To ask if crash course driving lessons are worth it in this instance?

[bambifury]

Usually the answer would be no, I’m sure.

However— I know no one that drives. This means that if I do regular driving lessons, I will have 0 practice in-between whereas most people will have access to another car 2-3 a week between lessons.

I want to learn to drive as quickly and cheaply as possible (which won’t be fast anyway as I know nothing about cars). I’m sick of being at the mercy of eternally late trains and busses. WWYD in my situation?

By crash course I mean one of those intense 1-2 week things!

I'd find the 1-2 week course too much. You're going from never being in a car to driving for like 20-40 hours per week.

Why don't you book a semi-intensive course? You could do 3-4 two hour lessons each week. It's still intensive and you're still spending a lot of time in a car.

Check driving test availability first though. There's still a huge covid backlog near me which means it's harder to find a test slot.

Having done one... I found the weekly lessons a lot better. (I did weekly lesson, long break, intensive course with failed test, long break, weekly lesson with passed test). You get tired after a couple of hours of driving.

The two hour weekly lesson gave a break to think things over.
I didn't practice between lessons... I had a baby by then. (Hence the long breaks during late pregnancy etc).

@bambifury They are usually recommended for those who want refresher courses so those that have already had lessons. Lots of people do not have access to a car for private practise.

Best thing I can recommend as my son passed his driving test last year is YouTube. There are lots of driving instructor videos. Start with the mechanics of the car, so understand what the clutch does and how to never stall the car. Then watch someone on their driving lessons again so you can pick up all the theory, there are driving instructors who have students they follow from day one. Off the top of my head, Ashley Neal, DGN Driving School, Clearview and Conquer Driving.

They also have lots of mock tests and voice over what they did well and what they should have done. You can learn a shed load of information for free before you get into a car. It includes what lane to be in, what you should be looking out for, that you should check all your mirrors before moving off if you have been sat at traffic lights, where to position your car for a right hand turn in a junction etc.

Ds did this and we watched lots of them together. He had 2 hour driving lessons at a time with a top rated instructor for £68 a time. The mock tests also show situations you might not come across locally on Clearview mock test the student tries to go through an ambulance gate of some sort. Never seen that round here.

The more theory you know, the easier it will be. We also watched a lot of dash cam videos of near misses to see what the potential hazards were, the fall into the same categories and you can pretty much guess it, bad emerge from a junction, cannot use a roundabout and in the wrong lane, overtakes on country lanes meaning someone is on your side of the road.

If you can just sit in a car, a friend or whatever just to feel the gears and learn that, that would help you too. I mean sit on their drive, put the clutch down and learn the gears. If you manage to practise in a car you can get insurance that is completely separate to the car owner's insurance, meaning should the worst happen and you bump the car it doesn't affect their car insurance. We used Veygo as did lots of MNetters.

I learnt having never had a car in the family as a child and no car to access in between lessons. I started with weekly sessions but ended up doing 2 two hours a week and then in the two weeks before the test did 3 two hour sessions. Passed first time.

I am currently learning with a 1.5 hour lesson once a week. At the end of that 1.5 hour my brain is tired from all the concentrating, I can’t imagine how people manage the intensive courses.

DS passed 2 years ago. He had a 2 hour lesson once a week. That was the only option on offer. He managed to get one of the first driving tests after covid lock down because his previous test was cancelled. You couldn’t get a test for love nor money. He passed 1st time because I put the fear of god in him not to!

I hate to think how long people are waiting now. Not every one passes first time ( I didn’t) so you have to wait for another slot.

Thanks for the input everyone! Very helpful :)

Intense course would be too mentally taxing surely?
I think ability to retain info would be out the out the window after a couple of hours.

Maybe doing a 2 hr lesson daily for a month would be possible but even that is quite intense.
On average it takes about 42 lessons but everyone’s different.

I found two hour lessons, the limit of my concentration. I don't know anyone else who got extra practice outside of lessons. I passed first time.

I did 25 hours over 3 weeks and passed first time with 4 minors. I think if I could do it again then I would do 30 hours over 4 weeks as it did feel a bit rushed, but semi intensive was much better for me than lessons once a week. I also found 2 hours was my limit for a lesson.

I had had driving experience but that was 9 years previously (lessons once or twice a week for months, never really progressed) and I couldn't remember any of it.

YouTube videos are great for helping understanding roundabouts, overtaking, right of way, parking, etc. I found a few videos local instructors had done of test routes too, so I used to watch those on repeat!

Go for the intensive course. Even if you don't pass, you will be a much better driver after those two weeks than if you had just had a couple of weeks lessons in the same time.

And you might pass. If you can afford it, there's nothing to lose.

I did a 5 day course a few years ago. I was extremely nervous about driving so I wasn’t ready for the exam by the end, but the intensity of the course normalised driving for me. I think if I had done an hour a week my nervousness would have been back to square 1 every week. I also got the theory passed/ out of the way.

The other people on the course who were learning with automatic cars or had a few lessons under their belt already were ready for the exam by the end of the week and many of them passed.

The other thing, apply for your driving license now, if you have a passport you can apply online using that as a photo. Then get your theory test booked asap. Ds passed last year and had an 8 week wait for the theory test and then his test date was months away, he managed to get a cancellation which saw him bring it forward by 4 months. The waiting times are huge. That gives you plenty of time to practise.