To think I can teach my DD to drive?

I taught my son to drive a few years back.
Importantly he watched some YouTube videos to ensure he knew everything he was doing was correct and how to pass the test, whereas I taught him how to drive the actual car!
I think he had 2 lessons with an instructor who then confirmed he was test ready and did the test in the instructors car.

It sounds like you can teach her to drive but she may want a few lessons to teach her the test. It wouldn't work for many parent/child pairings but sounds like she's quite mature, and the part about listening and not being over-confident sounds like she'd make use of the lessons sensibly.

Driving on private roads is a bit different to driving in traffic. I taught DS the basics in a disused car park but he still had around 6 lessons before I took him out on the road for extra practice (and even then it was a bit hairy). So I’d definitely recommend she go out with an experienced instructor.

I'm in the US, if the kids are learning before age 18, they are required to have some formal (and expensive) lessons. There is a classroom portion and a driving portion. The driving portion is 6 hours driving, 6 hours observing in the car while another student drives. After that, it's on the parents (or another licensed driver at least 21 years old) to spend a required number of logged hours on different roads and in various conditions.

One son waited until he was 18 because he didn't want to go through the hassle of the classes. He got his permit and drove with several different people until he was ready for his test.

I taught DS to drive but everyone needs lessons if they want to pass the test. He didn't have many lessons at all, but I found there were certain things that his instructor told him that are actually slightly different to what I learnt 25 years ago.

it Sounds like you can get her 90% of the way there but worth investing in a few lessons with an instructor to cover the very test-specific bits. My DD is getting test-ready now and her instructor is telling her about the different examiners at the test centre, practising with the specific Sat-navs they use, driving around possible test routes etc (we don't live anywhere near a test centre so it's very unfamiliar to her).
those things aren't necessarily essential but are the kind of thing that could really help with nerves for an anxious teen (which mine is!)
We found it extremely difficult to find a reliable instructor with availability so i would scout around now even if it'll be a couple of months before you need them.

I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been any change in the law saying you have to have lessons signed off by an official driving instructor (assuming you’re in the UK).

Some driving instructors also ask you to pass your theory test before starting practical lessons (this happened to one of DDs friends). Both DS and DD used a theory app and both passed theory first time.

i think it would be worth, as mentioned, booking a couple of lessons early on so she can learn what she needs to know in order to pass the test, and doesn’t have the opportunity (or limits the opportunity anyway!) to learn ‘bad’ habits. No doubt you can teach her to drive, as such, as she sounds really capable already but a lot of the test is ticking boxes.

You're right, you can definitely do the theory test independently. There's some very good apps with practice questions.

You could certainly do it with just a couple of professional lessons on top. There are certain things examiners look for so it would be good to have an instructor at the end.

I would recommend lessons because she is likely to have picked up bad habits. Typically people do when they don't start with formal lessons, brother is driving instructor.

Book her a test when she feels ready, and a couple of lessons in the lead up, with a bit of time spare in case she has a specific road-driving issue to work on. That's the only thing really; if you've got a bad habit yourself, or are unaware of something she should know, she'll fail if she gets tested on that one thing. Driving tests will have changed since you did yours, so even if you teach her perfectly for what you needed to know, she could still fail.

I’m sure you can teach them all the basics but I would factor in some lessons to ensure they are test ready and understand exactly how the examiner would expect them to drive.
My son is learning at the minute and has his own car as well. There have been a few things that I’ve said, you should have done x or y and he said this is how his instructor says they must do it.

DH taught me and our children to drive. However, I think the law has changed now and your DD has to have a book signed off by an instructor to show she has covered all the elements of learning to drive and an instructor will also give guidance on passing the theory test. By all means take her out for practice but she must have a few official lessons.

We've taken our kids out after one lesson. Obviously on quiet residential roads and building up to more difficult roads when they've been safe to do so.

But there's a big difference between the basics of learning to drive and how to pass your test. My friend's a driving instructor and she's worth every penny. She'll teach them all the technical parts, road positioning, which gears to use for different situations, manoeuvres, how to avoid major and minor faults etc.

My first son passed after about 10 lessons and two months of frequent practising of the various test routes (you can download these on an app). My younger son is about to take his test after five lessons and a lot of practising so you don't necessarily need loads of lessons.

But I think you'd be doing well to pass with no professional lessons. Plus it teaches them how to drive as safely as possible, not with the bad habits we all pick up.

I taught mine from scratch.
We started in large quiet car parks, then got up to quiet roads.
I did start them with a proper instructor though once we were at that point, as busy roads made me nervous with them.
Good luck!

Yes you can if you're confident enough. I would however recommend an instructor for a few lessons, just to make sure she's test standard.