Motorway driving lessons: the rules for learners and new drivers

Learner drivers in England, Scotland and Wales can take motorway lessons, as long as they are with an approved driving instructor in a car with dual controls. That has been the law since 4 June 2018. Motorway lessons are voluntary, your instructor decides when you are ready, and motorway driving is not part of the driving test.

Rules checked 14 October 2026.

Why take motorway lessons

The test route never includes a motorway: GOV.UK says you drive in various road and traffic conditions, but not on motorways. Yet the day you pass you can drive on one alone. When the government made the change, it said motorway lessons would let learners:

• learn how to join and leave the motorway, overtake and use lanes correctly
• practise driving at higher speeds
• understand motorway-specific signs
• know what to do if a vehicle breaks down on a motorway
• build the confidence to drive on a motorway unsupervised after passing

The dual controls are the point. A first go on a 70mph road with your instructor able to brake is a better start than a first go alone.

What a motorway lesson covers

There is no fixed syllabus, and DVSA gives instructors no extra motorway training. The instructor associations published motorway tuition guidelines for ADIs. Expect to cover:

1. Joining from a slip road: matching speed on the slip road and finding a gap without stopping
2. Lane discipline: keeping left unless overtaking, and moving back after
3. Overtaking and judging the speed of traffic behind
4. Signs and signals: gantry signs, variable speed limits and red X closures
5. Leaving at the right junction: reading the countdown markers and slowing on the slip road, not on the main carriageway
6. Breakdowns: what to do if you have to stop

The Highway Code has a section on motorways (rules 253 to 274). Read it before the lesson so the time in the car goes on driving.

When to book one

Your instructor decides when you are competent enough. In practice that means once you are confident on fast dual carriageways and can join and leave them without help, which usually puts motorway lessons near the end of your lessons. If you are still a long way from that, our how many driving lessons calculator gives a rough idea of how many hours are left.

Distance matters. If the nearest motorway is 30 minutes away, a one-hour lesson is mostly getting there and back, so a longer lesson makes more sense. Ask how long the session will be before you book.

What motorway lessons cost

Instructors set their own prices. The most common price for a one-hour lesson was £36 to £40 in DVSA's October 2025 survey of instructors. Ask whether motorway time is charged at the normal hourly rate. See how much driving lessons cost for the price breakdown by region.

Motorway lessons after you pass

Passed without a motorway lesson? You can book one with any instructor. Two routes:

• A standalone lesson of an hour or two, aimed only at motorways. No certificate.
• Pass Plus, a course of at least 6 hours with a motorway module alongside town, all-weather, rural, night and dual carriageway driving. It costs more and may or may not cut your insurance: our guide to whether Pass Plus is worth it has the details.

If you passed a while ago and motorways are what you avoid, refresher driving lessons can be built around them.

Motorway lessons and the test

They will not be tested, but the skills carry over to the dual carriageways and fast roads that are on most routes: joining at speed, lane discipline, mirror checks before changing lanes. Check what roads surround your centre in our driving test centre guides, and see how to pass your driving test first time and the show me tell me questions for the rest of your preparation. Our guide to how driving lessons work covers checking your instructor's green ADI badge.

Want a motorway lesson? Search for driving instructors near you and ask whether they offer them.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.