Driving instructor Is he trying to get as much as he can from me?

[Lushybunny]

Okay I passed my theory test already earlier this month. I started my driving lessons the first week of this month it was a 2hr lesson he made me pay the £240 for 10hours of automatic driving lessons and ever since everyweek I’ve done 2hour lessons so next week I’m coming up for my first 10hours of driving lessons next week and Im going to have to pay him another £240.I am expecting my third baby in April and would love to be driving before the baby arrives.

So last lesson I asked him ‘ when do you think I’ll be able to attempt and go for a test’ he just said ‘you’ll know when your ready’ fair enough. Then I said ‘I’m hoping to be driving by January’ he then ignored me. By January’s February times that will be over 40hours of driving which is what the driving testing centres in uk advise.
I then said to him ‘I am due on April so I really need to be driving by then’ he then turned around and said ‘oh great I’ve got until April to teach you how to drive properly’

... from 1st October till April 2hour lessons every week of an automatic that I’ve never heard before. He then said ‘you will take my car I will charge you £70 something for you to do your test in so it’s a car your familiar with’ so not only am I paying him £240 for 10hours for sometime I have to pay £62 for the rest alone THEN I have to pay for the car over £70 to use it ! And he is seeming like he wants me to do my lessons longer that is probably needed!

Please get back to me on this one guys cause this is boggling my brain.

I think you should get a different instructor. Not because I think this one is doing anything wrong per se. But you don’t appear to have a very good relationship with him and your communication is off.

If you can’t speak to him/ask him questions then it’s not going to work. And I don’t know why you wouldn’t have asked - hey I seem to take forever to slow down. Is there a quicker way? Or asking when approaching the roundabout - is this the right lane?

My instructor used to chat too about other stuff. I think it’s really handy practice for when you have jabbering kids in the back.

Overall I just wonder about your expectations. I mean the roundabout thing surely if you passed your theory that’s not something the instructor needs to advise you on?

Maybe also try and get some practice in between the lessons. I wouldn’t get het up about the exact number of lessons. Everyone’s different. And it’s not helped when people who passed ages ago when the test was significantly easier say they only needed five lessons/two weeks/a sniff at the steering wheel.

I passed the theory test with about an hours revision, in fact I found it so easy I’m amazed anyone ever fails it. Putting it into practice is a whole other story though. Knowing what to do and having the coordination to actually do it are two very different things. It took me over 100 driving lessons and 4 goes at the test before I passed.

It sounds like a lot to me. How do you think it is going? I passes nearly 20 yrs ago after 10 hour long lessons, one a week. I don't remember paying extra to use the car for the test, this was with the AA.

But I had learnt the basics in my gran's field at about 14, so wasn't starting from scratching.

Passing 20 years ago isn't the same as passing now.

That's why I made a point of saying it. That said, my nephew just passed in 15 hrs, so it can be done.

I don't like his attitude, I would use up your lessons and look for another instructor, his comment 'great I have until April to teach you to drive properly", well what have you been doing all this time then!

Aquamarine driving is not easy for a lot of people, just because you find it easy does not mean others do, it is a skill, some learn quick, some need to take their time. I have anxiety, and started learning in March, I have had extensive hypnotherapy, and it is an achievement to actually be learning to drive. I hope to go for the test within the next couple of months. Some will do it quickly, some slow.

Yeah it can be done. But everyone’s different. I would say your nephew is in the minority.

Also up until now the op didn’t know how to use the brake pedal. I don’t think (in the kindest possible way) she is in the same league as your nephew.

Most people know the harder you press a break the quicker it stops. Same a bike. So he probably doesn't have to tell most people

You would think that it was common sense

OP if you don't know what lane to use on a roundabout then you are not even close to being ready for your test. You need to aim not to be told this when getting your directions.

It took me about 114 hours of lessons with practise in-between before I put in for my test. Cost me a ruddy fortune. Needing to be told that the harder you press a brake the quicker you stop tells me you're in for the long haul tbh.

As for those who thinks a few hours of lessons is what anyone should need. Do you want a cookie and a pat on the head?

Exploding kitten

‘’I'm really concerned that you actually are thinking about your test while you can't brake properly and don't know how to use a roubdabout. They are teaching you to drive, not to just pass a test. You should feel that you can drive everywhere safely before you take your test. You don't want to be driving dangerously with your baby in the back. ‘’

There’s no need to be concerned about me driving with my baby In the back trust me I will not be taking a test if I do not feel ready... I have stated I feel no where near ready and is talking about him as an instructor ?????

I needed lots of lessons, probably nearer 60 in the end and failed my test 4 times. I told my instructor at the beginning that although I had taken lessons years ago, that he was to treat me as though I'd never sat behind a wheel and to assume I knew nothing at all as that was the truth anyway and he did. He explained about pressure on the brake and stopping distances, lanes for roundabouts, manouveres etc all in great detail with visual references etc. He was very patient with me and I trusted him to take me on to the next thing when he felt I was ready. A few times I had to tell him I wasn't ready to move on and he would say ok but I know you can do it and then within the next lesson or two I would have proven to myself that he was right.

As for talking about things other than driving......that's perfectly normal!!

There's probably nothing wrong with him as an instructor, you may just have unrealistic expectations. That said if you're not gelling then change to someone else.

Draw some roads and play cars with a driver if you can't practice in-between lessons as suggested upthread.

And I also didn't learn the emergency stop until the day before the test. We spent about 20 mins of a 2 hour lesson on it.

I do obviously know how to use a round about I just didn’t know there where lanes? To a round about he sat and spoke to about the round about on the diagram and didn’t mention I need to keep on the outside so I went in and he just stirred for me panicking which FREAKED me out and I was like ‘should I be driving on the outside of the round about he replied yes’

He also said to me and apologised for not teaching me how to break on my first lesson ‘ i thought the more longer you hold it down it will gradually come to a stop which it was but taking longer and I was learning to do it that way and now I know the how to use the breaks properly I’ll be much better next lesson.

mummmy2017

‘’Your being conned. He has a dual control I expect, and he should be wanting you too pass ASAP. Change instructors. 1st two hour they teach you to use gears and brake... How too steer and use indicators... Somewhere quiet, so you can just go round and round a quiet road. Emergency stop should have been covered in this lesson, as how the heck can you drive on a main road, if you can't brake how can you stop in a que. Repeat first lesson in 2nd lesson if needed, then out onto main road in 3rd hour of lessons. You should then be doing stop starts in traffic with his help and gears... Mirror signal ect. By 5th hour you should be happy to drive, your in an automatic, then it's 3 point turns, and reverse, lots of practice... After ten hours you should be braking fine and thinking of your test... Even if your a slow learn and do 20 hours if you Like... Your instructor you should be good to go...‘’

This is literally what I had in mind and thought was supposed to happen and it’s just not happening.

To everyone asking ‘why don’t my mum dad partner drive’ they don’t drive that’s it I don’t have no ones car to practice in

To the person who was correcting me on break and brake Thankyou but I saw many people making the same mistake as me and I just don’t see how my spelling is affecting the way people ready my post . I’m not a very good speller and I just come on here asking for a little bit of help and understanding and I am really appreciating everyone’s responses and answers

I do obviously know how to use a round about I just didn’t know there where lanes?

So you don't know how to use a roundabout. Your lane positioning is like up there at the top of using a roundabout correctly.

Do you know what lane you need to be in to use the third exit?

My instructor told me he would teach me to drive and not teach me to pass the test. However many lessons you have its the practising in between which will help you to improve - making the decisions you have to make without the back up of someone with dual controls.

My three children all passed first time but I did a lot of practising with them, once their instructor said he had taught them the basics and on the proviso that I wouldn't tell them how to do things a different way to him . They still had lessons to learn the finer art - no way could I teach parallel parking or three point turns!

Okay I see this happening allot on mumsnet I am asking about my driver and I am getting all of these questions on other things ?I will not be answering further people’s questions unless it’s about the driving instructor and the lessons and what’s happening in the lessons
Thankyou

No he's not fleecing you, fleecing you would be to encouraging you to take more lessons when you're test ready.

He sounds like he's not a good match for you and you should find another instructor. Maybe start with one taster lesson before paying for a block with someone new.

OP, you're putting much too much weight on mummmy's post which is only one person's experience, and pretty unrepresentative experience at that.

It's not a criticism of you, but driving obviously doesn't come very naturally to you if you couldn't work out braking technique at a much earlier stage. Therefore your rate of progress sounds about right.

The point that most posters on this thread are making is it really doesn’t matter what you imagine happening it isn’t and it doesn’t seem to be the instructors fault. He may have made assumptions about your level of knowledge when it comes to roundabouts and brakes but these are things that most people are aware of through being a passenger on buses and things.

If you don’t gel with him find another instructor but don’t blame him because of your lack of knowledge and progress. It does sound like you may struggle to learn not because the instructor is bad but because your knowledge is less than that of most other people that learn to drive. This is not a bad thing or anyone’s fault but bear in mind you may find the same difficulties with someone else.

Ok. If you’re asking about the driver and nothing else then no. He’s not fleecing you.

But seeing as how you’ve picked out one of the very few posters to agree with you I can see I’m wasting my time. Good luck.

I'd say if you need 40 hours to learn an automatic - you might want to stay off the roads for everyone's sake.

Lush your instructor is not the one for you, or you would not be asking.

Please just change for a person you like, go chat too them before you book, you should not have bad vibes before you even sit in the seat.

Watch some YouTube. They should help with where to go and why

Wow I hope I don’t live near you if you don’t know how to stop or go round a roundabout. Not knowing there are lanes means you DONT KNOW HOW TO USE A ROUNDABOUT!!