Driving instructor stringing us along

YANBU, that’s terrible. It’s not uncommon for some driving instructors to string customers along for as long as possible.

It’s because I had a great driving instructor who took pride in their students passing their test that I could see my sibling and friend were being strung along by theirs.

One instructor would take student to drive far away from home, whereas my instructor got me familiar with my local area around the local driving test centre.

My daughter is hyper anxious and has CFS , she started learning in Mid Jan 23 1 hr per week and passed her test at the start of October ( not her 1st test ). Ask on your local FB page for some recommendations- we picked the instructor we wanted ( lady ) in Sept 22 and waited until she could fit us in . Like a pp ours would have passed quicker if it wasn’t so hard to get a test .

We got ds lessons for his 12th birthday with young drivers. He was reversing on his first lesson and parked the car at the end so I'm very surprised to read that your dd is doing what she's doing 6 months in.

The big companies take your money and then try and find local instructors with gaps to do the course it’s not the best way for an anxious driver.

Have you considered extra practice with you?

Sounds like she needs a more bespoke 2 lessons a week approach too.

Switch instructors. Sometimes an instructor and their pupil just aren’t a good fit.

I would switch instructors and see how you get on.
I was learning at the same time as a colleague, and the difference was astonishing. I was doing manoeuvres, dual carriage (obviously all the gears)
Colleague was on slow roads only up to 3rd gear, no right turns out of junctions.
It was bizarre.

Have you taken her for a drive yourself?
My son has been learning since late August and is taking his test in a fortnight. If it wasn’t for the long waiting lists for a test, I think he’d have his license.

This.

Have you been out practicing with her to see her skills for yourself? I wonder if she's a much more nervous driver than you realise which is why he's going so slow

Sounds like your DD is struggling, to be honest. A driving instructor isn't going to move on to "harder" and more dangerous driving if the pupil hasn't mastered the basics and is driving safely.

A different instructor may be better, may give your DD more confidence, etc.

But 1.5 hours per week isn't much if she's not getting extra practice in between from you/your other half. Can you not take her out yourself between lessons to give her more practice and build confidence?

I'd switch instructors. I had to change instructors a couple of times before I passed; one had me just running her son about to different places, another was very belligerent and angry with me if I was nervous. I think some people are just better at teaching practical skills than others, so switch if it's not working for her. Also, this is a business and she is the consumer, it's not 'disloyal' to switch.

My ds has done 7 x 2 hour lessons and has been on dual carriageways, done reversing manoeuvres, parking, etc. Has driven miles to where the test centres are to get him more familiar with the roads there.

What does she think, does she think she’s capable of more than he’s teaching her? She should shout up to him if so. Ask for these things.