As you can see from the image here, Y junctions do look like a capital Y when viewed from the minor road – just as T junctions look like a capital T.

They exist to try to help drivers navigate with ease in the direction needed, in effect using a Y junction means that there is less steering required. They also help to minimise congestion on thin minor roads, by helping drivers to use the appropriate ‘leg’ of the junction for the direction they wish to travel.

In the first clip you can see the car is in the major road and it turns right into the junction with relative ease and not a great deal of steering. Contrast that with the second clip where the car is using the right leg of the junction to effectively emerge right on to the major road. See how the driver has to give way at two points, firstly giving way to the oncoming vehicle (we are turning right so we give way to oncoming traffic), and then there is a second pause at the give way markings to ensure it is safe to emerge right in to the major road. Just as a note, while using the right sided leg of the Y junction to help emerging right, it would not be illegal to emerge right using the left leg – it would be more difficult, but not illegal.

The third clip shows a turning to the left from the major road on to the Y junction, look how tight and narrow that left turn is.  Note how slowly the vehicle is moving while it turns into that narrow left turn. Also note how there is another give way marking to pay attention to, as you will see traffic whizzing past at speed from the right that has just come off the major road (as per the first clip). As you can see, paying attention to white markings on Y junctions is important.

The last clip shows the vehicle travelling into the Y junction from the minor road and emerging left on to the major road. This particular junction is notorious for collisions as sat nav’s do not show that left emerge as an actual junction – they tend to think that is a straight road.  There is you will notice a triangular warning sign for the give way (the only triangular sign that is upside down) on the approach, but if you were making the mistake of solely relying on sat nav and not noticing warning signs, you could easily find yourself emerging left when there could be traffic coming from your right on the major road. The moral of the story being to not rely too heavily on tech in the car, and continue to pay attention to road signs and road markings.

In summary, Y junctions exist to try to help us as drivers, the idea being to plan in advance which leg of the junction you will need to use for the emerge or turn that you are making. But, as ever, being a static hazard, there is an increased risk associated with them.  We can observe in these clips the combination of traffic from many directions entering the junction at speed – not a great combination for road safety. This is why on the BIG TOM intensive courses you are shown as many different varieties of junctions as possible. Observations at junctions, the use of mirrors when changing direction and moving off safely are the top 3 reasons for failing driving tests as reported very recently by the DVSA.

One of the features of the BIG TOM “Beginners” intensive course is the experience that pupils get of driving on country roads. There are a disproportionate amount of accidents on country roads for the volume of traffic that uses them. There are a variety of characteristics of country roads (often referred to as “rural” roads), that present increased risk factors. One of these risk factors is the potential for oncoming traffic to be encroaching on to the lane that we are driving in. Often, the reason for oncoming traffic doing that is logical and quite necessary but it can be the unexpected nature in which they present themselves that makes for an increased risk.

If we look at the first example in this video, it is quite simply an agricultural vehicle using the oncoming lane, but because the road is not particularly wide and the tractor is, that means it naturally ‘overhangs’ slightly into the lane we are driving in. The fact that it comes around the right bend with little warning is what might make some drivers feel increased anxiety or maybe even react with excessive steering or braking. We should be expecting agricultural vehicles on country roads, they often temporarily use the public roads in the day to day necessities of farming life.

The second example is also ‘blind’ to us as we travel along the road. A slight right bend again limits the vision of what is coming our way. Quite suddenly we see a vehicle travelling in our direction, within our lane, and this time it is overtaking a cyclist that we cannot see until virtually level with it. Cyclists use country roads, as do motorcyclists, as do horse riders and as do slow moving vehicles like tractors – it really is to be expected that traffic is going to overtake these moving hazards on country roads.

The skill becomes a bit more of a mindset, an anticipation that hazards are going to crop up on these roads. When you consider that they tend to involve faster maximum speed limits, slower moving vulnerable road users and on thinner roads that often have bends, you can start to realise why they pose an increased risk.

This willingness to accept that hazards may be up ahead even when a driver cannot necessarily see any, is a mindset of “defensive driving”. It is the application of defensive driving techniques that will result in safer driving and less collisions.

She finished her 5 day course on 06/06/2023, and although a couple of driving test slots were offered to her, she wanted to take her driving test today. This level of permanence is a good example of the integrity of the learning with BIG TOM.  Some people might think that they HAVE to take the driving test immediately, but as can be seen here, over two weeks after completing the course, she still managed to pass on her first attempt, with just 4 minor errors.

Her instructor is the owner of BIG TOM Driving School, Tom Ingram who says:

“This positive result today says a lot about Chelsea who came to me lacking in confidence of her driving ability. It is very pleasing to see a pupil like Chelsea, making use of the BIG TOM 5 day intensive course, and gaining a successful result even though her self-belief was really quite low at the start. I know how much this means to her, and I am very happy for her and her family.”

The course she purchased was a 30 hour intensive spread over two weeks starting on the 5^th June and ending up with a successful test pass on 16^th June.

Amber was low on confidence due to some unsatisfactory driving lessons with a previous instructor. But she said of her experience with BIG TOM: “I’ve never been confident with driving but driving with Tom brought confidence I didn’t know I had.”

The owner of BIG TOM Driving School says: “It’s really nice to be able to demonstrate to customers that it is very possible to get your licence within two weeks with BIG TOM. The driving record for Amber shows that she practised driving in Peterborough, Grantham, Spalding, Cranwell and Sleaford before finally passing her driving test in Boston. I hope she has many years of safe driving.”

Paul is very busy and took 8 days off work to do the course, and as he is self-employed, the flexibility that BIG TOM provides on the schedule worked really well for him. The duration of the course and frequency of sessions was ideal for Paul’s learning needs.

On the last day of Paul’s intensive course he did two mock tests which he passed, one with zero faults and the other with two minor errors. The very next day he took his actual driving test in Grantham on the earliest test slot of the day, and passed it with two minor errors. He is delighted to now be fully mobile, it will make such a difference to his life.

If you are still waiting to start your driving lessons, why not discover the fastest way to get your driving licence? An intensive driving course with BIG TOM reduces the time it takes for you to have independent freedom; from months to just weeks.

Many customers are telling us that they are still finding themselves waiting on driving instructors’ waiting lists for weekly pay as you go driving lessons. Some waiting lists are as long as 6 months or more!  Even then, once the weekly lessons start, it typically takes several months to pass the driving test. You do not have to wait all this time just to learn to drive, come and join hundreds of other people who decide to leap frog over these obstacles to get your driving licence much quicker.

Our intensive courses appeal to people who do not have the luxury of taking several months before they can start lessons and take driving tests. We are still sourcing driving tests for our customers for the immediate end of their course*  We provide you with the maximum amount of help and support with first-class resources and outstanding driving instruction to maximise learning.

Whatever your circumstances, we have an intensive course suitable for you. You may have your theory test still to do or maybe you have passed it. You may have 10 or 20 hours of driving experience under your belt, or perhaps you are a complete beginner. You may have already had 3 unsuccessful attempts at the driving test. We have the resources available for you right now to pass the driving test sooner rather than sometime never.

Weekdays, evenings and weekends are available for your practice sessions. You can either go to test with us (subject to passing a mock test within normal test centre testing times), or in your own car (you automatically receive a 20% SAVING on our course prices). The choice is yours, all you need to do is contact us.

Ring now on 01928 508 833

*Excludes Peterborough

She purchased the flagship “All inclusive” beginners course, where all test bookings are made for our customers. She initially had an issue with receiving her provisional licence in the post so decided to spread the 45 hours over April and May, as this enabled her to have time to receive her provisional licence as well as study and take her theory test. From Day 1 of her in-car driving training to the last day was 26 days. On the last day of her intensive course, which was today, BIG TOM Admin managed to source her a driving test at her preferred driving test in Boston. She passed her driving test on her first attempt.

Ellie had been practising in Peterborough, Spalding, Sleaford, Cranwell, Boston, Stamford and Grantham on her Beginners intensive course. This gave her a good grounding in all of the areas of the DVSA driving standard.

With two young children, having the ability to be mobile is vital for her. Congratulations go to Ellie and we wish you many years of safe driving.

Her driving instructor Tom said: “I’m really pleased to be able to demonstrate once again, that BIG TOM has the ability to source driving test slots for customers for the completion of their courses.”

We take customer feedback seriously – it takes time and effort for our customers to complete the various feedback points when they purchase our courses. We send a big thank you to all our customers who provide feedback, please be assured that every survey is monitored. We are continually reviewing our processes to accommodate the thoughts and feelings of our customers.

Just one example is the survey we send one month after a customer passes their driving test. We are very keen to know how our customers manage driving out on those streets alone, after passing the driving test. We have a few key questions that it is vital for us to know the answers; so that we can check that our courses are fit for purpose. Our philosophy at BIG TOM has always been more concerned with the confidence and competence levels of pupils post-test, rather than simply monitoring if they pass the 38 minute driving test.

This is just one further example of how a customer can benefit from purchasing a BIG TOM intensive driving course. Although we have no desire to interfere with how driving instructors who provide pay as you go driving lessons run their business, we know from industry training providers that very few do this level of integrity check for pupils who pass.

If you are still struggling to find a driving instructor without a 6 month waiting list, come and jump the queue by purchasing a BIG TOM intensive driving course – hundreds of others have, why don’t you discover what premium service feels like?

To schdule your own personal timetable of driving training sessions, call us now on 01928 508 833

According to the DVSA Annual Report 2023-2024: “The pass rate for learners who take a realistic mock test is 67%, compared to 47% for those who do not”.

Knowing if the timing is right for you to be doing a formal driving test is vitally important. If you were to go to test too early, not only could it be unsafe, but also it can affect your confidence levels and possibly motivation. Driving examiners on formal driving tests are not in the capacity of “supervising” a driver, that is not their responsibility: they are there to assess your driving ability.  Therefore, if you were to go to test too soon, either in your own car or a driving school car, then it is not the examiners duty to supervise what you do – if they feel that your standard of driving is unsafe, they can abort the driving test which means you and the examiner leave the car parked, and walk back to the driving test centre (driving examiners are not insured to drive the vehicle).

The national driving test pass rate average remains at below 50% which tends to suggest that people are still going to test far too soon. Statistically, the probability of passing a driving test is less than the flick of a coin. By undertaking an authentic, accurately graded mock test, it will give you a better understanding of your driving ability which is based on objective assessment by a professional, rather than merely your own opinion.

A detailed study conducted in 1999 by psychologists David Dunning & Justin Kruger discovered that when we all learn a new subject, we tend to naturally overestimate our ability when the ability is relatively speaking low to what it could be. In other words, we tend not to realise what we don’t know, and we assume (often with very little competence or experience) that we are more able than in fact we are. This is referred to as the “Dunning Kruger effect” and is globally acknowledged as being a natural occurrence, but fundamental mistake for learners to make. What is particularly unhelpful when we specifically look at driving ability, is that we will often draw conclusions about our driving ability by judging it against other poor driving. Consequently, whether it be a correct assessment or not of our own driving ability it is very often made by comparing to an already low standard – a standard that would not pass a driving test. Learner drivers may also have already qualified drivers advising them to “give it a go”, “you won’t know unless you try” or peers with other remarks like “if he can pass the driving test, then surely you can too”, that tend to overlook assessing the actual driving ability. The mistake very often made, even if it is understandable, is that ability is assessed using our emotions rather than using an objective assessment.  Unlike academic exams, the standard achieved when learning to drive will have long-lasting effects on your ability to safely drive independently.

BIG TOM has been providing this mock test service exclusively to BIG TOM customers for several years, but now, anyone is able to utilise this benefit. Whether you want a second opinion to your current driving instructor, or perhaps you have been doing private lessons with friends/family and want to know how you are getting on. The mock test can be completed in your own private car* or a BIG TOM driving school car (manual only). The pick up/drop off is from your chosen driving test centre** and the session will last 1 hour (40 minutes for the mock test + 20 minutes feedback of the result).  The service is limited to conducting and assessing a mock test, it is not intended to advise if a person should be going to test or not as we will not be aware of the extent or quality of the training programme previously undertaken.

BIG TOM is able to provide very accurate grading of driving faults as to how the severity of fault would be graded on a normal driving test with an examiner. This is due to the experience accrued over several years and having observed dozens of driving tests in numerous locations.  The following locations are available: Lincoln, Peterborough, Grantham, Melton Mowbray, Boston.  As well as the verbal feedback, you will be provided with a written driving test record detailing any faults committed, where/when, and a description. You can keep this record and utilise it to then improve your driving standard with focussed practice in key driving skills.

You are able to select the 20 minute independent drive to be either sat nav (80% of tests) or following signs (20% of tests), an emergency stop (1 in 3 tests) and also whether you want one random manoeuvre or one of every possible manoeuvre that may come up on an actual driving test. We can offer you our advice regarding what is included at the time of booking.

* Subject to adequate insurance cover
**If you would prefer to receive a mock driving test but not physically attend a DVSA driving test centre, this is possible but please be aware this would NOT be utilising normal driving test routes. Still apply by calling 01928 508 833 or email info@bigtom.org.uk

]]>