Top 10 UK Driving Training Aids
As reviewed by
Auto Express last year. For up todate information please click on the image shown.
The entire theory test data bank comes complete with various revision and mock test options. There are 210 hazard perception clips (including the official ones) and well produced videos of the practical test and SMTM session. At all stages, questions and answers can be spoken, and there are several games to make learning more fun. A brilliant compendium of training aids, and all for the joint cheapest price on test.
Our Best Buy for PC aids.
Best Buy
All the theory aspects are covered in detail, and the practical side of driving accounts for around half the book. We like the fact it notes what all the dashboard symbols and abbreviations mean. It also includes the complete theory test question data bank, with the answers at the bottom of each page. While the Highway Code isn’t included, its great price and vast amount of information mean Haynes’ offering remains our number one book choice.
AA Complete Test For Car Drivers
This book aims to teach practical and theory tests in one go, and it’s a good effort, especially as it includes the Highway Code. The practical test information is well written and illustrated, while the theory questions are reproduced in DSA order, with the answers in the back.
A very good book, dealing with all aspects of driving, from getting your licence, to buying a car, tax and MoT and the use of gears and brakes. Each aspect is written clearly, with lots of bullet points and clear illustrations and photos. It’s quite expensive, especially as the theory test is covered in a separate book, but it’s also a useful reference once you’ve passed your test and gained more experience.
Training aids produced by Focus are rightly popular, not least because, like this one, they’re extremely user-friendly. The data banks for car and motorcycle for the theory exam are included, while revision data and tests can be mixed and matched as required. Usefully, questions can be downloaded to an MP3 player for external learning. There are more than 60 practical video lessons, sound is available on all sections and the SMTM clips are shown as concise video footage.
BSM Practical Complete
This includes two L plates and BSM’s Pass Your Driving Test book, which is simple to follow as it’s full of colour illustrations, although it is a little bit dull in its approach. However, the highlight of the pack is the Mind Alertness Programme CD-ROM, which trains the brain to deal with the key aspects of driving. The 30-minute assessment enables it to produce tests aimed at the user.
We like the theory book, which has the questions and answers on the same page, along with explanations. The Highway Code is also included, but the theory CD-ROM only allows mock tests to be taken, not revised – that’s what the book is for. There are also 14 hazard perception clips to try. The SMTM questions are displayed without sound, but there are only still photos for the answer or explanation. Not bad, but pricey.
This pack has a theory test CD-ROM (with the Highway Code included as a PDF file) which is very useful, as you have the choice to revise, create custom tests or take mock exams. Answers and questions are spoken. The two other DVDs are accurate in content and factually correct, but the design isn’t very exciting, and there could be more interactivity. Although the price saves nearly £15 on buying the discs individually, it’s still the costliest solution looked at.
Another well produced DSA publication, and though it’s no bargain, it does include the latest Highway Code. There’s lots of information about the formalities of learning to drive, plus what the theory and hazard tests involve. All the questions are in a multiple choice format, with the answers and explanations alongside. But obviously it can’t include hazard clips, and only offers a general explanation.
Cramming both tests into 158 pages is a tough call, and this book fails, not least because it doesn’t include the theory exam questions. It concentrates very much on the practical side, going through the various aspects of driving using colour illustrations rather than photos. It claims to be up-to-date, but hasn’t been reprinted since 2005, and wrongly quoted that 35 questions had to be answered for the theory test.
