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Original poster

DD wants to learn to drive but going away for uni

53 replies

chloe3215 · 30/12/2021 14:02

DD is 17 at the minute and is worried about learning to drive with backlogs.
She also wants to move away for uni so while at uni, she will not be able to run a car (she knows it will be expensive and some unis have limited car spaces while at uni) therefore she may forget how to drive by the time she finishes uni if she learns to drive now.
She may learn after uni at 21 but then she will be looking for a graduate job and practice time would be limited.
What does everyone reccomend?

OP posts:

loobylou44 · 30/12/2021 14:50

She should definitely do it now. My daughter is 17 and is learning at the moment. She's also planning to move away for university without a car.

Original poster

chloe3215 · 30/12/2021 14:51

@Kyliealwayshadthebestdisco

Tell her to do it now!! I made the decision not to for pretty much the exact same reasons at her age and now I am in my forties and for various complex reasons still haven’t managed to learn. I deeply regret not doing it as a teenager!

Even when she is moving away to uni and will need to find a new instructor? I agree - learning in teens is easier than learning as an adult :)

OP posts:

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime · 30/12/2021 14:54

She won't be the only one learning at uni, and having a different teacher might do her the world of good as teaching styles are different. She could learn over her first year and then have a couple of lessons at home at Christmas / Easter and take her test.

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purplemunkey · 30/12/2021 14:56

I’d learn now. I grew up in London and never felt the need for a car at that age - it was only once I was away at Uni that I wished I’d learned! All my driving friends had much more freedom for jobs and travelling home.

I moved back to London after Uni and didn’t learn until I was 36 in the end. By then I’d moved into the suburbs and had a small child so being able to drive gave me much more freedom. I really wish I’d got my license when I was younger though. I’ll be encouraging DD to when she’s old enough.

userisi2 · 30/12/2021 14:56

@chloe3215 I'm assuming she won't be starting uni until September, so I'd try now. I've no idea how long the back log is but no lesson will be wasted. If you can get seen in the next few months September is still quite a while away? Worst case she starts some lessons in the new area? Not ideal but not worth delaying for, I don't think.

hellsbells99 · 30/12/2021 14:57

She won’t be going to university until at least September - that is ages away. If she wants to learn, she should. If she hasn’t passed by September, she could continue lessons whilst at university.

Original poster

chloe3215 · 30/12/2021 14:57

@HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime

Thank you She could do this :) But with different instructors?

OP posts:

tatyr · 30/12/2021 14:58

If neither you nor her have the money for it, then it's a bit of a moot point at the moment.
It can make it more difficult to be placed in a placement of you don't drive, but uni would not expect that everyone does.
I passed my test 2nd time while on my 6 week placement in a much quieter town!
By the time she qualifies, it would definitely be beneficial to be a driver as a lot of OT jobs will be difficult to do if only using public transport.
Maybe a year of saving /holiday jobs for her, a year of learning /practice when home, and plan to do the test in 3rd year of uni?

loobylou44 · 30/12/2021 14:59

I learnt to drive away from home but came home for the Christmas holidays and had lessons with another instructor and did my test at home. Definitely doable.

Original poster

chloe3215 · 30/12/2021 14:59

@loobylou44

She should definitely do it now. My daughter is 17 and is learning at the moment. She's also planning to move away for university without a car.

How many lessons had she had?

OP posts:

Original poster

chloe3215 · 30/12/2021 15:01

[quote userisi2]@chloe3215 I'm assuming she won't be starting uni until September, so I'd try now. I've no idea how long the back log is but no lesson will be wasted. If you can get seen in the next few months September is still quite a while away? Worst case she starts some lessons in the new area? Not ideal but not worth delaying for, I don't think.[/quote]
I agree :)
DD may look after getting her provisional as she is still waiting

OP posts:

purplemunkey · 30/12/2021 15:01

Yes, it really is harder learning when you’re older. I learned quick enough but my confidence took forever. I’m comfortable with driving now but I don’t think I’ll ever have the confidence I’d have had if I’d learned at a young age. I’d imagine for people my age (early 40s) who learned young and have been driving for over 20yrs, it must just feel like second nature.

loobylou44 · 30/12/2021 15:01

She's had 10 lessons with an instructor so far and she's been practising in my car with me in between.

Tee20x · 30/12/2021 15:06

Story time from me:

I started learning to drive before I went to uni, then carried on lessons in uni town. Wasn't fully motivated because of uni and work etc and to be quite honest don't think I was really ready to learn to drive. This meant I wasted a lottttt and I mean A LOT of money stopping and starting lessons. I think I was learning on and off for like 2 years & then ended up taking my test in my home town and passed first time during my 2nd year of uni.

Like your DD I didn't need to drive while at uni and I was there for another 2 years. When I moved back home (London) work was close by so didn't need a car yet so only got my first car 3 years after I passed my test.

Ended up taking a few refresher lessons and the instructor basically kicked me out! Saying I didn't need to be there and my driving was fine (at least he wasn't trying to fleece me for my money). For me it was just lack of confidence as I hadn't been on the roads on my own before.

Moral of my story is - If she's going to do it make sure she's committed and doesn't end up wasting money like me.

ShampooDoodle · 30/12/2021 15:08

If she waits until she graduates why would she be too busy to learn, doesn’t take 24 hours a day to apply for jobs

AmIgoinghomeforXmas · 30/12/2021 15:20

Ok, I did an arts degree so had plenty of time.

But when I did my MA which had placements being able to drive was a godsend, both being able to get to placements and in one placements going out on visits.

I would get her starting as soon as possible even if she had to continue with a different instructor at Uni.

jevoudrais · 30/12/2021 17:04

Do get her to practise when she comes home from uni though.

I've a friend who is 32. She learnt before uni then never drove again. She lives rurally and has two children and is too scared to get back in the driving seat. This is unusual, but I think if she had done a bit of driving in the summer break she would have been less scared about getting behind the wheel again.

TractorAndHeadphones · 30/12/2021 17:25

If you cannot even afford learner insurance on your car how are you going to afford lessons? Insurance like Veygo for 5 whole days is much much cheaper than the cost of 2 hours of driving lessons ofc depending on your type of car.

The cheapest way to do it would be to get a few lessons with an instructor for basics and practice, practice practice in your car. Most young people pass this way. Aim for her coming home at the summer holidays try to get lessons as much practice and possible, and pass then.

It’s impossible to spend the ‘least amount of money’ passing because everyone learns at a different rate and you can fail the test for stupid things. Most people around me took a few tries and they are all good drivers now just test nerves and unforeseen circumstances on the test.

So if you don’t have the money and she will have to pay for each hour of practice there’s no point.

P.s I’m an adult learner , nobody’s car to practice on and it sucks.I’ve spent hundreds of pounds, tests are hard to get an contrary to what people say you DO forget as a learner if you have long gaps between driving so I’d try to pack it all in. If she fails first go there’s always next summer and so on.

Of course if she has lots of money to pay for lessons then she can continue at uni, but aim to take test towards the holidays so she can practice at home.

TractorAndHeadphones · 30/12/2021 17:26

Also to add it doesn’t matter whether or not she’s too scared to drive after passing her test!

The test is the biggest hurdle and once she’s passed she can continue having lessons for years if she likes nothing stopping her. The test is just a hurdle to get through. Driving is practice and most people improve with time anyway.!

TractorAndHeadphones · 30/12/2021 17:30

Also to add there are a LOT of videos on YouTube regarding what to do. Proper driving technique/habits is not hard you can learn that with YouTube and about 15 hours of lessons.

It’s the muscle memory and intuition which comes with practice. Some people are quick some are slow. I was slow, but if I had someone’s car to practice is would have been a lot quicker

Lulu1919 · 30/12/2021 17:30

Mine went to away to uni but still started lessons at 17 and passed first time within 8 months or so - done and dusted
You don't forget how to drive
Always better to get licensed to drive even if they might not do much driving whilst at uni
Mine would come home for holidays and drive but didn't have cars there as they had no spaces or the need to .

CovidCorvid · 30/12/2021 17:31

She should start now even if she has to change instructors. Dd had to change as she got fired by her instructor. She got on much better with the second one.

She can also go on the bank as a hcsw once she starts the course. It’s what loads of healthcare students do. You don’t have to do any shifts when uni workload is intense but can do shifts in quiter weeks.

Driposaurus · 30/12/2021 17:34

I was not eager to learn but parents paid for lessons from 17-18… failed three tests over the course of a year and had some lessons at university. Finally passed (quickly) when I was about 24 when I wanted to learn- but the early lessons really helped. And by the time I’d passed my test I’d had lessons in three very different parts of the country which was definitely helpful.

ErrolTheDragon · 30/12/2021 17:39

I'd say she should start leaning ASAP.

My DD learned and passed her test before going to uni. It was a good thing, as she had little time at home in her summer vacs because of internships. This summer after graduating she did a lot of refresher practice with DH, including motorway driving. Now she's started work and can drive instead of having a long bud journey.
Her BF didn't learn to drive before uni - by bad luck being ill (his twin did learn). He'd planned to learn in the summer between 3rd and 4th years - of course covid put paid to that idea, I think he might have managed a few lessons but not enough. Now he's rather stuck trying to learn after starting work, and without a handy parent to take him out for practice.

ErrolTheDragon · 30/12/2021 17:44

Also to add there are a LOT of videos on YouTube regarding what to do. Proper driving technique/habits is not hard you can learn that with YouTube and about 15 hours of lessons.

DD used some of those this summer, especially the parking ones as she knew that she'd be having to park in tight spaces where she's living. Bonus is DH can now also reverse park.

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