Are driving intensive courses any good?

Woden

Woden

Woden

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Oldham, Lancashire
I am, finally leaning to drive (I'm 33, bit late lol). Until now public transport has been fine but now we have a baby and I'm getting asked to travel for work so I could really do with getting my licence.

Are the intensive courses any good? Round here I can do one for about £1000 and, potentially, have my licence in a few weeks. Depending on how long it will take to get my theory done.
 
I did one, sorta "intensive" usual issue they have is the fact that there are no spaces to do the actual driving test, or so is the case in london! I had to wait 2 months.

so what I did was learn for 2 hours/week every saturday.. then have a 2 week intensive course which was basically 2-4 hours each day for two weeks, last day I went for the test and passed. So do check how it is laid out, doing 6-7 hours a day is going to be painful, trust me.
 
It'll be long and tiring but it'll teach you to pass the test.

You'll be a terrible driver by all accounts until you've actually got some relaxed experience under your belt but you'll have a licence.
 
I've known a few people who have been on these courses and passed, usually means taking the course somewhere quite far away though so unless you know there are courses local to you with availability then factor in a b&b into those costs.

The courses themselves seem to have a good pass rate though.
 
pretty much, it'll teach you to pass the test!

that's all they do, box ticking basically.

some of the stuff they teach imo is dangerous, like the push pull steering.
 
I did one in July. 32 years old, but had never had the money to run a car so had never gotten my licence. I had to wait 12 weeks for the course though due to the wait for a driving test in the North East. The instructor said I was test ready after about 12-15 hours but I had paid 1k for the full 40 so did lots of mock tests, and she let me just practice stuff I wanted to (lots of reverse and parallel parking to make sure I was happy with it). Passed first time, 2 minors.

Couple of things to note, I didn't particularly get on with my instructor, she'd shout occasionally with no real reason, and actually hit me a couple of times. If it wasn't an intensive course that I knew would have been finished in a week I'd have found another instructor after the first few lessons. So just be mindful that if your instructor isn't to your liking you'll have to lump it, basically. Second thing, and this is going to sound daft. It's intense. I know the clue is in the name but I found it quite exhausting. And I'm an endurance cyclist used to 7 day events etc. The combination of concentration, stress, learning something new and doing it for 7 hours a day was hard work. I was really tired at the end.

I'd still recommend an intensive course though. Gets it out of the way. I'd have struggled to do it week to week with other commitments. I just booked a week off work.

So happy I did it as well. Absolutely love driving. The freedom is great, and it's just so much fun. I'm currently driving the wifes 1.2 Fiesta which is utterly gutless but I'm sure next year I'll be in Motors asking for advice, then promptly ignoring it, buying something stupid and annoying [TW]Fox. :D
 
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Cheers guys.

I'm gonna get my provisional sorted online and then book the theory. Not too worried about that, i actually like studying.

£1000 is a lot to lay down in one go, but might be worth it to get it done.
 
I passed via an intensive course not long after I turned 17. Quickest and easiest way to rack up time and mileage in a car for me.

Nearly 8 hours a day driving rather than 1-2 hours every week or so, I'd say my ability as a driver when I passed was more than adequate.
 
Murf said:
I did one in July. 32 years old, but had never had the money to run a car so had never gotten my licence. I had to wait 12 weeks for the course though due to the wait for a driving test in the North East. The instructor said I was test ready after about 12-15 hours but I had paid 1k for the full 40 so did lots of mock tests, and she let me just practice stuff I wanted to (lots of reverse and parallel parking to make sure I was happy with it). Passed first time, 2 minors.

Couple of things to note, I didn't particularly get on with my instructor, she'd shout occasionally with no real reason, and actually hit me a couple of times. If it wasn't an intensive course that I knew would have been finished in a week I'd have found another instructor after the first few lessons. So just be mindful that if your instructor isn't to your liking you'll have to lump it, basically. Second thing, and this is going to sound daft. It's intense. I know the clue is in the name but I found it quite exhausting. And I'm an endurance cyclist used to 7 day events etc. The combination of concentration, stress, learning something new and doing it for 7 hours a day was hard work. I was really tired at the end.

I'd still recommend an intensive course though. Gets it out of the way. I'd have struggled to do it week to week with other commitments. I just booked a week off work.

So happy I did it as well. Absolutely love driving. The freedom is great, and it's just so much fun. I'm currently driving the wifes 1.2 Fiesta which is utterly gutless but I'm sure next year I'll be in Motors asking for advice, then promptly ignoring it, buying something stupid and annoying [TW]Fox. :D
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They hit you??? What?
I would have demanded a full refund and informed the police. What if she's hitting 17yr old and one young man thumps her back?
 
Diagro said:
They hit you??? What?
I would have demanded a full refund and informed the police. What if she's hitting 17yr old and one young man thumps her back?
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Oh let's be clear, I'm 6'3", and she was a small woman in her 50's. It was a couple of slaps on my forearm when I did something she didn't appreciate. Like I said, really annoying, but nothing more than an irritant. It wasn't like she was punching me in the face! :p It would have been a hilarious over reaction to call the police. :D
 
I done one and regretted it. The problem I had, was that my first instructor was an impatient ****, and I never really got on with him at all. It made each lesson a total dread. Ended up failing my test with him twice. I then approached a much larger driving company and explained my situation, and they recommend me someone. I got on with instructor number 2 very well and he was just the complete opposite compared to the first one (In a good way). Ended up passing my test after brushing up on a few lessons with instructor 2.

My advice, perhaps arrange a few lessons with an instructor first before committing to an intensive course. Or, you could arrange to do 2-3 lessons a week. It gives you a bit of a breather and time to take things in.
 
Honestly after my gfs experience I'll say that finding a good instructor is the hardest bit! Many of them should not be in that job.
 
Is it not better to find a highly regarded local instructor (look on bookface, or whatever it's called) and check with them as to their availability? As in, could they do an hour a day with you for a week or so. It might be cheaper and easier.

Our teenager was pretty much ready for his test in two weeks at 3 lessons a week. Got his licence a month after he got his provisional even with the booking delays.
 
grudas said:
Many of them should not be in that job.
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Agreed.

We get lot of learners at the bottom of our street as its relatively quiet and they can practice their reverse round the corner etc. A learner was reversing round the corner with me coming down the road. I stopped but they just kept coming, the learner obviously wasn't looking and the instructor wasn't paying attention to either the learner or the road.

I could see the instructors mobile screen lit up, in the end, rather than beep (I didn't want to seem angry or scare the learner) I flashed my lights, his phone suddenly went away, the car stopped and he waved me round. Your supposed to stop the manoeuvre when a car approaches and make eye contact, to let them know you're aware they are there.

If I was paying a fortune for that lesson I'd be annoyed the instructor wasn't giving me his full attention. I've also been cut up by a learner changing lanes without looking or indicating, I always give learners extra space and attention and clearly saw neither the instructor or driver checked. Scary!
 
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Jamesyboyjim said:
Agreed.

We get lot of learners at the bottom of our street as its relatively quiet and they can practice their reverse round the corner etc. A learner was reversing round the corner with me coming down the road. I stopped but they just kept coming, the learner obviously wasn't looking and the instructor wasn't paying attention to either the learner or the road.

I could see the instructors mobile screen lit up, in the end, rather than beep (I didn't want to seem angry or scare the learner) I flashed my lights, his phone suddenly went away, the car stopped and he waved me round. Your supposed to stop the manoeuvre when a car approaches and make eye contact, to let them know you're aware they are there.

If I was paying a fortune for that lesson I'd be annoyed the instructor wasn't giving me his full attention. I've also been cut up by a learner changing lanes without looking or indicating, I always give learners extra space and attention and clearly saw neither the instructor or driver checked. Scary!
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yup! my instructor was a massive penis but I managed okay and passed first time with him but he was not easy to deal with, constant screaming, pulling of the wheel, random brake slams etc etc

my gf sadly had him assigned too.. went with the same school, he couldn't even be bothered to turn up on time and when he did he was sexist to her in a sense that he pulled things like "women can't do this that.." etc on her so she ditched him.

2nd instructor was a rager, shouting etc.. not teaching but expecting a LEARNER to know how to drive without making ANY mistakes, she dropped him too..

3rd was similar to the 1st in a sense that he couldn't turn up on time, asked to meet up miles from home etc.

4th was one recommended by her friend(surprised she didn't go with him at first) and he was epic, she was actually okay to go on the lessons and not a nervous wreck like she was before, passed after learning with him.

crazy! I've seen instructors with phones in their hands while driving too :o
 
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