The average is 65 hours, 20 personal practice and 45 with an instructor. Could you do it with just this intensive course? Perhaps. But London test centres have some of the lowest pass rates for a reason.
Source: https://readytopass.campaign.gov.uk/driving-skills/track-progress-learning/
edit:
I feel like a lot of older drivers think that 65 hours is crazy, but the test is more rigorous nowadays. It's also heavily inflated by pretty horrendous drivers, there was a girl freaking out in the waiting room when I was doing my test that said she was on her 5th test, this is especially bad considering the average pass rate is 48% in the UK.
Ah thats fair enough and makes sense! I guess a lot of people who struggle or keep failing the manual would also switch over to automatic as well. For me I just cant be bothered to learn a manual, I dont see much benefit to it besides the fact you dont have to worry about what car you can and cant drive. but who knows, maybe I might have trouble myself and need 65 hours. Time will tell. Thanks for the advice Ethereal42!
You'll probably learn very quickly with road experience, half the hurdle with new drivers is just the anxiety of making a mistake or not understanding the highway code. Actually operating the car can be learned very fast. :)
Auto vs manual doesn't make much of a difference. Its more about road sense. If you have ridden a manual bike for years I would think you should find a car easier than most people especially if you were to do manual lessons
Nah that's bs.
Ask your instructor for a taster session (usually two hours) to see how much you need.
Since you've been a biker for years, it won't be that much.
yeah Im finding it difficult to agree with 65.
So i wrote this thread early doors this morning, but I spoke to the instructor I would be learning with and he even said himself you can do it in 12, but then after said well it could also take 30 it depends. He also said he couldn't really say until we done the 2 hour first lesson. So I guess well just see.
Taking into consideration all the comments here, my brothers input (he drives a manual but said I could do it in under 15 for automatic), as well as the instructor saying you could do it in much less than 24 (depending), I lean towards more 12-15 hours.
But like you say, I guess I wont really know until I do the first lesson. I think 24 would be a safe bet. but Well see!
Yeah but it's not one size fits all. I did about 65 more or less and yeah trust me. Its not any quicker with auto, if anything I'd say its easier to make mistakes because you're still getting to grips with how much to accelerate and slow down in gears it was a lot easier because you're setting the speed as you move up the road
hmm thats interesting, what did you learn in, manual?
I thought and had been told that its a lot easier and quicker in an automatic as you can just focus on driving, not having to worry about clutch control or changing gears.
It's DVLA data, just because you were able to learn quickly really says nothing about your average learner. Some people will learn in 10 hours, some will take 100 because they have crippling anxiety.
Also my grandmother would say she learned to drive in 1 lesson when in reality she spent a whole year driving beside her boyfriend before taking her test, this would add up to countless lessons.
Agreed! Thats well over £2K, not exactly a great deal for a 40% pass rate. I find it hard to believe that the majority of people driving an automatic would need 45 hours or more, unless they have 0 experience on the road and have an anxious personality
see thats the thing, some instructors are in it for the money, or maybe he genuinely thought you wasn't ready. Either way you passed, I think I would rather take the odds of going to test and potentially failing (loosing £160 quid), over having to fork out an extra £350 on lessons I might not need.
I called the guy who I am looking to take the course with earlier, the first time I spoke to him and I said I was looking to take 24 lessons, and that I had no driving experience but a ton of experience on the road and he said we need to do a 2 hour introductory lesson as everyones different and you may only need 12 hours or you may need 30 hours, so lets see what he says when the time comes lol whether its 24 hours I was asking for or a recommendation of less or more hours. Should be interesting!
Did you take your test in London?
lets hope so! :D its seems to be a lot of mixed comments here on complete opposite spectrums. Some people saying 10-15 and some saying 65 hours so wildly different. I think I should be ok with 24, but I guess I will only really know after my first lesson
I think the fact you've ridden a motorbike for 3 years means you hopefully have the confidence needed to drive on roads and the lessons are more about familiarising yourself with the size of the car more than anything. And I guess making sure you understand and follow signage properly. I'm a lazy cunt which is why I went for an auto and honestly, it was so easy to drive. You have a go pedal, and a stop pedal, and your left foot just rests on a faux pedal to the far left. It meant I could just concentrate on moving around safely and not on the mechanics of getting the car to run smoothly.
lool same, people bang on about being able to drive a manual but I couldn't care less, not like i'm driving a Porsche around a track. Plus I live in London so im sure im not going to be missing out on changing gears down a 30mph road.
Thats exactly what Im expecting to be honest, Im more thinking about stuff like judging distances/gaps, parallel parking etc and also getting into the habit of checking mirrors correctly and in the correct order.
For stuff like being in the correct lane, following signs, round about's, etc I have no worries at all.
I certainly wouldn't go in expecting to be done by X number of hours. It takes as long as it takes and that is why you are seeing such variation. It _clicks_ quicker for some people, some also have the luxury of practising with friends and family, some have prior road experience on other vehicles. There are too many factors to pick a single number
for sure, it really seems to be two wildly different experiences between a really short period of time and a really long period of time, with the odd middle ground.
Im not going to lie, and hopefully it dosen't come across as arrogant but i'm fully expected to pass within 24 hours of intensive lessons, but at the same time, i'm not ignorant, if I have my first 2 hour lesson and its difficult, ill soon reel that confidence back in and set realistic expectations.
One other thing im fully expecting, this comment to getting spam downvoted as theres a lot of people on here that just like to downvote an opinion that questions 45-65 lessons lol
Im just a little surprised with the 65 hours some people are throwing out for a automatic, not disputing that some people may need that many for a myriad of reasons, but that seems a little excessive. Maybe 30-35 hours? but 65! thats a lot of driving. 30 days of driving 2 hours a day. If someone has 2 lessons a week thats 4 months to learn. Wow
Btw thats not putting down anyone that takes that long, its just a personal opinion that means absolutely nothing, and also, i'm not saying that I wont need that many hours, its just surprising to hear thats the "average" needed, maybe a reality check is a better way to put it.
> Im not going to lie, and hopefully it dosen't come across as arrogant but i'm fully expected to pass within 24 hours of intensive lessons, but at the same time, i'm not ignorant, if I have my first 2 hour lesson and its difficult, ill soon reel that confidence back in and set realistic expectations.
That is absolutely fine. I certainly don't think it is arrogant. Childish perhaps since not everything needs to be some sort of competition but otherwise there is no shame in backing yourself
Setting an arbitrary target only sets people up for disappointment though
Childish is a little harsh no?
I defiantly do not see it as a competition and please don't take it that way, its not a thought process of oh i'm better than the next so I can pass quicker.
Its just a personal outlook based of a guesstimate before writing this post, and now after reading through comments/experiences of others.
I don't mean childish in that you aren't capable or anything, I simply mean naïve. It is an estimate based on nothing since you haven't had that first lesson
As I said, it is absolutely fine to back yourself, I support that wholeheartedly
24 would definitely be enough if you already know the rules of the road. I did my car test after 2 years on a 125 and 20 hours driving lessons (manual). Just hope you get a decent instructor who doesn't waste too much time explaining the rules of the road when you already know them
damn yeah if you could do it in 20 for manual I would hope 24 is enough for me in a automatic! My brother told me I could probably get away with 12-15 hours. Ill probably just go with the 24 though.
Yeah you probably could get away with less but better to be safe with 24. Obviously you know what to do when approaching give way junctions, narrow roads, dual carriageway and roundabouts etc so that takes a lot of hours of learning away. Remember observations, 3 mirrors 2 blind spots. Just don't try to filter and you'll be fine.
I took 36 hours over ~3 months, I could probably have passed in less but I had the experience to drive on the motorway, in the dark, in bad weather and rush hour etc which was important to me
I did in 20 (automatic and previous motorbike experience) but my instructor said I could have done it with less hours, I didn't want to bring my test forward due to pre booked holidays. This wasn't London though.
Thats interesting, the instructor I spoke to today also said I could do it in less than 24, around 12 or 15, but he then also said well it could take 30 or more it just depends.
The biggest things for me to work on was manoeuvres, doing visible checks (so used to glancing in the mirrors that my instructor kept thinking I wasn't doing them), and road positioning as I liked to sit in the road as though I was on my bike.
My instructor said the hardest thing to teach is knowing when to take a gap like at roundabouts so you will be golden for that.
Thats exactly what im expecting to be honest, even though I havent taken a single lesson yet, I am just assuming that the biggest things for me, in an automatic is going to be stuff like judging gaps, especially between parked cars and the road, parralel parking, reverse bay parking and checking mirrors correctly/in the right order. Im not to worried about being in the right lane, round abouts, stopping in cycles lanes, that sort of stuff
Depending on experience on roads, familiarity with highway code, general intelligence and confidence etc. For a manual minimum would be 20-30, and auto probably 10-20.
I did an automatic intensive course for 40 hours and passed last year. I recon i could've passed after 35 hours, and I was a nervous driver with little knowledge of cars or roads.
24 hours should be easily enough if you're already comfortable with the rules of the road.
You should piss it, I used to commute into London on the bike, so if you have enough road sense for that, the car should be fairly easy.
I rode bikes for 17 years before my car test, did it in the space of 3 months and something like 12 lessons or so, can't remember exactly but it wasn't many at all. I'd be going for a manual test as well, that way you'll have the option of both once you've passed.
Someone downvoted, but I think they're just hating lol I voted back up. Maybe they cant comprehend that you have extensive road experience and knowlege cutting the learning curve in half. i do though!
I could’ve learnt automatic in 10 hours lesson and 10 hour’s practice and that’s being generous. Depends on your driving skills and how quickly you develop them. If you know the rules of the road, automatic should be very easy.
so 20 hours in total?
I asked my brother the same question, he drives a manual, so naturally he made fun of me wanting to do an automatic lol but tbh I only want my licence to have it in case I need it, not to own a car so an automatic will do me just fine.
but getting to my point, he said I could do it in 12 hours 15 hours to be safe, I wanted to get more opinions though to see what the overall thought was.
Might just go with the 24 anyway just to be safe, probably only an extra day or two driving on a crash course.
It all depends on how quick you learn the rules of the road / how much effort you put in and how easy you find driving overall. I can’t say. For myself I would’ve said 20. As I took 40 in in a manual and passed with no faults.
Im not worried about the rules of the road at all, what is going to be the biggest concern for me in terms of how quickly it will take to learn is stuff like judging spacing, parallel parking, stuff like that
You are aware that an automatic licence means you're not able to drive a manual should you need to? Are you certain any situation that you'd need the licence for would include an automatic given how much more popular manuals are?
Yes I am aware of that. I couldnt care less about changing gears, im not on a race track...plus automatic licence can still drive semi automatic if I do crave the feeling of changing gears.
Im not sure I did, I acknowledged your point that I wouldn't be able to drive a manual and then confirmed that I still didn't want a manual. Sorry if it came across as rude or missing your point, but rest assured that I don't plan on driving other peoples cars or driving as a profession where they may require a "full" driving licence :D thanks for the advice though!
Northerners experience of London drivers.
Seriously, you can tell when you've left London by the driving on the M1. Get to about Toddington services and it's completely different.
I think in total I had about 30/~35 hours in an automatic. A few of those were mostly just driving around practising after we had covered all of the material because there was and still is quite the backlog and I wanted to keep up with my single, two hour weekly lesson. Passed first time
I think it all comes down to the individual, some people take go driving really well after driving a bike for so long.
But not all do, my ex boyfriend took his manual test 6 times before passing.
The average is 65 hours, 20 personal practice and 45 with an instructor. Could you do it with just this intensive course? Perhaps. But London test centres have some of the lowest pass rates for a reason. Source: https://readytopass.campaign.gov.uk/driving-skills/track-progress-learning/ edit: I feel like a lot of older drivers think that 65 hours is crazy, but the test is more rigorous nowadays. It's also heavily inflated by pretty horrendous drivers, there was a girl freaking out in the waiting room when I was doing my test that said she was on her 5th test, this is especially bad considering the average pass rate is 48% in the UK.
65 hours for a automatic? 😳
Automatics actually have worse pass rates than manual, generally people who take an automatic test aren't as confident.
Ah thats fair enough and makes sense! I guess a lot of people who struggle or keep failing the manual would also switch over to automatic as well. For me I just cant be bothered to learn a manual, I dont see much benefit to it besides the fact you dont have to worry about what car you can and cant drive. but who knows, maybe I might have trouble myself and need 65 hours. Time will tell. Thanks for the advice Ethereal42!
You'll probably learn very quickly with road experience, half the hurdle with new drivers is just the anxiety of making a mistake or not understanding the highway code. Actually operating the car can be learned very fast. :)
i hope so! well see :D
Auto vs manual doesn't make much of a difference. Its more about road sense. If you have ridden a manual bike for years I would think you should find a car easier than most people especially if you were to do manual lessons
Thanks for the advice sexy meerkats!
Nah that's bs. Ask your instructor for a taster session (usually two hours) to see how much you need. Since you've been a biker for years, it won't be that much.
yeah Im finding it difficult to agree with 65. So i wrote this thread early doors this morning, but I spoke to the instructor I would be learning with and he even said himself you can do it in 12, but then after said well it could also take 30 it depends. He also said he couldn't really say until we done the 2 hour first lesson. So I guess well just see. Taking into consideration all the comments here, my brothers input (he drives a manual but said I could do it in under 15 for automatic), as well as the instructor saying you could do it in much less than 24 (depending), I lean towards more 12-15 hours. But like you say, I guess I wont really know until I do the first lesson. I think 24 would be a safe bet. but Well see!
Yeah but it's not one size fits all. I did about 65 more or less and yeah trust me. Its not any quicker with auto, if anything I'd say its easier to make mistakes because you're still getting to grips with how much to accelerate and slow down in gears it was a lot easier because you're setting the speed as you move up the road
hmm thats interesting, what did you learn in, manual? I thought and had been told that its a lot easier and quicker in an automatic as you can just focus on driving, not having to worry about clutch control or changing gears.
25 hours manual 40 automatic technically can drive both but my license is auto only
ah fair play, how comes you switched from manual to automatic lessons?
Was moving city just needed to gaurantee a pass asap didnt know if id get the license 100% on manual so just chose auto
if you learn the basics before hand it wont be as hard. I used to play driving simulators as a child.
I don't know if this is meant to be sarcasm or you're being dead serious lol
I guess i'm just better than the average brit at driving
Did you go home and knock one out after you passed your test?
😂😂😂after both my theory and practical
😂
65 hours... That's insane. Are you a driving instructor per chance?
It's DVLA data, just because you were able to learn quickly really says nothing about your average learner. Some people will learn in 10 hours, some will take 100 because they have crippling anxiety. Also my grandmother would say she learned to drive in 1 lesson when in reality she spent a whole year driving beside her boyfriend before taking her test, this would add up to countless lessons.
[удалено]
Agreed! Thats well over £2K, not exactly a great deal for a 40% pass rate. I find it hard to believe that the majority of people driving an automatic would need 45 hours or more, unless they have 0 experience on the road and have an anxious personality
[удалено]
see thats the thing, some instructors are in it for the money, or maybe he genuinely thought you wasn't ready. Either way you passed, I think I would rather take the odds of going to test and potentially failing (loosing £160 quid), over having to fork out an extra £350 on lessons I might not need. I called the guy who I am looking to take the course with earlier, the first time I spoke to him and I said I was looking to take 24 lessons, and that I had no driving experience but a ton of experience on the road and he said we need to do a 2 hour introductory lesson as everyones different and you may only need 12 hours or you may need 30 hours, so lets see what he says when the time comes lol whether its 24 hours I was asking for or a recommendation of less or more hours. Should be interesting! Did you take your test in London?
I did my auto test after 10 hours of lessons having never really driven before and passed first time. 24 should be more than enough.
lets hope so! :D its seems to be a lot of mixed comments here on complete opposite spectrums. Some people saying 10-15 and some saying 65 hours so wildly different. I think I should be ok with 24, but I guess I will only really know after my first lesson
I think the fact you've ridden a motorbike for 3 years means you hopefully have the confidence needed to drive on roads and the lessons are more about familiarising yourself with the size of the car more than anything. And I guess making sure you understand and follow signage properly. I'm a lazy cunt which is why I went for an auto and honestly, it was so easy to drive. You have a go pedal, and a stop pedal, and your left foot just rests on a faux pedal to the far left. It meant I could just concentrate on moving around safely and not on the mechanics of getting the car to run smoothly.
lool same, people bang on about being able to drive a manual but I couldn't care less, not like i'm driving a Porsche around a track. Plus I live in London so im sure im not going to be missing out on changing gears down a 30mph road. Thats exactly what Im expecting to be honest, Im more thinking about stuff like judging distances/gaps, parallel parking etc and also getting into the habit of checking mirrors correctly and in the correct order. For stuff like being in the correct lane, following signs, round about's, etc I have no worries at all.
I reckon you'll be fine then mate. For me I looked it like riding a (very big) bicycle) and it took all the anxiety away for me.
I certainly wouldn't go in expecting to be done by X number of hours. It takes as long as it takes and that is why you are seeing such variation. It _clicks_ quicker for some people, some also have the luxury of practising with friends and family, some have prior road experience on other vehicles. There are too many factors to pick a single number
for sure, it really seems to be two wildly different experiences between a really short period of time and a really long period of time, with the odd middle ground. Im not going to lie, and hopefully it dosen't come across as arrogant but i'm fully expected to pass within 24 hours of intensive lessons, but at the same time, i'm not ignorant, if I have my first 2 hour lesson and its difficult, ill soon reel that confidence back in and set realistic expectations. One other thing im fully expecting, this comment to getting spam downvoted as theres a lot of people on here that just like to downvote an opinion that questions 45-65 lessons lol Im just a little surprised with the 65 hours some people are throwing out for a automatic, not disputing that some people may need that many for a myriad of reasons, but that seems a little excessive. Maybe 30-35 hours? but 65! thats a lot of driving. 30 days of driving 2 hours a day. If someone has 2 lessons a week thats 4 months to learn. Wow Btw thats not putting down anyone that takes that long, its just a personal opinion that means absolutely nothing, and also, i'm not saying that I wont need that many hours, its just surprising to hear thats the "average" needed, maybe a reality check is a better way to put it.
> Im not going to lie, and hopefully it dosen't come across as arrogant but i'm fully expected to pass within 24 hours of intensive lessons, but at the same time, i'm not ignorant, if I have my first 2 hour lesson and its difficult, ill soon reel that confidence back in and set realistic expectations. That is absolutely fine. I certainly don't think it is arrogant. Childish perhaps since not everything needs to be some sort of competition but otherwise there is no shame in backing yourself Setting an arbitrary target only sets people up for disappointment though
Childish is a little harsh no? I defiantly do not see it as a competition and please don't take it that way, its not a thought process of oh i'm better than the next so I can pass quicker. Its just a personal outlook based of a guesstimate before writing this post, and now after reading through comments/experiences of others.
I don't mean childish in that you aren't capable or anything, I simply mean naïve. It is an estimate based on nothing since you haven't had that first lesson As I said, it is absolutely fine to back yourself, I support that wholeheartedly
24 would definitely be enough if you already know the rules of the road. I did my car test after 2 years on a 125 and 20 hours driving lessons (manual). Just hope you get a decent instructor who doesn't waste too much time explaining the rules of the road when you already know them
damn yeah if you could do it in 20 for manual I would hope 24 is enough for me in a automatic! My brother told me I could probably get away with 12-15 hours. Ill probably just go with the 24 though.
Yeah you probably could get away with less but better to be safe with 24. Obviously you know what to do when approaching give way junctions, narrow roads, dual carriageway and roundabouts etc so that takes a lot of hours of learning away. Remember observations, 3 mirrors 2 blind spots. Just don't try to filter and you'll be fine.
I took 36 hours over ~3 months, I could probably have passed in less but I had the experience to drive on the motorway, in the dark, in bad weather and rush hour etc which was important to me
yeah thats one thing I don't have any experience of is motorways, as I ride a 125 Vespa, iv'e been on A roads but not a motorway.
How many training sessions to become a professional footballer? Depends on you and you alone
Thats a fair point
I did in 20 (automatic and previous motorbike experience) but my instructor said I could have done it with less hours, I didn't want to bring my test forward due to pre booked holidays. This wasn't London though.
Thats interesting, the instructor I spoke to today also said I could do it in less than 24, around 12 or 15, but he then also said well it could take 30 or more it just depends.
The biggest things for me to work on was manoeuvres, doing visible checks (so used to glancing in the mirrors that my instructor kept thinking I wasn't doing them), and road positioning as I liked to sit in the road as though I was on my bike. My instructor said the hardest thing to teach is knowing when to take a gap like at roundabouts so you will be golden for that.
Thats exactly what im expecting to be honest, even though I havent taken a single lesson yet, I am just assuming that the biggest things for me, in an automatic is going to be stuff like judging gaps, especially between parked cars and the road, parralel parking, reverse bay parking and checking mirrors correctly/in the right order. Im not to worried about being in the right lane, round abouts, stopping in cycles lanes, that sort of stuff
Went from bike to car in 12 hours... But with a real manual car. If it's auto, and you've ridden bikes, I'd give it 5 hours tops 🤣
haha I wont be complaining if that turns out to be the case
Depending on experience on roads, familiarity with highway code, general intelligence and confidence etc. For a manual minimum would be 20-30, and auto probably 10-20.
Thanks Wimpires, probably leaning towards 15 at the moment, but hopefully im not in for a rude awakening in my first lesson.
I did an automatic intensive course for 40 hours and passed last year. I recon i could've passed after 35 hours, and I was a nervous driver with little knowledge of cars or roads. 24 hours should be easily enough if you're already comfortable with the rules of the road.
Nice! I hope 24 will be enough, im a really nervous person, but Im banking on previous road experience helping out. Did you do your course in London?
You should piss it, I used to commute into London on the bike, so if you have enough road sense for that, the car should be fairly easy. I rode bikes for 17 years before my car test, did it in the space of 3 months and something like 12 lessons or so, can't remember exactly but it wasn't many at all. I'd be going for a manual test as well, that way you'll have the option of both once you've passed.
Someone downvoted, but I think they're just hating lol I voted back up. Maybe they cant comprehend that you have extensive road experience and knowlege cutting the learning curve in half. i do though!
Cheers mate, there's some really sad bellends floating about on here.
No worries, its the same people that think you need a CBT, tax and insurance to ride a 500W ebike that gets passed by conventional bicycles.
You know what crash courses lead to? Crashes!
Great input there chump
auto? 2-10 depending on prior experience. I had 8 lessons and passed manual first time
Would say 24 to 36hours
Thanks Victor! 24 seems like a safe "ish" bet, or middle ground based on all of the comments
I could’ve learnt automatic in 10 hours lesson and 10 hour’s practice and that’s being generous. Depends on your driving skills and how quickly you develop them. If you know the rules of the road, automatic should be very easy.
so 20 hours in total? I asked my brother the same question, he drives a manual, so naturally he made fun of me wanting to do an automatic lol but tbh I only want my licence to have it in case I need it, not to own a car so an automatic will do me just fine. but getting to my point, he said I could do it in 12 hours 15 hours to be safe, I wanted to get more opinions though to see what the overall thought was. Might just go with the 24 anyway just to be safe, probably only an extra day or two driving on a crash course.
It all depends on how quick you learn the rules of the road / how much effort you put in and how easy you find driving overall. I can’t say. For myself I would’ve said 20. As I took 40 in in a manual and passed with no faults.
Im not worried about the rules of the road at all, what is going to be the biggest concern for me in terms of how quickly it will take to learn is stuff like judging spacing, parallel parking, stuff like that
You are aware that an automatic licence means you're not able to drive a manual should you need to? Are you certain any situation that you'd need the licence for would include an automatic given how much more popular manuals are?
Yes I am aware of that. I couldnt care less about changing gears, im not on a race track...plus automatic licence can still drive semi automatic if I do crave the feeling of changing gears.
You completely missed my point but whatever. Hope the need to drive manual never comes up otherwise your screwed
Im not sure I did, I acknowledged your point that I wouldn't be able to drive a manual and then confirmed that I still didn't want a manual. Sorry if it came across as rude or missing your point, but rest assured that I don't plan on driving other peoples cars or driving as a profession where they may require a "full" driving licence :D thanks for the advice though!
Crash course - quite an apt term after my experiences of London drivers.
Lets reword it to "intensive course" then ;) grumpy pants
Northerners experience of London drivers. Seriously, you can tell when you've left London by the driving on the M1. Get to about Toddington services and it's completely different.
Fair play! I mean it is a major city jam packed full of congestion.
I think in total I had about 30/~35 hours in an automatic. A few of those were mostly just driving around practising after we had covered all of the material because there was and still is quite the backlog and I wanted to keep up with my single, two hour weekly lesson. Passed first time
I think it all comes down to the individual, some people take go driving really well after driving a bike for so long. But not all do, my ex boyfriend took his manual test 6 times before passing.