Hoot Guide to becoming a learnerBetween us, the team here at Hoot has many years of experience in finding really cheap car insurance for our customers. In that time we've come to know the motor insurance industry inside out, and we've also learnt a thing or two about many other aspects of motoring. Today, we don't think there can be many driver- or car-related questions left that one of us in the office doesn't know the answer to. Until recently, we haven't been doing a great deal with all this motoring knowledge. Okay, we might give one of our customers some advice on buying a secondhand car, for example, or use it to name one of the more obscure road signs in a pub quiz, but ultimately it felt like the information was going to waste. That's when we decided to do something really constructive with it all: we started writing Hoot Guides. This ever-expanding series offers tips and advice on everything from preventing car theft to running a vehicle on biodiesel, all presented in a concise, accessible format. You can also rely on the guides to clue you in on the finer points of cheap car insurance, with advice how to reduce your premium and a glossary of jargon used on car insurance policy documents. This Hoot Guide should really have been the first one we wrote, because it covers the very first steps you take towards driving: getting hold of a provisional licence, choosing an instructor and sorting out motor insurance on a private car while you're learning. Applying for a provisional licence
The application form you need is called a 'D1', and is available at your local post office. Fill this in and send it to the DVLA, along with a passport photo, proof of ID and a cheque for £38. It might seem like a lot to pay, but trust us - you'll be getting plenty of use out of that little green card once it arrives.
For a little extra cash, you can use what's called the 'premium checking' service to make sure you've filled the form in correctly. Available at larger, usually city-centre based post offices, it saves you having to wait a few weeks for your application to be returned if you've made a mistake. Providing you've completed the form correctly, the DVLA should deliver your licence in about three weeks. Obviously, you need to have received it before you take your first lesson or practice session - simply having applied for the provisional does not cover you to drive. Choosing a driving instructor
Some people learn to drive without taking a single formal lesson, but most of us meet regularly with a driving instructor in the weeks and months before passing our tests. The average learner needs about 20-30 lessons before he or she feels ready.
Bearing this in mind, and the £500 tuition costs that come along with it, it's very important to pick the right instructor for you. As a first priority, make sure any driving instructor you try has the proper accreditation. Every instructor in the UK is legally required to register with the Driving Standards Agency as an ADI, or 'approved driving instructor', before they can charge money for lessons. All qualified instructors display a green certificate on their car windscreens to prove they are an ADI. Being accredited as an ADI guarantees that an instructor meets the DSA's required standard for tuition, and you can be reassured that he or she is giving you up-to-date guidance on how to drive safely and pass your test. However, an ADI certificate isn't enough on its own. Your perfect instructor should also be someone you like, respect and rely on - and if that isn't the case, don't hesitate to pick up the phone and try someone else. You'll learn much better, and pass much more quickly, once you've found the right mentor. Practising in a private car
If possible, it's a good idea to supplement your formal lessons with practice in another car. To do this, you'll first have to find a car to drive and a qualified driver who is willing supervise you, and then sort out the necessary car insurance cover.
Your driving buddy needs to be over 21, and he or she needs to have held a full driver's licence for at least three years. And of course, they need to be crazy enough to get into a car with the likes of you. The most common approach when it comes to insurance is getting yourself listed as a named driver on the owner's policy. This should ensure you get a relatively cheap car insurance deal. Whatever you do, don't be tempted to drive when you're learning without valid motor insurance - it could get you and the owner into heaps of trouble, and put penalty points on a licence you haven't even got yet! Cheap car insurance from Hoot
Passing your driving test might seem like hard work, but next to making an informed choice about motor insurance it's a walk in the park.
Lucky for you, therefore, the cheap car insurance policy of your dreams has fallen right at your feet, courtesy of the experts at Hoot. We make up a friendly, hardworking online car insurance firm, which believes in putting our customers first and never scrimping on service. Click below for a cheap car insurance quote, and see what we do best. 
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