LDC Driving School - Helen Matthews

17/03/2026

We’re putting learners in control of their car driving test bookings 🚘

If you’ve got a booking or you’ll be looking for a test soon, make a note of these dates 📅

31 March 2026 – only 2 changes can be made to a booking

12 May 2026 – only learners are allowed to book a test and make changes

9 June 2026 – learners can move their booked test only to nearby centres

By changing who can book car and change driving tests, we’re aiming to reduce the re-selling of driving tests, giving the power back to learners 💪

Read more on GOV.UK 👇

https://ow.ly/uP1T50YuHaJ

01/03/2026

03/02/2026

📢 The rules for booking a practical car driving test are changing.

From 31 March 2026, learner drivers and approved driving instructors (ADIs) will only be able to change a driving test booking up to 2 times.

A change includes:
- changing the date or time
- changing the test centre
- swapping an appointment with another learner

If you’re an ADI, please make sure your pupils only book their test when they’re ready as swapping between pupils will count towards this limit. You can set times when you're available to take your pupils to their driving tests. This stops your pupils from booking tests at times that do not work for you.

👉 When this comes into force, everyone with a driving test booked will have 2 changes available, regardless of how many changes they may have already made.

This change is part of the outcome of our consultation to improve the way driving tests are booked.

For more information, visit:

The rules for booking and managing car driving tests will change from spring 2026. Find out what the changes are and how they affect you.

01/02/2026

Tomorrow is the first day at work with my new car, can't wait for my pupils to enjoy it. Ldc decals will be done very soon. 😀

14/01/2026

Huge congratulations to Bethany who passed her driving test this afternoon after having it cancelled from the 5th January 10 mins before her test was due to go out. Having put those nerves away until today, you went out & smashed it with only a handful of minors. Enjoy car shopping & good luck for the future. Stay safe.
🙂🚗🙂🚗🙂🚗🙂🚗

13/01/2026

A driving school car exists for one reason: to teach someone how to drive safely and legally on public roads. You will see them everywhere. On your commute. Outside schools. On shopping trips. On ordinary roads, doing ordinary journeys, just like you.

They are easy to spot. The red L plates are not decoration. They are a signal that learning is taking place.

Becoming a driving instructor is not a casual role. The training and qualification process is demanding, with a high failure rate. Only around one in five people who start the journey go on to qualify as Approved Driving Instructors. Even then, instructors are regularly reassessed to ensure standards are maintained. This level of regulation plays a significant role in why the UK has strong road safety outcomes compared to many other countries.

If you are driving behind a learner, it means you have already passed your test. You earned that right. You also once sat where they are now, learning how to judge speed, space, timing, and risk for the first time.

For that learner, today might be their first experience on a busy road. They may be revisiting a situation they previously struggled with. They could be running a mock test, or they may be on their actual driving test. You have no way of knowing which. What you can know is that their instructor is responsible for ensuring they meet the same legal driving standards that apply to everyone else on the road.

Speed limits are not flexible. Red traffic lights are not suggestions. Give way markings are not open to interpretation. An instructor will not override these rules because another driver is impatient. No amount of beeping, tailgating, revving, or aggressive positioning will change what is being taught or assessed.

Aggressive behaviour does not help learning. It does not make progress quicker. It simply adds unnecessary pressure to someone who is already concentrating hard on doing things correctly.

Maintaining a proper following distance changes everything. Two seconds in good conditions. Four seconds when the road is wet. Give that space and you will usually find the learner turns off, pulls over, or continues safely without affecting your journey at all.

There is also a practical upside. Slower, steadier driving improves fuel efficiency and traffic flow. Constant acceleration and braking does not get you there faster. It just adds stress.

Learner drivers are not obstacles. They are future drivers in training. They are doing their best, under supervision, to learn a skill that lasts a lifetime.

If you choose patience over frustration and courtesy over aggression, it makes a real difference.

Not just to the learner, but to the instructor responsible for keeping everyone safe in that vehicle.

Thank you to those who already show understanding and respect.

It is noticed, and it genuinely helps.🫶🏾

Sheena Ahmed
Motorvation School of Motoring

11/01/2026

The First Driving Lessons Begin Long Before 17
A parent’s influence matters more than most realise.

Ask when people start learning to drive and most will say 17.
In reality, the learning begins much earlier, often around the age of three or four.

From the back seat, children absorb everything.
How the steering wheel is handled.
How other drivers are spoken about.
How frustration, impatience, and risk are managed on the road.

Long before a child ever touches the pedals, they are already forming beliefs about what driving looks like and what behaviour is considered normal.

By the time they reach 17, they are handed to instructors to learn how to pass a driving test.
But driving is not just about passing a test. It is about developing safe habits that last a lifetime.

Young drivers, particularly those aged 17 to 25, are the most vulnerable group on the road.
Their brains are still developing, especially the areas linked to judgement, impulse control, and risk assessment.

Although they make up a relatively small percentage of licence holders, they are involved in more than 20 percent of fatal road traffic collisions.

Many of these outcomes are influenced by attitudes that existed long before their first driving lesson.

When lessons begin, parents often focus on cost.
How many lessons will be needed.
How quickly their child can pass.

Far fewer consider the much greater investment: shaping a mindset that values patience, awareness, and responsibility.

On average, a learner spends around 45 hours with an instructor.
In that time, we are not only teaching technical skills. We are often unpicking years of learned behaviour and reframing how risk is understood.

Those attitudes do not appear from nowhere.

They are learned at home.

Think about what is being demonstrated behind the wheel.
Driving too close to the vehicle ahead.
Taking unnecessary risks to save seconds.
Exceeding speed limits.
Pushing through amber or red lights.
Using a phone while driving.
Constantly criticising other road users.

Children notice all of it.

What they see repeatedly becomes what they accept as normal.

If we want safer young drivers, the work has to start earlier and it has to be consistent.

Help us help them.

The most important driving lessons are often taught long before the first official one.

Sheena Ahmed
Motorvation School of Motoring

05/01/2026

Huge congratulations & first pass of 2026 goes to Ella this lunchtime who has passed her driving test. It has been my absolute pleasure as your "Godmother' to help you in this journey & watch you grow in confidence as the weeks went by. Stay safe on the roads & I know you will be giving lifts to all your family. I am going to miss us catching up weekly.
😀🚗😀🚗😀🚗😀🚗

31/12/2025

Wishing you all a very happy & healthy 2026 🚗

19/12/2025

Merry Christmas to you all 🎄

09/12/2025

Huge congratulations to Louisa who passed her driving test late this afternoon, a very nervous hour before but sailed through & got the pass she so deserved. Good luck for the rest of Uni in Exeter. Safe driving for the future.
What a lovely early Christmas present.
🙂🚗🙂🚗🙂🚗🙂🚗