To think I can drive 4 hours per day, 4 times a week as a newly qualified driver?

[Psych101B]

I am starting a university course in September and am unable to move closer to the university due to various reasons. The drive from my house is 2 hours each way. I passed my test in 2023 but haven’t driven much since (only short drives to local supermarkets etc) as I’ve been saving up to buy a car.

Am I being unrealistic in thinking that if I get a car in April and do intensive driving practice between then and September, that I will be confident and able to drive for 4 hours per day 4 times a week?

It won't be about driving experience, you be able to do it it is just that you will be exhausted and bored doing that much driving.

This seems like a good solution- obviously worth doing the maths but it may still be cheaper than the train fare. It would also allow you time to see friends/ go out in your uni town without having to worry about the last train etc

I’d forgotten about the headaches. A couple of years ago I did a 9 hour drive. 2 hours in I’d had enough. Turned the radio off about 4 hours in as my head was hurting, and after 7 hours my arm felt like it was going to fall off. When I got to my destination and sat down it felt like I was still moving. Then I did the whole thing again five days later, except I got caught up in traffic on the M1 while an accident was dealt with which added another couple of hours.

I'd find a cheap B and B op, even if you still have to drive to the park and ride. Will be cheaper than fuel I'd imagine, and much less faff.

Driving four hours in one day will soon build both your experience and your confidence, you'll be fine.

Your departure times are important in terms of avoiding/hitting rush hour traffic (though this depends, ofcourse, where you are heading from and to.) It might be better to leave at 6.30am and drive at a quieter time until you get used to the route.

Driving 4 hours in one day is mentally tiring, you'll need to factor that into your day.

I'm a very experienced driver and I won't drive long distance if I'm feeling tired. You can always catch the train if you don't feel up to it. Good luck!

Thanks for all the responses - lots to think about!

I would be able to stay in a hotel/air bnb sometimes but I wouldn’t be able to do this all the time due to personal family circumstances.

In terms of the train journey, I’ve just had a look on Google maps and at the times I’d be travelling, the journey would take me 3.5 hours each way, so I’d have to leave my house at about 5:45am and would get home at about 7:30. Do people think this is more sustainable than driving? The obvious benefit would be having lots of time to get work done and being able to relax more once home, but I’m just worried about the public transport commute as it involves a bus, a tube, a train and then another bus. I may need to find a way to make the hotel/air bnb a more viable option, but that’s easier said than done…

I’m sure you could do it, but why would you want to? That’s a hideous commute.

It’s not necessarily you it’s other people. Drive on the motorway for a few hours and you’re likely to see someone doing a dangerous manoeuvre.

So four hours driving a day and you’re going to be lucky to go a week or two without a near collision. Even if your a good driver there’s plenty of awful drivers out there.

Personally would say it’s too much as a regular commute.

Ive just done some rough maths and come out at a conservative 3k in petrol alone for 40weeks of driving. It might be worth checking you expected mileable per day and the cost per mile and working out the cost over the year.

I agree with PP that a train would be better. you can make better use of your time. its safer, potentially faster (when accounting for rush hour traffic) and probably cheaper. 1000 on a season ticket sounds like a lot but only because you are paying at all at once. once you acount for petrol, insurance (as a new driver with no 'no claims' bonus, potential car upkeep, tax, mot, repairs etc, you are probabaly much better off with the season pass.

If it’s for a PGCE then you’re shooting yourself in the foot before you’ve even started.

Can you look for b&b’s or hotels that offer decent rate for block weekly bookings? Without knowing your car and its MPG I imagine that costs could be getting for £700 a month and then factor in your car breaking down or delays you can’t control.

It would build your confidence driving but I really wouldn’t do it and I usually drive 25k+ miles a year

You are obviously somewhere near London as you mention the tube.

I think you need to try to the drive at the time you will be doing it. The traffic can be pretty awful and there isn't much reverse flow traffic around (ie people commute out and in and around London).

I've done regular car commuting and it is totally tedious even for a drive of around an hour. I think two hours is each way is a lot but the train doesn't sound much better. Regular cheap accommodation to minimise the travelling sounds better.

As others have said, 28,000 miles is going to be pretty expensive on insurance. One way of keeping the cost of insurance down is to have an annual limit, and that's going to put it way up. You can't just do the mileage, you have to tell the insurance company you will be doing that mileage.

If it’s for a doctorate, how much of your time at uni will actually be contact time?

It doesn’t sound like you’ve got much choice about doing it but four days sounds mental. Can you arrange longer days, but less? If you could get it to three days one week and two the next that would be more reasonable, and do the train for one day on the longer week, and stop over one night a month, that kind of thing.

there is generally a lot more flexibility with your level of studies than an undergrad degree!

@Psych101B

Does the University offer places in halls for post-graduates?

That would surely be the better option.

Woah I just did the maths.

28800 miles a year!

In doubt they would even insure you for that OP.

Your going to need brand new car to do that and it’s only going to last 3 or so years if a petrol before entering dodgy period.

Can you drive part of it? I don't know the details of your journey, but for example drive to the first tube station? Or is that so short it doesn't make any difference?
I appreciate you said this isn't going to be easy, but I do still think lodging or sharing an Airbnb is going to be the least tiring option.

I wouldn’t but it’s your choice and you’ve had loads of good advice on the driving element from PPs.

My advice is to download a pdf reader app and do all your uni “reading” by listening to them via the reader in the car. Otherwise that 4+ hours a day is dead time which you can’t afford as a degree student.

This. How far is the journey, in real miles (not hours!)? 80-90 miles? I've commuted 65 miles each way, and as others have said, even for an experienced driver, I wouldn't recommend it. It's knackering at the end of a long day, and will almost certainly take longer than you think. The fuel cost would be a lot less than £1000 pcm, though.

@Psych101B

Which university will you be attending, OP?

There’s no reason why anybody couldn’t do that much driving but it would be expensive and tiring! Why not move closer to the university?

7 hours commuting every day involving eight journey segments seems like a recipe for disaster.
I'd stick with your original plan of driving, maybe do one cheap hotel night every week/fortnight to break up the monotony.
£1000 each month for public transport is daylight robbery, I'd expect a chauffeur for that 😁

Op says she has reasons for not being able to move. I’m sure she considered it.

OP a train journey is just as exhausting as driving. I do two hours door to door to London three days a week and I am knackered! What keeps me going is a massive salary and a house in the country to go back to.

Can you not find a similar course close to home? Do not underestimate what this commute will do. You will be too tired to do anything in the evening.

Maybe look at spare room. There are people that rent a room in their house Mon-Thurs/Fri. This would work!

Can you drive to a train/tube station that makes it more reasonable journey?
what's the parking situation when you get there? Is it in ULEZ charging zone?

“the journey would take me 3.5 hours each way, so I’d have to leave my house at about 5:45am and would get home at about 7:30. Do people think this is more sustainable than driving? The obvious benefit would be having lots of time to get work done and being able to relax more once home, but I’m just worried about the public transport commute as it involves a bus, a tube, a train and then another bus.”

That’s a huge amount of standing around with laptop, diary, paperwork etc. on cold, rainy platforms and in bus stations, especially in winter. I sympathise as someone who didn’t learn to drive until age 32. I’d be worried about falling asleep at the wheel on such long drives, though, depending on your degree subject.