Online Driving Lessons in Testing Times

A new e-learning driving course has been developed by Kathleen Comerford of Sunbury Driving School that will help with the current limited access to driving lessons, as well as the lengthy driving test waiting times.

The new website, ipassmydrivingtest.ie, details practical skills and useful tips alongside educational video tutorials created for drivers at all stages of learning.  

Covid restrictions are seeing many people want to learn to drive, now that they have more time on their hands, Kathleen Comerford, aka ‘The Driving Doctor’, says.

“Some learners need to avoid using public transport during the pandemic too, and all are finding it harder to book a local driving instructor.” 

The timely online solution offers access to advanced driving skills and techniques that can be learnt from the comfort of home, and then practiced with a qualified driver alongside.

There is also now the added pressure of longer driving test waiting times, due to the initial lockdown in March.  Covid has left more than 85,000 people waiting for a driving test, with the average wait now nearly eight months.

“People want to refresh their skills ahead of taking the test, but cannot afford continual driving lessons, even if they could find an instructor.  Plus, with such a backlog, the more drivers who pass the test first time, the better for everyone”, Kathleen Comerford says. 

The e-learning website offers courses to new drivers undertaking the 12 Essential Driver Training (EDT) modules, as well as to international drivers completing reduced EDT lessons.  There is also a ‘Fear of Driving’ programme for drivers who are nervous and need to understand and manage their fears.

Courses cost from €60 on ipassmydrivingtest.ie, providing instant access to vital course material which is important for the development of confident drivers.

Learning includes a full breakdown of all 18 sections of the driving test report sheet that the tester uses on test day.  Each section is explained in clear and concise videos, illustrating the pitfalls where learner drivers can lose vital marks in their test. 

It is difficult for new drivers to retain all of the information they need to become a safe driver in just 12 hours of EDT lessons, according to Comerford, who has twenty years’ experience as a driving instructor, and is the author of "Pass your Driving Test in Ireland”. 

“Between nerves, and concentrating hard on the actual driving manoeuvre, people only half listen to the instruction, so the logic behind it can get lost!  With the website, there is the advantage of advance online learning combined with practical driving experience that will literally drive more test passes first time”.