Intensive course or normal lessons

[LeavingUp]

I’m just wondering what people would recommend for somebody who is a complete beginner! I am 29 and only just getting round to start learning to drive.

I spoke to somebody yesterday who gave me a price for an intensive course, he recommended I do a 35 hours.

I have heard that these courses can be quite full on and that it is a lot to take in in a short amount of time. On the flip side, I’ve heard people who have 1/2 lessons a week who’ve said what they found hard was sometimes forgetting what was said during the previous lessons because of a weeks break.

What would people recommend?

I think a lot of driving is down to road sense. I was an overconfident learner driver, as I'd spent a few years cycling in London traffic (before the congestion charge) and took silly risks. Equally, I'd say this couldn't be learnt in a week either.

Do you have any experience of using the road other than as a pedestrian?

It depends on how you prefer to learn things.
When I was doing my lorry licence it was very common to do a week’s intensive course, but I prefer to go away and have a think about what the lesson was about, and go again the following week, so my instructors tailored that for me.

Ex DI here, intensive over 4 weeks would probably suit you.

What would happen about taking a test? Are you planning to do intensive lessons in an area with readily available tests?