How many driving lessons does it take to pass practical

As people have said, it depends on the person and there may be some things you pick up really quickly but maybe one or two things which are vital for the test that you really struggle with. For example, I'd never driven before but went on a dual carriageway on my 2nd lesson because my instructor noticed I picked up gears and clutch control really easily and didn't mind going fast (I broke the speed limit on a 60mph B road on my way home from my first lesson!), but stuff like navigating slightly complicated junctions and stuff I really struggled with. So for me it was much more mental barriers than physical, even reversing I was a natural at whereas when there was a lot of stuff happening at once I'd get confused, so near my test my instructor took me to all the most horrible junctions in the area over and over until I got them right all the time :lol:

Original post by cherryred90s

It must have been so odd driving alone for the first time, must be a great feeling though. I can't wait to pass, ah freedom

I went for my first drive alone at the stroke of midnight where I'd gotten a quote which was set for a certain date, then forgetting to change the date when I got my car so I had to wait a few days to drive it :frown:

Once the clock struck 12 though and the date came, I was straight out haha, drove around until about 2 in the morning around the local area. I was terrified as I pulled out of my driveway but after a little while I was loving it, felt weird but awesome at the same time.

Reply 41

Aphala

4

Original post by cherryred90s

Yeah, I'll have about 7 more hourly lessons with my instructor before my test, which I'm hoping is enough since I've done a good number of hours so far. I'm nervous too but it has to be done I suppose. Mine can be a bit of a nutter too lol

Mines went on a rampage when I accidentally downshifted to 1st instead of going into 3rd...needless to say, he's a scary big bastard! :O

I am always nervous and little confidence, feels bad lol

Reply 42

Ruth200

9

Depend on many things ( expérience, abilities) so it variate dépending on the person

Reply 43

cherryred90s

20

Original post by Jimmy Carr

As people have said, it depends on the person and there may be some things you pick up really quickly but maybe one or two things which are vital for the test that you really struggle with. For example, I'd never driven before but went on a dual carriageway on my 2nd lesson because my instructor noticed I picked up gears and clutch control really easily and didn't mind going fast (I broke the speed limit on a 60mph B road on my way home from my first lesson!), but stuff like navigating slightly complicated junctions and stuff I really struggled with. So for me it was much more mental barriers than physical, even reversing I was a natural at whereas when there was a lot of stuff happening at once I'd get confused, so near my test my instructor took me to all the most horrible junctions in the area over and over until I got them right all the time :lol:

Yeah it definitely does depend on the person. I wouldn't have dreamed to be on a dual carriageway on my 2nd lesson, I couldn't even steer properly and hadn't been out of first gear by then lol. Some would say I'm a slow learner, others would say I'm average. My friends seem to think I've picked it up really fast but that's only because I did a lot of lessons in a short period of time haha. I struggled so much with meeting situations, I just couldn't judge if I could fit or not so like yours, my instructor took me down loads of narrow roads where I'd have to deal with meeting until I got it right. As soon as I told him that I hate roundabouts, he took me on a million of those too, lol. I wouldn't say anything came naturally to me other than steering. I was really terrible at it then by my next lesson, I was doing it really well and I still don't know why, I guess it just clicked.

I really want to pass first time, I didn't realise how expensive it is! I thought you just pay the test fee and that's it, I'm so clueless

I went for my first drive alone at the stroke of midnight where I'd gotten a quote which was set for a certain date, then forgetting to change the date when I got my car so I had to wait a few days to drive it :frown:

Once the clock struck 12 though and the date came, I was straight out haha, drove around until about 2 in the morning around the local area. I was terrified as I pulled out of my driveway but after a little while I was loving it, felt weird but awesome at the same time.

Wow! Brave of you to drive at that time. What car was it and did it take a lot of getting used to I.e clutch and biting point

Reply 44

Jimmy Carr

7

Original post by cherryred90s

Yeah it definitely does depend on the person. I wouldn't have dreamed to be on a dual carriageway on my 2nd lesson, I couldn't even steer properly and hadn't been out of first gear by then lol. Some would say I'm a slow learner, others would say I'm average. My friends seem to think I've picked it up really fast but that's only because I did a lot of lessons in a short period of time haha. I struggled so much with meeting situations, I just couldn't judge if I could fit or not so like yours, my instructor took me down loads of narrow roads where I'd have to deal with meeting until I got it right. As soon as I told him that I hate roundabouts, he took me on a million of those too, lol. I wouldn't say anything came naturally to me other than steering. I was really terrible at it then by my next lesson, I was doing it really well and I still don't know why, I guess it just clicked.

I really want to pass first time, I didn't realise how expensive it is! I thought you just pay the test fee and that's it, I'm so clueless

Wow! Brave of you to drive at that time. What car was it and did it take a lot of getting used to I.e clutch and biting point

That's another thing I sucked at, meeting. As soon as I saw another car coming the other way I started to panic a little, wow I did some stupid things :lol:

It's one of those scenarios where you have to think quickly, I was terrible at all of that stuff. My instructor was awesome though, he's only in his early 30s himself so if I did something really stupid he'd just take the piss out of me rather than shouting, if I ever felt nervous it wasn't because of him. Makes me laugh though when I look back on things I used to struggle with. There are points in your lesson where you think "Am I EVER going to pick this up? Will I just fluke it on my test but still be crap at doing this?" but I've been driving a few years now and it's like most things, the more you do it then it just gets easy. Even a while after I passed, I'd not be able to hold a conversation when I was coming up to a roundabout, now I can be having a chat and a laugh and have a bit of music on and just sort of do the roundabout subconsciously.

I thought it was the perfect time to go for a first drive really, no traffic :biggrin:

It was a 10 year old Corsa, not brilliant to drive tbh and it took some getting used to but it wasn't too bad.
Do you have a car lined up already?

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 45

Roma_

2

Original post by _madiha1

Hi, So I've passed my theory test and I'm looking at doing my practical as soon as possible but I've never driven & I wanted to know how many lessons do you have to take until your ready to do your practical test??

Well done on passing your theory :smile:

It took me about 50 lessons however I had around 2, one and a half lessons a week so averaging around 3 hours a week from march until august

Reply 46

ohhello92x

22

Original post by Aphala

Can't wait to pass mine! Just to be able to drive to work and be like "Suckers on the bus!" :biggrin:

Congrat tho, must feel bloody brilliant!

Aw bless

, when's your test if you don't mind me asking :smile:

? Thank you :smile:

, yes it feels absolutely amazing knowing I no longer have to rely on lifts/public transport and I can just drive around whenever I want to :biggrin:

honestly you'll love the freedom once you've passed your test :biggrin:

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Reply 47

cherryred90s

20

Original post by Jimmy Carr

That's another thing I sucked at, meeting. As soon as I saw another car coming the other way I started to panic a little, wow I did some stupid things :lol:

It's one of those scenarios where you have to think quickly, I was terrible at all of that stuff. My instructor was awesome though, he's only in his early 30s himself so if I did something really stupid he'd just take the piss out of me rather than shouting, if I ever felt nervous it wasn't because of him. Makes me laugh though when I look back on things I used to struggle with. There are points in your lesson where you think "Am I EVER going to pick this up? Will I just fluke it on my test but still be crap at doing this?" but I've been driving a few years now and it's like most things, the more you do it then it just gets easy. Even a while after I passed, I'd not be able to hold a conversation when I was coming up to a roundabout, now I can be having a chat and a laugh and have a bit of music on and just sort of do the roundabout subconsciously.

I thought it was the perfect time to go for a first drive really, no traffic :biggrin:

It was a 10 year old Corsa, not brilliant to drive tbh and it took some getting used to but it wasn't too bad.
Do you have a car lined up already?

Yeah, I really can't wait for the day when everything falls into place and I wonder what I was stressing about all the time ago. Even with manouvres, I imagine you just do them naturally now without needing to use reference points lol.

I'd like to get something like a Ford Fiesta or a polo but I'm not totally sure yet. How much did you spend on your Corsa?

Reply 48

Jimmy Carr

7

Original post by cherryred90s

Yeah, I really can't wait for the day when everything falls into place and I wonder what I was stressing about all the time ago. Even with manouvres, I imagine you just do them naturally now without needing to use reference points lol.

I'd like to get something like a Ford Fiesta or a polo but I'm not totally sure yet. How much did you spend on your Corsa?

I still use some points tbh, just because it makes things easier. For example to reverse bay park to the left - and this isn't something I was taught, just so happens to work with my car haha - I line the back of my rear passenger window up with the edge of the car I've lined up against, then full lock to reverse and it goes straight in :biggrin:

I do the same if the bays on the right are parallel to the left ones but obviously just full lock to the right instead. Whereas if I'm parking to the right and the bays aren't aligned to those opposite or there are none, then it's mostly just guess work and adjusting, which again the more you do it the easier it gets. With parallel parking, I do it the same way my instructor taught me but I didn't have stickers or anything to refer to, just line up the backs of my car and the car I'm lining up to and then do a few specific steers at specific points.
That said, in my Corsa I drew a pen line with a Sharpie on my doors below the windows for reverse bay parking like I had in my learner car :lol:

Pretty much just put a sticker down and tried it to see if it worked, then adjusted it if it didn't and once I found working points, I drew a line there.

My Corsa was 600 quid. Yeah at the end of the day unless you have a lot of money and are looking for something pretty new then it's not a great idea to eye up a specific car. Just, if you have 1000 for example, look for 10-year old hatchbacks and you should find something decent.