Today's driving test is the hardest driving test anybody taking driving lessons in the UK has ever had to take. The days of learning to drive in 10 hours are long gone. When I passed my driving test it was 25 minutes long. In my local area there were no dual carriageways, or by-passes. There were half the number of roundabouts and as for traffic levels, well; two car families were still in the minority. The Test comprised of a basic test of competence and only 2 out of three manoeuvres. However the test was much more difficult than the one my father passed in 1962, and so it goes on.
Compare this with today's test...
40 minutes long, 2 out of 4 manoeuvres, a full range of road types - single/dual carriageways, single track country roads, roundabouts of all sizes, multi lane traffic systems, and large flows of quick moving traffic. All of which can pose problems for experienced drivers let alone a novice driver.
The DSA state on their website that it requires an average of 45 hours of professional driving lessons combined with 22 hours of private driving practice to pass today's driving test. In my experience the more "focused" private driving practice a person gets the less professional driving lessons they need and therefore will save you money. Given the average hourly driving lesson price is around 25.00GBP, if you multiply that by 45 it means your average person will spend around 1100GBP, not including any driving test fees. In the same way we have homework at school to expand on our knowledge of a subject, private driving practice should do the same for driving skills. Driving is a practical skill so by its very nature it takes practice to get it right.
Most experienced drivers will admit they have bad habits, and many go so far as to say they would never pass today's driving test! This is probably true of most drivers on the road whether they admit it or not, and since the driving test is constantly being updated and changed to reflect the changes in road and traffic laws, how many "experienced drivers" actually know what is required of anyone taking today's test. The solution then is to take advice on what to teach either from a professional or fromm a publication, or preferably both.
2 hours driving practice for every 1 hour of professional driving lessons can result in at least halving the cost. I have known students who have passed in 10 lessons because they did a 1 hour private driving session every day. Thats 300GBP start to finish including test fees! Better than the 1100GBP+ we calculated above.
It gets worse if you are a parent and you have two, three, or four kids! how do you afford to get them all trained? By doing it yourself!
So if you are wondering how to make learning to drive more affordable get some advice on what to teach and have a go yourself. Many people teach their kids to drive and is truly the only way to save money on driving lessons.
Gareth Price is a successful DSA approved driving instructor and a member of the Institute of advanced motorists. Having built up his own successful driving school business he has recently turned his attention to showing people how they can learn to drive for less using private driving practice.
His new website is http://www.thelearnerclub.com/index.htm. Here you can sign up for the information for free. Even if you are wary of teaching someone to drive it'll cost you nothing to find out how to do it before you make a decision. Private driving practice combined with a few professional driving lessons is the only real way to save money on driving lessons.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
