To think this is weird about these driving lessons?

[dinmin]

Friend is learning to drive in 40s and has had 6 hours so far (3x2 hours). I met up with her today after her lesson and was asking how it’s going and she said that she’s only driven in 1st gear, mostly driving around at around 15mph and doing right turns (and some left) and a few junctions. It’s been a long time since I drove a manual car but AIBU to expect that by now she should be in at least 2nd gear if not 3rd and driving faster?! Lots of the roads around here are 20 but still that’s not 15! No manoeuvres or show me / tell me yet either. Friend has bought a package of lessons (I think 20 hours) with this instructor… (not a big chain driving school)

Any driving instructors / people with more recent experience of learning to drive (you or DC) who can comment?!

I used to be a driving instructor. Unless she is particularly nervous my learners would be in the road from the first lesson on quiet roads but probably doing manoeuvres in a carPARK. Tgeir is no oareLEL parking or reverse round corner anymore, it's bay parking in a supermarket size apace

I'm teaching my autistic 17 year old and he is up into 4th gear and 40mph. Thats after around 10-12 hours total tuition. Also do emergency stops, reversing and hill starts.

However, he does struggle with gears/clutch so he is getting an automatic. I had a test drive in it and it was so simple. Just point the car to where you want to go and speed up or slow down as needed.

Is your friend learning in an automatic? I don’t think you can really drive at 15mph in 1st gear. Definitely not doing junctions.

@Doggymummar
You might want to tell that to the DVSA as I did a parallel park in my test last week. You’re correct about reversing around a corner

Not everyone is the same. I passed my test this February in my 40s. I was terrified and my first few lessons were almost all in the car park of the local supermarket, learning to handle the controls and not be so scared. I'm not naturally good at doing a whole bunch of physical tasks at once, have awful spatial awareness and coordination and heaps of anxiety.

But i had a good instructor who took it as slowly as I needed and I still passed first time after the standard number of hours.

Incidentally, having been an instructor for thirty odd years, he said he has totally different teaching plans for nervous older women compared to teens. He starts very slowly to build up the basics and form your driving "instincts", so you are 100% on the basics, THEN move on to thinking about other traffic on the roads, road markings etc.

Not everyone is the same.

Is this a dual control car. I learnt long ago but in my first lesson I was taken on main roads and told to do the speed limit, so 60mph. I had learnt clutch control and hill starts on the drive at home first though.

Also drove 60 on my first lesson just over 10 years ago.

Similar experience here. I learned a few years ago in my 30s. Very anxious initially and took it very slowly. After I passed I switched to automatic and am so much happier.

There's not many places where you can sit in first for long without causing major disruption, and you wouldn't want to be in first at 15mph anyway.

I passed recently, was a fairly nervous driver and certainly by the third lesson in (actually, the second...first lesson was spent moving off, getting up to second, stopping, pulling over safely etc) I was up to third. I don't know if i'd be too concerned about lack of manoeuvres just yet but we certainly practiced hill starts etc and easier roundabouts very early on.

Is she struggling with clutch control or steering? It might be that the instructor wants to make sure she's strong on the basics before introducing gear changes...I know all the driving instructors round here have waiting lists as long as their arm and if it's the same in your area I doubt he's dragging it out.

is it all she managed to do or is it what she is supposed to do? There is a big difference. Some people are terrified to change gear or to do more than 15 at first. I would expect left turns though not right.

Parallel parking is still on the test.
Reversing round a corner isn't.
There are some new manoeuvres too.

Fair enough I stopped during lockdown and heard it was removed.

Thanks everyone. She isn’t nervous, I imagine she’s the kind of person who would be quite a good driver (good coordination and spatial awareness etc) and is a very experienced cyclist so she’s aware of roads and traffic type rules anyway. Says she’s done hill starts and pulling up at the side of the road and moving off again etc and only stalled once on her first lesson. I just think it’s all v odd!

Oh and definitely learning in a manual, was adamant she wanted to but god knows why - not least because her DP’s car which she’ll be driving is an auto (electric)!