How many lessons does it take to pass your driving test?

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By around my 10th hour I had covered everything (all the manoeuvres, dual carriage ways, roundabouts, etc) and I thought at first 'well, what else is there to learn?' but the way I see it is you need experience in driving in different conditions and in different areas whilst you have your instructor by your side. I think it's important to make mistakes (e.g. I once almost went through a red light, I once went to go on a roundabout when it wasn't safe, etc) now those situations are embedded in my mind and I shouldn't make them again, but I made them whilst I had a qualified instructor with dual controls sat next to me. I know learning to drive is expensive and can be tedious but it's important to be safe. I've now had 30 hours and my text is in a few weeks and I've driven in the dark, in heavy rain and strong winds, in rush hour, during school runs, etc.

Reply 21

cole-slaw

About 12.

You really need to be learning outside of lessons though. Driving is largely a matter of practice, its a massive waste of money to be paying £20 an hour just to practice.

Reply 22

cole-slaw

Original post by Emma-Ashley

The most recent set of figures from the DVSA (2008 in a major study) is that the AVERAGE is 47 hours of professional tuition plus 20 hours of private practice. Whilst there are many people who do it quicker than that, that figure is the average so there wil be people who take a lot more!

Being older does affect the learning period so being young would suggest that you will learn to drive quicker. However, slightly older learners, motorcyclists and cyclsts can have a better understanding of the dangers and interacting with other road users so they make up time where young drivers might take longer.

Furthermore the roads are busier now than they were then and the standard of driving is generally deteriorating (simple observation) so the average may have now increased.

When I start with a brand new pupil I always point out the average and the likely cost so that they have a good understanding of what might be required. Most of my pupils pass after around 35 hours but not all as it is entirely down to the inidividual. It also depends whether someone is learning to drive or learning to pass the test. Whilst the latter is usually the goal, there are some instructors out there who try to take you beyond a minimum standard so that not only are you good enough to pass your test but you can also handle almost every situation that you are likely to encounter. This may seem an unwarranted cost but I, and some of my professional colleagues, believe that driving safely should be the goal and not just passing the test. If you do the former, you will naturally do the latter. Unfortunately sometimes the test does not do the job properly!

If you are brilliant enough to pass with just 3 lessons then great but that is the exception rather than the rule.

p.s. Not doing your theory early enough can also string out the lessons unnecessarily.

This is ****ing madness. 47 hours?!? That's almost a grand (it might actually cost you over a grand). What a complete waste of money.

Utter lunacy. Why the hell would you do 47 hours with an instructor but only 20 hours with family?

I did 12 hours with instructor plus probably 60 hours with family. This was not a particular fuss, for six months, whenever we went anywhere, I drove. Simple.

I passed first time, and the whole thing cost me under £200.

10-20

Original post by cole-slaw

Well maybe because you have the resources...others are not so lucky
Believe it or not none of my parents drive and only a couple of members in my family drive and they all live in Manchester so I won't be able to practice outside lessons.
You were obviously able to but not everbody is in the same boat as you.

Reply 25

Gavf1

So glad to see your comment, this is what I'm planning too.... just passed my theory first time and didn't scrape thru I was pretty high with my scores I'm hoping I can put this in to practice ...... iv drove for many years on private land etc I'm praying iv the experience and knowledge to do it. Good luck with your own test.