9 out of 10 driving instructors say learners have picked up bad driving habits from their parents

The pandemic left many 17-year-olds relying on their parents for driving tuition. We asked our driving instructors to name the worst habits their pupils had picked up.

The top 10 worst habits included:

1. Not following ‘mirror, signal, manoeuvre’ as a matter of course.
2. Steering with one hand (palm) or crossing hands. (Neither will fail you your test as a one off, but it isn’t best practice to do them regularly as you have less control.)
3. Not observing what is happening around them.
4. Coasting.
5. Speeding.
6. Coming down through individual gears instead of block changing.
7. Not creeping and peeping when exiting a junction.
8. Riding the clutch.
9. Impatience/aggression.
10. Believing myths or out of date driving styles (e.g., you no longer need to hold the steering wheel in the 10-2 position, you don’t have to stop at all junctions and roundabouts and overuse of indicators can be frowned upon.)

Others mentioned by instructors included eating and drinking in the car, being too heavy on the gas, not checking blind spots, getting too close to the vehicle in front and having no regard or understanding of the highway code.

We've launched a new package which includes aids for both learners and their parents in the learning to drive journey. We partnered with motoring expert Quentin Willson to publish a book ‘Learn to drive without tears and tantrums’. Quentin has also helped create the Young Driver App, which includes unique 360° VR videos to help learners practice manoeuvres even when they can’t be behind the wheel – and perhaps offer parents some tips too. 

A hard copy of the book, a three-month subscription to all the content on the app, and a set of L and P Plates is available at the introductory price of £17.99 (usually £26.98) here: www.youngdriver.eu/readytodrivepack