Because driving instruction is done 1-1, a pupil often feels isolated and unsure of their progress compared to other pupils. They will often ask me whether they are achieving at the same rate as others. I have included here a rough guide to the progress you should expect on average, along with some free advice to help you achieve more, faster, which in the long run could save you money!
Learning to drive involves a number of skills; firstly mastering the controls; ie being able to operate the pedals gears and steering smoothly, without thinking and without looking down at your feet or the gear stick. This bit is like learning to walk, ride a bike, paint or draw etc.
Being competent at any manual skill requires the brain to learn hand/eye/feet coordination. Some people catch on very quickly and others take time get the coordination right. If you are slower at this, it is NOT because you are stupid! Intelligence has nothing whatever to do with it. What you need is perseverance and determination. The single biggest factor to acquiring these skills easily and quickly is motivation! Have you ever watched babies learning to walk?
- they never consider failure as an option! and
- they keep at it with a highly focused determination until the desired goal is achieved. People that are highly motivated achieve more because they are determined to achieve the end goal.
Don't entertain thoughts like "I will never get this", or "I will never be able to do this". Once you allow these thoughts to get a foothold your brain will give up trying. You need to force the brain to learn the skill, do not offer it a get out clause! I have found that people who are confident achieve their goal faster than those who continually tell themselves they can't do it. Yes, you will make mistakes but like the baby trying to walk and forever collapsing in a heap, just get up and get on with it. It is ok to make a mistake! Mistakes are good. Mistakes help you to learn! Every time you make a mistake, the brain alters its programming little by little until it delivers the success you want. That's how it works. The speed at which you learn is determined by the effort you put in.
As a rough guide, in the first 2 hours you should be able to move away safely from the kerb, steer a reasonably straight line, change 1st to 2nd and pull up near the kerb operating all three pedals, gear lever and steering. At around 3-5 hours you will be reasonably competent at using the push-pull method of steering and will be able to steer fairly accurately round a left-hand corner. By 6-9 hrs you can expect to be quite comfortable with taking the car accurately round both left and right hand turns plus changing gears 1-2-3-4. A few errors and mistakes along the way, but never-the-less reasonable.
OK, I hear you say, so why does it take 40+ hours? Well, this is the second skill to master and this takes longer.
The next skill is "information processing." You need to learn to see all that is happening around you, identify all the hazards, decide what action to take and then do so safely.
This is the most difficult part. You will find there is so much information to process that while you are thinking about what you should do, your hands and feet stop working; you will start making errors. However, as before, motivation and determination will help you enormously.
You are going to task your brain with learning to process information, make the best decision, then act on it. To help you, we teach you a system of car control called Mirror-Signal-Manoeuvre. You will eat, drink and sleep MSM. You will have been introduced to it when moving away, stopping and turning left & right. You will use this system of control before acting on all the many hazards you encounter such as pedestrian crossings, passing parked cars, town driving, country driving, bends, roundabouts, etc. etc. It is not difficult to master. In fact, pupils can master the steps quite quickly, religiously checking their mirrors, giving a signal etc. What takes the time to learn is the ability to see all the hazards ahead, decide whether to slow down or change direction, then use MSM, to do so smoothly and safely before you get to the hazard. Often a situation ahead will look so complex that you might not know what to do first, you might forget your MSM routine and your hands and feet stop coordinating. Learning to deal with all the hazards you see up ahead safely is what takes so much time.
By around 25 hrs of training you will have had a chance to practice most of the hazards you could encounter and by then your skill coordinating the controls will be much improved, not perfect but very reasonable. Chances are though, you will not be sufficiently skilled at processing the information you see ahead and acting confidently to all road and traffic conditions. You will require more supervised practice. Some people might be confident at around 25hrs and demonstrate a high level of independent driving but it is not common.
To pass your test you have to be competent and safe on your own. All the driving decisions are yours; the examiner needs to be sure you can drive safely on your own.
A strong motivation to learn speeds up the rate at which you learn. It improves your chances of passing first time. If you are continually forcing your brain to learn these skills you could be competent at around 30hrs; however, if your brain is continually told by your inner-self that "this is too hard", "I can't do this", "I'm useless at this", "driving is boring", blah blah blah, then your progress will be slow and you won't be ready - guaranteed!
If you think your progress is slow, first look to your own motivation before considering the instructor is no good! What messages are you telling yourself before and after each lesson? The responsibility to learn is entirely down to you and how you approach it! This is a two-way process. I teach but you have to want to learn! If you are passive and spend no time between lessons "wanting" to learn to drive, then your progress will be slow. Try imagining yourself driving on your own, see yourself going to the supermarket in your own car; going to work in your own car instead of sitting on a dirty train or standing at bus stops in the rain; see yourself taking the kids to school in your own car. Live the goal in your imagination and this will motivate your brain to learn the skills to achieve the goal; progress will be swift and the reality of the end goal more vivid, reinforcing the motivation and so reinforcing the learning process. Moan about how hard it is, or cover up your slow progress with excuses like "driving is boring" and your brain will simply stop learning, progress will be slow; then you'll just moan some more, progress will be slower ... and so on it goes.
Learning to drive safely is within the grasp of everyone. How quickly you learn is all a matter of how much you want it and how much you believe you can do it. So come to your lessons, positive, focused, ready to learn and above all, have fun!