VIC – Melbourne – Country Road Driving School is a professional driving school providing driving lessons in metropolitan Melbourne and North-West regions.

CR-DS conduct lessons 7 days a week which allows students to undertake driving lessons that suit their schedule.

CR-DS is a driving school with a focus on teaching students how to obtain the valuable and wide range of driving skills and knowledge that will allow them to develop into competent and efficient drivers on the roads of Australia.

Call 03 9317 7733 or Mobile 0408 754 104 to book your driving lessons today! Visit their website at http://www.cr-ds.com.au/

From the moment you take your first few driving lessons, you know it’s something you will want to do for the entirety of your life. It’s an exciting time in the life of everyone who gains their learners license. But what happens once you’ve finished your driving lessons and said goodbye to your driving instructor? What’s next? Perhaps a big surprise if you don’t sit down and read our top 10 mistakes new drivers often make!

First on our list is texting while driving! New laws have come into effect that now make this illegal and it’s no wonder they made this law! There was an upsurge in traffic accidents as the use of mobile phones increased during the early the mid 2000′s. Do yourself a favour and pull over to the side of the road if you must send a message or wait until you’re home to read your SMS.

Drink driving is a mistake anyone of any age can make but it’s often one young people make without realising. The term “drink driving” doesn’t necessarily mean you must feel the effects the alcohol is having on your system. There is often alcohol in medications such as cough syrup which is more than enough to put you over the limit. Imagine the shock and horror of losing your licence because you had cough medicine for a sore throat. Check the alcohol content of anything you eat and drink if you plan to drink and are still on your learners or provisional licence.

Do you remember a commercial advertisement on TV that ran often and repeated itself constantly? It went like this. “Wear a seat belt, wear a seat belt, wear a seat belt, wear a seat belt”. Get the point? Great! Wear your seat belt whenever you’re behind the wheel. It doesn’t matter if you’re only going down the shops for a few items. Besides saving your life, it’ll save you money if you are pulled over by the police. 2 things for the price of none! Bonus!

Did you have yourself a HUGE weekend and are feeling the effects of those parties come Monday morning? Fatigue is a big killer on our roads and it’s a huge factor in many car accidents of which many are fatal. A micro sleep can be the end of you within seconds. It’s important to be attentive and fresh when you’re a new driver because you lack much experience that only comes with time.

When someone cuts you off in traffic, it can be REALLY frustrating. In fact, it can be so frustrating that people flip out and go into a state of road rage. What’s sadder is you don’t have to be the one in a bad mood to feel the effects of road rage. The best thing to do when confronted with someone who is experiencing road rage is to lock your car doors, avoid eye contact and don’t say or do anything to further agitate them. Quietly drive away and don’t panic!

Be sure to check back with the driving school directory in the next few days to read our remaining advice for new drivers.

NSW – Sydney – Harris Driving School – At Harris Driving School, we aim to assist learners with potential to pass their exams on their first attempt, and contribute to making the Sydney streets a safer driving society. You will be learning with the top RTA qualified instructor for the low price of $40.00 an hour!

Servicing the areas of Granville, Harris Park, Parramatta, Westmead, Wentworthville, Pendle Hill, Toongabbie, Northmead, Winston Hills, Greystanes, Seven Hills and Blacktown.

Also look out our various packages and the special offers that are available for you to choose from. So contact us today for your driving lessons and get a driving instructor, who is second to none when compared to other driving schools.

Contact 0422 636 172 or 02 9636 1053 to book your lessons. Visit their website at http://www.harrisdrivingschool.com.au/

VIC – Melbourne – Be Safe On Wheels Driving School - Our school prides Driver Education. You will learn to drive safely and confidently with our friendly, patient instructors.

Driving School caters for students of all ages. Our lessons are structured on defensive driving techniques, city driving as well as road and freeway driving with an extensive experience in driving techniques to suit each student’s individual needs.

Patient Professional Accredited Driving Instructors will guide you through the learning process, in one of our Automatic Cars. You will receive a lesson by lesson Log Sheet, which includes duration of your lesson, the on road situations you have covered during the lesson. We are located in Ormond (Melbourne) training to all surrounding cities and communities.

Providing online driver’s education and training to all ours students. Our pickup and drop off points are very flexible, working around your area.

Phone 0411 215 244 to book your driving lessons today!

Many people do not realise that there is much more to driving than just acquiring your learners driving license. A driving school should play a major role in your quest to earn your drivers license but what else can go along side such a responsibility?

The first thing people need to understand is that by getting behind the wheel, they take their own life into their hands and the lives of others. This is not meant to scare you but it is something to consider and be aware of at all times. It’s important to realise that while having a drivers license can make for great fun, it is a privilege and one should always approach driving with a mature attitude.

Keeping an open mind is a great approach for any learner driving to have. Always listen to your driving instructor because they have your best interests at heart. Always ask questions and shy away from being a know-it-all. Driving is a constant process of learning and ones education can always be improved. This is something great to strive for.

It’s also important not to over-estimate your skill set. Many people make the mistake of thinking that because they’ve gained a learner or provisional license that they are now equipped to drive in any conditions or worse yet, at any speed. While it’s important to develop your confidence, remember too much of anything can be a bad thing. Developing your confidence in a slow, methodical manner will ensure you will have the confidence to drive in all types of situations in the safest way.

Finally, share your experiences with your friends and family and talk about how you feel about driving. Ask questions about specific scenarios such as driving in the rain or off road. You may have a brother, cousin, friend or uncle that enjoys 4WD for example. Ask them what they think are important skills for driving in such conditions and then quiz your driving school or driving instructor just to make certain.

Student driver education is critical so that young drivers attending driving school are best equipped to deal with any potential hazards on our roads. Did you know that young drivers aged between 17 to 24 are at high risk of being involved in a car accident?

Every year over 250 young people die on our Australian roads and while the toll has been dropping on a year by year basis, much more can be done to ensure the safety of not only our young drivers but all drivers on our roads.

When you look at the statistics, it gives one a sense of how big the problem is and why simply passing a driving test does not mean driving education should come to a stop. It’s an on-going process and a driving school can greatly assist in this.

Over 4000 young drivers are hospitalised each year due to motor vehicle accidents. This includes the drivers themselves, pedestrians and passengers in the vehicle. 75% of the time, the driver is at fault in accidents that incur serious injury or death. 80% of young drivers in fatal car accidents are male.

A combination of inexperience, over confidence and blatant risk taking behaviour contributes to this sad state of affairs on our roads. It’s normal for young people to be full energy at this time in their lives but it’s important to help them understand that taking risks behind the wheel is not on.

It’s important to sit with your child and discuss the consequences of their actions if they act inappropriately on our roads in Australia. There are many short courses available to young drivers that show them the harsh reality of how irresponsibly driving can effect not only their own life, but those around them.

Attending a local driving school is just one piece of the puzzle in driver education!

Fatigue can cause even the most experienced drivers to be involved in a car accident. Unfortunately for one learner driver, it has cost them their life and injured other passengers. So what exactly is fatigue, what can you do and what are the danger signs?

Fatigue can be considered the same thing as being tired. When you’re tired, it’s affects your judgement, reaction and response time.

The signs that you may be coming tired behind the wheel consist of

• yawning
• blinking or difficulty keeping your eyes open
• trouble keeping your head up
• unable to pay attention to your surroundings for any length of time
• losing focus or closing your eyes for prolonged periods

It’s not always as simple as this, and sometimes people are not aware they’re tired and should not be driving. Things such as

• wandering thoughts
• missing or misreading road signs, missing exits
• slowing down or speeding up unintentionally
• braking too early or too late

can severely affect your own and others safety on the road. Always take a break and swap drivers. If that’s not possible, take a short sleep or nap. It’s always great to have a good rest the night before a long road trip as well and don’t ever get behind the wheel if you already feel tired.

Your driving school or driving instructor may have already made you aware of new changes made to the laws that govern learner drivers but for those yet to get their learner license, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest changes in the law and restrictions that apply to having a learner license.

The large majority of motorists on our roads drive safely every day on our Australian roads and do so in accordance with the law. Unfortunately, statistics show that learner drivers under the age of 20 represent a large portion of people involved in motor vehicle accidents. This is more to do with lack of experience than any other factor.

Because learning to drive can be a difficult yet exciting time for new drivers, the Australian government has introduced new changes to the learner license that apply from the 28th of September, 2009.

The first change is that learner drivers are now included in the demerit point scheme in Australia. This was done to encourage younger people to take a serious approach to driving and will assist in reducing accidents related to speeding and other accidents related to breaking the rules of the road.

If you’re a learner driver, it’s important you speak to your driving instructor or driving school about these changes if they have not already discussed them with you. Because you’ll want to ensure you keep your license and become a safe and responsible driver, it’s best you go over the follow changes so you understand how the demerit point scheme works and any restrictions that may now apply to you as a learner driver.

The changes include;

• If a learner driver receives 4 or more demerit points in a 3 year period, their license will now be suspended for a period of 3 months
• Minimum 4 demerit points received on a learner driving for a speeding offense
• Essentially any speeding offense will result in a loss of license for 3 months

In addition to these new rules, there are a few clauses which include;

• 6 month suspension for those drivers speeding 45km/h or more above the legal speed limit
• Ability for police to confiscate a learner license if the driver is driving alone or 30km/h over the legal speed limit.

If you’re a responsible learner driver, these changes will have no affect on you but it’s still important to be aware of the changes. You can discuss the changes with your driving instructor or driving school.

You can read more about the demerit point system at this website.

Ask any driving school or driving instructor and they will agree, driving in the rain is serious business.

Rain can be a major hazard on our roads here in Australia. The streets become slippery, making it more difficult to see and it takes longer for you to come to a complete stop. Add oil into this mix and other things on the road surface and it’s no surprise that there are more accidents when it’s raining.

What can you do to ensure your safety while driving in the rain? First things first, slow down! It sounds obvious but many people do not slow down while driving in the rain. You also want to keep more distance between yourself and the cars ahead of you. In perfect conditions, it’s ideal to keep a 3 second gap between you and other drivers but in the rain, extend this to 6 seconds. Simple things like this can help you avoid having an accident or losing control of your vehicle.

Accelerate and brake slowly. This will ensure you don’t lose control and skid. Avoid slamming those brakes on.

Keep a look out around you and make certain you can be seen. If it’s raining badly and there is fog, put your hazard lights on so other motorists are aware you’re there. Use your demister so that your windows do not fog up. Check your windscreen wipersregularly to ensure they’re in working order.

Be wary of large puddles of water on the road. Water can collect in potholes and create deep puddles of water. Hitting one of these are high speeds could cause you to glide out of control. If you spot a large puddle of water, reduce your speed and use your brakes lightly to dry out the brake pads once you have moved through it.

Finally, have patience while driving. Everyone else on the roads is in the same situation as you and rushing to get home will only increase your chances of having a car accident.

Speak to your driving instructor about what else you should do in conditions are not optimal for driving. pm3irb2a8q