05/05/2026
Remember when your child was little and you couldn't wait to take them everywhere?
And they were excited to be seen with you?
Those days are long gone.
Now you're dropping them round the corner from where they’re meeting their friends, so they don't have to be seen arriving with you.
You're circling car parks at 10pm waiting to pick them up.
You are Dad's taxi. (Or Mum's taxi. Unlike teenagers, we don't judge.)
So you want them to learn to drive.
Here's the good news: private practice — taking a learner out between their lessons — genuinely improves their chances of passing first time.
More hours behind the wheel means more confidence, more experience, and sooner rather than later, the freedom to make their own way to the shops, their friends, wherever.
Without you.
Before you start, though, there are a few things to get right:
🚗 Insurance — the learner must either be added to your policy or take out their own learner driver insurance. Check before you go anywhere. An uninsured learner driver can face an unlimited fine and up to 8 penalty points.
🅻 L plates (or D plates in Wales) — front and back, correct size, red letter on white background. Don’t forget to take them off when a full licence holder is driving.
📵 You're in charge — as the supervising driver, you are legally in charge of the vehicle. That means no holding your phone. Not for calls, not for texts, not for a quick look at the map. It's illegal, and it's exactly the kind of thing you'd tell them off for.
🍺 And yes, that means staying sober too. You must be under the legal drink-drive limit. No exceptions.
To supervise a learner you need to be at least 21, have held a full licence for at least 3 years, and be qualified to drive the type of vehicle they're learning in.
For everything you need to know: gov.uk/guidance/supervise-a-learner-driver
Dad's taxi doesn't have to be forever. The sooner they pass, the sooner you get your evenings back.
But you’ll still wait up for them – you stop being a chauffeur, not a parent.
