The guidance appears to have been updated to more closely follow what the law says.

Good recovery, you have nearly caught up

Guidance has changed as of this eve- practice on an essential journey is now allowed

so you can teach your kid to drive as long as you’re going to the shops ?

Are you allowed to go to the shops via that housing estate with the tricky parking, and the worst roundabout in town?

Guidance has changed as of this eve- practice on an essential journey is now allowed

Yes, it seems to be filtering through which is a relief.

Plus, he’s a great driver so doesn’t really need to practice

Your son is Dustin Hoffman and I claim my $5.

Good recovery, you have nearly caught up

You clearly haven’t.

Guidance is not Law, it is not enforceable.

Are you allowed to go to the shops via that housing estate with the tricky parking, and the worst roundabout in town?

Yes.

It’s not an essential journey though. It’s a not-so-clever interpretation of the rules to benefit yourselves.

Are you also wondering why this pandemic is taking so long to go away?

Having just re read the second link, that appears to be for approved driving instructors only. My interpretation is that the first guidance stands and it clearly states that in England we cannot take out family to practise their driving. Makes no sense at all!
Where do we stand on the insurance front if it’s guidance as opposed to law

Your son is Dustin Hoffman and I claim my $5.

I should maybe take him to Vegas on his next driving lesson 👍

“You can supervise someone from your household or support bubble during an essential journey during the national lockdown.”

Supervise “someone”? A learner, or a new driver? Or just someone? Such well written vagueness

Natural law applies here, for me.

You’re not causing the spread of COVID so crack on, imo.

“You can supervise someone from your household or support bubble during an essential journey during the national lockdown.”

not vague at all- it’s explicit- “someone from your household or support bubble”

“essential journey” not made up excuse to take offspring for a spin

My daughter learnt with us during Lockdown v1 – if we had to go anywhere she drove and got valuable experience while formal lessons where cancelled. She managed to get a test last October and passed 1st time.

This week she started an apprenticeship in the career she wants to follow (after quitting A-Levels in Dec). It’s 20 miles away from where we live and without her car she’d have had no chance of taking it up.

People are forgetting how important driving is to young people and what jobs it can open up.

If you have to go somewhere anyway I can’t see the problem.

not vague at all- it’s explicit- “someone from your household or support bubble”

Uh, well, that’s not da bit I said was vague

“essential journey” not made up excuse to take offspring for a spin

It’s a good job there’s no mention of essential journeys in the legislation then, just a non-exhaustive list of reasons to leave home.

It’s a good job there’s no mention of essential journeys in the legislation then, just a non-exhaustive list of reasons to leave home.

@Gribs, I can’t work you out. You have appeared on a number of threads with pretty much identical contributions – it’s all guidance rather than legislation yada yada.

Are you someone that thinks the lockdown is not required and therefore keen to point out why it can be ignored; do you get your kicks from pointing out loopholes in what the government has put together or have I got you completely wrong and are you looking for tighter legislation which matches all the guidance?

I can’t work out your motivation for your virtual cut and paste responses at all opportunities.

This week she started an apprenticeship in the career she wants to follow (after quitting A-Levels in Dec). It’s 20 miles away from where we live and without her car she’d have had no chance of taking it up.

People are forgetting how important driving is to young people and what jobs it can open up.

Could be a real problem down the line. How long have testing centres been shut* over the last year? There’s a whole yeargroup of school or university leavers who will be attempting to find jobs post lockdown. How many will be restricted in their potential job roles by having no driving licence?

*in the before times, generally operating at or near capacity, given how long it takes to get a test booked.

daughter has a test booked for the beginning of feb, no notice of cancellation yet either, but is getting increasingly frustrated at my, up to now, opinion that going out solely to practice, even very local is not essential. driving to get the click and collect shopping is OK, but going to do some practice maneuvers is not allowed.

good to see some guidance on this, even if it is only in england.

@convert, this is @Gribs doing his day job

I can’t work out your motivation for your virtual cut and paste responses at all opportunities.

We should follow the law (and complain if we don’t like it) and I’d support tighter restrictions if they had an actual achievable aim. I have a intense dislike for people telling others what to do when it’s clear they’ve not go a clue what they’re talking about. The main problem is the government have repeatedly shown they’ve no respect for parliament or the rule of law so nothing they say can be trusted without looking at the underlying regulations so people will spout half truths based on what is in my opinion deliberately wrong guidance and their own opinions.

They’re generally the same sort of pricks who insist you should ride in a cycle lane if there’s one present rather than on the road.

I also find it very strange that a large proportion of people on here just don’t seem to care as long as it follows their view, but complained extensively when it was to do with brexit etc.

Jnr has been given a revised test date of 6th May.

He’s eagerly awaiting taking me to Aldi on Friday for my essential food shopping journey.

it’s all guidance rather than legislation yada yada.

I think it’s a pretty very important distinction personally.

Learning to drive during coronavirus (COVID-19)
You cannot take driving lessons in England, Scotland or Wales.

I hadn’t realised this, where I work a major contract is the repair, refurbishment and decommissioning of AA/BSM cars, and the setting up of brand new cars, ie doing PDI, (the cars arrive straight from the factory via transporter), applying livery and dual controls, ready to go out to instructors, and we’ve had platers coming to pick up cars as recently as yesterday, (I wasn’t in today). So, are the instructors just getting new cars as a replacement or as a new instructor in anticipation of being able to start up again sometime soon?
I’ll try to remember and ask tomorrow.

on quiet road, in a sealed box with someone you share a house with anyway, when youve both potentially got nothing better to do (if you’ve been furloughed). Seems like the perfect time to get some driving lessons in to me.

Seems like the perfect time to get some driving lessons in to me.

Does break the basic “stay at home” rule, but the new “essential journeys only” guidance makes sense.

Obviously there will still be a bottleneck for tests at the end. Then another one for retests when they fail for picking up Dad’s bad habits 🤣

Gribs is a constant denier of the need for restrictions and constantly is attempting to find loopholes and has stated he will ignore all guidence

We should follow the law (and complain if we don’t like it) and I’d support tighter restrictions if they had an actual achievable aim. I have a intense dislike for people telling others what to do when it’s clear they’ve not go a clue what they’re talking about. The main problem is the government have repeatedly shown they’ve no respect for parliament or the rule of law so nothing they say can be trusted without looking at the underlying regulations so people will spout half truths based on what is in my opinion deliberately wrong guidance and their own opinions.

They’re generally the same sort of pricks who insist you should ride in a cycle lane if there’s one present rather than on the road.

I also find it very strange that a large proportion of people on here just don’t seem to care as long as it follows their view, but complained extensively when it was to do with brexit etc.

Completely agree. The government is making its usual balls up of this. And we’ve got police spouting about enforcing guidance, some forces issuing FPNs with no basis in the legislation.

Gribs is a constant denier of the need for restrictions and constantly is attempting to find loopholes and has stated he will ignore all guidence

I don’t disagree with the need for restrictions if you want to achieve certain aims. I just think the aims are wrong. I’ll also follow guidance where it doesn’t interfere with my life, but will generally follow the law even if it does (footpaths excepted obviously). Pointing out how much the guidance differs from the law isn’t finding loopholes, it’s just going along with what our politicians have decided they can get away with, it’s not as if there was *any* scrutiny before the latest restrictions were put into law.

Surely learning to drive is classed as education?

Well it’s not really is it, its a nice to have and not exactly essential for thriving as an adult, whereas learning to read and write are.

My eldest just got his licence and turns 17 in 3 weeks. Aldi is 2 miles away and will be ideal for his first few trips at suitably quiet times. That’s what we’ll be doing, no pressing need at this stage to take the long way home, just want him to start finding his feet..

it’s not as if there was *any* scrutiny before the latest restrictions were put into law.

Have you offered to help them? You sound like a thoroughly reasonable chap 🤦‍♂️

. . . Aldi is 2 miles away and will be ideal for his first few trips at suitably quiet times.

Get away from here with your sensible pragmatic attitudes. We want blood!

My eldest just got his licence and turns 17 in 3 weeks. Aldi is 2 miles away and will be ideal for his first few trips at suitably quiet times. That’s what we’ll be doing, no pressing need at this stage to take the long way home, just want him to start finding his feet..

My son learnt last year and, initially, our first few ‘lessons’ were just driving up & down in a car park getting as much practice as possible with clutch control….paid off as I think one of the most anxious parts of learning to drive is stalling at traffic lights/roundabouts/etc

Have you offered to help them? You sound like a thoroughly reasonable chap 🤦‍♂️

It would normally be the job of MP’s (and the Lords) to scrutinise legislation before it becomes law but this government have repeatedly used statutory instruments to bypass this process. They reluctantly agreed to let MP’s debate and vote on it after it’s introduction, but this removes their ability to modify it as it’s a simple yes or no vote, and voting no would remove all the restrictions which is clearly unreasonable. It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing with the legislation, but the way in which this government goes out of it’s way to try and avoid scrutiny.

It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing with the legislation

Yet you give the impression that you are looking for any loophole to justify you doing as you please (unless it’s obviously illegal).

Wanting to understand what is a legal requirement, what is recommended and what is sensible and the differences between them isn’t a bad thing at all IMO. Most threads on here end up with someone saying something daft is illegal eg changing a plug or moving a phone socket. People (on STW anyway) seem to have a very odd idea of UK legislation and it’s bounds. Correcting that can’t be a bad thing.

Yet you give the impression that you are looking for any loophole to justify you doing as you please (unless it’s obviously illegal).

I’ve personally been following the guidance so far in this lockdown as it’s no bother, but would rather tell people what they’re allowed to do, and let them make their own choices on what they think is acceptable, than lie to them about what is and isn’t allowed. Others seem to prefer to try and shame people into doing what they personally think is acceptable.

As for loopholes, if I say it’s illegal to wear red shoes on Tuesday because of the covid restrictions, pointing out that that’s just incorrect isn’t finding a loophole, just that that restriction isn’t in the law. We should be free to disagree about what should be legal but we don’t have the power to easily change it.