How Quickly can I Pass my Driving Test?
This is a question I often get asked. The short answer is as quickly as it takes you to learn to drive safely. If you can demonstrate a “safe drive”, you should pass first time. So, how long does it take to get to that point ? Probably longer than you’d like, but it need not take as long as you’re commonly led to believe. Essentially, it depends who you train with and how you schedule your training.
According to the DVSA (the government agency with responsibility for driving standards and for conducting driving tests), it takes on average 67 hours behind the wheel, broken down into 45 hours training with a professional and 22 hours of private practice.
At Miles Ahead we totally get that reaching test standard quickly is important to you. The good news is we believe we can massively reduce the number of hours you’ll need. Our figures tend to average out at around the 35 hour mark, considerably less than the national figures.
It’s also true that everybody is a little different when it comes to learning new skills, and not everyone has the same opportunities for private practice. So the figures are meant as a guide, and it may be you need a few less or a few more than the average. We understand this, so if you’re a fast learner you won’t be held back, and if you’re not quite so fast we’ll give plenty of support and patience.
But 10 hours less training will equate to a saving of about £240! The cheapest hourly rate available is not necessarily the cheapest option overall as the number of hours required will also need to be factored in.
So what are our secrets ? Well, we’re not going to give them all away here, but in outline:
(1) We use modern teaching methods, not out-dated, boring and inefficient ones. We’ve prided ourselves in being up-to-date with the latest trends in driver education and driver behaviour theories. In fact, on occasions, we’ve even been ahead of the game, with an innovative approach incorporating accelerated learning techniques - proven methods developed from thousands of training hours and research into how people learn to drive, and putting you at the heart of the learning process.
(2) We offer bespoke training and individualised learning plans. Words are cheap - it’s often said by driving schools that “we tailor the service to our customers needs”. Well, that’s great, but actually doing it is what we believe in.
(3) We devise lessons and courses that are planned and organised, adapted as your training progresses, and we give you meaningful and regular feedback.
(4) Very importantly, we advise you how to schedule your training for maximum effectiveness. We encourage longer sessions (1 ½ , 2 or even 3 or 4 hours) and keeping the time between sessions to a minimum (at least once a week, preferably more often - anything less and you’ll tend to lose it).
Many learner drivers report being frustrated by a lack of progress with 1 hour lessons. By the time a recap from the previous lesson has been carried out and a discussion of what the new session entails, the time available is usually down to 45 - 50 minutes. Location is additional factor. Given that most driving lessons start and finish in the same location, if the actual driving time is limited to 35 - 40 minutes, how far will you travel? Will this be sufficient to cover a good range of roads and traffic scenarios. The opportunities are certainly limited. And how much of this time will be spent travelling to a suitable practice area as opposed to being focussed on the topic in hand ? Longer sessions will reduce the amount of dead-time. You might think longer sessions could get a bit tedious. But we have the skills and experience to make them perfectly manageable by breaking the lesson up in to bite-sized chunks - we are confident you will find the structure the sessions varied, interesting, and more productive. In short, there are simply more options available to both trainer and student.
What about the scheduling of lessons ? The shorter the time between lessons the better, we find, and for many students, taking weekly driving lessons seems to drag on interminably. Not having to recall what was learnt (or not) a week ago, or spend the first half of the lesson getting back into your driving has its benefits. It allows the development of new skills to be achieved more quickly, and, most importantly, remembered. And it’s now generally acknowledged that frequently repeating tasks helps significantly with the learning process. So a well planned programme with shorter gaps between lessons will mean you learn faster and require fewer hours of training.
Intensive courses take this to the limit and offer further advantages. By allocating a week or two almost exclusively for learning to drive, it’s easier to commit and apply yourself to what needs to be learned. The disadvantage of intensive training is the pressure of having a test looming, together with the general pressure of a faster pace. But the assessment sessions that we offer will allow us to judge if you can handle the pace. And with proper planning, the scheduling of the test can be managed to allow some breathing space. Intensive courses are often more expensive than regular lessons, hour for hour, but at Miles Ahead the hourly rate is the same, so it’s a win, win situation with us. Relatively few driving schools offer intensive training, certainly not at such a competitive price.
We also offer semi-intensive training, and offer flexibility so that you can mix and match regular lessons with intensive or semi-intensive training, whatever works for you - my experience is that this blended approach often gives the best results.
Your chances of succeeding with Miles Ahead are very high - the vast majority of our customers get what they came for. Why not come on board and have a different learning-to-drive experience ? An introductory session is only £10 and we’re confident you’ll enjoy it and be surprised at how much you’ll learn in that time alone.
