hi Louise, as a retired driving instructor i would suggest if you have the oppertunity to get sxtra driving experience & you trust the person, go for it. however, i would still recomend having an official lesson maybe once a fortnight as this will eliminate any bad habits you start to aqquire. Also think on this, i always told my pupils that i would never teach them to drive, all i could do was was teach them to be safe enough and knowledgable enough to pass a test. the day you pass this test is the day you start to learn to drive & you will continue learning until the day you give up your licence.
as for pupils, i always found females a lot better, they tend to listen & do as asked, not think they know it all & carry on as if pacticing for f1 racing. anyway, hope this is useful & good luck with whichever way you decide to go
not much advice here apart from practise as much as you can, under no circumstanses let a family member teach you (world war III will ensue) and keep trying.
al the very best of luck though :thumbup:
My wife is taking her first driving lesson in Feb.....may god have mercy on all the other road users at that time!!!!! :scared:
Good luck Lou- it took me 4 attempts, 5 instructors & two counties! The only decent instructor kept fecking hitting on me- the last thing I needed so he had to be told to back off.
It only took me one attempt to pass my bike test though :smug:
Go for a refresher course maybe-and pick your test station very carefully, some can be an ass because of location, others a little better.
I took my instructors theory and practical and passed almost 3 yrs ago.
my instructor was an ex metropolitan police instructor and was a real bastard, and was the dead spit of charlie stubbs from corrie both in looks and attitude.
We actually started flirting till i remembered how much i was paying for his time and once i got serious, so did he and i passed. I didnt follow through with part 3 cos Steve had just gone to iraq and was killed. I went to pieces and couldnt handle the stress.
I dont think it matters if the instructor is male or female if they are professional, and if they arnt, report them to the DSA
Good luck Louise
Good luck with hun. You will be suprised hjow much a car changes your life, I would be so lost without mine. The freedom to just get in my car and drive anywhere, is amazing.
I passed just over four years ago, when I got offered my current job on the basis that I would have to learn to drive, so I did. From applying for my provisional licence to passing the test took about 7 or 8 weeks, but I got maximum points on the theory and passed first time too. It's amazing what a motivating factor fear of not getting my dream job was!
I had a male instructor and got on extremely well with him. He was fantasic at reading me and knowing how to challenge me to get the best from me. If you don't have a good rapport with your instructor then get a new one, your paying so much for it anyway.
Had two tests at 18
First one wasnt too bad just a few points needed work
Also i was told by a friend that they have a quota for passes in a day and to tick all the morning only boxes so my test would be early.
Now true or not i passed at the second attempt and also having got one out of the way felt much more at ease and just treated it as if i was giving the examiner a lift somwhere and drove normaly.
i really sympathise with you on this one.
i only passed my driving test about 4 years ago.
i had a couple of instructors about 10 years before that and just didnt feel right with them.
i wish you lived near me , cuse i swear the guy who taught me last is the best instructor ever.
learning to drive is a very nervy thing, so you need to feel comfortable with the instructor.
i had about 20 lessons and failed my first test, at the end of it when he said youve failed i said well if you had passed me i would have thought you were mad lol
i re booked straight away and had my second test 10 days later, passed with no worries.
i took rescue remedy for the second test.
i would say to only have lessons with a instructor, cuse one bad lesson with a friend can set you back months.
ask around friends to find a good instructor, dont always go on cost, some will teach you slower and make more money out of you.
good luck it will change your life.
xxxxxxxxx fem xxxxxxxx
Anais back in 87 went on an intensive one week course in North London the other person with us that week passed. I failed as I made a silly mistake and knew it at the time.
Booked a test for 6 weeks later thou my darn hubby 4 days before got a new car...an automatic!!! About a year later he got rid of it bought a manual car and that was the end of my driving. Not that he allowed me to get behind the wheel much in the first place. Costs back then are far different to now but it was worth every penny considering the amount of hours actually driving each day. I felt it was better than having an hour lesson once or twice a week but that's just my personal view.
Yet as others have said a lot of it comes down to the quality of the instructor and how well he/she can relate to you combined with their patience and understanding.
However back in 92 after a slight accident at work to needed to know if I was still able to drive safely plus wanted to get a manual licence. Had about 8 further lessons with a female instructor before taking test again.
That day had booked a 2 hour lesson prior to test as was advised which gave me a chance to settle any real nerves about it I had. Also she took me around some of the roasd in the area of the test to give me an idea of what to expect later.
The most scary part for me was waiting and seeing everyone else going off on test and still sitting there! Was last one in room but then examiner came out and off we went.
I was very nervous,petrified in fact as was a day when had a lot of pain from the injury.
The injury had been declared when applying for the test and first thing I was asked by examiner was how was I feeling that day.
Thankfully I passed but oh how nervous I became when discovered had been given the chief examiner at Loughton.
Nolonger have my own car these days but do get a hire car when going to certain work meetings.
Good luck you'll never regret it what ever age you get that full licence, though glad I never had to do the theory part.
:smile2:
I passed first time on my car test. My ambulance driving test was two hours long one hour driving then one hour commentry driving and i passed my motrocycle test last year
. Ive started and stopped twice already due to circumstances and being a little nervous :scared: . The thing is i cant decide whether to ask for a female instructor or not. I think maybe a little of the nerves was due to having a man teach me and it sort of felt like school and they were like my old headmaster so i was constantly saying sorry everytime i did something wrong.
. It could be trouble. Then again all the major driving schools are charging roughly £25 an hour, then needing at least two a week it will cost a fortune. Then if i dont pass first time. More lessons. :doh: 
ops: :oops: 
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