quick-pass driving course

ritac1

My uncle who is a driving instructor has most definitely warned me away from intensive driving courses for my two daughters.

In his opinion it is far too much for a younger person to cope with who usually has lots of other stuff, school, college, boyfriends, girlfriends etc on their minds at the same time.

Also in his opinion, their concentration levels are usually such that it is difficult for them to take in everything that they need to on such a crash course.

Having said that, they may well pass their test at the end of it, but the chances of them being good drivers are very slim, and lets face it, we have enough to worry about with our kids without the added worry of how they are doing out on the roads !!

I will certainly encourage my kids to learn at a slower pace and develop some real driving skills which will last for life. :j

Hope this helps.

rabialiones

i would just like to thank everyone for their replies which have all been informative and helpful.
i have tried to delay her from taking such a course by taking her out myself for lessons in a rented dual control car. but, she just wants to pass her test and get a car.
she will pay for it herself as she has managed to save money, (thanks to living with mum and dad), little household expenses. her main expenses are her clothes - she works.
so, wants to treat herself, yet again.
gosh!, i wish i was young again.
kids have it really easy nowadays, just hope they would appreciate it a abit more.
oh, ill have to be careful now , going of subject.
well i told her that i would post it on here and judging by the responses i got , we would decide whether it was a good thing or not.
shell probably want to read the thread now. and will want to race ahead with it.
most of the responses seem to be positive and in her favour
thanks to all again anyway.
have a nice day!

just looked at the SUREPASS site - rather alarmed - it looks frightfully easy to pass your test!!!!!!!!

Savvy_Sue

However she decides to do it, encourage her to do PassPlus afterwards. The 'carrot' is that some companies - she'll get a list with the certificate - give a discount on her first insurance on her vehicle.

gravitytolls

Oh I doubt it's 'frightfully easy' to pass. My mother has been having weekly lessons for over a year and has failed 3 times in Norwich. A friend's daughter has been having lessons for an similar time, and practice sessions with her folks on an alm ost daily basis. Yet she too has failed 3 times, 54inr Kings Lynn.

Excuse typing, kitty is helping.

Anyh5oo6, if she manages to pass first time, Isay wel1l done to her and 0an2yone else who does it. It14's devilish0.ly difficult, which is why instructors0;. along with teachers at school; teach their students to what they need to please an examiner so they pass. They then learn to apply this knowledge in practice.

Good luck to her. Remember to update us when sheses.

One other thing. Remember too, that insurance companies don't cover youngsters on fast cars. And the points system is designed to discourage poor driving. I should think most new drivers of all ages have the odd bump after passing their test, but because of the limits imposed by law, they generally are nothing more than just that.

















tyg

rabialiones

i know its not that easy to pass when taking normal weekly lessons (route that i took, lessons with instructor, and some top-ups with OH, which usually ended up in tearful arguments). however its just these quick-pass, pass-in-a-week etc courses that im talking about.

Bargain_Rzl

One of these days I'm going to do one of those courses. I had a few weekly lessons at 17 but didn't get on with them at all and quit. Then, using savings from a part-time job I'd had in my second year at uni, I decided to go for it again just before graduation, and had almost daily lessons for several weeks. Passed my theory test with 100%. Failed my practical (once) but ran out of cash for more lessons and was moving to London anyway, so didn't feel I needed a car. More than six years later, I still haven't gone back to it.

I know that if I ever want to live further outside London I will really need to learn, and as I'm not planning to move any time soon, I thought it might be good to do it anyway for the sake of employment prospects and mobility - but would it be worth it as I'm not planning to run a car straight away so wouldn't be getting the ongoing experience?

Savvy_Sue

Bargain_Rzl wrote:

I know that if I ever want to live further outside London I will really need to learn, and as I'm not planning to move any time soon, I thought it might be good to do it anyway for the sake of employment prospects and mobility - but would it be worth it as I'm not planning to run a car straight away so wouldn't be getting the ongoing experience?

I'd say that if you can afford the time and money to take lessons now, it would be worth doing sooner rather than later. I think I've heard quoted something like X hours lessons for every year of your life, ie older people tend to take longer to pass their test.

That was the basis on which I encouraged my son to learn now rather than later.

If you were to be offered your dream job but you had to be a driver to do it, you'd be kicking yourself. Yes it will take a while to get the hang of it again if you don't get a car immediately, but at least you're not under any pressure now - my DH was once hoping to get a job which required him to drive, and he kept failing his test!

bargainaddict

My hubby used to be a driving instructor and is about to gointo it again. He said avoid these intensice courses. As a previous poster said, at 17 they have too much else ging on and cannot take it all in. She will only learn to pass her test, not howto drive. He said these courses are for people who have some idea of the road like those whomay have had some lessons, or as a previous poster's brother, been driving on a farm! Maybe she could compromise and have 2 hours of lessons a week. He would not offer an intensive course to a 17year old.

zodiac

Thanks for the info on surepass Spikey, okay then, if i was gonna take my test in either the Oxford / High Wycombe area or the Lowestoft area which would other MSEs recomend?

(Ive been driving for a few years now and have taken my test 3 times, all with the same examiner, all failed by her:doh: )

Spikey_2

zodiac wrote:

Thanks for the info on surepass Spikey, okay then, if i was gonna take my test in either the Oxford / High Wycombe area or the Lowestoft area which would other MSEs recomend?

(Ive been driving for a few years now and have taken my test 3 times, all with the same examiner, all failed by her:doh: )

No Problems zodiac.... my best suggestion for where to take the test is.... as I do not know the areas you have mentioned.... then which one has the widest roads and also the least hills.... I would go for that one.

Hope that helps as where I live has the highest failure rate in the country beacuse of the sheer volume of traffic, $%^#@ examiners, and the bloody (mountian) hills.

Spikey