If you’ve just passed your driving test, you may be nervous about taking to the road in trickier driving conditions – at night, or in icy weather conditions, for example. The Pass Plus course can give new drivers a skill and confidence boost, and potentially cut the cost of car insurance to boot.
Pass Plus is an extra driving qualification which you can get on top of your full driving licence. There’s no obligation to take part in the scheme, but you will learn to tackle situations you won’t have covered in your standard driving lessons. The idea is that you’re even less likely to be involved in an accident, which is not only good for your well-being and your car, but could lead to lower car insurance premiums too.
While Pass Plus was designed with those who’ve just passed their test in mind, you don’t have to be new to driving to take the course. For example, you might want to use it to refresh your driving skills after you’ve been without a car for a while.
After finding a qualified instructor, you’ll do a minimum of 6 hours of training. In this time the course will teach you how to handle 6 different environments better: all weather driving; motorway driving; dual carriageway driving; night time driving; driving in town; and driving down rural roads.
All modules should be practical, and you should expect to do 5.5 hours of driving during the course. But depending on your location and driving conditions, some modules may need to be more theoretical. It’s hard to practise driving in heavy rain during an extended spell of dry, sunny weather for example.
Regular driving lessons cover all the basics you need to know to drive safely on UK roads. You’ll take lessons with a driving instructor over a series of days or weeks (or, in some cases, months). And you need to pass two tests: a theory test, and a practical driving test that’s assessed by a driving examiner. Only when you’ve passed both of these tests will you receive your full driving licence and be legally able to drive solo on UK roads.
Pass Plus, and similar advanced driving courses, are not a legal requirement. Instead, they’re about boosting your skills and confidence, particularly in relation to driving in specific – and potentially trickier – conditions, such as at night, in busy urban environments, or in bad weather. Unlike regular driving lessons, there are no tests to pass. Instead, your Pass Plus instructor will assess your driving as you move through the modules. You can simply keep going until you reach the required standard.
The price for a Pass Plus course varies depending on where you live, the driving instructor, and how long you take to complete the course. A total cost of £150-£200 for the course is fairly typical. Some local authorities offer discounts to help with the cost of training, so it’s worth contacting your council to ask.
In Wales, drivers aged 17-25 who have passed their driving test in the last 12 months can apply to take the Pass Plus Cymru course, which only costs £20.
The Pass Plus course covers 6 modules, each of which are expected to take around an hour. So, you can expect the whole course to take at least 6 hours. All modules are intended to be practical, so you can anticipate spending 5.5 hours of the course driving.
You can technically compress all 6 modules into a single session, but this would be pretty intensive and hard work. To prevent physical weariness, not to mention brain drain from all the new information you’ll be learning, it’s a good idea to split the course over at least 3 sessions (2 modules per session). That way, the information is more likely to stick, you’ll have time to practice in between sessions, and you can build up your skills gradually.
Some of the areas Pass Plus helps you cope better with are touched on in your standard driving test. However, the idea is you’ll become even wiser to dangerous or stressful situations. Below are the conditions Pass Plus will help you with.
Some insurers do offer discounts to drivers who take advanced driving courses such as Pass Plus. This might prove especially handy if you’re a young driver who’s only just passed the standard driving test.
Young drivers are considered at high risk of claiming because of their age and inexperience on the road. However, Pass Plus could help you knock that premium down to size.
There’s no categorical answer to this. Not all car insurers offer a Pass Plus discount, and the level of discount varies between insurers. We’ve seen discounts of up to 25% on offer for new drivers who’ve taken Pass Plus, but it won’t always be this much. Many price comparison sites don’t ask about Pass Plus as part of the quote process, so you’ll need to check directly with insurers if they offer a discount.
And, of course, the benefits of any discount are dependent on the insurer offering a reasonable baseline premium. So shopping around for the best-value cover is as crucial as identifying insurers that offer Pass Plus discounts.
Once you’ve met (or exceeded) the required standard for all 6 Pass Plus modules, your instructor will provide a training report that you and they must sign. You use this report to apply to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for a Pass Plus certificate. You’ll need the certificate to demonstrate to insurers that you’re Pass Plus certified, and take advantage of any discounts on offer.
Some insurance providers offer a discount for gaining Pass Plus certificate; others don’t. If your chosen insurer offers a discount, then taking the course makes financial sense. With time, you should earn back the money you spent on the course.
If your provider doesn’t offer a discount to Pass Plus certificate holders, the financial benefits are less clear cut. In the short term, at least, you’ll be out of pocket without any guaranteed prospect of recouping the outlay.
But it’s not just about financial savings. Taking the course may also help you feel (and potentially be) safer when driving, which you might think is well worth it. And if you put your long-term vision goggles on, you might decide that the course will help you avoid getting in an accident and having to make a claim. With typical car insurance excesses topping £200, avoidance of a single claim could make the cost of a Pass Plus course well worth it.
If you want to gain confidence and improve your driving skills after you’ve passed your test, you have several options. Alternatives to Pass Plus include:
Pass Plus isn’t the be all and end all for cutting car insurance premiums. It’s one tactic, and there are plenty of others.
As a new driver, you’ll probably be faced with eye-wateringly high insurance premiums. Taking a Pass Plus course is one of a number of tactics that could help reduce costs. Even if your chosen insurer doesn’t offer a Pass Plus discount, you may consider it worth it to boost your driving confidence and reduce your future risk of accidents.
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