RoadSmart - Driver Coaching & Development

Les is a great driving instructor. He is the most calm, fair, patient, supportive and reassuring person, and that is reflected in his teachings. I couldn't imagine learning or passing with anyone else! His knowledge and teachings of driving is extensive and I appreciated that he explained everything for me to understand clearly.I suffered horrendously with nerves, anxiety and lack of self confidence especially the closer my test got but Les was constantly there to advise, support and steer me in the right direction! He really helped with my confidence in driving and myself!I passed first time and feel that I will be a safe and confident driver and that is all thanks to Les. I can't thank him enough!

Les is a wonderful driving instructor. He is the most reassuring, calm and supportive people I have ever met! I couldn’t imagine learning to drive with anyone else. If you are an anxious driver like I am he is the best out there. I experienced two driving instructors before him and they almost put me off driving for good, Les definitely helped with my confidence in driving and I will always be grateful.

Les is a great instructor - he is very knowledgeable, patient as well as a very lovely person. His method of teaching makes it so easy to learn, and I like the way he makes you constantly reflect on your lessons and learn from your mistakes. I would definitely recommend him to anyone - I managed to pass first time with no minors because of him which proves how great he is!

Les is a brilliant driving instructor and I could not recommend him enough! I started driving lessons in 2021 but had a break until after I passed my theory test. As a learner suffering with anxiety, Les is the most patient and the most professional instructor and he goes out of his way to ensuring his pupils overcome their struggles, whether its their nerves or anything about the roads they don’t understand. Again I could not recommend Les enough and I’d like to say a big thank you for all of your help.

Les was a great instructor throughout my experience learning to drive who provided multiple resources and methods to help me improve my ability to handle the road as well as a lot of encouragement whenever I was struggling with something when learning.

I started learning with Les last August, after failing my first test with a different instructor. Despite not starting from scratch, it felt that way after lessons being paused due to lock down. I suffer with anxiety with driving but Les's calm demeanor and teaching style put me at ease quickly and he takes the time to talk through your struggles clearly. He goes above and beyond to make sure you are as prepared as you can be for your test and encourages you to plan out what you want to improve on with helpful criticisms. After just over 6 months I passed my test with flying colours and great confidence to be an independent driver at last. Id highly recommend Roadsmart driving school for anyone looking to learn how to drive and I'm very grateful for all Les's help.

Les is an absolutely fantastic instructor. I had about 20-30 hours driving experience before started lessons with Les, thinking I was already a fairly competent driver. Although he was only ever was supportive of my skills, his depth of teaching and the effort he puts into every lesson made me realise I had only scratched the surface of what truly safe and skilled driving looked like. Les isn’t the type of instructor that teaches you to “pass” a test. He isn’t the type of instructor to only take you on test routes or teach you gimmicky ways of passing. He is the type of instructor to teach you how to drive for the rest of your life. He focuses on awareness, planning, hazard perception, progressive driving and so much more, all while giving you an individualised, client centred experience. Personally, moving from a very quiet rural area with little traffic and barely any junctions, I never thought I would feel at ease driving on unknown roads, let alone all over the Newcastle city centre and all over the North East! As a learner you can really tell he is passionate about safety and making sure he would be happy driving alongside you in the real world. I owe all of the freedom I have gained since passing first time to Les and I can’t thank him or recommend him highly enough.

I put off learning to drive for years as I simply didn't think I would be able to learn. I'd tried with one other instructor and found the first lesson too much and gave up again. When I came across LHDT, their values sounded like it could finally be the driving school to get me driving.The first lesson with Les was slow, steady, and gave me a chance to get over the fear of moving too fast (while we drove at 4mph, as I swore he'd never get me to go any faster). As we progressed through lessons, Les made it feel okay when I needed to take a step backwards as I was feeling a bit wobbly, and challenged me when he knew I was capable of more than I dared believe.The LHDT online learning platform was great for doing loads of learning outside of lessons, the resources provided even before I had my first lesson helped me feel confident and knowledgeable, and helped me keep progressing between lessons.At the start of my first lesson, Les asked what my goal was with learning to drive, I said - to be a confident and safe driver - and here we are, passed my test and feeling confident to drive on my own and explore.THANK YOU!