Driving lessons

[Ylf]

Away to start driving lessons after 12 year gap🤦‍♂️. Just stopped and never bothered with it but now is the time again. Can’t believe the price of a lesson now. Anyone taking lessons now or just recently passed? How many lessons did you need before you passed?

[Richey Edwards]

12 minutes ago, Ylf said:

 

Away to start driving lessons after 12 year gap. Just stopped and never bothered with it but now is the time again. Can’t believe the price of a lesson now. Anyone taking lessons now or just recently passed? How many lessons did you need before you passed?

 

I passed my test in October and I genuinely wonder why I put up with public transport for so long now, especially since I live in the sticks and the bus services are terrible.

I have a neurological condition called Dyspraxia so it took me more lessons than most to get into a position were I could pass my test, but I passed at my first attempt so it was worth it in the end.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

 

[Shandon Par]

My dad tried teaching my mum to drive. I'd be in the back as they'd be yelling at each other. Eventually he started taking a towel with him which he'd place over his head so he didn't have to stare death in the face. On one terrifying lesson he made her stop so he could get out and walk 7 miles home.  

[ah-dee]

i passed 10 years ago after 3 lessons. had been driving for years* and finally thought id better get my license so took 3 lessons to prepare for the test. knowing how to drive and knowing how to pass the test are two different things.

* dont break the law people! its not big and its not clever

[JamieT1314]

Went back after a 15 year break, took me 14 lessons, passed first time with 0 minors.

[The Moonster]

I passed when I was 17 at the second attempt. I found the person taking me out on my test had a big effect on the outcome. First test was this horrid wee old woman who genuinely looked like she wished she was anywhere else.  She was an officious c**t and it made me extremely nervous. She failed me for an incident about 5 minutes into the test and I was utterly seething about it. Got back to the test centre and my instructor was half laughing, he told me his heart sank when he saw who was doing the test so I assume that wee cow has previous for being a dick.  My second test was with a lovely guy, he had loads of banter and made me feel much more relaxed. I slightly messed up reversing round a corner on that test but he just said "sort that out" and passed me. I'd taken quite a lot of lessons (no idea how many in total) as I was quite a nervous driver, but I love driving now and dread ever having to use public transport in this country.

 

[Guest bernardblack]

9 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

I passed when I was 17 at the second attempt. I found the person taking me out on my test had a big effect on the outcome. First test was this horrid wee old woman who genuinely looked like she wished she was anywhere else.  She was an officious c**t and it made me extremely nervous. She failed me for an incident about 5 minutes into the test and I was utterly seething about it. Got back to the test centre and my instructor was half laughing, he told me his heart sank when he saw who was doing the test so I assume that wee cow has previous for being a dick.  My second test was with a lovely guy, he had loads of banter and made me feel much more relaxed. I slightly messed up reversing round a corner on that test but he just said "sort that out" and passed me. I'd taken quite a lot of lessons (no idea how many in total) as I was quite a nervous driver, but I love driving now and dread ever having to use public transport in this country.

 

I'd agree with this. Passed first time but the boy was chatty and liked football, so i kind of forgot I was on my test!

[BillyAnchor]

 

[Venti]

I lost track of how many lessons I had. I got to a point where I thought I was good enough for the test, but he said I could still use some more. Kinda thought he might be taking the piss and squeezing more money out of me. I respected his judgement however & passed 1st time.

Was a great feeling of freedom knowing days of public transport were over.

Can't remember the exact amount per lesson, but was pretty steep. (This was over 10yrs ago)

[The Moonster]

Just now, Slenderman said:

I lost track of how many lessons I had. I got to a point where I thought I was good enough for the test, but he said I could still use some more. Kinda thought he might be taking the piss and squeezing more money out of me. I respected his judgement however & passed 1st time.

Was a great feeling of freedom knowing days of public transport were over.

Can't remember the exact amount per lesson, but was pretty steep. (This was over 10yrs ago)

I was £20 a lesson, that was about 12-13 years ago.

[Venti]

Just now, The Moonster said:

I was £20 a lesson, that was about 12-13 years ago.

Sounds about right.

[ah-dee]

I'd agree with this. Passed first time but the boy was chatty and liked football, so i kind of forgot I was on my test!

the guy who took my test sat in silence for 40minutes apart from giving me directions. made me incredibly nervous. i did ask him if he wanted the radio on at one point which got a slight snigger but back to silence after that.

[SaintDougie]

Passed back in June this year after never really having the need to drive/have a car, a late comer in comparison to most people!  Started in March and had one two hour lesson per week on a Friday afternoon to fit in with work, so I think I did 20-25 hours in total.  DVLA recommend newbies do at least 45 hours before sitting their test, but I'm not so sure of that myself.  Each individual will know themselves when they're ready to sit the test, as once you have the basics nailed it's all to do with how confident your feeling.

Went straight down to a dealership as soon as I had passed to check out a 4 year old car I had my eye on and picked it up on finance. I didn't really like the idea of passing then not driving for weeks, months or possibly longer saving for a 10 year old banger off Gumtree! 

Haven't looked back since, we've been all over Scotland with the dog and thoroughly enjoy driving. It's not cheap, but it's difficult to put a price on the independence it gives you.

[Richey Edwards]

21 minutes ago, bernardblack said:

I'd agree with this. Passed first time but the boy was chatty and liked football, so i kind of forgot I was on my test!

Similar experience to me. The examiner was a young guy and was talking away to me so it didn't even feel like a test.

[Dazzle]

I got 10 lessons for my 17th birthday and my 10th was the morning off my test, I passed with 1 minor which i got a question wrong.

I'm sure my mum and dad paid about £150 for a 10 lesson block about 11 years ago. I absolutely hate driving though and only do it out of necessity, if I lived in a city my car would be away pronto.

[Granny Danger]

Five shillings a lesson, 10 lessons, and a pound to bribe the examiner.

 

[microdave]

3 hours ago, Ylf said:

 

Away to start driving lessons after 12 year gap. Just stopped and never bothered with it but now is the time again. Can’t believe the price of a lesson now. Anyone taking lessons now or just recently passed? How many lessons did you need before you passed?

 

I had lessons and failed a test when I was 17 and it took me 21 years to get back to it. I think I had about 20 lessons in the three months before my test which I passed this time. That was five years ago and I can't believe how much it's changed my life. I still use public transport for work but just being able to jump in the car and go to away games or hillwalking in the summer is so liberating.  I've been all over Scotland and basically seen places I never would've had I not bothered to learn to drive!

[Shandon Par]

15 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

Five shillings a lesson, 10 lessons, and a pound to bribe the examiner.

 

Did you have the guy with the red flag walking along in front of the car? That was still the law when my grandpa passed his test but maybe just before your time.

[Raithie]

Passed when I was 18 with two minors. Think I was paying £40 for 2 hour lessons and my instructor openly told me when we first met that he had a stutter and that once he got to know me and felt more relaxed he'd stutter less. I think he himself hoped that after 2 or 3 lessons when we were actually out driving properly that he'd have been a bit more relaxed to give out clear instructions but that wasn't the case. Approaching roundabouts was stressful "at the rou...r.r.rrrr....rr.....round.....roundabout.... take a.........a..aaa.aaa.......aaaaa.....*deep breath*....le...l.l.l.llef". Eventually I'd twig what  direction to take but was worrying when getting nearer and nearer the roundabout or junction and him sitting there with both hands on the dash board getting more and more red in the face trying to get his words out. At times I was just going my own route as he couldn't say whether he wanted me to go left or right. How he got me through my test I do not know but I think I had about 8 lessons before I was ready to sit my test.

My wife passed her test 2 years ago with only 3 official driving lessons with a professional instructor. The rest of the time I just took her out and I was surprisingly patient with her. I'm taking the bulk of the credit for her passing her test if I'm honest.