A driving instructor has revealed the average number of hours people need behind the wheel before they are ready to pass their test, and how some learners may hugely misjudge how many lessons they have had.
Learning to drive varies enormously from person to person. Some people take to it naturally and pass their test shortly after turning 17, while for others the journey takes considerably longer. However, getting to grips with a vehicle for the first time is not something to be treated casually, and there is a tremendous amount to absorb and become accustomed to.
Now one driving instructor has disclosed how long it usually takes people to be prepared to obtain their full licence, and why learners may believe they have spent far longer behind the wheel than they actually have. Ros, who operates Drive School of Motoring in Cheltenham, recently shared a video on TikTok highlighting a substantial difference between how many lessons one of her pupils had completed, compared with how many they believed they had undertaken, reports the Express.
"My student made me giggle today because her perception of how many lessons we had had was so off," she said. "Oh my goodness, it was so off."
"So, I cannot remember how we got onto the conversation, but I said to her the DVSA were trying to get every single student to do 120 hours, just one of the changes, like ages and ages ago they were trying to do it, and it did not pass, it did not come through. But I can see what they were trying to do because they are trying to get everybody to be super safe and everything."
"And my student turned round to me today, and she goes: 'Well, I have had about 100 hours.' I was like: 'There is no way you have had, absolutely not, no, absolutely not, no. You just have not had anywhere near 100 hours.' And she was like: 'Yeah I have, it has been about 100.' I said: 'Honestly, I do not know how many it is, but there is no way.' That is somebody who, I have been with that student for a very long time, and no, we have not had that many."
"And anyway, we got all fascinated about it, and we pulled up, and it turns out that she has had 21 hours. So her perception of it was 100 hours. 100 hours! That is insane! I just cannot get my head around the fact that she may have been telling people that she has had 100 hours when she has had 21. It is just crazy. It is just massively funny."
Shedding light on how many hours the majority of learners require before passing their test, she went on: "The statistics are that you need 45 hours with a professional driving instructor, and 22 hours of your own training. That is what is written on the internet."
"But I have taught people in one hour because they learned with their parents. I have taught people five hours because they have learned with their parents. It is the hours in the car."
She added: "If you are going to be a pilot, there are so many hours, there are so many hoops to jump through. If you are going to be a train driver, there are so many hours, you have to do so many tests. And driving, you can just go out with Uncle Bob. It is crazy, it is actually crazy when you think about it, that you do not have to be with a professional driving instructor. It is pretty bonkers when you think about it."
Commenters shared the wide range of hours it had taken them to get behind the wheel independently. One remarked: "I think I had max 10 hours total, two with an instructor and eight with parents."
Another wrote: "Took me 69 hours. But I passed first time no minors." A third added: "30 hours in three months, passed first time. Absolutely do not need 100+ hours."
One user recalled: "When I was 19 I took 20 lessons, I did not want to drive but relying on buses to get to work was not working. I passed first time. I then had two one-hour lessons for driving on the motorway. I had always been a slow driver so doing 70 was out of my comfort zone. Now I love driving on the motorway."
Yet another commented: "I had 1hr lessons once a week... 120hrs would be more than two years." Meanwhile, a fellow instructor noted: "I have had one pass at eight hours and another at 135 hours. It is mad but practice between lessons is the key."
