How long did it take you to learn to drive?

[November Rain]

If you're currently learning like myself then just say how long you've been learning for and how you're getting on. For me, it's been about 8 months now and all in all I'm doing fairly well, I mainly messed up on reversing around corners today though, the rest was generally good.

I'm just curious as to roughly how long it took most of you to pass your test. I'm hoping to get learning to drive over with ASAP now to save some money, I'm determined to give it my best shot, I've already spent too much time and money on driving lessons now to just give up. Like I said, I'm doing quite well on the whole but I'd like to push myself a bit now and get myself upto test standard. Any advice would be well appreciated.

BTW, is it normal for dyspraxics to get shakey legs when controlling the clutch?

[gherkin001]

For me it was easy there was 5 weeks between my first professional lesson and passing my driving test!!!

Kirsty

[Meg]

I've been learning for just under two years and can't do roundabouts, I've taken my theory and passed and am doing a mock text in a couple of weeks apparantly, but my instructor is fab and taught my sister and mnost of her friends to drive and also one of my friends.

Luv Meg
Xxxx

[Shadwell]

it taken me 3 months, and 4 different cars to pass my car test from start to finish, also it taken 26 hours with the driving instructor, and out nearly every night with my parent's.

I pre-paid for 28 hours, and 2 weeks before my driving test the instructor was trying to work out how to fit the hours in, and said if I pass then I would like to do some motorway lessons, so that eased it up for him, so we spent 2 hours on the motorway about a week after my driving test.

what the deal was, is pay for 12 hours in bulk, and get 2 hours free. that is how I remember so well as it was back in 1994. but with my parents then it was a minimum of an hour a night for about 2 months.

well any more than an hour a night with my father, then felt like I had joined the army!! as he would play war on 1/2 a mile an hour drop in speed while starting to go up hill!! so I spent most of my driving lessons mainly watching the speedo.

it did help when going with the driving instructor for my large goods lessons though, as he was just about as strict when it comes to slowing down, unless there is a reason like pot holes in the road. but did fail my first driving test on large goods, as the backend of the truck was dancing all over the road due to me doing the speed limit, which we were taught to do on that stretch of road.

[david456]

I can't believe it after learning on and off for the last two years. I did my automatic test on Tuesday and passed first time.

[Liz944]

Congratulations!

[Shadwell]

Congrats david

[gherkin001]

Congratulations David!!!

Kirsty

[gherkin001]

I got my driving licence back yesterday through the post, but lost it again in the early hours of this morning... I am sooo depressed!

Kirsty

[Lithium_joe]

2 years, 3 tests.

[pussinboots]

It took me about 30 years off and on. Honest! I had 12 different instructors over the years and evenutally I passed in March this year aged 49 in an automatic car at my 6th attempt!!! I'm over the moon about it though and I'm nervous about being on probation for the two years after passing as I would never want to go through all that again. I found out about being dyspraxic fairly late on in life though I always wondered what was wrong with me as I didn't seem to be like everybody else. When I found out it was as if everything fell in to place.

I live in the Peak District now so really need a car to get around. If there are any other dyspraxics in my area I'd love to meet up and compare notes.

Good luck with your driving I'm sure you'll be fine. The best advice is finding a really understanding instructor who knows about the problems we have with dyspraxia and boosts your confidence.

Happy driving

[michele]

I did not learn at my school but instead went to a private driving school (yay good decision from parents) a good choice was probably having me do almost all the classroom stuff before the instructor actually met me in a car with my permit. The classroom stuff I did fantastic on....great tester and fabulous memory for useless information but none for the stuff I really need Anyway so the instructor went into trying to teach me the actual driving having seen the best of me and the first few lessons took place prior with my parents in a parking lot.

Eventually I moved into driving (automatic) and did alright but staying in a single lane was VERY hard for me. I still kinda weave a bit within my lane but I don;t drift outside of it and that was very hard to achieve. I also have a very, very hard time with parking especially certain types of parking.

Highway driving is the easiest for me, narrow city streets are the hardest and I drive betyter at fast speeds then slow ones...gosh I'd love to somehow make that official so I'm immune to speeding tickets...

I took more lessons then most kids and worked hard but I did make it at got my licence only about 6 months after most kids. Parking lots and parking situations are the only thing other then getting lost or construction zones that make me fweel like walls are closing in on me...well those are the only things I'm afraid of on the road. i may not be a great driver but with the reflexes i have...well there are a lot of people out there who are much worse.

The key is well I kinda had to find my own way to learn with the help of a good instructor.

[The Lurker]

Slightly OT, but can I take it from your post Michele that learning to drive is on your school curiculum. We don't have anything like tht in the UK.

On the OP I was taught by my dad (and lived to tell the tale ) over a year and passed first time a couple of weeks after my 18th birthday.

I'm bad with directions but seem to have a sixth sense which gets me to the place I want to be at

[michele]

Slightly OT, but can I take it from your post Michele that learning to drive is on your school curiculum. We don't have anything like tht in the UK.:

I'm always facinated by the differances in the two countries. In my high school (I'm not sure what the UK equivalent of high school is but high school = grades 9-12) you had to take a driving course and pass the written portion, you were also required to have three actual driving lessons. This requirement became rather interesting for a friend of mine who was legally blind in the class, they did put her in a car as required exactly three times and went through the motions. Needless to say it was about as productive as forcing me to jump rope 15 times in a row (fitness requirement a few years prior).

I am kind of glad the requirment existed because it meant I had to take the classroom portion and I also had to be put ina car at least 3 times no matter what...and I wanted to learn. Without that would i have even had the opportunity? I did take nine lessons rather then the usual three and then several more before my actual test, choose my testing facility to avoid the parking question and practice a lot with the folks as well...and I psuhed to get the chance and was finally allowed it before my permit expired but only just...end result passed on my first official try.

That said the private driving school experiance was a much better choice for me then the school-based one would ahve been...my other friends with disabilities (suprise suprise guess who I was friends with the other different people...can;t imagine why but anyway...a lot of them never ended up learning at all and maybe its because the large school classroom setting is not geared for students like us.

Its something to ponder how many of you would be drivers today if it had been REQUIRED for you to take and pass the classroom portion and at least attempt the vehicle part?

Michele

[rhyds]

I think it's based on the fact that in the US you see driving as a much more vital life skill than we do. Also, what does the US driving test consist of? Is it different between states? The UK driving test is apparently much more difficult than the US equivalent.


For the record I took about a year to learn and had to take my test three times, I had previously learnt the basics of clutch control and operating a car using tractors and motorbikes on the farm