The following items are set out to clarify some points you need to be aware of.

• You must give more than 48 hours notice to avoid paying for a lesson you cannot attend.
  (see: Cancellations / Shortened lessons)
• Only use WhatsApp for messages. DO NOT use WhatsApp for phone calls, and certainly DO NOT video call your instructor.
  (see: Communication)
• You will need adequate control of the vehicle to drive on a public road.
  (see: Adapting / Abandoned lessons)
• Failing to control the vehicle to an adequate standard will restrict your practice area to an empty carpark for safety reasons.
  (see: Adapting / Abandoned lessons)
• Repetitivly failing to set the gas before moving away will damage the engine - This will result in lessons being abandoned with no refund.
  (see: Adapting / Abandoned lessons)
• If you are not familiar with a subject, the lesson will include the theory for that subject. You will be better off reading the highway code before your driving lessons.
  (see: Lesson times / content)

This section outlines the reasonable levels of behaviour and conduct that the driving school expects of it's students.

Behaviour

• Your driving instructor will not tolerate any form of physical or verbal abuse.
• You will ensure you are fully ready for your driving lesson at the agreed time.
• Your driving instructor will only wait 20 minutes from the agreed start time of the lesson, beyond this time the lesson will be deemed to have been cancelled and the lesson will be charged in full.

Fitness to drive

• You must be fit to drive for your lesson.
• You should wear eyesight correcting spectacles or contact lenses if they are prescribed.
• You must not present yourself for a lesson or practical test under the influence of drink or drugs, including legitimate medication that may cause drowsiness or effect your ability to drive (i.e. antihistamines) This also includes excessive use of energy drinks (i.e. RedBull, Monster etc.)
• You must not book lessons or a practical test for times you are likely to be tired, stressed, or otherwise distracted.
• You must inform your driving instructor of any RELIVANT medical or mental health conditions that may affect you while you’re driving.
• You must wear suitable clean footwear and clothing that does not restrict movement, such clothing and footwear should not be inappropriate, distracting, or could lead to embarrassing situations.
• If you are not fit to drive for your lesson, or become unfit to drive during your lesson, your lesson will be terminated and charged in full.

Personal hygiene

• As driving lessons are conducted in a very small shared space by multiple people, it is important to ensure that you maintain proper personal hygiene and that you or your clothing are not dirty and do not smell.
• It is understandable that you lesson may be scheduled right after work or other activities where you may get dirty, but wearing soiled clothing or footwear during a driving lesson is not acceptable.
• If you need time to get washed / changed before your driving lesson, please factor in this time for before your lesson starts.
• Your driving instructor can refuse to carry out a driving lesson or test due to you presenting yourself for the lesson or test with poor personal hygiene, smelly or dirty clothing, or dirty shoes – In this event, the lesson will be cancelled and charged in full.

Fines / Points / Notice Of Intended Prosecution (NIP)

• Your driving instructor will at all times try to ensure you do not incur NIPs, penalty points, or fines during your driving lesson. However, you as a student are solely responsible for any penalty points, penalty charges, or fines incurred as a result of driving errors or negligence.
• During the lesson, the student is the driver of the vehicle and therefore will take full responsibility for any penalty points or fines incurred during the lesson.
• The driving instructor is the supervisor of the student during driving lessons, and the examiner is there as an observer of the student during a driving test. At no point is the driving instructor or the examiner considered to be the driver of the vehicle unless they are sat in the driving seat with the engine running.
• It is a criminal offence for the driving instructor to not inform the DVLA or the police when asked to provide information as to who was driving the vehicle at the time of an offence.

Your driving instructor isn't always available to take calls or reply to messages..

• Use whatsApp for communication when sending text based messages.
• If you do make a voice call, avoid using WhatsApp, FB Messenger, Skype, Zoom, or any other internet based service.
• Do not video call.
• Messages sent to you from TotalDrive are usually automatic broadcast messages. Please do not reply to these.

Due to other students choosing to have 2 hour lessons, gaps and lessons are usually 2 hours long and normally start at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm.

• The lesson will include a briefing at the start of the lesson, and a debrief at the end of the lesson.
• As well as general driving, lessons may include demonstrations as well as time discussing theory.
• Lessons are client-centered and will be adapted to your needs during the lesson.
• If needed, your initial lesson plan will be changed during the lesson based on any mistakes you make or your approach to driving.
• Your instructor may offer to extend the lesson at no extra charge, this is done at the instructor's discretion and will be entirely goodwill.
• If you request the lesson to be extended, times and costs will be at the instructor's discretion.

There may be times when your instructor is late or has to cancel a lesson. This may be for any one of a number of reasons including late-notice driving tests, mechanical breakdown, sickness, pre-booked holidays, or due to immovable traffic.

• If your instructor is late, time may be added on to the end of the lesson if possible.
• If time can't be added on to the end of your lesson, your lesson will be shortened and you will retain some credit.
• If your instructor is on time but you are late, your lesson will finish at the arranged time without extension or credit.
• If you are more than 20 minutes late for the start of your lesson (Or there is no contact from you in the first 20 minutes of the lesson) the lesson will be cancelled and charged in full.

All lessons are Pre-Paid... If you have a standing agreement to take a lesson at the same time on the same day each week, you still need to have enough credit in your account to cover your next lesson.

Please check your balance and purchase more hours of tuition if you need to.

• You should always have at least enough credit to cover your next booked lesson.
• If you're paying CASH, you'll need to pay for your next lesson before the end of the previous lesson, otherwise you'll have to bank transfer the funds to cover your next lesson.
• If your next lesson is not paid for, it will be offered out to other students who have asked for extra tuition once your cancellation window closes. (Lessons after the next lesson will not be offered out)
• Persistently letting your account run out of credit or making late payments will result in you loosing your standing agreement and your instructor will refuse to book you in for future lessons.

You need to give at least 48 hours notice to cancel a lesson.

• More than 48 hours notice given = The credit intended for your lesson will be returned to your account and can be used on your next lesson.
• Less than 48 hours notice given = You will be charged the full cost of the cancelled lesson.

Shortening a lesson will be at your driving instructor's discretion as this may make it difficult to sell on the remaining space.
- Lessons shortened with less than 48 hours notice will still be charged in full.

Your driving instructor reserves the right to cancel any lesson at any time for whatever reason.

Your lesson may be cancelled or moved due to another student having a driving test at or near your appointment time.
- When you have your driving test, it will mean that your instructor will have to cancel up to 2 other lessons for you to take your test.

Your lesson may be adapted or even abandoned by your driving instructor on the grounds of safety.

• If you are unable to control the vehicle to adequate level, your lesson may be moved to an empty carpark for you to practice vehicle control.
• If the lesson is abandoned, the lesson will be charged at the agreed price, but this will only happen if there is a possibility of danger or damage to people, property, street furniture, or the vehicle.

Possible reasons for a lessons being abandoned:

• If you are or appear to be unfit to drive. (Drink, Drugs, Tired, Distracted, Physically incapible)
• If you become aggressive or uncooperative.
• If you drive in a manner that puts your instructor, the vehicle, or the general public in danger.
• If you go against safety advice given to you by your instructor.

If you have a standing agreement for a regular appointment, you may lose it if you:

• Cancel 3 or more lessons.
• Have 3 or more lessons cancelled or shortened, or abandoned by your driving instructor.
• Fail to keep sufficient credit in your account.
• Continuously change the pickup / dropoff points
• Become non-communicative with your instructor

If you feel that you don't want to book more lessons or want to reduce your lesson frequency while you don't have a driving test booked, you may find that if / when you do manage to book a test that your instructor's diary could be full and you won't have the option to do more practice before your test.

• Your driving instructor operates as a business that requires income, so they will need to fill their diary.
• Your instructor may refuse the use of the vehicle if your driving standard is lower by the time your test comes around.
• Only current active students will be prioritised for a test.

It is accepted that as a learner driver you are going to make mistakes and these mistakes may cause damage to the tyres, this involves scrubbing or mounting the kerb when trying to position the vehicle, or striking the kerb when driving.

If you are new to driving, it is accepted that you are less aware of the exact placement of your vehicle in the road and your instructor will do their best to advise you and correct your position if required. - Any damage to the tyres will be absorbed by your instructor as they have the responsability to help you avoid such damage.

If you are experienced to the point that you can confidently move the vehicle around with reasonably good judgement of where your wheels are placed in the road, you will be liable for tyre damage if you:

• Scrub, hit, or mount a kerb.
• Hit a speed bump too fast.
• Drive in the gutter or debris.
• Drive off the road.
• Drive over an obvious object or pothole in the road.
• Have been given repeated instruction to adjust your driving style or position for the safety of the vehicle or tyres.

If you are experienced enough to control the position of the vehicle adequately, and cause a rip, bulge, or instant deflation of a tyre due to poor position, you will be charged for a replacement part-worn tyre.

Your instructor's primary objective is to keep themselves, the vehicle, yourself, and the general public safe. To do this they will make every effort to ensure you achieve a safe drive, and if needed take control to avoid incident.
- However, depending on the situation, it may not be possible for your instructor to step in and avoid a collision.

Although the vehicle is fully insured for collisions, you agree to be fully liable for any accidents, injury, or damage to any third party caused by your recklessness or negligence during a lesson.

When on a driving lesson, you will make your own traffic decisions... If these decisions cause a collision and an insurance excess needs to be paid, you will be charged the excess as you would on your own insurance policy.
- If the accident is the result of a third party being at fault, you will not be required to make a payment.

Any damage or insurance claims resulting from your actions where you have gone against your instructor's advice shall require you to pay the excess payment for the insurance claim.

Continuously driving against your instructor's advice, driving beyond your abilities, or driving in a manner that suggests a careless attitude towards the consequences of such driving, will cause your instructor to abandon the lesson and possible future lessons.

Your driving instructor will not be held liable for any errors of any kind that you may make while driving unaccompanied, either before or after passing your driving test.

Due to the knock-on effect of COVID-19 there is a huge demand and backlog of driving tests in the UK.

Your driving instructor is under pressure from the DVSA to only present students for their practical driving test who have a high likelyhood of passing the test.

This will ensure that the amount of people retaking their driving tests due to a fail are minimal, and therefore not adding to the waiting times.

You will know when you are ready to take the practical driving test when:

• Your lessons will contain little or no advice / tuition.
• Your instructor will not have to use the dual controls to avoid incident.
• Your instructor won't have to point out that you have missed anything, such as a mirror, a signal, a sideways glance, or any other mistake.
• Other road users won't have to react to your driving.

When you and your instructor believe you are test ready, it is preferable that your driving instructor books your practical driving test for you. This way you can avoid your test appointment clashing with another student's test.

You will still have to pay for the use of the vehicle during your test at the usual rate as if it were a driving lesson. This includes some drive time before the test, getting to the test centre in good time, the use of the vehicle during the test, and the time taken to be returned home after the test.

Your instructor will alter their diary to accommodate your test unless they have a student that also has a test booked for the same time or immediately before/after your test time.

• You should be at a skill level to plan your journey to the test centre to arrive on time, and be parked correctly for the test. This is usually 3 hours in duration.
• If you are late to the test centre, you will lose your test fee.
• Your instructor reserves the right to refuse the use of the vehicle for a driving test at any time, for any reason, including right before a driving test.