Frequently Asked Questions

In RDT121 we know what to teach and how to teach. This will save your money & time, demanding less effort and less stress for learning driving. Cheap lessons are good for practicing but not enough for complete education for safe driving. As you can imagine you will be on your own on the road after getting the licence, if you are not ready to take the challenges at that time it might cost you a lot more then investing adequately for your required driving tuition. Having an updated progress report after each lesson is also very important to accomplish your goal cost effectively. At RDT121 we charge reasonably competitive prices for everyone’s accessibility to our service and offer promotions and discounts time to time.

As you can easily guess, your personal car is not fitted with a dual brake. Your supervising driver will never feel as safe as a professional driving instructor who has the opportunity to control the car using dual brake and accessing your steering wheel. The only way your supervising driver can control the “car” or “Your behaviour” is by transferring the stress on to you (in most of the cases it is true, but surely there are some exception & you are really lucky if you have someone like that to help you!).

The decision to learn in an automatic transmission or a manual car depends upon many factors including personal choice, skill level, confidence and the cars you are able to practice in. It is important to be aware however, that in city if you gain your licence in an automatic car; you are not permitted to drive a manual until you successfully pass a practical test with City Transport, in a manual vehicle. Secondly, definitely they are a very good driver but “driving” and “teaching driving” is not the same thing. Teaching driving is not their everyday practice. It is very occasional and unusual for them, sometimes it could be a completely new thing to them. Adopting a new thing requires practice itself. Ultimately both the supervising driver and the learner are practicing new challenges together! This results in making the learning process of driving harder and stressful. Considering few professional lessons before start practicing with a family or friend is always a good idea. At least develop some good control of the car and overcome your traffic fear before start practicing with them.

Not all learners are the same. Similarly, not all instructors are the same. Regardless of their efforts, it is not always easy to diagnose the reason behind your fear of driving. At RDT121 we are top experts in diagnosing your difficulties in learning driving. In the very first lesson we will find out the issue(s) that may be refraining you from driving the way you are supposed to. We will then discuss how to resolve it and will provide a full guideline and appropriate materials to overcome the issue permanently. Once identified, you have to help us to get rid of the difficulties by following our simple instructions. In doing so you will see almost instant results!

Sometimes we find learners to become stiff like an ironman, seizing the steering wheel for their dear life, heart racing and body sweating while sitting behind the wheel, unable to response and follow the simplest instruction stressing about crashing and overthinking the challenges associated with avoiding crashes and driving perfectly. This is a wrong mindset. Firstly, as a learner you are expected to make mistakes. So go easy on yourself. Secondly, don't forget your experienced professional driving instructor sitting next to you is there to help and guide you through everything. Pass the stress onto your instructor as they are also driving with you, having a dual brake on his side and access to your steering. If you can rely on your instructor and follow simple instructions, your driving challenge should become easy and enjoyable. Always consult with your instructor if you feel an issue while driving rather than facing the challenge by yourself, making it complicated causing a lack of confidence. If you have a question, your instructor should have an answer for it. If not, then search for an instructor who can logically answer all your questions. At RDT121 we take the challenge to answer any of your questions whatever it is. No question is silly, nor too hard to answer. No challenge is a mission impossible to us.

At RDT121 we are specialised in finding out your learning difficulties when it comes about driving and overcoming your driving fear. In years of experience we have developed very simple and easy methods of learning that anyone can follow. Our learners love our Top Tips which really work! If you have a question – surely we have an answer to that. We take it as a challenge to make you understand the most difficult topics to you in the simplest way. We speak plain English and is able to explain complex traffic rules meticulously. We don't give up until you get it. We have a wide understanding of your driving challenges having an experience in teaching driving for 11 years, to different nationalities and age groups. So, keep your trust on us. Through our student's trust we are growing fast. In RDT121, we build strong fundamental concepts in you through our teaching approach and own unique materials developed in 11 long years so that you feel comfortable and confident sitting behind the wheel. This will also enable you to practice enjoyably with your family and friends. We quickly assess your driving skill level and customize the lesson plans to satisfy your individual needs. One-on-one tuition from our friendly & patient, highly experienced and skilled driving instructors ensures a fast result.

A complete list of fail items is available in the “A guide to Driving test” handbook. (insert link with the book name - https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/roads/licence/guide-to-driving-test.pdf ). We are expert in explaining all this fail items in simple English to ensure you fully understand everything. If you have failed the test and not sure why you have failed, we will be able to explain you by looking at your score sheet and listening to your stories. Often learners complain that they have failed for no valid reason and the result was unfair. Maintaining sympathy, we can confirm that these complains are mostly emotional and not logical.Unfortunately, sometimes even professional instructors involve themeselves in this backdoor process to hide their own ignorance. From our vast experience in this industry we know Learners only see things as they find it but a professional Instructor or an examiner sees things with all the possibilities of happening. Certainly the judgements is always big different between them. Complaining about a particular testing centre or an Examiner is unsound. We will be present along with you while testing officer explains your result and if any issue or unfair outcome is seen, we will approach the officer directly or otherwise re-explain your result to you in a simpler way using appropriate photos or diagram for better a grasp on concepts.

It will depend on the goal plan that you set along with your instructor. If you are a new learner and want to sit for the test soon, usually taking three or more lessons in a week will accelerate your learning and will make you ready to sit for the test soon. If you are already driving for a long time and have booked your test in coming days, only couple of lessons before the test could be enough. You can also choose to take one lesson in a week if you are not in a rush and have one full year to complete 120 of your logbook hours. Learners over 25 years of age or an overseas unrestricted licence holder can sit for the test as soon as they feel ready for the test and don't have to wait complete one year before attempting the test. A few mock test lessons will provide an accurate indication on whether you are ready for the test or need further practice.

This timeframe will vary for every student. You are ready for the practical driving test when you can drive confidently and consistently without the help of your Driving instructor. As you are getting closer, your Instructor will run you through a mock test to demonstrate what stage you are up to. If you pass our mock test there is a high chance that you will pass the driving test at RMS.

Passing the test is easy as long as you prepare adequately for it. Our Instructor will set a goal date for your test and work together with you for that. Along the way there will be practice on a variety of lesson topics including car controls, speed management, road positioning, safe decision making, general road rules, defensive driving, responding to hazards, test route preparation, express test preparation and mock test. If you pass the mock test there is a high chance that you will pass the test.

You should contact us before you first sit behind the wheel. It is a good idea to take some professional lessons before you start driving with family members or friends. Surely, they are helpful but during driving, certain situations arises which is beyond their control. We also help the family to learn how to supervise a Learner.

We offer a variety of courses. Whether you are a fresh learner or just want few lessons to prepare the final bit for the test, we have courses tailored to suit your needs.

What is PAYG?

PAYG stands for Pay As You Go. This is an obligation free pack for you. You can choose your own time and lesson topic to practice with us randomly. It can be just a one off lesson or continuous practices depending on how much you think you need. It is a good option if you are not sure how many lessons you will be taking or just want to learn our Top Tips for safe driving or just want to compare our Quality and want to gain trust on us. You might be eligible for a discount on your First lesson. Please call or “SMS” - “My First Lesson” and your “Pick up & Drop off location” to 0413 203 523 to get the price.

At the beginning part of our course, we let you to develop a good control of the car by practicing in a quiet area without much interruption by other road users. We will provide a complete list of what we cover in this part of training. When you will develop a good control of the car we will then move on to next level of our course. In this part we will cover General road rules of different types of intersections, how to drive with moderate traffic – how to control stress and practice own rights and give way to others where applicable, simple and complex Traffic Lights and so on. When you will have a full control of the car and have overcome driving fear & are comfortable driving in medium density traffic and have developed a basic understanding of general road rules, we will then start practicing in the selected RMS area where you will be doing the Driving test. The above first two stages should take anywhere from 5-10 Lessons based on your attentiveness and Learning skills & eagerness. Where feasible we can start practicing in the test route from the very beginning. You can also do an “Express test prep” course and/or “Mock tests” with us to get finally ready for the driving test. These two short courses are significantly helpful for the test preparation. Please scroll below for more info.

We provide Lessons from early in the morning till night, 7 days a week. If you have a busy schedule, we can fit you in unless otherwise booked out.

We will start and finish at a location convenient to you. We will choose the area suitable for you to practice. Initially in a quiet area and will gradually move on to moderate traffic and test route area.

Our cars are compact and newer – usually a Toyota Corolla (hatchback) with a dual brake fitted in it

Yes. It is a requirement by the Government law to have a second brake for the Driving Schools

Yes! At RDT121 we are fully insured, and all our instructors have passed police and working with children checks to provide a safe and enjoyable learning environment to you

Driving involves combining theory with physical skills and judgement. Practice is essential and the more practice you have, the less professional driving lessons you may require to get ready to pass the test. The requirement is that a new driver under 25 years has to complete 120 hours of logbook experience prior to sitting for their practical driving test in NSW, Australia.

When you are ready, your Instructor will arrange the test for you on payment of the Booking Fee. Alternatively follow our “Useful Link” menu at the bottom or call RMS on 137788 or 132213.

The decision to learn in an automatic transmission or a manual car depends upon many factors including personal choice, skill level, confidence and the cars you are able to practice in. It is important to be aware however, that in NSW if you gain your licence in an automatic car; you are not permitted to drive a manual until you successfully pass a practical test with a manual vehicle or till you graduate to your P2 (Green P) Licence after a minimum of one year's driving experience on your P1 (Red P) licence

Under certain circumstances, customers may want to receive lessons in their own/family vehicle. This is a good idea where the car will be used for a Driver’s Test. It is also a good idea when a learner has a new car and wishes to familiarise themselves with it prior to licensing. Safe Drive Driving School is able to offer customers training in their vehicle, provided the vehicle is registered, roadworthy and comprehensively insured. Prior to any training being conducted in the customer’s vehicle, the instructor should inspect the vehicle for its roadworthiness. The inspection should include, but is not limited to, a check of the following items;

the registration is valid and current

the vehicle is comprehensively insured, and the customer’s insurance company is notified that it will be used by a driving instructor to conduct training in

The tyres:

are correctly inflated (air pressures must reflect the manufacturer’s recommendation as a minimum).

have appropriate levels of tread

are not damaged

all indicators, headlights and brake lights are working

seats and seat belts are in good working order and are not damaged or twisted

any loose items in the cabin of the vehicle are stowed in the cargo (boot) area

the windows and interior are clean

the vehicle has sufficient petrol to last the course of the lesson (minimum requirement – a quarter of a tank)