The Practical: Lessons & Instructor's Car vs. No Lessons & My Car

Don't forget about roundabouts, you have to be able to use the correctly, which means not stopping unless required and forcing your way in when it's right.  I'd imagine those are things that most Americans may not naturally get. 

For some reason, when I was in the process of getting my UK driver's license none of my UK family could articulate the proper way to deal with a roundabout. So until it was explained by a proper instructor, my philosophy was "go through as fast as you can, thus limiting the amount of time spent in the roundabout." As it turns out, this philosophy was incorrect.

My son is in a similar situation with 16 years experience driving in the USA, and he has an automatic here and will take his test in an automatic. After driving with me a few times giving instructions then, on my advice, had 2 lessons from an instructor teaching him how to pass the test. Each lesson was 2hrs at £27/hr and covered actual test routes . As well the comments above I would add the following to what his instructor told him he had to be anal about on his test.

Always practice mirror-signal-maneuver
Always indicate at the exit you are leaving at on a roundabout even if it is a small simple roundabout and you are going straight ahead.
Stick rigidly to the speed limit.

He hasn’t decided yet whether to take the test in the instructor car but reading this thread I am going to suggest that he does.

My god, the wheel shuffling! I don't even know any British people who drive like that, and have never heard of anyone doing it outside of a driving test.

My English husband and I still do that. He's been driving since 1989 and me since 1998. I still drive around corners, do a mean three-point turn, drive a manual/stick-shift (I own a 2012 Mini Cooper) and use my handbrake. It was especially useful when I drove in Austin with all those damn hills. I learned to drive in England so that must be why I still do all that.


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My English husband and I still do that. He's been driving since 1989 and me since 1998. I still drive around corners, do a mean three-point turn, drive a manual/stick-shift (I own a 2012 Mini Cooper) and use my handbrake. It was especially useful when I drove in Austin with all those damn hills. I learned to drive in England so that must be why I still do all that.


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You are a boss! 

I tell my son regularly that I would love him no matter what: gay, Trump voter, football fan.  The deal is off if he couldn't drive a stick.  I'd have to take emergency time off work and give him lessons till he learned.

Just a little update: I passed my (automatic) test! 

I did find the test to be fairly easy in the end. Although I was definitely criticising myself heavily in my head throughout the whole exam ("You totally went 2 mph over the speed limit there," "That could've been better," "Did I stop long enough before that weird box junction?" etc).

As we headed out from the test centre the examiner said he would ask me to perform an emergency stop at some point, but that never ended up happening and I wasn't going to remind him.  I drove along with a SatNav for about 25 minutes. The examiner would occasionally ask me to pull over to the left when it was safe and then move on again when I was ready -- that happened about 3-4 times. My route did not include any of the major roundabouts in the area, luckily. We were on country/village roads for the most part. After the SatNav route finished the examiner just verbally directed me for the rest of the test with plenty of advance notice for each turn. I was instructed to reverse into a parking bay at the test centre at the conclusion of the exam. I was asked about what ideal tire conditions are (no gashes/punctures, 1.6mm tread) and to demonstrate how to wash my rear windscreen while I was driving.

The only fault the examiner mentioned is that I tend to signal>>mirror>>mirror rather than mirror>>signal>>mirror.

As for costs...
I took three 2-hour lessons @ £56 a pop. Then the use of my instructor's car on the day of the test was another £56. So, £224 (lessons) + £62 (practical test fee) + £23 (theory test fee) = £309 total spent on getting my UK licence in order.

Thanks for the advice from everyone here. And good luck to all those getting ready for their tests 

 I passed my (automatic) test! 

Congratulations! 

Congratulations, new-yorkshire!  So you only had one minor fault?  Nothing else?  I am truly impressed.  I had four minors and was proud of my result, but one?  Well done!

Aww, you guys

Thanks for the support. It's very kind.

So you only had one minor fault?

I honestly thought I'd have more. As I said, I know I definitely went above the speed limit a little bit when going downhill and I even thought I grazed the curb lightly during one of the pull-over-to-left parts (could have been overactive paranoia too, but eh). He only said "I am pleased to let you know that you have passed and you should work on the order of your signals and mirror checks." I was kind of dumbstruck that I passed -- I was internally hating on my driving the entire time. I did think there had to be more faults, but I was dazed at the result and didn't asked for more details.   

Great news!  It's so good to have the test behind you!

Aww, you guys

Thanks for the support. It's very kind.

I honestly thought I'd have more. As I said, I know I definitely went above the speed limit a little bit when going downhill and I even thought I grazed the curb lightly during one of the pull-over-to-left parts (could have been overactive paranoia too, but eh). He only said "I am pleased to let you know that you have passed and you should work on the order of your signals and mirror checks." I was kind of dumbstruck that I passed -- I was internally hating on my driving the entire time. I did think there had to be more faults, but I was dazed at the result and didn't asked for more details.   

My examiner went over my form with me, and showed me the faults (two for the same thing, and then two others).  If you look at your form, you'll see if you had any.  Maybe that "work on the order of your signals and mirror checks" wasn't even a fault.  Maybe he just felt obliged to give you some feedback. 

Anyway, well done!

Congratulations, that is a big achievement!!

I took lessons and took the test in my own car! Passed first time. I feel if I didn't take lessons, I would have failed. They are very picky over here and there are things you need to do very specifically to pass the test. A good instructor will teach you all these, and will also let you know when he/she feels you are ready for the test. I had  11 one hour lessons, which took about 2 months.

Before I passed my test, I had been driving in my own car for 9 months. I took one lesson in my instructor's car and it just didn't feel right- my own car was what I knew and what I was comfortable with, so I decided to take the tests and lessons in my car. I got L plates on it, an extra mirror for my instructor, and called my insurance company to make sure I was insured for driving lessons and test. My car also had a recent MOT and was taxed, so it was good to go for the test.

I don't know the specifics around driving yourself home after a test... but my instructor said that even if I passed I wouldn't be allowed to drive home, due to insurance issues. When I got home I let my insurance company know I had passed my test (was still driving on my US license at the time).

Another auto driver here  My husband gave me a few manual lessons, but ultimately I decided to go for automatic. He too was very disappointed in me when I made that decision but eventually got over it. I was a really nervous driver over here to begin with and had no desire to learn/drive a manual. Automatic just made sense. To each his own... many people do fine in a manual but just wasn't for me.

Hi:

Just curious...  did you pick up L plates and an extra rearview mirror for the test easily? like at the hardware store? I plan to use our own family car to take the practical test, and need to 'fit' it with these extras it seems. Thanks!

got L plates on it, an extra mirror for my instructor,