learning to drive

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sabrina99

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Hi,

I am a 24 female and have never learned to drive.
Am planning to do so now, can anyone advise me is it worth getting lessons from the very start (eg showing me how to start the car, controls etc) or should I get a family member to show me the basics and then get the lessons once I have a better idea to drive,
Thanks a mill
 
DONT GET A FAMILY MEMBER TO TEACH YOU!! It's a recipe for disaster! Get a trained instructor and learn properly from the start. A family member - regardless of how well they drive or how patient they are - just does not have the skills to teach you at the correct pace or put across all that you have to learn properly. You'l pick up their bad habits. Also, the driving instructor will have one of those cars where they can control from their side as well if there's an emergency. I found this really reassuring when I was learning. Plus people on the road will give you more space when they see you are in a driving instructor car that is clearly marked. Get a good instructor and learn from scratch.
 
paddi22 said:
Get a good instructor and learn from scratch.
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I would agree with this. Get a Provisional licence and apply for your test straight away. You should be looking at doing 20 - 25 lessons. Ensure you get an instructor that come highly recommended. Myself and my siblings learned to drive with Dublin based 'Kings' and all found them to be very good.
 
Strongly agree with above.

I was trying for many years to get my wife to learn. Finally to push her into it I gave her my old car and paid for her insurance. She constantly refused to get the leassons until I showed her the basics (agaisnt my advice). this was a disaster and even trying to be as patient as I could it was developing into warfare and it was also extremely dangerous even though we were only in an industrial estate late at night.

Persuaded her to get the lessons and in no time she was flying and learnt a lot quicker and safer than what myself and her dad where trying to do.

The lessons are about €35 each but money well spent.
 
paddi22 said:
DONT GET A FAMILY MEMBER TO TEACH YOU!! It's a recipe for disaster! Get a trained instructor and learn properly from the start. A family member - regardless of how well they drive or how patient they are - just does not have the skills to teach you at the correct pace or put across all that you have to learn properly. You'l pick up their bad habits. Also, the driving instructor will have one of those cars where they can control from their side as well if there's an emergency. I found this really reassuring when I was learning. Plus people on the road will give you more space when they see you are in a driving instructor car that is clearly marked. Get a good instructor and learn from scratch.
Click to expand...

Just to give another point of view on this...

I taught Mrs G last November and it went very well.She was a complete novice... had to tell her which pedal was which... but she learnt very quickly and is now a very capable driver.

Also I don't think the bad habits would come into the equation. It's not like I would teach her my bad habits!! Do as I say, not as I do would apply.

I don't think an instructor is a must. I realise that they would have more training than I would have but there would also be plenty of bad instructors out there. Finding a good one isn't that straightforward.

If you have a patient, willing friend/relative and access to a small engined car then I would recommend trying this in the first instance.
 
I'd agree with Gianni. The basics can be learnt more easily from a patient relative where time constraints don't apply. The art of starting and stopping, learning lights, wipers, handbrake takeoffs etc. can be learned at the drivers own pace without picking up any bad habits.
Lessons are more beneficial and cost effective once the basics are known.
 
sabrina99 said:
Hi,

I am a 24 female and have never learned to drive.
Am planning to do so now, can anyone advise me is it worth getting lessons from the very start (eg showing me how to start the car, controls etc) or should I get a family member to show me the basics and then get the lessons once I have a better idea to drive,
Thanks a mill
Click to expand...


Where are you based I can recommend a very good driving instructor who I got my lessons off and I did not have a clue about anything b4 getting them also I was a nervous wreck.
 
Mt Dh taught me to drive. I didnt even know how to start a car. I have had 4 lessons with an instructor and will get a couple more near my test. He was very patient with me which was essential.

Do you think 20-25 lessons are necessary?
 
Hi,

Thanks a million for all the replies.
I'm based in Naas. But work in Dublin,
I think I will go with the instructor from the start,
I have my provisional and all ready to start, would love to be able to drive by the end of the summer, not very confident in that though!!
 
Hi there, i'm 27 and am only learning to drive aswell. My brother and friend thought me the basics, how to start, break and change gears and i have to say i felt much more confident doing my lessons ( i did six). It's quite scary going for the first lesson so knowing the basics i felt took some of the edge off.
 
I learned to drive with only a driving instructor, in fact I never drove a car other than with an instructer until I passed my test. He beat into me all the drills that I needed to know and they came 2nd nature and even to this day still use them properly as that was the way I was taught. I passed on the second test (only failed the first test due to one lapse of concentration) with flying colours. My brother went down the same route as me and passed it first time.

Then there are other members of my family who went down the road of buying their own car and driving on a provisional (with no full licenced driver) and getting the odd lesson and cramming more in near the test date. My sister has failed the test 5 times (driving 6 years now) at this stage and my mum 3 times (driving 4 years now). I was in college at the time I was learning to drive and couldn't afford a car. (Lessons was my 21st birthday present). Otherwise I probably would have gone down the same road as my sister/mum.

Take my advice, spend heavily on driving lessons, I know they are expensive but they are well worth the investment. If you do some driving on your own time, actually really concentrate on doing everything properly and last of all, do not get a family member to teach you. It is handy to have them along for a bit of guidance/encouragement when practicing but leave the tuition to your instructor and don't let your brother, mother or whoever to show you their way as it will probably be wrong.

One other thing, 20-25 lessons and maybe more would definitely be necessary if you go with the "instructor alone" route. Worth every penny!!!!!
 
Is it true that driving instructors neeed no qualifications to open a driving school ? (other than a license)
If so then the quality of instruction must vary a lot.
 
That's why recommendations are very important.

I did about 8 lessons, then emigrated then didn't drive for 2 years, then did 8 more lessons (no car to practice in over there) then moved back to Ireland and didn't go near a car for 12 months. Then I inherited a car, bf took me out a good bit but it was sooooooo bad for our relationship.

Decided I had to drive alone (on 2nd provisonal so legal) and that was the way I really learned to drive. Did 5 pre-tests before my test date and flew the test. I know I wouldn't have passed without those lessons. Great for finessing the details like reversing around the corner which I normally would just avoid.

Am a much more confident driver after my pre-tests and the pink licence is a bonus!

My pre-test lessons were with the Independent Driving School in Finglas. Highly recommend them.

I would say don't depend on lessons, practice is important too.
 
It's also useful to have the lessons near where you have applied for the test, as the local instructors know the routes the examiners take, so, for example, you could end up doing a three point turn in the test on the difficult road you've been practising on for weeks!
 
it shouldnt make a difference about the routes of a test, you should be able to do a 3 point turn on any road suitable and negotiate all requirments, the route doesnt really matter
 
Good instructors are very hard to find. I know of one who taught even though he only held a provisional licence himself and thats not a joke! Until there are proper laws in place its just a question of getting a car and setting up so do choose wisely and only on several recommendations. Some in my own experience did not even know the rules of the road and you may find one instructor tell you one thing and another the opposite!
 
Olly64 said:
it shouldnt make a difference about the routes of a test, you should be able to do a 3 point turn on any road suitable and negotiate all requirments, the route doesnt really matter
Click to expand...

Yes, that's true, but sometimes there are stinkers - my instructor showed me all the rotten places they take people:
- corner for reversing around that's only 35 degrees
- road for 3 pt turn that's only three feet longer than the car and has a steep slope on both sides into the gutter (so basically you have to know by the feel of it that you have reached the limit on the point)
- hill start on a busy main road, so you are bound to be beeped
 
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