AIBU to think I could learn to drive in a week?

I’m not someone who likes to tell anyone they can’t do something, and I won’t say it’s impossible, but given you’ve never even started a car before, I think the only chance you would have is on a VERY intensive course with a professional qualified instructor. It would be exhausting and a considerable challenge.

Don’t forget that the test now includes an independent driving section where you have to use sat nav or rely on the road signs as well as get the technical driving stuff right without the examiner guiding you. It’s no longer just “turn left at the end of the road”. You have to demonstrate that you can handle concentrating on multiple things at once, and adapting to situations (eg you’re following a road sign and/or sat nav then run into roadworks, a diversion etc) without panicking.

I have to say I think learning from a friend in a week from scratch to test standard is unrealistic… unless your friend has extensive experience teaching people to drive. Also learning to drive is stressful - it could put a strain on your friendship.

If you were doing something like going from an automatic licence to a manual one after years of experience on the road, I’d say it was much more doable (I did this with a few hours of instruction/practice with a friend) - but from complete scratch and without a professional instructor is a massive long shot.

Of course it may at least get you going and save you some money on professional lessons.

I do wish you the best of luck though.

If you can afford 2x 2 hr lessons before going to your friend then you need to be able to have more lessons to get you to test level plus what vehicle are you taking your test in?

You really need to be taught how to drive properly by a properly registered instructor! With the best will in the world we all have bad habits as drivers and your friend will be teaching you to drive with those bad habits and it’s highly likely you won’t pass!

I passed my test and didn’t drive after ten years. I took much more than a single week of refresh lessons to relearn - and that’s after passing!

I didn’t have to legally but I wasn’t stupid enough not to.

The knowledge and responsibility, and behaviours you need to learn, takes more than a week. And once you are on the road you’d shudder at the idea of someone being on the road in such a short space of time.

In fairness, people do pass their tests after week-long courses but doing a week of professional lessons with an instructor is absolutely nothing like a week of driving around with your mate.

Of course you did, the internet is definitely somewhere where people aren’t making shite up, I woke up on the Monday did my theory and learnt to drive after lunch, I was a fully licensed driver Tuesday morning, absolutely simple can’t believe you took so long, a whole week smh

Admittedly inevitable was the wrong word, but most people who get into a car for the first time do so with a professional with dual controls and years of experience, not a random mate who's offered out of the goodness of their heart.

There's a reason insurance for learners is expensive - because they are much, much more likely to have an accident and that risk is further increased when they're in a car without dual controls.

Of course you can learn to drive in a week. However learning the practical side of passing your test and being confident approaching a busy roundabout in a city, or parking etc. is a different ball game.

How recent was this though?
Driving tests have become "harder" over the decades and also if it was 6+ years ago, then maybe, as it was "easy" to get another test incase of failiure. Post Covid though, driving tests in most parts of the UK are
up within minutes of release, 24 weeks ahead so if you fail, there is a 6 month wait for a new test. There are 15+ routes at my local test centre - there is no way I'd risk only 24 hours of lessons in order to potentially pass quicker in 2026 condititions.

In my experience, even those courses were generally a last resort for people who had failed the practical repeatedly. Or at the very least had had some normal lessons beforehand. I think it was very very very rare for people with absolutely no experience at all to go on them and pass. Learning to drive is harder than a lot of us remember.

And presumably the friend's car has no dual controls! Terrible idea.

that is what dual controls are for, the instructor can control the car all from the passenger side. There are loads of examples of them slamming on brakes at traffic lights or roundabouts on their Youtube channels when teaching people to drive. It is the safest way to learn to drive.

You can hire dual control cars to teach your child to drive in. The DVSA recommends 45 hours of driving instructor lessons because you need to be put in a lot of meeting situations, junctions, reading signs, road markings etc. Driving locally is one thing, my children had 2 hour lessons which means you can drive quite a distance. Plus some driving test routes don't include any speed above a 40 and some don't even cover slip roads onto dual carriageways etc. That is why the lessons parts are important because they have time to cover that stuff.

Why would you book a practical test for a weeks time when you have no experience, no money for lessons and no access to a car? Were you just hoping to turn up on the day after never putting a key in a car before and just hope you’d know what to do?

I don’t think so, especially as you have never even turned the engine on
you need to do multiple things at once while watching for everyone else on the road, you can’t cover all road/weather conditions in a week even with an intensive course

I only took Ds out in my car once his 25 year experience driving instructor said it was safe to do so. I was more of an extra pair of eyes and helping with positioning of the car not teaching him to drive. He was taught what procedures or sequence he needs to be doing before coming to a junction et.

Personally the idea of you stalling the car in the middle of a junction or on a roundabout with no dual control is fucking terrifying. Your friend must be crazy.

If you are seriously going to do this then you need to learn everything you can before getting into the car. There are lots of driving instructor videos and mock tests on Youtube.

Start with Conquer Driving, Richard is great at learning what your clutch actually does so you don't stall the car. All his other videos are great. Then look at DGN, Clearview and Driving School for mock tests and commenting on what they did right and what they did wrong.

Also watch Ruby Dash Cam or any other dash cam video channels on Youtube to show you actual collisions or near misses from drivers who have passed their tests and fuck up every single day.

Several famous people have resat their driving test with some of these instructors and have failed the test. Just because they can drive doesn't mean they can do it safely. See the dash cam videos for evidence of this. The test I took in the 90s is definitely different to the test both my children took, including one this year.

Why is that inevitable? Everyone gets into a car for the first time and some point and not everyone crashes the car

Say you do pass given you have no money what would be the point?

Trouble is one lesson before your test is not enough to take you round all the test routes in your area. Ours has at least 4 or 5.

My friend’s dd did this. Took a week’s intensive course and passed first time. They bought her a car but she had three accidents within a month and completely lost her confidence. She hadn’t had enough hours on the road gaining proper experience. She is now going to be one of those nervous drivers who is a danger to other people.

Kids who also have professional lessons. My parents helped me learn but only after I'd had 10 or so lessons and knew the basics and how to control a car safely and drive on the roads.

It also often ends up in arguments as learning to drive (and teaching someone to drive) are both very stressful things.

This is ridiculous, nobody is safe to drive alone on the road after a week of driving. You would be putting other drivers in serious danger. Just save up and do your lessons like normal people.

On average you need an hour of instruction for every year you are born, with a competent instructor, although this is a guideline and not set in stone. I needed more than that when I passed 30 odd years ago.
Your friend taking you out is a nice idea, but absolutely no way I'd take a learner out in a car without dual controls, especially one thats never been behind a wheel before. Utter madness. I took my DD's out for practice once they had taken several lessons and it was terrifying.
You need a competent instructor , who will go at your pace. If you can't afford lessons, cancel your test, especially as there are many people waiting for tests.
Is this made up?

Because nobody sensible would offer the use of their car to someone who's never even put the key in the ignition?

I would give it a try.

Your friend is very brave. This might end your friendship you know, not everyone is a patient teacher, and you may prang the car (who would pay for that?). It's extremely generous in fact both time and money (the petrol won't be cheap!).

It's tiring and stressful learning to drive. I don't think you could do more than 5 hours in a day driving without really losing concentration. But you could get 70% of the way there I think given your friend is not a trained instructor.