Everything we get asked before, during and after learning to drive in East London, written by the instructors who teach it. Every DVSA figure is linked to its source, and prices match our price list.
Start here: Learning to Drive in East London: The Complete Guide. The whole process in order, from provisional licence to the first month after you pass.
Costs and money
What learning to drive actually costs, with every figure sourced.
How Much Does It Cost to Learn to Drive in London?Every fee, every lesson, and a worked total for a realistic learner.
What Driving Lessons Cost in East LondonThe five things that move an hourly rate, and which of them you should pay for.
Driving Test Fees Explained: Theory and PracticalEvery official fee, plus the four costs that never appear in a price list.
Do Automatic Driving Lessons Cost More Than Manual?Why the hourly rate is the wrong comparison, and what the total actually depends on.
Block Booking Driving Lessons: When It Saves MoneyWhat a block actually saves, and the better reasons to buy one.
Learning to Drive on a Budget in LondonSeven things that genuinely reduce the bill, and one popular idea that does not.
What Failing Your Driving Test Actually CostsThe fee is the smallest part. Here is the rest of the bill.
How Many Driving Lessons Do You Actually Need?Where the famous 47 hour figure comes from, and what actually decides your number.
Automatic driving
What an automatic licence covers, and what changes when there is no clutch.
Automatic or Manual Licence: How to ChooseThe whole trade-off in one place, including the cases where manual wins.
Can You Drive a Manual Car on an Automatic Licence?The short answer is no, and the reasons are worth knowing precisely.
Is It Easier to Pass Your Driving Test in an Automatic?An honest look at the pass rates, including the ones that do not flatter automatics.
Your Automatic Licence and Electric CarsWhy the automatic restriction is worth less than it used to be, and what it still costs.
How to Upgrade From an Automatic Licence to a Manual OneThe full process, what it costs, and an honest view of who should bother.
What Is Different About an Automatic Driving Test?The honest list of what actually changes, which is shorter than people expect.
P, R, N, D: How an Automatic Gear Selector WorksA properly instructional guide to the four letters and the habits around them.
Getting started
Provisional licence, first lesson, and the nerves nobody warns you about.
How to Apply for a Provisional Driving LicenceThe £34 online application, what you need to hand, and the two questions people get stuck on.
When Can You Start Driving Lessons? The Age RulesApply at 15 years 9 months, drive at 17, and everything either side of those two dates.
What to Bring to Your First Driving LessonThree things that matter, and the long list of things you can safely leave at home.
What Actually Happens in Your First Driving LessonThe hour broken down, and the point at which you first move the car yourself.
Nervous About Learning to Drive? Start HereWhat learners are really afraid of, and what the first hour actually removes.
Learning to Drive at 30, 40 or 50What older learners find easier, what they find harder, and how to fit lessons around a job.
The theory test
Booking it, passing it, and keeping the certificate valid.
How to Pass the Theory Test First TimeBoth halves of the theory test, what to revise, and why people fail the part they never practised.
The Hazard Perception Test, Explained ProperlyThe difference between a potential hazard and a developing one, and why that difference is the whole test.
How Long Does a Theory Test Pass Last?Two years, no extensions, and the planning mistake that makes people sit the same test twice.
Booking Your Theory Test: Cost, Process and TimingWhat it costs, where to book it, and the third-party sites charging a markup on a £23 test.
Theory Test Revision That Actually WorksWhy cramming fails the theory test, and what to do instead across four weeks.
The practical test
What the examiner marks, and what actually ends a test.
What the Examiner Is Actually MarkingThe three fault grades, the fifteen-fault limit, and what really decides the result.
Show Me, Tell Me: All 21 Questions With AnswersThe complete published list, with an answer for every one of the 21.
The Three Driving Test Manoeuvres, ExplainedOne of three, chosen by the examiner, and what is actually being marked in each.
Independent Driving and the Sat Nav SectionTwenty to thirty-five minutes on your own, and the wrong turn that is not a fault.
How Many Minors Are You Allowed on a Driving Test?Fifteen driving faults, and how repetition turns them into something worse.
Serious and Dangerous Faults: What Ends a TestThe two grades that end a test on their own, and where they come from.
The Top 10 Reasons People FailThe official DVSA list, and what each fault looks like on a real road here.
What Happens If You Fail Your Driving TestThe ten working day wait, and how to read the sheet you were handed.
How to Book Your Practical Driving TestWhat you need, what it costs, and the booking sites to avoid.
Test centres and slots
Where East London tests, and how to plan around the waiting list.
Which East London Test Centre Has the Best Pass Rate?The three East London centres compared on the DVSA's published figures, and what the spread actually means.
How to Choose Your Driving Test CentreThe four things that should decide where you book, and why your nearest centre is not automatic.
Barking Test Centre Has Closed: Where East London Tests NowTanner Street closed on 3 January 2026, and the routes IG11 learners should practise changed with it.
Driving Test Waiting Times in London, and How to Plan Around ThemWhy you should book the test before you feel ready, and how the theory clock makes waiting expensive.
Finding an Earlier Driving Test SlotHow cancellations appear, how to catch one yourself, and when an earlier slot is the wrong thing to take.
East London road skills
Box junctions, bus lanes and the rules these roads punish hardest.
Box Junctions: The Rule Most London Drivers Get WrongThe actual wording of rule 174, the right-turn exception, and where the boxes cluster locally.
London Bus Lanes: Hours, Fines and Reading the SignReading the sign, why hours change street to street, and what a blank time plate means.
20mph Zones in London: What Learners Need to KnowWhere the limits apply, why an automatic drifts over, and how examiners mark speed.
Roundabout Lane Discipline: Choosing the Right Lane EarlyReading the approach early, and why the fault is the lane change rather than the lane.
The Highway Code Hierarchy of Road Users, ExplainedH1, H2 and H3 quoted in full, and what they changed at real junctions.
Driving Around Cyclists in London: The 1.5 Metre RuleThe 1.5 metre passing distance, H3 at junctions, and the mirror check that is not enough.
After you pass
The first month, Pass Plus, motorways and the six-point rule.
What to Do in the First Month After You PassThe admin, the probation period, and the driving the test never tested.
Pass Plus: What It Covers and Whether It Is Worth £260The six modules, the honest insurance answer, and when not to book it.
Your First Motorway Drive: What Nobody Teaches YouJoining, lane discipline, gantries, and what to do when there is no hard shoulder.
The New Driver Rule That Catches People OutSix points in two years, and why one offence can be enough.
Guides are reviewed when DVSA fees, test rules or our prices change.