Taking a test can be stressful, especially your driving test. It’s important to remember that you are not alone in this situation—most new drivers experience some level of anxiety before taking their driving exam. With the right preparation, your driving test can be a simple and rewarding experience. Here are some tips and tricks for overcoming your anxiety before a deriving exam from the experienced instructors at Ambitious Drivers.

Think of It as Going for a Drive, Not a Test

You may have negative associations with the words “test” or “exam” that can trigger your nerves. Rather than thinking about it as a test, think about it as going for a drive. Your driving instructor wouldn’t let you sign up for your exam if they didn’t have confidence in your driving ability. If you’re nervous about the big day, just imagine you’re going for a practice drive to take some of the pressure off.

Prepare Beforehand

Of course, you should have some degree of experience behind the wheel before taking your driving test. A certified driving instructor won’t let you take the test until they think you’re ready, so you can rest assured that you’ll be prepared for the big day.

There are some ways you can prepare for your driving test to make sure you’re in the best state possible to go for a drive. This preparation include getting a good night’s sleep the night before so you can be as alert as possible. Book your test at a time that works best for you—if you’re a morning person, try to book your test earlier in the day. Don’t book any other plans for a few hours before and after your test to avoid rushing. By strategically planning your driving test, you can reduce your nerves so you can perform to do the best of your abilities.

Before you book your driving test, you have to get as comfortable as possible behind the wheel. Learn and develop the skills you need to be a safe and confident driver with in-depth courses from Ambitious Drivers. For more information about our driving courses and to register now, contact us today at Ambitious Drivers.

There is always the risk of getting into an accident while driving. Driving carefully will reduce the likelihood of getting into an accident but even the most cautious drivers can experience trouble on the road. What should you do if you find yourself in a car accident? The most important thing, which can often be the most difficult during these stressful situations, is to remain calm. Here are the steps you should follow immediately after you get into an accident on the road.

Step 1: Stop

If you drive away after getting involved in an accident, you could be subject to criminal prosecution.

Step 2: Make The Call

If anyone is injured, if there appears to be more than $2000 in damages, or if you suspect another driver involved in the accident is under the influence of drugs and alcohol, call the police. Follow the instructions given to you by the emergency operator. Do not try to move anyone who has been injured, as you could aggravate the injury.

If no one is injured and the damages appear to be less than $2000 in total, call a Collision Reporting Centre, which are special police facilities that assist drivers in reporting motor vehicle accidents.

Step 3: Assess The Damage

If it is safe to do so, get out of the car. Take pictures of the damages and the scene for insurance purposes and to show the police when they arrive.

Step 4: Clear The Road

Again, only if it is safe and possible to do so, move your vehicle to the side of the road while you wait for the officials to arrive so that traffic can clear. If your vehicle can’t be driven, turn on your hazard lights or use cones if you have them available.

Step 5: Record

Make a careful record of the incident to present to the police and your insurance providers. Make sure you talk to the other driver(s) involved in the incident and exchange information with them.

Step 6: Talk to Your Insurance Company

Call your insurance company as soon as possible after the accident. Tell them in detail what happened and ask them to walk you through the process of filing a claim. They’ll give you the information necessary to let you know how to proceed.

After a car accident, you’re number one priority should be your safety. Do not attempt any of these steps if they put your safety further at risk. The experienced instructors at Ambitious Drivers will help your learn and practice the skills you need to stay safe on the road, as well as the tools needed to help you remain calm and collected in case of emergency. For more information and to register for our driving courses today, contact us at Ambitious Drivers.

One of the most common fears that new drivers have is driving on the highway. Faster, long-distance highway driving can be intimidating, especially if you’re still getting comfortable behind the wheel. At Ambitious Drivers, we’re dedicated to helping our students become confident in a variety of driving scenarios, including highway driving. Here are some tips and suggestions for getting comfortable driving on the highway from the team of experts at Ambitious Drivers.

Bring Along a Passenger

It’s a good idea to take along an experienced driver on your first few trips on the highway as reassurance. They can advise you as you drive and make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. If you need to stop driving for whatever reason, have an experienced driver in the car who can take over for you if need be. Avoid taking a whole carload of people with you on your first highway drive as they may be distracting and could jeopardize your safety on the road.

Keep to the Right

Once you’ve successfully joined the highway, it is proper etiquette to stay in the right-most lane unless you are overtaking slower traffic. Look out for cars trying to merge onto the highway while in the right lane and give them the space to do so. If you decide to overtake, use the ‘mirror, signal, maneuver’ procedure when changing lanes and don’t linger in the middle lane, especially if you notice cars passing you on either side. Watch out for larger vehicles when changing lanes—they have larger blind spots than regular-sized cars, so make sure to give them plenty of room.

Driving on the highway can be nerve-wracking, especially for new drivers who are still getting comfortable behind the wheel. At Ambitious Driver, we’re here to help you become a safe and confident driver. If you want to build your experience as a driver on the highway, our trained staff can help you develop the skills necessary to become a steady and safe driver. For more information and to register for one of our courses, contact us today at Ambitious Drivers.

Being a new driver can be intimidating. Getting on the road for the first time can be a nerve-racking experience, especially if you’re driving on a busy road or alongside aggressive drivers. At Ambitious Drivers, we are dedicated to teaching you all the skills you need to make sure you feel comfortable and confident behind the wheel. Here are some of the most common mistakes made by new drivers so you know what behaviour to avoid once you get out on the road.

Getting Distracted

Maintaining focus is one of the important things for any driver to remember. If you’re inexperienced behind the wheel, you may have trouble staying concentrated during long drives. Keep your focus by limiting the amount of distractions in your car. Putting your phone on silent while you drive, for example, can prevent you from being tempted to answer text messages while on the road, which can be a serious safety hazard.

Following Too Closely

Another common mistake made by new drivers is following other cars too closely. Eager to keep pace, many inexperienced drivers try to stay as close to the car in front of them as possible. This can cause accidents if vehicles stop suddenly or hit a rough patch of road. Be aware of how much distance is between your car and the car ahead of you and make sure you give other vehicles an adequate amount of space on the road to prevent a fender-bender.

Not Adjusting Mirrors Correctly

Many drivers make a crucial error before even pulling out of their parking spot: not adjusting their mirrors correctly. Your rear view and side mirrors aren’t simply for decoration; they’re important tools to maintain your visibility and control on the road. There will always be a “blind spot” in side mirrors, the size of this spot increases if the mirrors aren’t adjusted properly, which can lead to serious accidents and dangerous situations on the road.

Being a new driver may feel overwhelming, but with the right training and guidance you can get out on the road with ease and confidence. Trust the experienced instructors at Ambitious Drivers to give you to skills you need to pass your driver’s test and feel cool, calm and collected behind the wheel. For more information about our driving courses and instructors, contact us today at Ambitious Drivers.

With spring just around the corner, now’s the time to start thinking about getting you vehicle ready for the new season. Melting snow and warm temperatures mean new driving conditions for your car, and it’s important to make sure that you car is prepared for this seasonal shift. Harsh winter weather can take its toll on your vehicle, so spring is a good time to have it tuned up to prevent any accidents on the road. Here are just a few of the ways that you can prepare your car from spring from the driving experts at Ambitious Drivers.

Check and Replace Your Tires

Icy winter roads can wear down your tires, so it’s a good idea to have them inspected once the roads start to clear. Having your tires balanced and aligned at the beginning of spring will help keep your car perform more safely and efficiently. It’s important to have your winter tires replaced with regular tires in the spring. Not only will this help extend the longevity of your winter tires, it will also ensure that you stay safe on spring roads—winter tires are built with special treading that isn’t built to drive on smooth pavement. For your safety and security, it’s a good idea to swap out your winter tires at the end of the season.

Fill Up Your Coolant

As the temperatures start to rise, it’s important to make sure your engine stays cool to avoid any breakdowns. Coolant is the fluid in your car that regulates the temperature of your engine. If you notice the coolant light on your dash is blinking or if you haven’t check your coolant levels in a while, check that your coolant is at an adequate level and top it off if necessary. Make sure to only fill up your coolant tank when your car is cool—doing so while your car is warm from driving can be dangerous.

With the right preparation, driving your car into the spring season is a breeze. For more information about car maintenance and safety, and for comprehensive, personalized driving lessons, contact us today at Ambitious Drivers.

In previous blog posts, we’ve looked at the importance of safe driving techniques during the winter. Making sure your vehicle is properly outfitted for the season is as important as safe winter driving practices. One of the best ways to ensure that your car is ready for winter is to have winter tires installed. Many new drivers underestimate the importance of winter tires, but they can go a long way to keeping you safe and secure on icy and snowy roads. Here is some more information about the importance of winter tires from the driving experts at Ambitious Drivers.

Uncompromising Design

One of the main benefits of winter tires is their uncompromising design. Winter tires are made from a flexible rubber compound and feature unique threading that is specially crafted to give drivers better grip and control on icy roads. These design features allow drivers to experience increased traction during acceleration, improved directional stability, and more responsive brake times. With winter tires, seasonal driving is made much safer and more comfortable—especially for first-time drivers.

Longer Tire Life

Many drivers, especially new ones, are hesitant about committing to winter tires. However, the investment will save you in the long run. Switching to winter tires will prevent your regular tires from undergoing seasonal wear-and-tear, helping you to extend their longevity. Having winter tires installed on your vehicle means you’ll have to get your regular tires replaced less frequently, which can sae you on pricey repair and replacement costs. Winter tires are the smart and financially prudent way to keep your vehicle safe while driving through harsh weather conditions.

Winter tires are an important part of seasonal car maintenance. At Ambitious Drivers, we teach new drivers the skills they need on the road, as well as provide helpful maintenance tips so that you can keep your vehicle safe and secure while driving. Get the skills and confidence you need to get behind the wheel by registering with us today.

Driving on icy roads and piles of snow can be dangerous—even for motorists with years of driving experience. But as long as you take the necessary precautions, you don’t have to worry about involuntary sliding.

Here are some highly recommended winter driving tips to avoid motor accidents:

Avoid driving. Funny and fairly obvious, yes—but effective. If the weather is looking rather frightening and you’re not comfortable driving, then stay home and avoid risking your safety and that of other motorists. It’s that simple.

Don’t accelerate. When driving in bad weather conditions, you have to be patient. The quicker you accept that it’s not the time to be in a hurry, the less chances you’ll have of skidding or getting stuck in a snow pile. So to regain traction, press on the gas pedal lightly and accelerate gradually.

Drive below the speed limit. It’s normal for traffic to slow down during a snow storm or on ice-covered streets. Take your time to drive smoothly and steadily, and avoid stopping or turning in an abrupt manner. You’ll find you have more control over your vehicle.

Try not to make full stops. When your car comes to a full-stop, it takes a huge amount of inertia to get it going again, which increases the risk of skidding. You’ll have much less trouble on icy roads if you avoid stopping and keep your wheels rolling—especially if you’re going up a hill. Instead of powering-up, apply the gas and keep your wheels spinning. When going downhill, release the gas and slow down, applying the brakes softly where necessary.

If you haven’t begun to practice yet, register with us and learn to drive safety in any weather condition from our thoughtful instructors!

Everyone has a different pace when it comes to learning how to drive.  There is no set amount of hours for mastering each aspect for your driving test. Some people feel confident with 30 hours of practice while others may take double that time. It’s important to let yourself take as much time as you need and to not compare yourselves to friends, family and peers. Removing comparison will let you focus on what you need to do and complete it as efficiently as possible to the best of your ability. Here is some practical advice to figure out how to schedule driving lessons.

Timing and pace

Firstly, you want to give yourself a good start. Don’t schedule your lessons when you’re tired, overworked or at times that may compromise your driving abilities. Space out your lessons and schedule them intuitively to fit your schedule. Know your best hours in the day and your worst for driving and take these factors into consideration. Some people have a combination of demanding jobs, high workloads at school and other things happening in life – this is all normal and should not compromise your ability to learn!

Practice

Having trouble with a particular aspect of driving? This is your time to delve deep into it to become better at it. Driving lessons should be about practicing your weaknesses and improving them. You might have a skill that will take you 3+ lessons to master. That’s okay, ride it out and conquer it. If you tend to take your time to learn things or you’re finding that throughout the process you need more time, don’t be defeated. This is completely normal. Your best course of action is to schedule extra driving lessons with your instructor or drive with a licensed parent or friend for extra practice.

Are you ready to take the plunge to begin learning to drive? Register with us today to get the process started.

Maybe you’ve come across this post because you’re currently enrolled in our driving school or, maybe, you’re thinking about enrolling into driving school at this moment and we’re part of your search! If it’s the latter, we believe there are key attributes you should look for while looking for a driving school. Where you go to learn can make all the difference to your learning. Here are some things to consider when choosing a driving school.

Location and accessibility

How close are you to the driving school? Is it easy for you to get a ride there and back or to take the bus? Is it located in an area or a facility conducive to learning?

These are all crucial questions to think about as they can impact you or your child’s ability to get to class to be relaxed, focused and ready to learn. In driving school, there are components that are both in-class and out of class in the car that require energy, attention and sheer focus. Plus, once a long day is completed or a challenging lesson is over, it should be easy for you to get back to your home.

Current practices

You want to make sure that your driving school is up-to-date on all the current practices. This means they must have staff and teachers who are certified, who undergo training on a regular basis and use texts and materials that are relevant to changes in driving policies, rules and regulations.

Furthermore, it’s always good to go to a driving school that offers flexible packages to make the most of driver’s education for your upcoming driver’s test.

Learning to drive can be a challenging process but with the right driving school environment behind you, you’ll feel the confidence and drive (pun intended) to pass your test the first time! Get in touch with us today to get the process started.

If you don’t pass your driver’s test the first time, it isn’t the end of the world, don’t worry. In fact, roughly 47.9 % of people pass their driving test the first time. But after all the time, money and effort invested into the first time, why not know exactly what it takes to pass on the first attempt? Here are some tips to maximize those chances to hit the open road.

Sharpen Stops and Go’s

Throughout a driving test, examiners are looking to see how well you can stop and how well you can start moving again. The test is designed to include this many times to assess how safely you can control the car. They will also look at whether you’ve adjusted the appropriate mirrors properly, whether you are in a legal position from the curb and whether you’ve checked your blind spot.

In-car practice

Majority of examiners fail students because they make mistakes at junctions. Have your driving instructor help you practice in high-speed situations so you can sharpen your judgment skills in a real-life situation and develop good clutch control. Furthermore, your instructor will note your weaknesses over the lesson-period. Work on problem areas and mentally prepare yourself for completing them with ease and precision.

Maneuvers

Some maneuvers that make or a break a person’s ability to pass their driving test the first time include turns, reversing around a corner, reverse parallel parking and bay parking. Even if you excel at these aspects, ensure you get lots of exposure to different situations where you’ll use these maneuvers.

Keep Calm

Approach your test with a cool and confident head. There’s less room to make mistakes if you decide to put your energy into the tasks in front of you and keep your nerves in check. If there are too many nerves around a particular aspect of your test, you are more inclined to make mistakes!

Register with us if you or a family member is ready to start the process of learning to drive. Our thoughtful instructors are equipped to safely teach driving skills to the next generation of drivers and we prepare our students to excel on the first attempt of their test. If you have any further questions, contact us today for more information!

Drivers have to share the road with many different people and vehicles—pedestrians, buses, delivery trucks and cyclists. It’s important for drivers to be aware of cyclists in particular when they are on the road, in order to prevent accidents. In fact, recently in the news, it was stated that Toronto is planning to implement new bike lanes in the downtown core as well as in Scarborough. This makes it even more crucial for new drivers to be prepared to safely drive alongside cyclists due to the influx of cyclists to come. Here are some of the most important things to know about bike lanes when driving.

Shared Lanes

Markings on the pavement known as “sharrows” help to keep everyone safe by designating which lanes are for cyclists and which lanes are for drivers. Lanes that have a bicycle icon and two arrows painted on them are shared lanes, which means they are to be used by both cars and bicycles. On wider streets, sharrows are painted to direct motorists and cyclists to ride side-by-side in a single lane. On more narrow streets, sharrows are painted to direct drivers and cyclists to proceed single file.

Bicycle Lanes

Lanes that are painted with a bicycle icon and a diamond are lanes that are exclusively for bicycles. Drivers may not use this lane to drive, stand, stop or park. Blocking a bicycle lane even for a moment is a violation of traffic law.

Contra-Flow Lanes

If you see a yellow line, a bicycle icon and a diamond, it’s a contra-flow lane. Contra-flow lanes allow cyclists to travel in both directions on streets that are one-way for other vehicles. The lane that travels against the flow of traffic is for cyclists only. Cyclists travelling in the direction of traffic ride in a shared, mixed-use lane.

Everyone deserves to get from point A to point B safely, no matter what kind of vehicle they ride. Obeying traffic laws and being cautious on the road is the best way to avoid conflict with cyclists. Contact us at Ambitious Drivers to learn the skills to make you a safe and confident driver.

To keep your car driving smoothly and safely, it’s important that you keep it properly maintained all year round. The high temperatures of summer can present specific challenges for your car, such as damaged batteries, deflated tires, and overworked cooling systems. These summertime car issues can decrease your vehicle’s performance and put your safety at risk. Below are some tips to keep your car in good condition this summer.

Check Your Tires

Many drivers don’t give their tires the attention they need. Under inflated or over inflated tires can lead to serious road accidents. Under inflated tires can cause your tires to pop, while over inflated tires can lead to a loss of control and hydroplaning in wet conditions. Misaligned tires can make steering more difficult to control, which can be very dangerous for new drivers. Rising temperatures can alter your tire pressure, so it’s important to have you tires regularly inspected, inflated and re-aligned.

De-Winterize Your Car

While most drivers recognize the importance of winterizing their vehicles, many forget to give their vehicles a complete and thorough cleaning and repair once the season is over. Removing your winter tires will help you maximize your fuel efficiency. Cleaning the undercarriage of your car after winter will help prevent rust and damage from snow and salt buildups. It’s also important to check all of your fluid levels at the beginning of summer to make sure they’re all full and clean and to ensure there’s no leaks or cracks in any hoses or valves. Keep your car running properly this summer by giving it a full inspection and tune-up after a long, harsh winter.

Besides safe driving habits, the best way to avoid accidents on the road is to make sure our vehicle is in good condition. Summer car maintenance may seem like no big deal, but it’s as important as keeping your car protect during to winter. To learn more about safe driving practices, sign up for our Ministry-Approved driving lesson. Contact us for more information about how we can help you to become a confident and safe driver.