In stage two, your learner gained experience driving on quiet, low-speed roads with other road users in a range of new situations and environments.

In stage three, they’re going to apply the skills they’ve been developing in stages one and two to more complex situations, such as main roads, busy traffic and difficult conditions.

They’ll spend a lot of time in this stage and it will feel more challenging than stages one and two.

The key thing is to always go on drives that match their experience level, so they drive in low-risk through to more challenging situations over time.

As you progress, new driving situations will gradually become harder to help your develop safe driving behaviours.

Always talk with your learner about how they’re going, so they only move on to new tasks when they’re ready.

Here’s what you and your learner can do:

• Start with simple driving tasks and situations, such as on routes that are normally busy at peak times but quieter during the day.
• Gradually plan more challenging drives as they gain experience when they are ready, such as on roads with higher speeds and more traffic.
• Give them more driving responsibility as they gain more experience.
• Talk with each other about potential hazards to look out for.
• Choose safe gaps when they turn at intersections and roundabouts.
• Work together on when to overtake and merge on multi-lane roads.
• Drive at safe and legal speeds.
• Start to replace their planned drives with everyday driving tasks, such as going to the shops or driving to school or work.
• Review their logged hours to make sure they’re getting a broad range of driving experience.
• Talk with each other about how they’re going at the end of each drive to check on their progress.
• Before driving, set up music and/or navigation for short, less complex drives, then on increased complexity drives.