[Closed] Learning to drive

Can you do it as like a x day course and get the whole thing over with in less then a week or similar?

After your response to my thread realman you want to learn to drive in <week!!

I would hope not.

Someone was telling me that's how he did it, but was quite a while ago. Not sure if you can still do it that way. Googling hasn't helped much.

I would hope not as in the best way to learn is with experience, there is enough of a problem on the roads without having some buy your licence scheme.

Type 'learn to drive intensive course' into google and you'll find some.

Brilliant - cheers.

You need a crash course

What lizzz said.
Helps if you can drive before you do one, if you have the option of taking a banger around a field or even an old airfield that would be useful first, get your car control sorted then go out on to real roads.

You can do them sort of, but you'd want to have passed your theory test before starting one.

they run a lot of intensive driving courses at the Westpoint exhibition centre in Exeter..

defintitely an ineteresting thing to do alongside regular driving lessons perhaps to help speed things up maybe..

Cheers yunki. Forgotten about that SBZ. Just did the multiple choice practice online, seems really simple, except for the trailer speed limit questions 😕

Yes you can. I would say its not the worst idea.
whether you do a crash course, or a normal long term course, they say you only start REALLY learning to drive, once you have passed!

then again, if you have no deadline, and have someone who can drive, has a car, and can spend the time letting you drive them everywhere, the more experience you have the better.

I learnt at 21, and was unemployed post uni. My dad drives for a job, so I chauffeured him for several weeks.

Not learning to drive. Learning to pass a test.

Not learning to drive. Learning to pass a test.

If it makes you feel any better, that's all I want. I have no intentions of actually doing any driving once I've passed. Looks really dull tbh.

The problem with the UK system is you have a pass. Whoop whoop. Then your out here with every other arse with a licence.

are you in devon, it seems to me licenses are given out in Christmas crackers down here 😉

don simon - Member

I would hope not as in the best way to learn is with experience, there is enough of a problem on the roads without having some buy your licence scheme.

The only difference between "normal" learning and intensive learning is the timescale- you aquire the same pitiful amount of experience on your way to the test. Ridiculous to call it a "buy your licence scheme".

Makes a change that someone actually wants to drive legally...its all to common these days for people not to bother with any such thing as a licence, insurance etc

[i]they say you only start REALLY learning to drive, once you have passed![/i]

Pfft! You only REALLY start learning to drive, about 5 years after you've passed your test. 😉

The thought of a crash course terrifies me. It's not passing your ITIL course, it's people's lives. In your hands. As a youngster, I'd have welcomed being forced to display a P badge, being forced to only drive low power cars for a set period, being forced to be re-tested after a year or so...

But no. Pass my test, drive any car I can afford to insure. And I had a 1275GT within a year of passing my test, and that thing could corner faster than a ford cosworth and after I'd messed with the engine, could outrun an XR3i.

Of course, nowadays the insurance companies ensure young drivers break the law by putting the premiums so high that it's cheaper to drive without insurance and take the hit (sic) when you do have an accident. They could have worked to manage the risk to make the world a safer place but because all insurance companies are in league with satan, they took the FU path. Ho hum.

What a strange world we live in.

transporter13 - Member

Makes a change that someone actually wants to drive legally..

Overstating much? Unlicenced driving isn't very common, and is largely down to people who've been banned carrying on and people exceeding their licences (which includes riding on CBT without L-plates among other fairly trivial offences) Only around 3% of crashes involve an unlicenced or underlicenced driver (and the stats suggest that they're 3 to 9 times higher than average to have a crash, which leaves us with 1% to 0.33% of drivers being unlicenced or underlicenced, and between .5% to .16% having never held a licence.

Sure it's too many but it's not common by any stretch.

being forced to only drive low power cars for a set period, being forced to be re-tested after a year or so

bullsh*t. The morons wafting up the motorway in 61 plate audis at 120 are the mooktards who need to be enforced into using low power cars.

i think EVERYONE should have to retake their test every 5 years.
and the process of law enforcement is a risk assesment.

Probability of being caught x Consequence of being caught

Both are low, so certain people don't see the problem with driving like wizards sleeves.

they cant put the probability up without spending money we don't have.

so put the consequence up.

If you knew that if you were caught speeding AT ALL, you would get a 5 year ban. and over 100 is a permanent ban, how would you change your driving?

The modern driving test is much harder than the previous incarnations. Suggests to me that drivers who pass their test now are much better equipt than we were. The day people pass their test is the best they'll ever drive, unless they take further training. It's the monkeys that make up their own road rules that are dangerous.

If you knew that if you were caught speeding AT ALL, you would get a 5 year ban. and over 100 is a permanent ban, how would you change your driving?

Speed kills. However, poorly skilled, inattentive driving is far more dangerous. Funnily, this isn't as policed as it's much harder to do.

I'd rather a mocktard paying attention come flying past at 120 than some moron pratting about with no awareness of their surroundings at 60 in the middle lane

I passed the most recent test this year, its much harder and equips you better than the test I failed 8 years ago. The Written part is still to easy though.

It all depends on your ability.

I went out a few times on a provisional licence with my brother teaching me and then did a 2 week intensive course and passed first time.

I am now the bestest driver on the road.

If I ever learn to drive, it'll be on an intensive course. Only way to do it with my job, really.

I'd rather a mocktard paying attention come flying past at 120 than some moron pratting about with no awareness of their surroundings at 60 in the middle lane

and what happens moron with no observation skills doing 60 pulls into fast lane with rep doing 120 closing on them?

and what happens moron with no observation skills doing 60 pulls into fast lane with rep doing 120 closing on them?

There is a large accident caused by two people driving badly. But it would have been the lack of observation before changing lane that caused the accident, not the speed. Remember, you would automatically fail your test if you did anything that would cause another driver to have to alter course or speed.

The thought of a crash course terrifies me. It's not passing your ITIL course, it's people's lives. In your hands. As a youngster, I'd have welcomed being forced to display a P badge, being forced to only drive low power cars for a set period, being forced to be re-tested after a year or so...

Don't the armed forces, police, paramedics, etc. all get trained intensively?

There is a large accident caused by two people driving badly. But it would have been the lack of observation before changing lane that caused the accident, not the speed. Remember, you would automatically fail your test if you did anything that would cause another driver to have to alter course or speed.

When Mr 60 looked in his mirror, that Audi looked like it was a long way back. Except it was going almost twice as fast as it should have been.

When Mr 60 looked in his mirror, that Audi looked like it was a long way back. Except it was going almost twice as fast as it should have been.

Mr 60 should be checking his mirror to see that he's not misjudged the gap and Mr Audi would have plenty time to brake.

What's Mr 60 doing leaving the middle lane in the first place?

Dunno - do you know what was in front of him?

Remember, you would automatically fail your test if you did anything that would cause another driver to have to alter course or speed.

Mr Audi would have plenty time to brake.

You forgot Mr Audi is on the phone talking to customers so not actually paying much attention to the driving thing.

Yes both are at fault, but i don't want to be a) involved in the ensuing carnage, b) held up because of some stupid driving.

JY - If the person taking their test got upto speed quickly enough when pulling away from the junction they'd be ok, if they dilly dallied they'd fail.

In the motorway scenario, it'd have to be dual carriageway for a test, they would probably fail despite the car going way over the limit. However if the learner was doing the speed limit they'd be ok.

I blame New Labour.

cheers SBZ

You forgot Mr Audi is on the phone talking to customers so not actually paying much attention to the driving thing.

No, you didn't read... I said that the speeding driver was paying full attention in this scenario i.e. it's simply about attentive driving over the speed limit vs inattentive driving within it.

What's Mr 60 doing leaving the middle lane in the first place?

In this instance, being an inattentive driver. Lots of people doing 60 in the middle lane are...

10 hours. £100. 2 minor faults. Of course, that was Sheffield 15 years ago, but it can be done. Just find a driving instructor with a free schedule.

No, you didn't read... I said that the speeding driver was paying full attention in this scenario i.e. it's simply about attentive driving over the speed limit vs inattentive driving within it.

If he was doing 120 as he went to overtake a car doing only 60, he wasn't paying attention.

There are situations in which it could be perfectly safe to do 120 on the motorway. This scenario doesn't describe one of them.

The consequences of every mistake made by the person doing 60 is made considerably worse by the tit driving too fast.

There is a large accident caused by two people driving badly. But it would have been the lack of observation before changing lane that caused the accident, not the speed. Remember, you would automatically fail your test if you did anything that would cause another driver to have to alter course or speed

Mr "60 in the middle lane" is within the law!

and LOTS of people do 60 on the motorway.
I have often done 20 on the motorway, or stopped.

also, Mr 60, is doing 10mph difference from everyone else.
Mr 120 is doing 50mph difference.

Its not rocket science.

if you are talking about speed, you are correct, speed doesnt kill.
Speed differential kills.

Lifetime ban for people with numbers in their name. Problem solved!

how about, anyone who wants to drive, just ban them, those who don't want to drive give them licences?

I passed relatively recently after spending two months learning one or two hours a week. Check the details of one/two week intensive courses. Their guarantees aren't all they're cracked-up to be. My advice is to learn intensively over a couple months, or even one at a push.

Re. the best you'll ever drive - my driving is much better now I've done a few longer five/six hr journeys. I'm fresh enough to do the checks, manage speed, remember to indicate and generally not be slack. OTOH I'm more relaxed on the road and do not need to think about controls at all.

Can you do it as like a x day course and get the whole thing over with in less then a week or similar?

I would hope not.

Why not?

I took a lesson a week for a few weeks and passed first time. IIRC I did about 14 lessons of 1.5hrs each (It was 15min drive into town each way so I got overtaking practice too) so I had about 21 hours driving before I took my test. A week course could easily be that much time or more spent driving.

It all comes down to do you want to learn to DRIVE, or do you just need to get from A to B... i.e. Attitude! If you want to learn to be good at it, you'll do fine.

Then go do your advanced test after you've got a couple of hunderd thousand miles under your belt..... 🙂

Or you could take four years, three instructors, eight tests and god knows how much money to do it, like my wife.

She passed on Saturday morning though.

🙂

Or you could take four years, three instructors, eight tests and god knows how much money to do it, like my wife.

She passed on Saturday morning though.

...Congratulations? 😯

We did have a drop of bubbly last night.

good luck!

but when you pass make sure you use your indicators, it semes to be a lost art these days!