More driving lessons

Nadiya

Hi

I need bit of advice.
I have been taking driving lessons from an independent instructor. She charges £17 an hour lesson. When i started she said i would need around 40 lessons to get to the test standard. I have my test booked now in december. I did a crash course with her and completed 40 hrs of lessons.(6 to 8 hrs every week). I told her i would like to reduce my lessons now, because if i go with the same hours it would be around 70 to 80 lessons with her by the end of November. She straightaway said i am not ready and will have to take another 20 lessons more or else she will not give me her car for the test. I am bit confused now. Should i take second opinion with another instructor because she took my mock test today and i had a few minors around 6 may be. I am worried because if i take more 20 lessons and if she still isn't happy, then i would be left with no car for the test
I am also practicing in my husbands car.

Thx
Nadiya

Robisere

If I read that correctly, you will be paying £680 in total for the 40 hours. Long time since I passed my test (>50 years) but that does seem excessive, can anyone else currently taking lessons, or having recently taken them, advise this lady?

You have been practicing in your husband's car. Would you be happy to take a test in that car? It's a question of how much practice you have had in it, and thus how experienced you are at driving it. You come across as quite confident and confidence is half the battle when taking the test. "A few minors" does not sound bad, but driving is all about experience on the road. With experience and practice, brain and muscle memory begin to take your driving into instinct. The fact that you have been driving two different cars is also a good thing. Are you driving in town, city, country or mixed?

Herringbone

I'm another whose experience isn't up to date (passed my test in the 90s), but that sounds like an enormous number of lessons.

Obviously, what's needed depends on the individual but the idea of needing 70 to 80 lessons on top of experience driving your husband's car seems incredible. I think I had 12 lessons plus driving my dad's car.

As long as the instructor has taught you well and you understand enough to repeat on your own, then driving your husband's car can be really useful - I would put far more of my ability to pass the test down to the time spent with my Dad than the lessons I had. It helped that my Dad was quite calm and wasn't constantly giving instruction or criticism though!

Good luck

glentoran99

Nadiya wrote: »

Hi

I need bit of advice.
I have been taking driving lessons from an independent instructor. She charges £17 an hour lesson. When i started she said i would need around 40 lessons to get to the test standard. I have my test booked now in december. I did a crash course with her and completed 40 hrs of lessons.(6 to 8 hrs every week). I told her i would like to reduce my lessons now, because if i go with the same hours it would be around 70 to 80 lessons with her by the end of November. She straightaway said i am not ready and will have to take another 20 lessons more or else she will not give me her car for the test. I am bit confused now. Should i take second opinion with another instructor because she took my mock test today and i had a few minors around 6 may be. I am worried because if i take more 20 lessons and if she still isn't happy, then i would be left with no car for the test
I am also practicing in my husbands car.

Thx
Nadiya

theres your answer

footyguy

Nadiya wrote: »

Hi

I need bit of advice.
I have been taking driving lessons from an independent instructor. She charges £17 an hour lesson. When i started she said i would need around 40 lessons to get to the test standard. I have my test booked now in december. I did a crash course with her and completed 40 hrs of lessons.(6 to 8 hrs every week). I told her i would like to reduce my lessons now, because if i go with the same hours it would be around 70 to 80 lessons with her by the end of November. She straightaway said i am not ready and will have to take another 20 lessons more or else she will not give me her car for the test. I am bit confused now. Should i take second opinion with another instructor because she took my mock test today and i had a few minors around 6 may be. I am worried because if i take more 20 lessons and if she still isn't happy, then i would be left with no car for the test
I am also practicing in my husbands car.

Thx
Nadiya

If you have a test booked, I'm not sure why any driving instructor would not allow you (as a current customer) to use their car if that is what you want to do.

I'm not sure if it's changed, but when I took my test, it was a guaranteed 2 hours pay i.e. 1 hour to get a bit of last minute tuition and more importantly time to drive yourself to the test centre in plenty of time, and then another hour for the test (whilst the instructor had a good chin wag with the other instructors at the test centre) and return you home (I passed, so was told I couldn't even drive myself home)

Anyway, if the current driving school refuses, then I suggest you get a new instructor asap. I am sure it won't be difficult to find someone will to take 2 hours tuition fee off you for very little work. Driving shool work is very competitive, with supply more than exceeding demand.

Or you can take the test in any appropriate vehicle, but ensure it is correctly insured, displays the legally required L plates, etc. You will also need an appropiately authorised driver to supervise you if you want to drive youself to the test centre (and on return, should you fail) - but not for the test itself.

But if you are not ready, you are not ready. Taking a test when you are not ready may well result a failure. Driving tests are not cheap (even without the driving school cost) and there are restrictions on how soon you can re-apply following a test failure.

Do follow the advice of your driving instructor if possible. However, if you have lost faith in the existing instructor in any way, then perhaps it is indeed time to move on

Car_54

First, 70 to 80 hours is not unusual - people vary enormously.

£17 an hour sounds amazingly cheap, unless you're in a depressed area (or whatever the PC term is these days). Check around to see what others charge - if she's markedly cheaper then that should ring alarm bells. Also, check her instructor's badge - if it's pink then she's not fully qualified. If either of those applies, (or just for peace of mind), I'd suggest going to another instructor for a second opinion.

As said, you can use any car for your test. If you do, you'll need to supply a stick-on rear-view mirror for the examiner. Make sure there are no obvious defects (lights, tyres, etc). A good clean never does any harm!

Nadiya

Thank you all for your quick replies.

One more query:

I have just realised that while reversing in my husband's car (VAUXHALL astra), i don't have to use much of accelerator, just a tiny bit or sometimes can reverse just working on the clutch. The same doesn't work in my instructors car (skoda). Her car stalls if the gas rev is less than 15-20. So for reversing i have to concentrate more on the gas and then clutch. I asked her and she said the rev should not come down below 20.

Car_54

Nadiya wrote: »

Thank you all for your quick replies.

One more query:

I have just realised that while reversing in my husband's car (VAUXHALL astra), i don't have to use much of accelerator, just a tiny bit or sometimes can reverse just working on the clutch. The same doesn't work in my instructors car (skoda). Her car stalls if the gas rev is less than 15-20. So for reversing i have to concentrate more on the gas and then clutch. I asked her and she said the rev should not come down below 20.

As you've found, cars do vary!

Probably (but not necessarily) your husband's car is diesel and the other petrol.

Even for a petrol car, 20 (2,000 rpm) sounds very high, but she must know her own car.

lincroft1710

Car_54 wrote: »

First, 70 to 80 hours is not unusual - people vary enormously.

To those of us who passed our test in the 1960s/70s that seems incredible, most people I knew passed with less than 20 hrs tuition. I know the test wasn't as comprehensive as it is now, but that still seems excessive. But at least we could all do perfect hand signals (not that sort!!)

Nadiya

Thank you all for your quick replies.

One more query:

I have realised that while reversing in my husband's car (VAUXHALL astra), i don't have to use much of accelerator, just a tiny bit or sometimes can reverse just working on the clutch. The same doesn't work in my instructors car (skoda). Her car stalls if the gas rev is less than 15-20. So for reversing i have to concentrate more on the gas and then clutch. I asked her and she said the rev should not come down below 20.

cajef

footyguy wrote: »

If you have a test booked, I'm not sure why any driving instructor would not allow you (as a current customer) to use their car if that is what you want to do.

Driving instructors pass rates are monitored by the DVSA and if they appear to have a poor pass rate or if an examiner thinks they are putting pupils in for tests when they are obviously not ready the instructor can be recalled for a retest of their licence to instruct.

Consequently if an instructor thinks a pupil is not up to the required standard they can refuse to take them to test or let them use their car, advising the pupil that more lessons are needed and the test would have to be changed to a later date.