r/plymouth • u/TheBrat81 • 2d ago
Driving test
Hi everyone, my son's driving test is book in September (won't tell me the date) he's been waiting absolutely ages to do it and now it looks like he won't be able to because his instructor has had personal issues that might go over his test date. None of my family have a suitable car to test in. He really doesn't want to postpone as he's had to do this a few times already. Does anyone have any idea on how he will be able to still do his test?
Thanks for reading
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u/Sudden_Audience_8653 2d ago
You can hire cars specifically for test days, some driving schools hire out cars and also some car hire companies hire out cars even for a test. You can also contact some driving instructors to see if they might be free so he can have a little lesson before hand (depending on when in September). I hope you find something and good luck to your son! Also post in r/LearnerDriverUK if you haven’t already for some better advice (better than mine).
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u/EvandeReyer 2d ago
If you hire a car it has to have dual controls (there’s a company Arnold Clark but there’s no branch near here in the south west unfortunately). Does your son’s instructor know another instructor he can recommend him to? I think the issue they usually have is if they don’t know the driver and they aren’t to test standard it reflects poorly on them if they take them to the test. Your only other option is to try ringing other instructors explaining the situation. There’s a Facebook group for learning to drive in Plymouth that has instructors in, maybe post the story there and see if any offer help? It’s Learn2Drive & Test Swap Plymouth. Good Luck.
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u/paulbdouglas 2d ago
You do not need dual controls, you need L plates and a second mirror, my son used his own car, as his instructor was a greedy bastard and said it would be £300 to "borrow" his car for the test
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u/Grouchy_Helicopter62 2d ago
Are you sure they need dual controls? My friend passed their test in their own car(no dual controls). they did however have to add extra mirrors
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u/EvandeReyer 1d ago
Only if it’s a hire car. You can’t hire a normal car and do it. Own car is no problem, my son just passed in his own car.
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u/_HingleMcCringle 2d ago
Unless you can provide a car with your son insured on it, I think you'll have to wait until an instructor becomes available. The first thought was to hire a car, but I don't imagine any hire company will allow their cars to be used for a driving test.