The Berkshire Driving School
Berkshire Driving School Home Page
Trailer Tests to be abolished from Monday 20th September 2021
This has been a quick change to the testing system in order to increase availability for providing much-needed truck driver testing so everything is in a state of flux at this time.
Until the law changes later in Autumn 2021 you must continue to follow existing licence rules about what you can tow based on when you passed your car driving licence.
See our Blog for up to date information and a link to the GOV.UK official source.
As a result we will be suspending trailer training until further notice.
We do acknowledge that our training would still be useful so we will keep our collected wisdom available for viewing.
Our Services, Our Experience and How We Can Help You
Training for the B+E test
We provide quick and effective training for drivers wishing to pass the car plus trailer test. We do not operate courses per se since many of our Clients have considerable driving experience. If we were to expect our Clients to commit to an inflexible course of training without even assessing their driving, then we could be committing them to more training than would be necessary for them to achieve a reasonable chance of passing the trailer test.
We encourage our Clients to adopt a simple and efficient style of driving which minimises pollution, reduces vehicle running costs and, of course reduces the chance of accidents. Examiners appreciate this approach and consequently we have a high pass rate.
Although we occasionally train from our Customer's facilities we much prefer to start from our office at SL5 8TE, 105 Sutherland Chase, Ascot. Link to map here... Streetmap
One of our trailer combinations
Trailer lessons - Many drivers do not realise that they need to pass a test to pull their horseboxes or car trailers. Please click on the trailer topic at left for more details.
Training for the D1 test
It is illegal to train a driver to drive a minibus over 3.5 tonnes maximum authorised mass without having first passed a driving test to drive that class of vehicle. Grandfather rights are no longer considered to be a sufficient qualification. Our instructor has passed tests to drive the largest buses and articulated trucks. He has also passed the Approved Driver Instructor's Special Driving Test conducted at the examiner's training headquarters, Cardington. Additional qualifications include the Transport Manager's Exam (National and International), The Road Transport Industrial Training Board's HGV Instructor plus a number of advanced driving tests passes in lorries and cars. (IAM and RoSPA). Clearly, well qualified to train your staff to drive minibuses.
NOTE - WE DO NOT PROVIDE A MINIBUS FOR TRAINING PURPOSES SINCE MOST OF OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE A SUITABLE VEHICLE
Minibus Assessments
Lightweight minibuses are frequently being used by schools and colleges. They still have a 17 seat capacity but when luggage is not to be carried, their laden mass will not exceed 7.5 tonnes. Many schools and colleges have a policy of checking that their staff are safe and competent to drive the organisations' minibuses. Because of our background in the transport industry we are called upon by many educational establishments to assess their staff. Drivers will be encouraged to adopt a smooth economical style of driving which, when applied to minibuses will ensure greater safety, lower operating costs and greater comfort for the passengers. Our instructor has also attended a MiDAS instructor's course which covered driving and operating accessible minibuses.
Familiarisation of Foreign Drivers to U.K. Roads
Many older drivers who have not driven on British roads come to us for short courses to gain confidence or to adapt to U.K. driving conditions. We can take their driving to a higher level and this will almost guarantee a DVSA* driving test pass if this is necessary.
*April 2014 the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) and VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) merged to form the DVSA or Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. (See wikipedia DSA and wikipedia VOSA ). The DVSA can be contacted here - gov.uk contact-dvsaDriving Style Update
Vehicles which comply with the latest Euro 6 Emissions Regulations (introduced 2014 and to be tightened up to Euro 7 in 2025) need to be driven in a specific manner to reduce premature damage to the engines' inlet system. Our instructors' background in Science and Mechanics makes him the ideal tutor to pass on the latest driving techniques needed do drive modern vehicles. Transport managers appreciate better drivers who reduce fleet running costs. Information on Euro 6 can be found here - Wikipedia - Passenger car Emissions
Taxi and Private Hire Driving Tests
Many drivers confess that they would never pass the driving test if they were to re-take it. Potential professional drivers need not fear the test - simple efficient driving will impress the Examiner - and the Candidate will save on his future vehicle operating costs.
Preparation for the Police Driving Course
It is not possible to drive safely at speed unless the driver has a good basic driving style which involves excellent forward planning and a sensitivity to vehicle dynamics. These qualities should be practiced until they become well established. This will result in a driving style which is safe, kind to the vehicle and will lower your running costs. Before embarking on an advanced driving test it is helpful to prepare yourself beforehand. We can help you. The Police Driving School at Hendon will then have a higher base standard of driving upon which to build. Met Police Driving
Our Charges
See our description page in the Blog for latest fees : HERE
This is our marking scheme
or any alternative PDF reader to read this
document.)Our Cars
Our training vehicles are Skoda Octavias.
Where are we? Click here...
streetmap.co.uk