My friend just told me I will never pass my driving test only doing a 1 hour a week lesson

[Evangeline1992]

Is she right? :( I am not in a position to afford any more than that right now and feel a bit deflated now. My first lesson is tomorrow and she said I might as well not bother as it isn't enough time.

Well it will take you longer obviously but most people will eventually pass with an hour a week lessons. You might occasionally want to a two hour lesson (maybe over a fortnight) so you have a chance to drive further afield but it sounds fine to me.

I had no practise in between my lessons either (I did 1.5 hour lessons) and I was most definitely NOT a natural. In fact I was bloody awful. Still passed first time.

I did one hour a week for six weeks, no practice because I was learning in a manual and my parents’ car was automatic, and passed first go.

While this is great it either happenned a very long time ago or is a masive exception. No driving instructor now days would be willing to put you in for the test after so little time (unless you were already proficient when you started lessons). It just wouldn't give you enough road experience. I think OP can do it on 1 hour a week but she should be realistic that it won't be just a few weeks.

she is wrong, i had an hour a week

How kind of her to volunteer to let you do some extra practice with her OP. If she brings it up again do thank her for her time and ask when you can get started!

Longer lessons are recommended but not essential. I started with 3 x 2hr lessons then dropped to 1hr pw with almost no other practice and I still passed on my 2nd test within 3mo of starting.

That's how I learned and I passed first time.

Your friend is talking pish.

One hour a week is fine. It’s all I had when I was learning years ago.

I was very slow due to being very anxious while learning. However I actually found two hours too long for me to concentrate after a busy day at work and that one and a half hour worked better, depends on the person.

If you are able to get lifts from someone (even if no chance to practice) I'd recommend almost pretending to yourself you're driving, doing all the observations, approaching junctions at the right speed in your head so you get used to what you should be aware of when driving without having to focus on the actual actions! For me so much of learning to drive was getting confident in traffic, rather than physically controlling the car, and I think that's what can take some time to develop.

Of course you can do it! It may take some time, but you’ll get there. Most people I know of only had a weekly lesson. I only had one lesson a week and we didn’t have a family car so there were no opportunity to practise either.

I think it took me a year but that does include a couple of months where I took a break. I can honestly say that learning to drive is probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done and it just didn’t come naturally to me. I had a strop and gave up at one point because I couldn’t seem to do anything right. I went back to it as I really did want to me able to drive and at some point everything just clicked and I got it.

It’s amazing when you look back on it because driving becomes second nature in time. I’m an extremely confident driver now and think nothing of driving hundreds of miles on my own.

Your friend should be encouraging you, not trying to put you off. Take no notice. If you want to do it, you will.

Maybe think about how good a friend this person is. Does she have form for putting you down and reacting negatively to things? Shes talking crap but has clearly upset upset you and I wonder whether this is the first time!

Ignore your friend. I did one hour a week/10 days - a couple of times there was a three week gap. Took me a year and around 50 lessons to pass in an automatic. Passed first time.
Stick with it, you will get there.

I did one lesson a week and no other practise at all. Passed after 24 lessons.

1 x 1hr lesson a week is fine. I know people who had 1 x 2hr lesson per week and I’m sure their instructors were conning them. They (male instructors) were having them drive to far away locations that were nowhere near the local test centre. I did warn them that my AA instructor (who was very good) had only ever given me 1 hr lessons and mostly had me drive on the likely routes taken by local test centres. They didn’t pass.

But 1hr a week is fine.

@Evangeline1992

Thanks everyone. She actually told me that no decent instructor would even consider doing an hour lesson as it is a waste of time she knows I'm a single mum on a tight budget so I am a bit miffed at her comment. I'm willing to prove her wrong though and I'm in no rush to pass quickly :)

Absolute rubbish. I'm a single parent too and my instructor was lovely, he knew I struggled with money and couldn't afford to do any more so once I started going for tests he fitted me in for extra lessons once a week where he could for free. He just wanted me to pass so badly and because I'd paid for a lot of lessons (paid half his mortgage he joked ) he insisted on doing that.

Also meant to say sometimes you’ll get disheartened because you will make a few clangers, but everyone does. I’ve hit kerbs, had to practice the same corner for weeks on end and sometimes was so nervous I’d cut lessons short because I’d had enough. But....kept going. When I passed my test it took me 6 months to take my P plates off. I’d go out at 5 o’clock in the morning to get practice driving on roads with no instructor beside me. Now, one year on, the sense of freedom is great. Experience has built up the confidence to tackle busy roads, motorways, multi lane roundabouts. I’m now independent and can go wherever I like without asking for lifts or spending huge amounts sitting on buses and trains. You won’t regret sticking with it. Good luck and keep going!

An hour a week is absolutely fine!! She doesn't sound very kind tbh

I would wait 2-3m, saving the money I planned to spend on a weekly lesson, until I had enough for 10 lessons.

I would then take the 10 lessons over a shorter time period (eg 1 month). You will build more effectively on what you learn in each lesson if you have the first few closer together. I think you will spend less overall if you can have the first few lessons closer together to get you off & running.

You can afford more than 1 lesson a week, you just can't afford it without saving first.

Same, I passed first time doing one lesson a week! You can do it!

Lucky you don’t live here. You need to have logged 120 hours of supervised driving in order to take the test (and 20 of those need to be at night). That would be a truck tonne of weekly lessons!!

She's a chump.
I passed age 18. 1 lesson a week.
No issues.
Just get a good instructor and practice test routes near your test centre. That way you're in for no surprises. I just did my hour next to the centre and wjere they'd be taking me.
Just be strategic.

Your friend is obviously right that it's better to have more lessons but she doesn't need to be rude.
Can you save up and do a 2week intensive course rather than spreading them out?

You'll be fine.

Everyone is different. It's possible to pass like that. It is better to get in more practice, even just in a normal car with parents or friends as the qualified driver in a car park - that way things stay fresh.

I had one lesson a week, no practice in between lessons, passed first time within 6 months. Totally doable.

I did one hour per week, but it took quite a while to get to the level to pass

I didn't learn to drive until I was 30 and that was because my partner lived 90 mins away and I needed to drive so we could move in together. I only had a 2 hour lesson every fortnight but was very fortunate that my boyfriend bought me a car and then got me to drive everywhere when we were together which helped.
You will absolutely pass on one hour a week, especially if you aren't on a time pressure.

I passed mine first time with one lesson a week. Took probably 20 weeks but I was student, it was all I could afford to do