[littlemissmidget123]

it took me about a year of one hour a week to pass.. i got off to a slow start, but after that i spent quite a while perfecting things etc.. looking back i should have taken my test wayyyy earlier than i did but yeah ive been a licenced driver for 6 months and a day now

imho learning at a slower speed is better and will make you a better driver, rather than one who just dives into it and has no real road craft

[Bright.Inspiration.]

(Original post by FunkeyMunkey)
Basically, I need to know If I'm making slow progress, well I know I am, but I just want some opinions and advice on a few things. Firstly, I've had around 20 hours of lesson and so far I've learnt the cockpit drill, mirror signal manouver, parallel parking, turning right and left, mini roundabouts, creeping forward, reverse, changing gears (1st, 2nd, 3rd). At first, I spent so many hours on a really quiet road doing left turns, then right, all on first gear. I've heard of people going straight into busy roads after like 2 lessons? I understand the reason of this, I needed to master the basics but I can't help feeling I'm a really crap driver. From your experiences, is this really slow progress? Cos I'm unsure whether or not to change my instructor because he is really nice and calm and goes through everything nice and clearly, but I just think maybe I should experience someone new? And also how many lessons did you take to pass and how many more lessons do you think it would take me to learn everything else? Because before I was hoping It'd take me 40-45 lessons but this is looking unrealistic due to my slow progress : (

Don't worry.. I had like 60 hours of lessons, no joke.
I then passed 1st time with only 3 minors. It's way better than having like 40 hours of lessons and then failing multiple times.
Take your time, I know it's annoying and expensive, but you just have to hang in there.

Good luck

[J.Star]

(Original post by Bellissima)
driving instructor with a mini?! i obviously got ripped off

i don't know if it's ALL minis but i know some do, maybe the more modern ones?

and only 4 gears!??! does that feel weird?

Lol, that's what I though when I saw my friend doing her driving lesson in a Mini

Ohhhhh, just realised that reverse gear is included in those 6, that explains it

I meant 4 forward gears (and obviously it has reverse), I feel so stupid

[parry_93]

(Original post by Bellissima)
minis have 6 gears... but i doubt they'd be learning in that!!

Yep minis do have 6 gears.

And untrue cos im learning in a mini atm


And op, your instructor does sound abit ****, i was in third and going at nearly 40 on my second lesson.

He said by my 4th in two weeks i should be driving on the main roads

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

[J.Star]

(Original post by robo donkey)
It wasn't a Mini, it was some sort of Toyota, you had to pull a separate thing up on the gear stick to put it into reverse. I changed instructor in January though because my first teacher turned out to be an incredibly letch and it made me very uncomfortable during lessons when he'd comment on every single woman he saw with comments like 'Cor I'd give her one, would you?', I was like 'uh ... maybe I guess'. >_> srsly weird

Yeah sorry, it was me being an idiot and not counting reverse as a gear

Lol, I'm glad that my driving instructor keeps small talk to a minimum. If I was a driving instructor I would want my students to keep their eyes on the road at all times tbh, not checking out the talent.

[FunkeyMunkey]

(Original post by Bright.Inspiration.)
Don't worry.. I had like 60 hours of lessons, no joke.
I then passed 1st time with only 3 minors. It's way better than having like 40 hours of lessons and then failing multiple times.
Take your time, I know it's annoying and expensive, but you just have to hang in there.

Good luck

Aww thank you! Made me feel better about it That's definitely true...tests are expensive :/

[jhenryg]

I passed with 1 minor after 16 lessons.

Unless your instructor thinks you're unsafe I can't believe you aren't having a go on main roads


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[robo donkey]

(Original post by J.Star)
Yeah sorry, it was me being an idiot and not counting reverse as a gear

Lol, I'm glad that my driving instructor keeps small talk to a minimum. If I was a driving instructor I would want my students to keep their eyes on the road at all times tbh, not checking out the talent.

I never even considered reverse as a gear, I guess it was 7 gears overall, 6 and reverse. Mad. I just got a nice 5 gear 206 for my PGCE yesterday though, lovely job

[12win12]

My instructor was pretty good actually, each lesson i did was 1hr half, for 3 months n passed 2 minors!

[Bellissima]

(Original post by J.Star)
Lol, that's what I though when I saw my friend doing her driving lesson in a Mini

Ohhhhh, just realised that reverse gear is included in those 6, that explains it

I meant 4 forward gears (and obviously it has reverse), I feel so stupid

no some minis have 6 speed gears


my car has 5 speed gears i think that's pretty average never heard of 4!

[Singularity]

Everyone learns at different rates =). It's not unusual for people to spend a long time learning. Personally it took me about 90 hours of lessons before I passed my test, which I know is a lot, but I'm now a confident, experienced driver.

I would research your instructor a little bit though, and try to find out how long it took his other pupils to learn, just in case he's trying to rip you off.

[J.Star]

(Original post by robo donkey)
I never even considered reverse as a gear, I guess it was 7 gears overall, 6 and reverse. Mad. I just got a nice 5 gear 206 for my PGCE yesterday though, lovely job

Oh, wait, what, so it did have 6 gears then?

Exactly, I never considered reverse as a gear, but when I googled how many gears does a Mini have it said 5 reverse and 1 forward (so 6 in total). That just made me think that it was standard procedure to count reverse as a gear, but thankfully not everyone does

Niiice, how much dd you pay for it? I'm looking to get a 1.6 golf (mk 4) when I pass, but insurance is a killer. That being said, a 1.6 golf is cheaper for me to insure than almost all obvious 1/1.2 litres (fiestas/polos/corsas etc) which is odd

[J.Star]

(Original post by Bellissima)
no some minis have 6 speed gears


my car has 5 speed gears i think that's pretty average never heard of 4!

Flipping heck, my confusion is just going round in circles.

We are back to where we started lol. To answer your initial question, no only having 4 gears doesn't seem wierd. It's only a small car which lacks power so it doesn't really require mre gears, that being said I am more used to driving bigger engined cars with 5 gears.

[Picture~Perfect]

(Original post by FunkeyMunkey)
Basically, I need to know If I'm making slow progress, well I know I am, but I just want some opinions and advice on a few things. Firstly, I've had around 20 hours of lesson and so far I've learnt the cockpit drill, mirror signal manouver, parallel parking, turning right and left, mini roundabouts, creeping forward, reverse, changing gears (1st, 2nd, 3rd). At first, I spent so many hours on a really quiet road doing left turns, then right, all on first gear. I've heard of people going straight into busy roads after like 2 lessons? I understand the reason of this, I needed to master the basics but I can't help feeling I'm a really crap driver. From your experiences, is this really slow progress? Cos I'm unsure whether or not to change my instructor because he is really nice and calm and goes through everything nice and clearly, but I just think maybe I should experience someone new? And also how many lessons did you take to pass and how many more lessons do you think it would take me to learn everything else? Because before I was hoping It'd take me 40-45 lessons but this is looking unrealistic due to my slow progress : (

(I do my driving lessons in a busy part of London if that makes any difference)

Maybe you should change your instructor, you've had twenty hours of lessons and never been above third gear?

I've been driving for five years so I can't remember exactly, but I think I took around 30-36 hours worth of lessons before I took my first test.

[Picture~Perfect]

Six gears huh? I think that would just confuse me, I'm so used to driving with five.

[Bellissima]

(Original post by J.Star)
Flipping heck, my confusion is just going round in circles.

We are back to where we started lol. To answer your initial question, no only having 4 gears doesn't seem wierd. It's only a small car which lacks power so it doesn't really require mre gears, that being said I am more used to driving bigger engined cars with 5 gears.

haha you had me confused for a minute!

i guess the weirdest thing must be an automatic!

[original_username]

Your instructor is fleecing you OP.
I was in 4th gear in my second lesson. And had done everything else you mention by about number 3. Not very well, mind, but my instructor is of the opinion to try everything to try and keep it interesting and challenging.

[snowyowl]

I thought I was learning slowly... I've done most of what you mention (not the parking or reversing, but I've done traffic lights and normal-sized roundabouts as well as minis - can't avoid those in MK!). I've had 11 hours of lessons already at £20 per hour.

[FunkeyMunkey]

(Original post by original_username)
Your instructor is fleecing you OP.
I was in 4th gear in my second lesson. And had done everything else you mention by about number 3. Not very well, mind, but my instructor is of the opinion to try everything to try and keep it interesting and challenging.

Wow.. I hear you, might have to get a new instructor. But your super fast, that would have been tooo fast for me. Thanks!

[E.Cook]

I did it slow too... perhaps not as slow but mine was around 25-35 hours.. just reinforcing correct driving habits.. don't worry, as long as you can afford to and feel like you're going at a suitable pace to you.. everyone's different..! Going on a dual carriageway within the first ten hours would've felt like a nightmare to me, but some want to go fast... I could do dual carriageways easily, but it was helpful to have the confidence..