Driving lessons - Intensive course experiences

Robtyketto

Greetings,

Currently I have both the money and time to book an intensive driving course.

I have passed my theory test but have NEVER had a single driving lesson in my life.

I'm looking to hear from anyone who's ever taken part in an intensive driving course or knows someone who has.

A local driving school (See below) offer an intensive course (30hrs over 1 week) or semi-intensive (2- 30 hrs over 1 - 3 wks)
http://www.in2gear.co.uk/

The closest I could book a driving test now is the end of July.

Wasn't sure if 30hrs over 1 week would be too intense for someone who hasn't been in a car before, for a driving lesson (they tend to sell this to people who have had lessons in the past).

Any shared experiences would be welcome.

Thanks
Rob

Mankysteve

There not as good as learning to drive normally and the pass rate don't tend to be as good. But it really depends on how desperately need to drive.

aqueoushumour01

i passed first time with a semi intensive course. If you stage it over a number of weeks there is a risk of taking two steps forward and one step back everytime you get in the car. some people take a long time to pass and, in my opinion, it's partly due to not having lessons on a sufficiently regular basis.

ArsenalFC

Out of the 2, i would say semi intensive would be the option. Intensive over a week is too much for a learner to take in and usually cannot digest all the information.

Robtyketto

Mankysteve wrote: »

There not as good as learning to drive normally and the pass rate don't tend to be as good. But it really depends on how desperately need to drive.

Interesting as I thought they would be better due to better utilisation of time, as some people take weekly lessons and imagine this would impact your learning retention.

I think the semi-intensive will be my choice and then have a few more lessons and help from friends in the weeks leading up to my test.

I would still like more opinions and experiences if people have them.
Thanks

jimbms

From experience many years ago, forget it, intensive courses are a complete waste of time and a con, the pass rate is very low and the companies that do these know this. I would say you are best doing 2 or 3 normal lessons a week or more if you can and also go out with a friend for practice.

Robtyketto

jimbms wrote: »

From experience many years ago, forget it, intensive courses are a complete waste of time and a con, the pass rate is very low and the companies that do these know this. I would say you are best doing 2 or 3 normal lessons a week or more if you can and also go out with a friend for practice.

Can you expand why they are a con?

If you recommended 2-3 lessons a week why not 7 one for every day of the week, better results?

Interested in those who don't recommend them for some kind of justification why not, I'm intrigued and don't want to waste my cash.

Thanks

Regshoe

Just to offer an opposing view point:

I (eventually!) passed my car test after a somewhat embarrassing six(!) tests, pretty much all down to nerves and one silly mistake each time (never racked up more than 8-9 minors, always just one cockup). That was after taking usually 1 lesson per week.

Then a few years later (having barely driven since my car test) I took a two week intensive course to get my PCV (bus) licence and passed that first time, in a test that went for aroun 10-20 miles right accross the middle of London including a trip over Tower Bridge!

So I found the intensive course better, though of course it isn't directly comparable as I could already drive and was just upgrading to a larger vehicle.

I suppose the argument is how much you can take in in one go vs. how much you "forget" or slip between weekly lessons.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention, whilst I attended for around 35 hours per week on the PCV course I was probably in the driving seat for only about 1/3 to 1/2 of that time as it was 2-3 learners to an instructor, though you are still learning even whilst observing.

angeltreats

I passed my test after an intensive course, although at various times I had taken lessons and had been just about to sit my test on two separate occasions but both times I moved to a different area and the driving got put on the back burner. I also drove family cars for a long time so I basically just had to be taught how to pass the test, not how to drive.

I had lessons from Monday to Wednesday from about 9am till 4pm and an hour on the Thursday morning before the test. I found it very, very tiring and on two of the days the instructor had to drop me home a bit early because I was falling asleep at the wheel (although this might just be me - thousands and thousands of miles later driving still makes me very sleepy, particularly on motorways which isn't ideal). My instructor was fantastic, and he was independent rather than affiliated with BSM or AA or similar, I've heard bad things about the big driving schools.

My husband also did an intensive course and passed first time, but he did about two or three hours a day every day for two weeks with the test at the end. He had never driven before doing his course.

Would I recommend it? I don't know. I think if I hadn't driven before and was a nervous learner it would have been far too much for me. But I really think it depends on the individual.

devildog

Ok this is some years ago but I went the intensive lesson route(no prior lessons).
Had approx 1 1/2 hours lesson Mon-Fri and the following Mon-Thur and took my test on the Fri (and passed )
I think that it can be a good thing because you are at it every day whereas most people will tend to have lessons once a week and it can be more difficult to pick up where you left off the week before.
Of course it also depends on the instructor-mine also took me to petrol stations and multi storey car parks (all good stuff)

Robtyketto

I've noticed most websites recommend around 45 lessons and 20 hrs of driving with friend/family for the average person to pass a driving test.

Those who replied to this thread who took an intensive course have passed with far fewer lessons it seems, or have I missed something?

Thanks