Is my driving instructor taking the mick?

Reply 40

Kerny

14

A entire lesson on mini roundabouts? Really?

Reply 41

Emma-Ashley

7

Original post by anandv05

All driving instructor's are the same, obvsiouly they don't want you to pass ASAP.. so they will progress exceptionally slowly, as soon as you pass it's the end of an income stream for them.

I felt like this happened to me as well, but as soon as you feel you are ready just speak up and say what you want to do, like I knew my weakest area was reversing around a corner so I asked to practice that.

Also I wouldn't recommend 2 hour lessons, I didn't find them to be productive. Instead just stick to one hour lessons, or possibly try 1.5hour lessons I found I actually learnt more because I wasn't as tired!

Not all driving instructors are the same thank you. I want my pupils to pass as quickly as possible with the minimum of lessons. It is the end of an income stream but if I do a good job and don't rip them off I hope they will recommend me.

Reply 42

lubus

12

Original post by pellejema

Yeah, women are such awful drivers that up until very recently male insurance was significantly greater than women's because statistics infer that men are significantly more likely to cause motor vehicle accidents than women.

insurance premiums =/= skill

Reply 43

Architecture-er

19

Original post by Lumos

Most of what you have described is fairly normal (of course routine varies from instructor to instructor) but 50 hours? sounds like bull. My instructor said that 30 hours was normal. I'd strongly recommend getting a new instructor, sounds like they're taking you for a ride (pun not intended). Take hour-long lessons, and practice and hour a week with your parents instead. This will also get you used to the car you'll be driving, and it's free.

30 hours is actually slightly excessive, I had 30 hours of lessons and almost no out-of-lesson practice, and passed with 1 minor.
For my younger sister we've decided on around 15 lessons but to have more practice alongside that, and she's about ready :smile:

I agree though, OP should definitely get a new instructor

Reply 44

pellejema

11

Original post by lubus

insurance premiums =/= skill

Umm? Don't really get your point. Men are more likely to crash than women. I think that fact speaks for itself. Also don't really think your point about the lack of female racing drivers is valid - that says nothing about their skill, but more about the lack of women who want to go into racing and the fact that its a male dominated sport.

Reply 45

Architecture-er

19

Original post by pellejema

Yeah, women are such awful drivers that up until very recently male insurance was significantly greater than women's because statistics infer that men are significantly more likely to cause motor vehicle accidents than women.

Actually no, women DO crash more than men.

However they're going so slowly they barely do any damage, hence the low insurance policies :biggrin:

Reply 46

pellejema

11

Original post by Architecture-er

Actually no, women DO crash more than men.

However they're going so slowly they barely do any damage, hence the low insurance policies :biggrin:

Have you got facts to back that up?

Reply 47

Architecture-er

19

Original post by pellejema

Have you got facts to back that up?

Of course, everytime I'm stuck behind a car it's invariably a Nissan Micra, which are exclusively driven by females.

You don't need to be a statistician to conclude the obvious from that.

Reply 48

pellejema

11

Original post by Architecture-er

Of course, everytime I'm stuck behind a car it's invariably a Nissan Micra, which are exclusively driven by females.

You don't need to be a statistician to conclude the obvious from that.

Oh dear, that's not very scientific.

The fact is that both sexes have some dick-ish drivers, but I've never been scared for my life when being driven by a woman!

Reply 49

Kenan and Kel

19

Original post by Mouth

Hi, I recently started lessons with an instructor and have had 10 hours so far. Each lesson is 2 hours but I feel that I don't get much done. The whole lesson will be on mini roundabouts or crossings even though I had passed them in previous lessons. I haven't been much over 30mph and don't feel like I'm advancing much. Because they are 2 hours I tend to feel really tired and not listen after a while.

Also I can feel/see her putting her foot on the clutch before I've even had a chance to do it! I don't know if that's the norm, am I being unreasonable?

Lastly, she told my Granddad who's paying for it that her pupils usually take around 50 hours! He just rang me and wasn't very happy paying for that many and thinks I should change and tbh I know I could pass in less than that with a good instructor!

What do you think?

Was looking forward to the next bit when I read this

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 50

Architecture-er

19

Original post by pellejema

Oh dear, that's not very scientific.

The fact is that both sexes have some dick-ish drivers, but I've never been scared for my life when being driven by a woman!

It's incredibly scientific!

And you're probably scared for your life when driving with a man because he's driving beyond your limits, the fact that you're sitting here typing proves that you were incorrect to be fearful :biggrin:

Reply 51

TheGrinningSkull

19

Original post by Emma-Ashley

...

Well, I guess the average of my instructor then was what was mentioned.

It took me 36 hours with 0 hours private practice.

I didn't take the theory till quite late but it was all good in the end, started in September and finished in March.

Reply 52

ackbar

8

Original post by pellejema

Yeah, women are such awful drivers that up until very recently male insurance was significantly greater than women's because statistics infer that men are significantly more likely to cause motor vehicle accidents than women.

Actually these statistics are misleading, and like all statistics, can be used to justify almost any point you wish to make.

There was a survey conducted a few years ago (forgive me I don't have the link to hand but when I find it I will edit this post accordingly) that asked the public numerous questions about their driving habits and accidents. The results of which were summarised as follows:

Men typically drive more miles per year than women, and on average covered more motorway miles than women.

Women on average drive predominately in urban areas where speed limits are ~40mph or lower.

Men and women are subject to similar numbers of accidents per mile, however due to a larger number of low speed low impact accidents, women were less likely to need to claim against their insurance for accidental damage, and where they were required to claim, the repair costs were generally lower.

Men on the other hand were more likely to have a high impact, high speed, multiple car accident and therefore more likely to make a claim against their insurance which in turn would be more expensive for the insurance company to settle.

Therefore, whilst female drivers are no better/worse than their male counterparts, they do cost insurance companies less overall in claims - something that can also be inferred from the statistics used by insurance companies. However, you are much more likely to encourage women to use your company if you say "we know women are better and we will reward you for it" than "we know you will cost us less if/when you have to claim through us"

On a personal note, for fun me a Mrs A keep a record of idiotic driving manoeuvres and who made them, even she hates to admit that women appear to make more in the area's we drive :tongue:

Back on topic, has the OP ever looked into week long driving schools? If I remember correctly, there are week long courses, driving every day with reputable instructors that can almost guarantee you a pass at the end for approximately the same price you pay over a 50 hour lesson structure - but then it has been ~10 years since I passed my test so these courses may no longer exist :biggrin:

Reply 53

Saliency

17

Original post by Mouth

Thanks for the advice! Just wondering, how many hours was it before you started manoeuvres?

I think it was after about 12 hours. But I know some people do it in one of their first lessons.
My instructor started off with 'Turn in the road' and then progressed to teach the others one lesson at a time.

Reply 54

MissRiah12345

Original post by Mouth

Hi, I recently started lessons with an instructor and have had 10 hours so far. Each lesson is 2 hours but I feel that I don't get much done. The whole lesson will be on mini roundabouts or crossings even though I had passed them in previous lessons. I haven't been much over 30mph and don't feel like I'm advancing much. Because they are 2 hours I tend to feel really tired and not listen after a while.

Also I can feel/see her putting her foot on the clutch before I've even had a chance to do it! I don't know if that's the norm, am I being unreasonable?

Lastly, she told my Granddad who's paying for it that her pupils usually take around 50 hours! He just rang me and wasn't very happy paying for that many and thinks I should change and tbh I know I could pass in less than that with a good instructor!

What do you think?

Switch teachers honey! My teacher on the other hand used to push me too much, and used to shout at me if I did the slightest bit wrong. And would expect me to know how to get off a roundabout/do a maneuver without telling me how to do so in the first place...so the best thing to do is switch to someone who has that balance between giving you a challenge but also giving you the right amount of help and support! Also, 2 hours is wayyy too long! Your concentration will go before an hour let alone 2 hours. She's probably making you do 2 hours because its more convenient for her - she gets to make fewer journeys to pick you up :/ And most of my friends have passed after less than 20 hours. Each person is different though. You may need 20 hours, or you may need 200 hours :tongue:

Reply 55

Setsuna-F-Seiei

9

Original post by Mouth

Hi, I recently started lessons with an instructor and have had 10 hours so far. Each lesson is 2 hours but I feel that I don't get much done. The whole lesson will be on mini roundabouts or crossings even though I had passed them in previous lessons. I haven't been much over 30mph and don't feel like I'm advancing much. Because they are 2 hours I tend to feel really tired and not listen after a while.

Also I can feel/see her putting her foot on the clutch before I've even had a chance to do it! I don't know if that's the norm, am I being unreasonable?

Lastly, she told my Granddad who's paying for it that her pupils usually take around 50 hours! He just rang me and wasn't very happy paying for that many and thinks I should change and tbh I know I could pass in less than that with a good instructor!

What do you think?

A bit too slow i think. When i did my 5/6th lesson (10-12 hours) i did overtaking at dual carriageways.

I think it's either your instructor thinks your not ready for the next lesson or there taking it slow on purpose to take more money off you.

Either way, the more lessons you have the more experienced you are in driving and thats what is important.

Reply 56

JosieG

6

The average person has 30-40 hours of lessons to pass. I was ready after about 20 though, and some people may well take longer than the average. But at the end of the day if you aren't comfortable with your instructor then you will probably end up taking longer so yes I would change.

and to everyone arguing about men/women drivers, men are proven to have better spacial awareness etc, but they are more likely to be cocky and tend to show off once they've passed so they are involved in more accidents. So it works both ways

Reply 57

Moscardini

12

Original post by arbaaz

mine said it takes around 40-45 hours to pass excluding driving with parents and stuff. is this right?

Mine also said 40 hours is the national average and well :P on the day of the test i'd had 41 hours worth of lessons. All my friends have had around 40 lessons too so it seems right, 50 though, if you're saying £20 a lesson is an extra £200
Maybe OP could see what level their driving instructor's at? If she's low rated that could be why

Reply 58

arbaaz

12

Original post by Moscardini

Mine also said 40 hours is the national average and well :P on the day of the test i'd had 41 hours worth of lessons. All my friends have had around 40 lessons too so it seems right, 50 though, if you're saying £20 a lesson is an extra £200
Maybe OP could see what level their driving instructor's at? If she's low rated that could be why

ooh 41 hours :P you rebel :smile:

£20 pound a lesson? mine charges £24 ! i think i'm being ripped off. plus she likes me to book in two hour sessions and always finished 25-30 mins early. for the first two lessons i had which were in a two hour block she drove me to this area which was 40 mins away and then she started to teach. she said she does that for the first 6 hours, and she finished half an hour early each time.

so i only really got taught for 50 mins per two hour block.

i think i'm being hussled ... :frown:

Reply 59

Ice Constricter

19

Original post by pellejema

OMG I wasn't talking about the OP's experience, I was talking about this comment: "God knows why you chose a women to teach you."

No, I don't think my comment read ''no female driving instructor can ever be bad'', though that was well interpreted on your part :curious:

. What I was actually saying is the fact that many of my friends have had v. positive experiences with female driving instructors kind of indicates that the prejudices against women and driving are unfounded, and that ironic misogyny is a lazy and boring form of 'humour'. Though of course you're at liberty to interpret my 'pathetic' anecdote however it suits you...

Ok sorry then. Although to be fair, how was I to know you were talking about pinda college (post #7) when you didn't even quote him? And because you didn't quote anyone I obviously assumed it was a stand alone comment directed at the OP not the sexist guy.

Is my driving instructor taking the mick?

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