COVID19

Because of COVID-19 the way Driving lessons are conducted has changed.

Your CF instructor will do things differently but you may also be required to complete additional tasks. The health and safety of our pupils and instructors is our number one priority.

Please see below our Procedure illustrating what is different and what will be expected of you before, during and after your lessons. At all times we ask that you follow the Procedure.

This is going to be the “new normal’ for a while. We just want to reassure you that Chequered Flag is doing everything possible to minimise the risks for you and your instructor in these unprecedented times.

Procedure

Booking Lessons

Booking Lessons

Once you have been given a start date for your driving lessons your CF Instructor will ask you to provide a ‘driving licence check code’ so that they CF can check your driving licence. The ‘check code’ can be obtained at: https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence. The code lasts for 21 days and can only be used once. For the CF instructor to look at the code they will need you to supply them the following information:

Your code
The last 8 characters of your driver number which can be found on your driving licence.
Your CF instructor will check the licence details only 24 hours before your first driving lesson takes place.

You will also be told that you will have to read a number plate at a distance of 20.5m with or without eyesight correction when you meet up again for the first time.

Before Lesson

Before Lesson

Before every lesson your CF instructor will send you a text message or call you asking if:

If you or anybody in your household have any Covid 19 symptoms-
- high temperature, new or persistent cough, or any changes to your sense of taste or smell.
Your CF instructor will also need to know that nobody in your household has been contacted by Test & Protect in last 14 days.
If you or anyone you have been in contact with have travelled from a high risk region or a local area which has re issued lockdown restrictions.
Your CF instructor will need your consent that if the instructor develop any COVID-19 symptoms you would have no issues with them passing on your details for Test & Protect.

It is important that you answer these questions honestly as you do not want to put the CF instructor or any of their other pupils at risk. This will also avoid your driving lesson being cancelled halfway through if the instructor decides you are not well enough, which may have financial implications to you.

Your CF instructor will only leave to collect you for your driving lesson once they’re happy with your responses.

Your CF instructor will also request that you wash your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds, in line with government guidance, immediately before leaving the house or place of work.

Start of Lesson

Start of Lesson

Your CF instructor will also advise you of the following features in your driving lessons:

Once your instructor arrives at the pickup point they will again assess whether you are well enough to start the lesson.

There will be no handshakes as a form of greeting.
They will not let you get into the car straight away.
From a distance (min 2m) they will have a conversation with you to assess you again.
Your CF instructor will be wearing a face-mask. Can we request that you bring and wear a face mask unless you have a medical certificate.
The DVSA have stated that all pupils must wear a face mask when sitting their driving test. CF recommends you should practice wearing one to get used to it.
Before entering the training car the contact points of the car will be sanitised.
If you are using your own car the CF Instructor will expect your car to be sanitised. The CF Instructor will bring their own disinfectant/antibacterial wipes and hand sanitiser and wipe down contact point on their side of the car.
Air conditioning will not be used throughout your driving lessons. Your CF instructor will at all times ensure the car is well ventilated by keeping the windows open.
CF recommends you to wear appropriate clothing, eg long sleeves and trousers. It is not recommended to wear open-toed shoes.
Your CF instructor may ask you to place any outerwear such as your jacket/jumper/bag inside a plastic bag in the boot to help reduce the risk of infection
After your driving lesson your CF instructor and you will sanitise hands again.
To maintain social distancing your CF instructor will recap your lesson and discuss what to do in the following lesson from outside the car.
Your CF instructor will be having half an hour off between pupils so that they in do not have close contact with other pupils. This will also give the instructor time to clean and disinfect all appropriate areas of the training vehicle.

During Lesson

During Lesson

The lesson content and structure has remained the same. Your CF instructor will make sure the lesson has client centered aims and objectives and is appropriate for you.

Your CF instructor will also advise you that:

Any writing should be done by them – don’t share a pen or device where possible. If you do, they will clean with anti-bac wipes straight afterwards.
Training resources such as lesson plans/diagrams should not be passed between the two of you.
You should try to avoid directly facing each other when discussing scenarios.
If they are going to provide a demonstration drive, they will need to wipe down the controls before and after.
The windows will be open to some degree for ventilation, even in wet weather. In hot temperatures, the air conditioning may not be used.
Your CF Instructor will teach pupils about recirculated air, and why using this function is particularly risky at present, if the car has this facility.
Discussions during the lesson may be held outside of the car, which is a little different to what you have been used to.