Driving Lessons Back 20th of July 2020

 

We have been getting a huge amount of enquiries about resuming our Driving Lessons from new pupils.

We want to help new pupils to understand the situation clearly and a bit better that faces most driving schools post lockdown.

Before lockdown all of our instructors diaries were full. Full of EDT or Pretest pupils that had started in January, February or March or even earlier in 2019.

These same pupils now have first priority when we resume our driving lessons at Ladybird Driving School and therefore we have a waiting list panel for new enquiries and new pupils.

There will be a lot of people frustrated at the fact that they are finding it hard to book any driving lessons with any Driving School in Dublin as there is a new wave of new pupils now looking for lessons while older pupils have got priority first and have already been in the system.

Remember a pause button was pressed in March with the lockdown giving essentially a 16 week driving lesson pause and on July 20th the play button will be pressed allowing some driving instructors to resume business.

Some Driving Schools and Driving Instructors may resume in July others may wait until August or longer it’s up to them.

In relation to Driving Tests which is the other side of the business it’s best to keep an eye on the RSA website for details as they will resume testing when their staff (the examiners) are ready to resume testing.

That is not the same case for independent Driving Schools in Ireland. So please allow time for your bookings and expect delays getting booked in.

So What are the steps for when will driving lessons resume

Driving schools need to create their own COVID19 back to work Sanitation Etiquette and clearly state this for the public to read on their Website and Social media.

On initial contact over the phone or email  the pupil should be asked if they have had the Virus,know anyone or be in contact with anyone who has currently got the Virus and/or if they have been contact traced.

Then the physical health of the pupil needs to be established.Do the have a temperature of 38degrees Celsius or above, have they got a persistent cough or shortness of breath.

General advice to protect yourself and fast track when driving lessons will resume

As we all know by now the general advice to protect yourself is to wash your hands frequently and properly with an Alcohol based hand rub.

Practice good Respiratory hygiene when coughing or sneezing and cover your mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or arm.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

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Before the Driving Lesson begins

We offer some ideas and sanitation solutions Pre and Post lesson and will be guided by the RSA and the HSE in relation to best practice when the time comes.

  • Before conducting and lesson whether from the Test Centre or a home pick up you should have already established the following information
  • Do they have any symptoms such as High temperature,Dry cough or shortness of breath,
  • Do they know anyone who has these symptoms also.
  • Have  they or anyone they know traveled to or from a high risk area.
  • To make sure they have their own PPE such as face mask and gloves ,should the guidelines say so.
  • On arrival at the lesson location you should physically evaluate the condition of the pupil before the lessons begins.
  • Advise that hand sanitiser is in the boot and please use this before entering the drivers seat or passenger seat.
  • Have all PPE on their person prior to entering the car. In the boot your PPE/sanitation equipment should consist of:
  • Appropriate masks
  • Hand sanitiser
  • Antibacterial wipes and spray
  • Disposable bin bags
  • No handshakes

The car will be sanitised properly before every lesson and there will be no physical contact between the instructor and the pupil and the learner permit will be shown to the Instructor not handed.

Windows should be down somewhat to allow for ventilation. Wind breakers on both front car doors are useful for this purpose.

During the Driving Lessons

The lesson content should remain as before except you should not offer the training aid by hand.You can show the necessary diagrams but not give it to the pupil.

Any writing should be done by the ADI.

Avoid face to face interaction if possible id discussing and briefing or recapping.

After the Driving Lesson

The pupil should leave the car and take all of their PPE equipment and dispose properly.

Instructor should do the same with their PPE equipment  and the process of in car sanitation and hygiene control should begin to get ready for the next pupil.

These guidelines are just a step towards improving in car sanitation and protection for both instructors and pupils.

As we stated earlier these are a guide but we await the correct protocols from the RSA and HSE in order to amend our COVID19 back to work in car protocols.

We hope we have answered  most of the anxiety around when will driving lessons resume.

Learning Resources

If your eager to kick start your lessons and become a safe driver you can keep on top of your study with the following resources we’ve provided: