Driving lessons--really necessary?

I couldn't believe the poster who said it took 40 lessons as a teenager to learn to drive--how on earth does ANYONE ever afford that?!  In the US my lessons were through my school and were free.  Yikes.

That was me - I found that number (40) on a driving instructor website the other day. Wikipedia states that UK learner drivers usually take anywhere from 20 to 50 hours of lessons before taking the test.

As for affording the lessons - some kids haved rich parents who pay for all the lessons, others (like me) have their first few lessons paid for by their parents (I got 6 lessons as my birthday present from my parents) and then they pay for the lessons with wages from part-time jobs. While I was learning to drive, so much of my money went on lessons that I only had £2 per week left to live off... needless to say, I didn't have much of a social life!!

I met a girl in the US once who told me she'd spent just 2 hours in a car before getting her license. On the other hand, I drove for approximately 6 hours per week for 15 months before finally passing my test!!

Wow...I can't believe that anyone in the US could get a license with 2 hours in the car.  That can't be true.  You generally get a learner's permit (sort of a provisional license) anywhere from a few months to a year before you're eligible for a license, and then you are allowed to drive with a licensed adult in the car.  I probably did about 8 hours of practice a week for 6 months--but with one of my parents, so it was free. 

Alchemista, do you know what DVD your husband used?  We're wondering if there's something my DH could use to supplement his lessons, and we were thinking that a DVD would be helpful.  If you could check what the DVD was or who makes it, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks again, everyone, for all your information!

Jade

Interesting thread. We don't own a car and don't plan on ever buying one as we live in central London.  But I would like to get a UK license so I could rent a car and drive in the UK. I am DEATHLY afraid of driving on the left....about 5 years ago I wrecked a car in Ireland about 5 minutes outside the airport by driving the wrong way in a roundabout. I smashed the car on a planter. Luckily not another car.

I learned to drive at age 15 with only about 5 hours of driving instruction and 5 more of classroom work. I paid all of $15 for my lessons!  Driving instruction was a mandatory part of our P.E. class in my sophomore year!  But I had also driven a lot with my parents when I had a learner's permit.

So I just checked out the UK driver's license website. So if I understand it, anybody with a face can apply and immediately receive a learners license?  But I can only drive with another license driver, correct?  I may do that now and take a few lessons. Still scared to death of driving on the right, and of shifting with the left hand! 

Driving instruction was a mandatory part of our P.E. class in my sophomore year! 
So I just checked out the UK driver's license website. So if I understand it, anybody with a face can apply and immediately receive a learners license?  But I can only drive with another license driver, correct?  I may do that now and take a few lessons. Still scared to death of driving on the right, and of shifting with the left hand! 

we did driver's ed for a semester in 10th grade and then a semester of history.

if I had to do it over I would have gone for my provisional asap and lessons even if I didn't need to drive because at least the 2 years when you are restricted to 6 points  would be ticking by when I wasn't actually driving... plus if I ever wanted to hire a car I could.

I don't really regret my decision because it wasn't right for me at the time but it would have been an option I should have considered more than I did.

Hiya

I'd definitley recommend taking lessons and as many as possible to familiarise to the UK driving style as quickly as possible.

It's a fallacy (for the most part) to think becuase you've had 15 or 20 years driving in the US that learning it all here can be skipped or reduced to real minimum levels. I'll admit, i've thought exactly the same when I've  driven in the US and Canada because everyone thinks they're a good driver right!?!

However, I certainly found driving over there easier than I'd suspect someone from there coming here. The road layout for one is great, wish the grid system was here too - although it's more visible in city centres I get the general drift that the 'logical' layout of roads there is much better than the logic used here.

My last driving trip in the US was Apr 2004 and I didn't have the US maps on my GPS unit so had to rely on print maps. Much easier to park up, work out where I was now, look at the map to see where i was, then look to see where i wanted to go, count up intersections etc and then drive off and count. once nearby to look again. Here, you constantly have to check and go down windy roads and it must be really confusing to a person who's never been or driven here.

If/when I do stay in the USA for longer than a holiday, I'll definitley take lessons an dlearn more. The amount of flashing yellow traffic lights I went through, didn't know what certain signs meant, tried hard to remember that able to turn right on a red rule etc I'm surprised I didn't get pulled over much more by the cops than I actually did!(im almost proud of my 4 tickets in about 5 days compared to how squeaky clean my USA family and friends records are!!)

It does cost alot for lessons here, I used to pay £12 a lesson in 1990 and the big BSM's were like £14 - but I'd say it's well spent if you can get as much experience as you can before you take the test.

Good luck!
DtM! West London & Slough UK!
P.S - I won't make you all want to slap me for telling you how many lessons I took before passing 1st time and beating me was my mate!   I'll keep shtumm!

as someone who has driven in the us for 17 years and the Uk for 1 I thought i wouldn't have any issues passing, but to be safe i took 6 hours of lessons in advance of my test.

This tuesday i took the practical and was shocked to fail.  turns out that my instructor never covered unmarked crossings and so I didn't know to look for them (didn't have them in NJ where i learned to drive and passed test in 1990).  I was gutted.  the examiner said that it really upset him to have to fail me since it was clear that i was an extremely competent driver but that i just didn't observe the junction.

My advice is to take the extra lessons.  there may be things that your instructor takes for granted that you know (this is what happened to me with BSM).  Now i'm faced with waiting another 6 weeks to resit my test, paying another 48 GBP and since my international license expires in 2 weeks, i'm looking at 4 weeks on the bus while my car sits in the drive.

I'm wishing i would have taken even 2 more hours of lessons because maybe it would have come up and i'd have my UK license!

the examiner said that it really upset him to have to fail me since it was clear that i was an extremely competent driver but that i just didn't observe the junction.

yeah, I am sure he was... just like mine was when he said I "technically" drove on the wrong side of the road when I partially straddled the line of a narrow road while turning right uphill to avoid getting too near the parked cars also on the hill. Like most of London driving isn't driving down the middle of the road anyways!! I still had to do the entire test and only had 4 points at the end... observations were one (which I know I focused on specifically!!) and two others related to signaling.

I had to wait 2 months before the next exam and I only took the one lesson the morning of the test. I figured I'd just let fate take its course and was more relaxed about the whole thing. I passed and again had some silly signalling point deducted that even my instructor never heard of!

Best thing you can do is go online and find the test routes and practice those. Then it won't be a surprise when trying to negotiate turns. I was only familiar with bus routes with big turning areas so some of the smaller streets were a little trickier!!

Alchemista, do you know what DVD your husband used?  We're wondering if there's something my DH could use to supplement his lessons, and we were thinking that a DVD would be helpful.  If you could check what the DVD was or who makes it, I would really appreciate it!

The DVD is called "Driving Test Success". It is the New 2006/2007 Edition that includes:
Theory Test-with the official DSA question bank
Hazard Perception- 125 clips and 10 DSA official clips
Practical Test- 50 video tutorials
Show Me, Tell Me- 12 official DSA questions with step-by-step tutorial
Highway Code- Official Highway Code to view
Mock Driving Test-full length video of mock driving test

Also sending you a PM!

Sorry to come late to the conversation... but wanted to share the news that I passed the my UK driving test yesterday with 5 minor faults after 5 hours of instruction.

As others have said in this thread, lessons are recommended. Not only are the roads here narrow and the rules different, it's also clear that the UK is motived to keep people out of cars and into public transportation -- something they can accomplish by making it difficult (and expensive) to get a licence.

Think about it: The US has lots of land, lots of roads, and lots of folks who profit from the car manufacturing and servicing industries. On the other hand, many of the UK's country roads were established in horse-and-buggy days; they're narrow, winding, and often unsafe at 40 mph. UK motorways dual carriageways are much better, but increasingly clogged with congestion. Plus, there's a strong drinking tradition in this country and the  British automobile industry is all but dead. Is it no wonder the UK has invested in trains and buses? More people in their cars means more traffic, more delays, more accidents and more carbon emissions.

Sorry that sounded like a rant... Like others, I just wanted to understand why the US and UK driving licence processes were so different in every respect.

To those who have yet to take the UK test: Buy the DSA theory test book and study in advance; you'll pass that part with no problem. Then save your money and invest in a few lessons before trying the practical test. If you really want/need to pass, it's money well spent. I live outside London and it was £20/hour + £45 on test day (for final hour-long drive-through and car rental during the test).

And if you don't need or want to drive in the UK -- don't! I know many British colleagues who have never driven a day in their lives. It's just not the right-of-passage here that it is in the US.

Good luck!

Sorry to come late to the conversation... but wanted to share the news that I passed the my UK driving test yesterday with 5 minor faults after 5 hours of instruction.

Congratulations! 

  Driving instruction was a mandatory part of our P.E. class in my sophomore year! 

It was mandatory at my school as well... the course was called State Requirements, and it was a semester of driving instruction, and a semester of drug and alcohol awareness-type stuff.

It was mandatory at my school as well... the course was called State Requirements, and it was a semester of driving instruction, and a semester of drug and alcohol awareness-type stuff.

Ours wasn't mandatory, but I think we all took it because if you passed you got a break on your insurance. Obviously, all parents were keen on that!

Our drivers ed was during the summer, though. Pah. 

The DVD is called "Driving Test Success". It is the New 2006/2007 Edition that includes:
Theory Test-with the official DSA question bank
Hazard Perception- 125 clips and 10 DSA official clips
Practical Test- 50 video tutorials
Show Me, Tell Me- 12 official DSA questions with step-by-step tutorial
Highway Code- Official Highway Code to view
Mock Driving Test-full length video of mock driving test

I have been studying with this DVD and it's great! I bought it for £7. I have my first lesson with an instructor next week. I've been driving in the US for 15 years and (driving here almost daily for almost a year here by myself) my instructor said it was more a matter of teaching me to pass the test. Daily driving in Edinburgh seems much like the daily driving I did back in San Francisco. So I guess we'll see.

I've been driving in the US for 15 years and (driving here almost daily for almost a year here by myself) my instructor said it was more a matter of teaching me to pass the test.

Beegirl:
Your instructor's right -- for experienced drivers like you, it is simply a matter of learning to pass the test. You'll do fine. Good luck!

Personally speaking, if you are a very experienced driver, have driven here and are comfortable driving here, read the Highway code etc, then GO FOR IT. If you fail, well so what. What  have you lost? The price of a test. Try it. You might be surprised.

As I have said previously, the examiner is looking for 3 things
               1. You are in full control of the vehicle and for this you need to be confident of your driving ability.
                2. You are not a hazard to yourself or other road users
                3. You know the highway code

If you are young and green, they will scruntise your every action. Prior to taking my test,  I even asked the examiner if he would fail me for doing hand-over-hand turning. He said he could not say. Well I find the standard way of turning taught here dangerous (imho), so I used the American method. And I passed.

So if you are mature, been driving for ages, have driven here and are familiar with driving here and are comfortable driving here, then in the words of Nike - just do it.

There are a LOT of bad driving instructors here, not that will rip you off, just that they aren't good teachers.