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Original poster

Driving lessons - is this normal?

41 replies

panoramallama · 03/01/2019 20:37

I'm a bit perplexed and don't know whether instructor is pushing too much too soon or not. Family member had a driving lesson earlier on, and the instructor took them on a very busy dual carriageway for over 10 miles, in the rush hour and in the dark. First time for night driving, and for driving in the rush hour. Got up to nearly 70 mph apparently.

After how many lessons would you expect a learner to be ready for that? (No other practice apart from actual lessons with instructor).

OP posts:

Original poster

panoramallama · 03/01/2019 21:36

potatoscone No. I grinned and said wow and well done, etc etc.

OP posts:

User10fuckingmillion · 03/01/2019 21:37

People do like to show off OP
I’d have been scared shitless doing that on lesson 12.

Hen2018 · 03/01/2019 21:43

They should be very capable drivers after 12 lessons.

I had 7.

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Driving & parking

Riotingbananas · 03/01/2019 21:44

Hasn't the Black Cat island got traffic lights on it now? It's pretty straightforward.

Well done to your DC, it sounds like they're progressing.

mycatplotsdeath · 03/01/2019 21:47

Dd1 was on dual carriageway after 3 lessons.
Instructor had no fear and neither did she.
She passed after 10

adeo1929 · 03/01/2019 21:56

It's perfectly normal. As for next week, you can't drive on the motorway until you've passed?

blacksax · 03/01/2019 21:58

Black Cat straighforward? Not the way they've painted the lines and arrows it ain't. I drove round it a few weeks ago for the first time since they've done the changes, and if anything, it's worse than it used to be. You get in the right lane according to the signs and painted arrows, go round a bit and your lane has morphed into a lane going somewhere else. So you have to change lanes. Except there are hundreds of queuing lorries in the way so you can't. You have to brazen it out and force yourself into a gap.

Iruka · 03/01/2019 21:59

THey changed the rules last year I think. Learners can go on the motorway now with a qualified instructor

PivotPivotPivottt · 03/01/2019 22:05

Can't help wondering... Where all the people who normally pop up on MN driving lesson threads and who say things like "I had 53 lessons and failed my test 7 times"?

Here🙋

No not quite, but I've had 20 odd lessons and am struggling. I didn't come off the industrial estate until my 4th lesson and was took onto the dual carriageway way with a 50 speed limit pretty soon after.

The first time I was took on a 70 dual carriageway way I almost cried.

12 lessons sounds perfectly normal for that to happen on a lesson for everyone else except me

smartcarnotsosmartdriver · 03/01/2019 22:20

It sounds pretty normal to me. There's a nightmarish giant round about near me and I was on that early. My mum has been driving for years and still avoids it when she can but thanks to those lessons I'm happy to use it. It's by far the quickest way to do a lot of journeys so I'm glad I did it. I'm also not by any means an excellent driver. It took me a long time to learn and 3 attempts to pass.

BackforGood · 03/01/2019 23:53

I think the first reply summed it up.
If you live near that island on the A1, then it is good that the driving instructor is making him practice going round it. Pointless learning 'to pass your test' if you aren't being taught to actually drive around your area afterwards.

Yulebealrite · 03/01/2019 23:59

The instructor doesn't want to crash his car or kill himself. i suspect that your ds was ready for it.

Ariela · 04/01/2019 01:21

Really depends on the driver, my daughter passed with no minors despite being really unwell after just 10 x 1 hour lessons, would have been less if she could have got an earlier test, she could just drive, whereas her friend, same instructor, had about 3 x the number of lessons..it didn't come naturally to her.

alwayscrashinginthesamecar1 · 04/01/2019 01:38

We are in Oz so it is compulsory to log 50 hours of driving before you can sit your practical test. This includes 5 hours of night driving. My son passed his test recently, and didn't do his night driving until he'd done over 20 hours logged driving. But I'd say 12 hours is fine, I'm sure the instructor must have thought they were capable.

GoodHeavensNoImAChicken · 04/01/2019 01:45

After twelve lessons that’s definitely fine and if they’re happy doing it then I’d say that’s a good instructor who’s not ripping you off.

5 years ago I took my test after ten lessons. I wasn’t in a rush nor did I have my own car to practise, I was ready and so I got a last minute cancellation for my test and was fine, never looked back

safariboot · 04/01/2019 02:04

Seems quite reasonable after 12 lessons, though there'll probably be a lot of guidance from the instructor at complicated roundabouts. There are instructors who rush students into driving on high-speed major roads, but your DC's instructor isn't want of them I don't think.

Then again, in my own lessons I don't think I ever drove anywhere faster than a 40. I think there was an element of "teaching to the test" there, I learnt in Birmingham so the test route was going to be all urban driving, but a 2 hour lesson would still have been long enough to drive out of town to some quicker roads. Did tons of night driving though.

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