I need to pass my driving test before 1st of next month....Eeek! Is this possible?

Cubanista

Hi,


I just realised my theory test runs out on the 1st of next month. I failed my test at the end of last year after spending out £600+ on a intensive driving crash course.


After i failed it i was fairly deflated about learning to drive and so i left it and never got back to it, but having thought I'd start up again and then reading my theory test pass paper i realised it runs out next month on the 1st!


Why do the bloody theory tests run out so quickly? Then i have to pay another £35 + the bloody disk (which is pointless because it's all the same stuff that was on the older disk, but this time on a new one!).


Anyway, i can't moan because it's my fault for leaving it so long, but the time has gone so quick and my mind has been occupied on other things. However, i need to start my lessons again.


Should i call up the driving company and arrange a 2-3 day crash course again (costing around 300 quid) with 5 hours a day of driving, or should i just concede to the idea of paying out again for another theory test (which i don't particularly want to do) and disk, while taking lessons every week?


I do prefer the intensive lessons as my mind is better at taking a lot of information in, in one load rather than drip fed.

neilmcl

It kind of depends on why you failed your first test. If it was because of a simple mistake(s) made on the day then go for a intensive course but if it was because of a more fundamental, lack of skill/confidence reason then maybe a crash course is not going to help.

LandyAndy

I would suck up taking the theory again rather than risk a much larger sum on the possibility of passing with another intensive course.


I'm not personally a fan of the intensive courses.

BeenThroughItAll

What's this disk thing you're talking about? Just book another theory test and go and take it.

scaredofdebt

Maybe book a 1 hr lesson and see what the instructor says. He may feel you only need a few 1 hr lessons to get you ready for your test, depends on how "rusty" you are and why you failed etc.

Cubanista

neilmcl wrote: »

It kind of depends on why you failed your first test. If it was because of a simple mistake(s) made on the day then go for a intensive course but if it was because of a more fundamental, lack of skill/confidence reason then maybe a crash course is not going to help.

I never got a major error, but i was 1 or 2 errors over the minor error threshold. I personally thought i was hard done by on the test and not sure exactly where i went wrong, think it was a fix tbh (not a joke) because i did everything my instructor told me on our lessons, but the examiner saw it differently. Really irritating, especially after spending all that money.


I am reluctant to pay out more money on an intensive course, but i am planning to return to an old instructor i had when i was in my teens when i first started taking lessons.


I think they're good company and was being guided well by them. On that intensive course, i had to get up at 5am to go out at 6am for lessons because the instructor was booked throughout the days, so getting up that early for lessons was certainly not ideal for learning to drive.

bowlhead99

If you've had no practice at driving for the last year and the last intensive course didn't get you through, it seems a bit crazy to get another expensive/intensive course and put your life on hold for several hours a day to meet some arbitrary deadline, just to save some small retest fee and a trip to the theory test centre.

Presumably, you weren't already planning on taking a test by the end of this month and don't really need a licence in the next 10 days or so. So, don't put your life upside down and shell out for a super intensive course to have a go at saving the theory test fee. Have a few lessons in your spare time over the coming weeks and get back into it at your own pace. That way if you don't actually need another 15 hours of tuition you won't have to pay for them.

Assuming the 'bloody disk' is some computer-based learning software, and you don't think the rules of the road have changed much since last year, why not just use your old software to prepare for your re-take? The highway code is online for free and you can borrow books from your local library if you need a quiz on roadcraft.

I think they're good company and was being guided well by them. On that intensive course, i had to get up at 5am to go out at 6am for lessons because the instructor was booked throughout the days, so getting up that early for lessons was certainly not ideal for learning to drive.

Well, that tells me that if you try to book on things at short notice you won't get your ideal choice of timeslots and instructor. So, surely makes sense to take your time, book lessons well in advance, rather than trying to rush things.

dannyrst

Chances are there are no driving test slots available anyway, so you'd be lucky to find one before the start of next month (due to cancellation). How confident are you that you can drive? You stand to lose more money by failing your test again then just taking your theory and going back to lessons.

Car_54

I'd also advise just doing the theory again. Believe it or not, the price of the theory test has actually come down! (Now £23).

You don't need a new disk, there's loads of free stuff on the internet.

Stoke

Do you have anyone (friend, family) who can take you out, so you don't have to pay for the courses?

I'm not an expert, I'm really not, but when I learnt to drive and passed my test (and I passed very quickly for my age), I quickly worked out that it wasn't my instructor that helped me improve, much beyond the semantics and rules to follow (i.e. check mirrors at strangely unnecessary times). I went on long distance drives with my old man and it was that experience which improved me significantly. Poxy 1 hour lessons, once a week (all I could afford), were simply not enough to give me the skills I needed. However, my dad worked in a really really rough area so rather than having a nice car, he tended to have a banger to go to work in. He put me on the insurance which, because I was only a limited named driver, cost about £200. When I was learning, we routinely took distance trips (to Derby, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham and the longest Newcastle upon Tyne), usually to pick up equipment etc, only via A roads of course because motorway driving is illegal for learners. I quickly became very confident in my ability and learnt how to comfortably handle the car much better.

I'm not saying that solution is right for everyone, but for me, it was a life saver. I passed my test (second time round, ballsed my first in the first 30 seconds).

Norman_Castle

Cubanista wrote: »

I never got a major error, but i was 1 or 2 errors over the minor error threshold. I personally thought i was hard done by on the test and not sure exactly where i went wrong, think it was a fix tbh (not a joke) because i did everything my instructor told me on our lessons, but the examiner saw it differently. Really irritating, especially after spending all that money.

Taking responsibility for your failings would hopefully make you a better driver.