Is It Better to Learn to Drive in the Summer?
Learning to drive is not always easy. Some people breeze through their lessons and pass their practical driving test first time. Others struggle to master the many different skills needed to be able to drive safely and competently, and end up failing their test repeatedly. If you fall into the latter category, you might be wondering whether it is better to start learning to drive in the summer, when the weather is generally better. So is this the case or does it make no difference at all?
Accident Statistics
Statistics show that there are more road traffic accidents in the summer. At first glance, this might seem like a bit of a conundrum. After all, surely it is more dangerous to drive in winter when the roads are icy, there is snow on the ground, and the days are shorter. Well, apparently not.
There are fewer drivers on the roads during winter precisely because the weather is often very poor. If a snowstorm is forecast, people tend to cancel their trips out and stay at home until the bad weather has passed. Fewer drivers mean fewer accidents. In the summer, more people head out in their vehicles, so sheer volume of traffic inevitably leads to a greater number of road traffic accidents.
Learning to Drive
If you take accident statistics into account, it would appear that learning to drive in the summer is riskier because you are more likely to be involved in an accident. However, 95% of accidents are caused by careless driving and human error, so you should be OK if you pay attention to the road and drive appropriately for the weather conditions.
Be Prepared
As a new learner driver, you are likely to feel more confident if the weather is bright and sunny when you have a driving lesson. Visibility is better and if you are having a driving lesson in the middle of the day, the roads will be quieter. However, it is sensible to practice driving at different times of the day and night because once you have passed your test you will have to drive under different conditions.
Instructor cars have dual controls, so if something goes wrong or you accidentally step on the accelerator instead of the brake, your instructor will take appropriate measures to prevent an accident. For this reason, although driving in the summer is easier, you should try and book a few lessons when the weather is poor or it is dark, as this helps to prepare you for the type of driving you will need to do once you have passed your test.
Practice Makes Perfect
Before booking a practical driving test, you should practice your theory test using sample questions on Top Tests. Once you have passed this, it will be tempting to rush through lessons with a view to passing the practical test as quickly as possible. However, the more practice you can squeeze in the better. It takes many years of regular driving to learn road sense and other drivers don’t always behave in the way you expect them to. Passing a practical driving test is only the first stage of the process – we all carry on learning each time we get behind the wheel.
