🔰 New driver checklist

The first year behind the wheel is where most of the risk sits, statistically and otherwise — this is as much about habits as it is about paperwork.

18 items

1. Before the first drive
2. Full licence received and checked for errorsName, address and photo — small mistakes are easier to fix now than at a police stop later.
3. Insurance arranged before driving awayNever assume cover starts the moment you own the car — confirm the policy is live first.
4. Tax confirmed as currentDisplayed digitally now rather than on a disc, but it still needs to be current before the car is driven.
5. MOT certificate checked if the car isn't brand newNo car over three years old can legally be driven without one, whoever's driving it.
6. Black box or telematics policy consideredOften the difference between an affordable premium and one that isn't, for a first year with no no-claims history.
7. Named driver on a parent's policy considered as an alternativeSometimes cheaper than a policy of your own in the first year, though check it counts toward your own no-claims history.
8. Breakdown cover arrangedA new driver's car is often an older one, and older cars break down more.
9. P plates or a note to drive cautiously in the first monthsNot legally required everywhere, but a signal to other drivers worth the small cost.
10. Emergency contact and breakdown numbers saved in the phoneSorted before the first solo drive, not looked up for the first time at the roadside.
11. Basic maintenance understoodChecking oil, tyre pressures and screenwash — small habits that catch a problem before it becomes a breakdown.
12. Modifications, if any, declared to the insurerEven a small one — an undeclared modification is a common reason a claim gets refused later.
13. Regular routes practised before doing them alone at nightConfidence with a route matters as much as confidence with the car in the first few weeks.
14. Fuel or charging routine settledRunning low as a habit is how a new driver ends up stranded somewhere unfamiliar.
15. Parking practised somewhere quiet before a busy car park is unavoidableBay parking under pressure with people watching is a different skill from doing it alone in an empty car park.
16. Motorway driving done with an experienced driver first, if the test didn't cover itNot every test route includes one — the first motorway drive shouldn't be solo and unfamiliar at the same time.
17. Spare key arranged if there isn't one alreadyA lost key on a new driver's first car is a bigger cost than it needs to be if there's no spare at all.
18. Phone put away and out of reach while drivingA habit worth setting from the very first drive, before any other habit has the chance to form first.