AIBU to think I could learn to drive in a week?

[HamJam1]

Passed my theory but I still cant drive, dont have access to a car and cant afford lessons, practical js booked. Wooo!
A friend has suggested i go spend a week at her place where she can teach me, how possible do you think it is to learn to drive a manual car in a week? Is that insane? I dont even know how to turn an engine on

No you can’t learn to drive in a week. You wouldn’t possibly be able to get enough road experience even if you were some kind of savant.

They used to run intensive driving courses which took a week.

Not with a friend though, unless they happen to be an amazing teacher.

Well I suppose if she can teach you all day every day then in theory you'd do the same number of hours as others learners. It seems crazy to have booked your theory having had no lessons. In one week you potentially won't get to experience driving in rain for example, what if it then rains on test day?

Staying with your friend a day or 2 to learn what it feels like to turn a car on or steer around a car park might be helpful but you would be nowhere near ready for a test in a week.
Most people who try to do those intense driving courses fail their tests anyway.
When sitting a test, they don't just assess your ability to keep the car on the road, there is so much more to it and those are the things you learn from an instructor.
Unfortunately, whilst it might not be what you want to hear - I would wait until you can afford lessons.

It really helps to practice routes around your test location, if she lives in a different place that won't be an option. I suppose it could be possible if she's a good teacher and understands the requirements of the test and you're a fast, confident learner.

It's not just a matter of learning to drive, you need to fulfill the requirements of the test and what you might fail on.

On a proper intensive course, possible- must be because people do them. I’m not sure it’s the best way to learn/ be safe post test but there you go. However, unless you’re a massive natural I would bet against you learning and passing in a week taught by a friend who probably has loads of bad habits ( we all do) which she won’t correct and would get you failed. Slightly better chance with an automatic but still pretty unlikely I’d say. I mean I guess if you drove for like 4 hours a day every day you might do it but is that what she’s offering? Also does she have access to anywhere off road where you can start out?

Has your friend ever taught anyone to drive?

It is ppssible to learn in a week... if you have a natural talent and a good teacher.

No, bad idea! Book yourself into a 1-week intensive if you’ve got a deadline!

This largely depends on whether you have a natural affinity for driving (not everyone does) and whether your friend is an awesome teacher (again, not everyone is).
It's very good of her to let a complete novice drive her car, with no dual controls - I wouldn't tbh. I'd try to book an intensive course or, depending on the test date, try to get a big chunk of lessons over a short period of time.

You could certainly learn the basics which would save money on driving lessons.
You still need practice at driving in different conditions - rain, dark, ice, heavy traffic, country lanes, motorway. This really needs time and you couldn't do it in two weeks.
A friend taught her DC to drive over a period of six months. Then booked a few lessons with an instructor just before the test.
I wouldn't dream of trying to teach anyone to drive myself, I took both DC out for practice once their instructor said it was safe but it was terrifying!

If you can find one of the intensive driving courses then it’s perfectly possible, but I think it’s very unrealistic to think thst you will be able to do it by going out with a friend.

It's worth doing because you'll be much better at the end of that week than you will be at the start. Whether you'll be good enough to pass a test is questionable, but it's a really good introduction. Perhaps do that and then save for some proper lessons to get you over the line in a test situation.

Why have you booked your practical test when you can’t drive and cannot afford lessons?

No, you can’t learn in a week from a mate. This is stupidity.

No, I really don't think this would be possible. Your friend is also pretty daft to take a non-driver out in a car without dual controls. It might be possible to consolidate your skills with your friend after you've had a course of lessons with a professional.

I had about 25 hours of lessons and small bits of extra practise, so probably 35ish hours of driving. Driving is really tiring when you are new to it. You can't really do 5-7 hours a day. Also a friend won't be as experienced and will find it harder to teach.

Are you confident? Can you cover the insurance in the car? Is your friend knowledgeable about how lessons are run these days? What they expect you to be able to do? What the penalties are? The route a tester might take?
Driving is more than the mechanics of where to put your feet’s eyes and hands. It takes time to feel comfortable changing gears while navigating a roundabout.
Even if you do learn to drive during that week, you can’t not drive at all then take a test. Plus is your friend happy to use her car during the test? So many things to consider.
Edited after realising you have already booked your practical.

Being a competent driver involves a lot more than knowing how to make the car go where you want it.

You need experience of a range of conditions. You need to constantly be looking four cars ahead, and in side turnings. Looking for the motorbike you can hear but not see.

How to get your car out of a motorway lane when the engine won't start. How to drive on snow, how to regain control on ice. How to handle a flooded road or thick fog or low sun.

An intensive week isn't going to teach you any of that even if your friend is the best instructor in the world. You need to develop road sense.

You need about 35 hours of driving experience, with decent instruction to be anywhere near ready to pass a test. It’s highly unlikely that your mate can do this for you..unless she’s a driving instructor!

I agree it could be just about possible with an intensive driving course with a professional driver instructor, but even then I think there would be huge gaps in real like driving experience so not very safe or wise.
But a friend who is not an instructor, without dual controls, without knowledge of the test or test route, no experience teaching driving? No way. And to be honesty (and I don’t mean this to sound horrible) but the fact that you even ask this shows just how much you currently don’t know or understand about real life driving. It’s about so so much more than just controlling a vehicle. Even that would be hard to learn well in those circumstances. But once you can control a vehicle then it’s about being about to manage roads, road users and unexpected events. All things learnt incidentally through weekly lessons and practice.

Even if it could be done, it SHOULDN’T be done. You would be an absolute liability when let loose on the road on your own.

I think you could get to the point where you can drive a car, but not to the point where you could pass a test which is a different thing. My knowledge is a bit out of date but you’ll need to know how to CORRECTLY do things like reverse around a corner, reverse bay park, reverse parallel park, emergency stop, hill start. You only have to sit still for 3 minutes in a superstore car park to see multiple examples of people managing to get into a space, but more due to persistence or gumption than good technique. The test assesses technique and safety rather than end result.

Bear in mind OP, if you do somehow pass your test, the insurance for a new driver is £000s. How will you afford that? Have an accident and your premiums will go up to £000s x 2.

If you get 6 points in your two years, through error or inexperience, you lose your licence and have to go back and start again. Your insurance premium will be £000s x 3.

It's much less expensive to learn slowly and effectively the first time.

Spend time with your friend if you wish. Learn the basics of gears and steering and reversing, then take some proper lessons.

You might be just about competent to drive but there is a lot to learn that you have to do correctly for the test, hill starts reversing round corners, etc which all have a lot of detailed requirements about how you make sure the road is clear, then there are roundabouts and traffic lights and dual carriageways. If your friend is a driving instructor and you are a quick learner it might be possible, are you doing automatic or shift gears? Gears are a whole other complication. Will you take the test in her car? Has she got insurance for you to drive as a learner, and get L plates if you are going to try. No harm trying but be careful and don't get over confident. And be prepared that you will almost certainly fail.

If you don’t have access to a car and can’t afford lessons, what on earth is the point?

I suspect yes, you could. But if you don't want to pick up her own personal driving habits, not sure that would be possible. Surely you should learn from someone trained to teach you?