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How many driving lessons on average does it take to pass?

Hello,

I've just recently started my lessons i've finished 2 and a half lessons. I feel pretty confident being behind the wheel, the first lesson I stalled twice (I drove home though and had no problems at all) and the second lesson I had no problems at all. I know how many lessons you take depends on how confident you feel, but how many lessons does it take on average to pass?

Also, i'm thinking of beginning to revise for the theory test around late November (due to certain circumstances) and looking to pass around December time and to pass my practical test around January/February with one lesson a week.

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Reply 1
The average/expected is around 40 hours - that's how many you should budget for.

It takes longer than you would think. I have felt confident from my first lesson, but there is loads to cover. I've had around 29/30 hours, and I'm pretty much there. But will keep having lessons until my test day.

Good luck with your driving
It really depends on you as a person and your instructor, pretty much. I passed at around 25 hours, I have friends who passed within 20 hours and others who took longer with up to 60. The first 10 hours are the toughest by far after that it gets way easier once you are comfortably mechanically operating the car, at least it was in my experience and a few others I know.
Reply 3
Original post by randomgeeza
It really depends on you as a person and your instructor, pretty much. I passed at around 25 hours, I have friends who passed within 20 hours and others who took longer with up to 60. The first 10 hours are the toughest by far after that it gets way easier once you are comfortably mechanically operating the car, at least it was in my experience and a few others I know.


Yeah. And often people get insured on their parents car. So technically they've had more hours than they say.

I don't have that, I just have lessons :tongue:

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Reply 4
my sister just passed hers , and she had about 12 lessons i think? My father , needed 20 odd , and even then he had to do it twice :wink:

I felt i had a good understanding of what i would need to do after about 15 lessons.

The various AA instructors i had told me to do 10 hours , then do the theory, then another 20 hours since that was the average.

But as stated before , it all depends on how quickly u learn. I am a practical learner , so for me , it was very easy to pick up .
Father is more thoeretical. So for him , it took about twice as long to get the practical.

Depends on you :smile:
My test will be my 50th hour. Hopefully I'll pass first time, or I probably won't be able to afford to do it again. I know what I'm doing behind the wheel and have been up to test standard for a couple of months, but I panic a lot over silly little things, so it's more of a confidence issue for me.

I've driven out with my Dad a couple of times, and he always tells me off for squealing and bouncing up and down. :')
My ex went from no experience to passing with 1 minor in 16 hours as well as practice with me. Although at 22 she's more mature than many 17 year old new drivers.
Took me about 35 hours.
I only took like 6, ended up with 2 minors.
Original post by zippy100012
I only took like 6, ended up with 2 minors.


I'm sorry but you are talking in cloud cuckoo land.The national average s 43 hours with an ADI plus further practice in your own car. Unless you are so different to everyone else. No one can do it in six lessons unless they have driven before..unless you mean you had six two hour lessons? even then I really doubt it is possible to do it in that time
Reply 10
I've been doing it for 5 weeks now, with 2-3 lessons a week (all 2 hours). Ive done 24hours now. I've covered all the major road obstacles and the maneuvers (apart from bay parking). Now its a case of 'the little things' in the words of my instructor. For example, changing gears needs to be a bit more gentle (I've got a bad habit of going from 3rd gear into 4th, when I need 2nd :tongue: ). But he reckons I'll be there with 40hours.
Our relationship is pretty good, as he understands my goal (being passed by September before I go back to uni).

I haven't really done any practice with family members. Apart from maybe 30minutes. But I'm starting to go out with my brother doing very basic routes around the estate. The goal is to get me confident in car with no dual control. My clutch control is good enough for me to practice manoeuvres.

I think my situation has helped my progress. Apart from a casual part time weekend job, I'm not employed and waiting to start a masters in October. So I can put in all my energy and time into driving. Its easy when there's only a 2 day gap between lessons, as opposed to a full week or even longer! So for someone in full time work/education, it might be harder for them than if they were in my situation.

Sorry for the waffle, but that's an example of a timeframe. Its a question without an answer really. I think the relationship with your instructor, your current situation, whether you can practice with someone are factors you should consider also.
Well the more lessons you have the more likely you'll pass. I had 35 hours in total and did not have my own car, I passed first time. Some people can pass in a lot less time, some people take longer. Everyone's different.
I had almost 50 I think and passed first time. I didn't drive outside lessons though.


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About 40-50 hours of lessons.

Original post by Ben_K
Hello,

I've just recently started my lessons i've finished 2 and a half lessons. I feel pretty confident being behind the wheel, the first lesson I stalled twice (I drove home though and had no problems at all) and the second lesson I had no problems at all. I know how many lessons you take depends on how confident you feel, but how many lessons does it take on average to pass?

Also, i'm thinking of beginning to revise for the theory test around late November (due to certain circumstances) and looking to pass around December time and to pass my practical test around January/February with one lesson a week.


You may feel confident after 2 lessons, but it takes a while to develop good road sense and understanding of when to respond to situations. Those sorts of things only really come about with plenty of road experience. Good luck :h:
Original post by spartacusp5b
I'm sorry but you are talking in cloud cuckoo land.The national average s 43 hours with an ADI plus further practice in your own car. Unless you are so different to everyone else. No one can do it in six lessons unless they have driven before..unless you mean you had six two hour lessons? even then I really doubt it is possible to do it in that time

Six hours maybe not, but it isn't that impossible to pass with few lessons. The first time I did my test was around 14 one hour lessons, and I only had 3 minors. Still failed because coming out off a roundbout I was going (according to the examiner) 34MPH in a 30MPH zone and had no intention to slow down.

Of course, that wasn't really accurate. When I realised I was going too fast, I was about to slow down but he told me to go slower before I could react.

National average don't mean anything. There are fast learners and slow learners. Then again, I'd rather pass with 30 odd hours of learning and feel safe in the road.

I passed my test last week. My instructor was a bit afraid I may fail it again since the lesson I had before the test don't go very well. However, during the test I felt relaxed and could concentrate properly.
Have as many lessons as you need to feel comfortable. Try and practice outside of lessons if you can, just be careful not to pick up bad habits from parents.

I had 18 lessons, and no practice outside and passed. But most my friends had 25hrs+. I should have done a few more lessons to be more confident if I'm honest.

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I'd passed mine in around 60-ish hours, but I hadn't been able to have extra practice, as my mum couldn't afford extra insurance on her car. So I had to keep driving with my instructor. I'd passed my practical second time. So it depends on personal circumstances and ability. My neighbour's been taking lessons for around 3-4 years now, and she still hasn't passed it.
looool, is your neighbour spongebob squarepants by any chance?
I passed with 10 hours, make sure you do your theory early so you can just focus on the practical side
Reply 19
Original post by MeerkatSwag
I passed with 10 hours, make sure you do your theory early so you can just focus on the practical side


Good advice! I could have passed my practical about a month earlier and saved myself £150-200 if I had passed my theory at the first attempt.

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