.
  • Check that the car is registered, taxed, insured, has a valid MoT and that it complies with the law in relation to vehicle condition e.g. tyres, lights etc.
  • Make sure the car displays L-plates (D-plates in Wales) when they are driving.
  • Ensure they are not over the drink/drug-drive limits or are unfit to drive through drugs.
  • Not use a handheld mobile phone or handheld device whilst driving on a road - see Q955. 
  • Wear glasses/contact lenses if required.
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A green P plate on a vehicle means that the person driving has only recently passed their test. Extra consideration should be given to cars displaying a P plate.

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Answer

Supervisors
Supervisors must:

  • Be at least 21 years of age.
  • Hold a full UK or Community (EC) licence covering the class of vehicle.
  • Have held that valid licence for a minimum of 3 years – periods of disqualification don't count. Therefore, if you've held your licence for 3 years but were disqualified for 6 months, you have only held your licence for 2½ years and cannot act as a supervisor.
  • Comply with the minimum eyesight requirements.
  • Check that the car is registered, taxed, insured, has a valid MoT and that it complies with the law in relation to vehicle condition e.g. tyres, lights etc.
  • Make sure the car displays L-plates (D-plates in Wales) if the learner is driving.
  • Ensure they are not over the drink/drug-drive limits or are unfit to drive through drugs.
  • Not use a handheld mobile phone or handheld device whilst the provisional licence holder is driving on a road - see Q955. 
  • Wear glasses/contact lenses if they need them when driving themselves.
  • Not receive any payment for supervising the learner unless they are an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI).

Learners
Learner drivers must:

  • Have reached the minimum age – 17 for a car.
  • Hold a valid provisional licence for the type of vehicle.
  • Comply with the minimum eyesight requirements.
  • Check that the car is registered, taxed, insured, has a valid MoT and that it complies with the law in relation to vehicle condition e.g. tyres, lights etc.
  • Make sure the car displays L-plates (D-plates in Wales) when they are driving.
  • Ensure they are not over the drink/drug-drive limits or are unfit to drive through drugs.
  • Not use a handheld mobile phone or handheld device whilst driving on a road - see Q955. 
  • Wear glasses/contact lenses if required.

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To hold a licence to drive a moped you have to be 16 years old. To hold a licence for a car you have to be 17 years old, unless you are getting or have applied for the enhanced rate of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in which case the minimum age is 16. To ride a motorcycle you have to be 17 years old.

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If you get six or more points on your licence within two years of passing your driving test your licence will be revoked.

Any penalty points you get on your provisional licence that haven't expired will be carried over to your full licence when you pass your test – points usually last for 3 years. However, your licence will be revoked if you get any further penalty points that take you up to a total of 6 or more within 2 years of passing your driving test.

If your licence is revoked, in order to be able to drive again, you'll have to apply and pay for a new provisional licence and pass both theory and practical parts of the driving test again to get your full licence back.

The 2 year probationary period only applies to the very first test you take, this will usually be for a car or motorcycle, it doesn't apply to any further tests.

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Answer

You can start driving as soon as you pass your driving test but you must have an insurance policy that allows you to drive without supervision. If you are in any doubt about this contact your insurer and clarify the matter with them before you drive. Nonetheless, it's not a good idea to drive straight away after your test, as you'll probably be very excited and this could affect your judgement.

Providing you have a photocard provisional licence that shows your correct name, your driving test examiner will send your test pass certificate to the DVLA, you should then receive your full licence within 3 weeks.

If the name on your provisional licence is not correct or if you have a paper provisional licence, you will need to:

  • Complete the declaration on your test pass certificate.
  • Get a driving licence application form (D1) from the Post Office and complete it.
  • Provide documents that confirm your identity.
  • If you have a paper provisional licence, include a passport photo.

Send your provisional licence and the above documents to the following address:

DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1BN

Note that:

  • Your test pass certificate is only valid for 2 years after passing your driving test. If you don't send it to the DVLA and obtain you full licence within this time, you'll have to retake your driving test.
  • Whilst you can drive on your own you cannot supervise a learner driver, see question on requirements for supervising a learner driver for further information.

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Question

Q357: I am going to act as the supervisor for a learner driver. What are my basic legal responsibilities and those of the learner?

Answer

Supervisors
Supervisors must:

  • Be at least 21 years of age.
  • Hold a full UK or Community (EC) licence covering the class of vehicle.
  • Have held that valid licence for a minimum of 3 years – periods of disqualification don't count. Therefore, if you've held your licence for 3 years but were disqualified for 6 months, you have only held your licence for 2½ years and cannot act as a supervisor.
  • Comply with the minimum eyesight requirements.
  • Check that the car is registered, taxed, insured, has a valid MoT and that it complies with the law in relation to vehicle condition e.g. tyres, lights etc.
  • Make sure the car displays L-plates (D-plates in Wales) if the learner is driving.
  • Ensure they are not over the drink/drug-drive limits or are unfit to drive through drugs.
  • Not use a handheld mobile phone or handheld device whilst the provisional licence holder is driving on a road - see Q955. 
  • Wear glasses/contact lenses if they need them when driving themselves.
  • Not receive any payment for supervising the learner unless they are an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI).

Learners
Learner drivers must:

  • Have reached the minimum age – 17 for a car.
  • Hold a valid provisional licence for the type of vehicle.
  • Comply with the minimum eyesight requirements.
  • Check that the car is registered, taxed, insured, has a valid MoT and that it complies with the law in relation to vehicle condition e.g. tyres, lights etc.
  • Make sure the car displays L-plates (D-plates in Wales) when they are driving.
  • Ensure they are not over the drink/drug-drive limits or are unfit to drive through drugs.
  • Not use a handheld mobile phone or handheld device whilst driving on a road - see Q955. 
  • Wear glasses/contact lenses if required.
 
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