Soooo, how long did it take for you to learn to drive?

That's actually a great idea Jim.  I rented a car this fall...an automatic and drove around (including driving into Marble Arch area of London).  I drove on the highway and city road.  Got used to some of the markings and the left hand side of the thing.  Next I'll be going into the country (hopefully finding a huge carpark somewhere) with my bf and his stick shift car to work on the stick shift thing...hopefully it'll work but I expect it will take some time!

That's actually a great idea Jim. I rented a car this fall...an automatic and drove around Next I'll be going into the country (hopefully finding a huge carpark somewhere) with my bf and his stick shift car to work on the stick shift thing...hopefully it'll work but I expect it will take some time!

Good luck finding that car park.  We've looked all over essex and still can't find one for me to use!

and sadly, in w1 it's £25 per hour through AA and most other places.  *sigh*  lessons will make me broke!

It may be helpful to treat the stick shift and driving in the UK as two separate skills.

  I completely agree with this Jim, and it's why I am starting off with automatic, and will get used to driving here in a type of car that I am already familiar with

Amy, that's terrible   It sucks that driving lessons here can be so expensive, depending where you are    Is there another town nearby that you could go to for lessons that would not be so expensive?  Where is W1?

zone 1 in London (Marylebone).    living central does stink sometimes.

I wish it was like in the States, where there are perhaps 2 students at a time in the car with the instructor, so you can watch each other, and not feel so much pressure on you. Also, seems it would get the costs of lessons down as well. Dunno.  Come to Bournemouth Amy,,,, you know it makes sense,, and we have a beach 

I wish it was like in the States, where there are perhaps 2 students at a time in the car with the instructor, so you can watch each other, and not feel so much pressure on you. Also, seems it would get the costs of lessons down as well. Dunno.  Come to Bournemouth Amy,,,, you know it makes sense,, and we have a beach 

I think the key is finding an instructor you feel comfortable with, then you don't have that pressure. I got to be quite chummy with my instructor and actually (almost) looked forward to my lessons. But, for the record, I was the only student when I had my driving lessons in the US as well ... of course that was back in the dark ages, so things may have changed!

If you're looking for open spaces to drive, come to Pendine Sands! You can be like Jeremy Clarkson on "Top Gear"!   

and sadly, in w1 it's £25 per hour through AA and most other places.  *sigh*  lessons will make me broke!

I woulda thought driving and parking in W1 would make you broke!?

Isn't W1 Kensington and NW1 Marylebone?  You could take the Chiltern Line out to Amersham or somewhere and probably get an under £25/hour rate.  Of course, the roads would be very different to Central London   

I'm one of those drivers who always drove automatic in the US.  Having moved to the UK to stay with MIL, she let me drive around in her Peogeot with some instruction from her and DW getting used to it.  At first, I'll admit I was a bit scared of driving around outer London thinking I might crash or something.  But now I love it!  Manual is much better than automatic, the control and power you have is grreat.

I think it probably took me a couple weeks to really get the hang of it, maybe a month to feel completely comfortable.  After 6 months of driving the AA did a dozen lessons deal and took it just to get used to taking the test because I could drive almost anywhere with no problems.  After an initial failure a retest got me my license, end of story!

Matt

sincwe we live in marylebone i need to know how to drive there, or else i'd use my husbands old teacher in essex.

amazingly, parking isn't expensive in marylebone.  our permit is £110 for a year and we don't have to pay congestion charge (unless we move our car during the time where we pay .50)  We thought the fee was going to be insane, but it's really not!!!! 

I'm right there with you...I have to learn how to drive where I'm going to live so I'll have to put up with the £25 an hour lesson thing...they probably need more money to put up with the craziness of city driving and teaching city driving!

I never EVER drove a stick until I moved here. What an awful experience for me!! It was 4 years ago now..but I seem to remember that I started in September and took my test in January. I used to come home from my driving lessons in TEARS because I couldn't drive the bloody car, I kept stalling it out!

I don't know how but I actually passed my test on the first go! I was relieved and part of me thought, "Whew, I don't have to drive again!" But of course I did. I think it honestly took me a good 2 years to feel fully comfortable with it. Now I'm pretty confident - still stall it on occasion but at least I don't panic when that happens. The important thing is to PRACTICE. I made sure that I went out and drove occasionally so that I would be sure to keep up with it. I'm really happy now that somehow I've managed to learn how to do it when I thought it would be impossible!

So believe me...if I can learn to drive over here, ANYONE can!! 

In mid '97 I moved to England and came with my VW Golf (stick, steering wheel on the left side) via ferry from the mainland. I drove with it in England for about 2 years and found it fairly easy    In the US, I wanted to drive stick and I guess the car dealer was really happy to dump his only model on me 

Anyway, coming back to the UK last year without any car at all, I rented one; it was the first time ever I had driven a british car with steering wheel on the right hand side! Terrible! I just couldn't get a feeling for sitting at the right hand side of the car and calculate the distance from my car to the other vehicles to the left. Several times I was close ripping the left outer mirror off with my tight manoevring ... parking was a nightmare too. And then, of course, each time I had to change gear, I banged my right hand at the driver's door in search of the stick ...

If car insurance wasn't so high for foreign cars, I'd rather get me one from anywhere in Europe and drive it over here, I felt it was so much easier. BTW, though I'm not really a fan of automatic cars, I think it would make sense to drive one in London ... peak time stop'n go traffic is a sure death sentence for the engine and gearbox (not to speak of hand cramps and numb foot).

I can really feel for all you who have to learn 2 things at once (stick and left hand traffic)! 

I just passed my test on a stick shift in March 2004.  I had no previous experience of sticks except learning to start them without stallin in the US>...i was so nervous on hill stops...eeek...

It was the best feeling passing the test here....i had practice in hubbys car before i took lessons and when i felt confident enough on the opposite side of the road and car..then i took lessons...but was so nervous....

it took about three months of lessons for me and i passed on the first time...yipee..it took hubby three times to pass ha ha....

i went with new driver for lessons...it sucked when she said i had to pay her for using her car on the test date..geez the £39 for the test was quite enough..

best of luck future UK drivers...

Learned stick when I was 15. My father insisted that all of his 3 daughters learn and take their tests on manual transmissions. I passed and haven't driven a stick car since I was 17 or so. I can still do it, but in the city (I'm currently in DC) I prefer my automatic. I can't even fathom trying stick on the opposite side. Kudos to those that have learned!

My brit bf tells me he is teaching me how to drive in England when I move in August - yikes!