More driving lessons

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  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    Nadiya wrote: »
    I am also practicing in my husbands car.

    In that case it doesn't matter that the instructors car isn't available for the test. You can take the test in your husband's car as long as it is roadworthy and fitted with L plates in the correct positions. There is no requirement to take a driving test in a learner school car.

    Tell her you're reducing the lessons and she can either accept it or you'll go elsewhere and not to worry about the car for the test because you'll drive your own.

    There seems to be a lot of driving instructors taking the mick with the length of time they drag on lessons. They did it with my son and strangely enough when he started to say he couldn't afford any more lessons his instructor suddenly decided he was capable of passing and he did indeed pass but one does wonder how long he had been ready.
  • cajef
    cajef Posts: 6,264
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    Tarambor wrote: »
    In that case it doesn't matter that the instructors car isn't available for the test. You can take the test in your husband's car as long as it is roadworthy and fitted with L plates in the correct positions.
    And a suitable internal rear view mirror fitted on the passenger side of the windscreen for the examiner.:)
  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876
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    Car_54 wrote: »
    First, 70 to 80 hours is not unusual - people vary enormously.

    I think paying for anywhere near 70 lessons is ridiculous considering the OP had another car to practice in.

    To put it into perspective my partner had 2 hours in total of paid lessons before she passed her test a few years ago. She had her own car to drive and almost everytime we went out she drove and I helped her as needed and she passed her test first time.

    I don't see the point in wasting hundreds of pounds on loads of lessons when you can simply be driving your own car to do most of the practice in and then have a lesson every few weeks to get some pointers.
  • Lingua
    Lingua Posts: 208
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    I recently passed with around 30hrs at roughly the same price as you. It seems strange that she's expecting you to continue with so many hours, as I'm fairly sure 30-40 is the norm. Booking it so far ahead however means you have to keep up some lessons to stay in practice.

    Be direct, and say you only want x lessons per week until your test, and ask for the occasional mock test to see if you are able enough to pass. Less than 15 minors and you pass.

    Lingua
    Long-Term Goal: £23'000 / £40'000 mortgage downpayment (2020)
  • unholyangel
    unholyangel Posts: 16,863
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    Everyones different. I took very few official lessons but in addition to that, I was driving to/from work 5 days a week/doing private lessons in my own car. I also sat my test in my own car.

    I passed mine 2004 I think (it was not long after they added the hazard perception to the theory & vehicle maintenance to the practical).

    The test isn't checking to make sure you're a good driver. Only that you're competent enough to drive a vehicle unsupervised. Thats why you're allowed 15 driving faults (such as forgetting to check your mirror) but will fail if you even get 1 serious or dangerous fault (such as failing to perform an emergency stop quickly enough).
    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
  • Nadiya
    Nadiya Posts: 25 Forumite
    I spoke to her today about my furthur lessons. I told her i am practicing in my husband's car and would like to reduce my lessons to 1-2 hrs every week. She said to take the test in my husband's car if i am planning to practice in his car. I tried explaining her that i am not leaving her, i am just reducing my hours. That will still take me to around 48 to 50 lessons with her. She at the end said if you are leaving me now and if you don't pass my mock test then i will not give u my car.

    My husband's car is not test standard. Don't know if i should be looking for different instructor now.
  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876
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    Nadiya wrote: »
    I spoke to her today about my furthur lessons. I told her i am practicing in my husband's car and would like to reduce my lessons to 1-2 hrs every week. She said to take the test in my husband's car if i am planning to practice in his car. I tried explaining her that i am not leaving her, i am just reducing my hours. That will still take me to around 48 to 50 lessons with her. She at the end said if you are leaving me now and if you don't pass my mock test then i will not give u my car.

    My husband's car is not test standard. Don't know if i should be looking for different instructor now.

    How exactly is your husband's car not to test standards?. As long as it's legal to drive on the roads, you have a stuck on mirror costing a few pounds and your insurance company don't allow it (which is likely if they insure learners) then there isn't a problem.

    If I were you I would stop lessons with her now and just practice in your husband's car, especially with your instructors replies to your discussion.

    In 40 hours of lessons your instructor should have covered everything you needed to know, it's just a case of lots of practice so your confident in doing everything right. Then when you feel ready find an instructor who will take you out and determine if your ready for the test or not.
  • lister
    lister Posts: 239 Forumite
    My experience of students who are not going to be ready for their test is that they know it. They know it because I teach them to analyse their own driving.

    Driving instructors can and should refuse to take anyone to test who they don't think is up to standard, but in almost all cases I get them to tell me, not the other way around. They know, they just need a little nudge to admit it to themselves and to me.

    What most people not in the industry fail to realise is that a driver of a poor standard on test is far more dangerous to themselves, the examiner and other road users than on a driving lesson. As an instructor I can intervene verbally or physically as soon as a situation looks like it is going to get out of hand. Examiners have to give you every last possible moment to fix it for yourself, so run the risk of leaving intervention too late. Add that to the fact that drivers under pressure will make more mistakes, and will be more likely to react poorly to their mistakes, and you can having a ticking timebomb.

    Essentially, if your instructor is still sometimes using their controls or directing you verbally to correct a significant mistake or regular smaller mistakes, there may be an issue. If not and you are confident tackling all kinds of road situations, then I would be suspicious of their motives.
  • spikyone
    spikyone Posts: 454
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    I think there's a lot of poor advice on this thread. None of us knows how the OP drives, or whether they're ready for the test. For anyone not familiar, a search online for Maureen Rees from the TV show Driving School ought to show that we all learn at different rates. Saying "that's too many lessons" or "just take the test in your husband's car", without anything other than the OP saying "this is costing me a lot of money" does not help.

    My advice would be two-fold:
    1) Ask the current instructor where she feels there are issues with your driving.
    2) Find another reputable instructor and see if they'll take you out for an hour or two to evaluate your driving, and see how their feedback compares to your original instructor.

    If you feel that you get on better with the second instructor, you can always switch to using them instead.

    I would also be wary about practicing in your husband's car if the controls feel different to the one you're learning in. That could mean you're wasting the first part of your lesson getting used to your instructor's car again. With any activity where you're learning an action, you want to be committing that action to your subconscious "muscle memory" so that you can do it without thinking. Switching between cars will make it much harder to do that because you'll always have to think about what you're doing.
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 14,662
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    Do you feel like you could pass now?

    If so, do the test in your husbands car. I'd probably try an hour with a different instructor to see what they think, as it does sound like she's pressuring you into buying another block rather than fitting it round what you need.

    Plenty of good instructors out there, so don't feel like you're stuck with one.
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