Driving lessons in Hayes
Most popular areas include:
Colham Green, Cowley, Drayton Garden Village, Hayes End, Hayes Town, Hillingdon Heath, North Hillingdon, Uxbridge Moor, Yeading and Yiewsley.
Enter your postcode above to see lesson prices in your local area of Hayes.
View other guides: Driving Lessons in London, Driving Lessons in Birmingham, Driving Lessons in Manchester.
Learning to drive in Hayes
Hayes has a fantastic range of roads, from quiet suburban streets to busy dual carriageways. It’s a place that’s sure to make you a real all-rounder when it comes to driving.
Collingwood Road is an excellent place to start out. With few cars around, you can learn the basics like clutch control, signalling, and steering with the pressure off. What’s more, Collingwood Road is a loop, like nearby Haig Road, so you can keep on circling the same road as you practise.
If you’re struggling with roundabouts, try the one next to Barra Hill Park. Its five exits may seem daunting at first, but each approach is only one lane, so it’s not as complicated as other roundabouts. It’s a great confidence booster! Once you’ve mastered it you can test yourself out on the larger, busier roundabouts near the M25.
Perhaps the best thing about Hayes is the range of major roads. When you’re looking to step up a gear, there’s the A40, the M4 and the M25 close by. Just remember, if you want to practise on a motorway you need to be with your instructor in a dual control car, and they need to deem you ready. Soon enough you’ll be breezing through your test, and that shiny pink licence will be dropping through your letterbox!
Taking your test in Hayes
Most people in Hayes take their test at the Hayes Driving Test Centre, although there are other centres nearby in Yeading and Southall. Though the DVSA has stopped publishing test routes, your instructor will be able to get you familiar with the roads around your test centre which will help you come the big day.
Like most of west London’s test centres, the Hayes Driving Test Centre is on a trading estate, between residential areas. This means you won’t see too many cars at the start of your test as you exit the trading estate, but once you’re into the residential streets there’ll be plenty of parked cars to negotiate and the possibility of pedestrians. You’ll want to be confident on roundabouts as well since Dawley road (which is close to the centre) features four!
The A408, also known as Stockley road, is a likely spot if your instructor has time to take you on a dual carriageway. Since the test is only 40 minutes, you won’t spend too long on it, but it’s best to get some practice there just in case. Make sure there’s variety in your practice leading up to the test, and you’ll do just fine!
Driving test centre locations
There are three test centres in and around Hayes:
- Hayes: Fourways House, Rigby Lane, Swallowfield Way, Hayes, Greater London, UB3 1ET
- Yeading: Cygnet Way Willow Tree Lane, Yeading, Greater London, UB4 9BS
- Southall: 295 Allenby Road, Southall, Greater London, UB1 2HD
Manual vs automatic
Whether you prefer manual or automatic driving lessons, there's a local instructor who can help. There’s some thought to be had when deciding which licence to go for. A manual licence is more flexible, allowing you to drive both manual and automatic cars. An automatic licence restricts you to automatics. Manuals are often cheaper to learn in, but there’s more to get your head around than if you were learning automatic.
You should think about where you intend to drive. If you’ll be taking a lot of long journies along the M25 or the M4 then you might prefer a manual for the added sense of control. However, if you anticipate being stuck in traffic during rush hour, an automatic might suit you better as you won’t have to keep changing gears. It’s down to you to pick whichever suits you best!