If the issue date of your first B category (Car) learner permit is on or after 4 April 2011, in order to be able to sit your full driving test, you must first complete all 12 EDT lessons.

To start your EDT lessons you must first have obtained your learner permit from the NDLS – .

If you are a driver with a full valid licence from a country who does not have a licence exchange agreement with Ireland you can complete the reduced EDT programme.

Essential Driver Training (EDT) is a mandatory training course that teaches fundamental driving skills to learner car drivers. It is part of the RSA’s Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) scheme and is intended to improve road safety.

What does EDT involve?

EDT is a course of 12 one-hour lessons. These lessons are designed to cover certain critical driving skills and improve your practical driving skills. As you complete each lesson, your Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) will record your progress in a specially issued logbook.

You should also have a Sponsor, an experienced driver (many learner drivers choose a family member) who will supervise your driving practice outside of lessons, and will also track your progress in your logbook.

We understand that practicing with a sponsor is not always possible, students may not have a car to practice in as insurance costs can be very high. We at Naas Driving Academy are now offering booster lessons to our EDT pupils, these are the lowest cost lessons we offer and are available only to our EDT pupils that require further training between their EDT lessons.

After you finish your EDT course, you may still need additional lessons with an ADI to improve your driving skills. Additionally, you should practice with your Sponsor as much as possible to get comfortable behind the wheel.

Benefits of EDT

Completing your essential driver training course will help you to:

• understand what it means to be a better safer driver.
• practice your driving skills in a structured way that is focused on your own learning needs.
• develop lifelong skills that will make you a better safer driver. 

The Lessons

The Essential Driver Training course is made up of 12 one-hour lessons, which you must complete before taking your Driving test.

EDT lessons timeline

• Lessons 1-8 must be taken in sequence, but lessons 9-12 may be taken in any order.
• Each of the 12 lessons in EDT lasts about one hour.
• We recommend that you leave at least two weeks between each EDT lesson to allow for further instruction, practice and learning.
• The EDT course is best spread out over six months.

What do the lessons cover?

Each of the EDT lessons has particular objectives. You should prepare for each lesson using the EDT Course Syllabus

• LESSON 1: CAR CONTROLS AND SAFETY CHECKS
• LESSON 2: CORRECT POSITIONING
• LESSON 3: CHANGING DIRECTION
• LESSON 4: PROGRESSION MANAGEMENT
• LESSON 5: CORRECT POSITIONING
• LESSON 6: ANTICIPATION AND REACTION
• LESSON 7: SHARING THE ROAD
• LESSON 8: DRIVING SAFELY THROUGH TRAFFIC
• LESSON 9: CHANGING DIRECTION (MORE COMPLEX SITUATIONS)
• LESSON 10: SPEED MANAGEMENT
• LESSON 11: DRIVING CALMLY
• LESSON 12: NIGHT DRIVING

Your Logbook

When you start your first EDT lesson, you will be given an official logbook by your ADI to record the details of your training and progress, as well as necessary preparation for your next lessons.

When you complete an EDT lesson, your ADI will stamp the relevant section of your logbook and record some feedback on how well or whether you met the lesson objectives. To meet the lesson objectives you must prepare properly, practice with a Sponsor and you may need to take additional instruction. 

An ADI can only sign the lessons they have given, so be sure to get your logbook updated by your ADI after each lesson.

The logbook also provides space for both you and your Sponsor to assess your performance in your EDT lessons. This evaluation will help you understand what you need to practice to become a safer driver and how best to prepare for your next lesson.