Soldato
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- 10 Jun 2010
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What's your thoughts on Intensive driving courses/crash courses?
Views on crash courses?
- Thread starter Buchanan0204
- Start date
They work for some people, for example those with prior off-road driving experience.
My opinion is that by cramming lots of lessons into a very short space of time, you're missing out on a lot of the experience that comes with taking regular lessons over a longer period of time. Learning how make the car start/stop/steer is only a small part of learning to drive, and whilst you might get pretty good and smooth at this physical part of it over an intensive course, my view is that the greater portion of learning to drive - the mental part, the anticiation, road and traffic reading skills - don't get enough time to develop.
There was a kid around here who was quite handy in a kart, and raced nationally. Took an intensive course and passed his test in a week. He passed first time with very few faults, but was a liability on the road. I remember following him a few times.
One August time I couldn't safely keep up with him on a local tight country road with many blind corners through some woods - it was only a matter of luck that he didn't encounter one of the many combine harvesters which take up almost the whole road (that use that road regularly at that time of year) around a blind corner at 70mph. Those are the sorts of thought skills, processes and knowledge a good instructor can impart over time, but which (in my experience) are necessarily skipped over in an intensive course.
My opinion is that by cramming lots of lessons into a very short space of time, you're missing out on a lot of the experience that comes with taking regular lessons over a longer period of time. Learning how make the car start/stop/steer is only a small part of learning to drive, and whilst you might get pretty good and smooth at this physical part of it over an intensive course, my view is that the greater portion of learning to drive - the mental part, the anticiation, road and traffic reading skills - don't get enough time to develop.
There was a kid around here who was quite handy in a kart, and raced nationally. Took an intensive course and passed his test in a week. He passed first time with very few faults, but was a liability on the road. I remember following him a few times.
One August time I couldn't safely keep up with him on a local tight country road with many blind corners through some woods - it was only a matter of luck that he didn't encounter one of the many combine harvesters which take up almost the whole road (that use that road regularly at that time of year) around a blind corner at 70mph. Those are the sorts of thought skills, processes and knowledge a good instructor can impart over time, but which (in my experience) are necessarily skipped over in an intensive course.
I done mine 5 years ago. 5 days, 6 hours driving a day plus breaks. It was very good, but it can be tough for some people. I'd reccomend that you have had at least a few go's of driving and understand the very basics.
I suggest not making any plans for that week, and just focus on on the course. For someone who never drives, to be driving 6 hours a day and taking eveything onboard is hard work. You will need a bit of determination about you.
The instructor will push you (mine did!) as they know you only have X amount of days to learn everything to test standard.
I suggest not making any plans for that week, and just focus on on the course. For someone who never drives, to be driving 6 hours a day and taking eveything onboard is hard work. You will need a bit of determination about you.
The instructor will push you (mine did!) as they know you only have X amount of days to learn everything to test standard.
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He just sounds like a bit of a spanner - I used to race nationally too. Another youg person who has passed their driving test and thinks he's the next Vettel. Doesnt matter how you pass your test, once you have passed just dont be another statistic
This is my bugbear with the intensive courses. Everybody learns at different rates, so what happens if you're actually not ready to take the test after the week, despite the instructor's best efforts?
The answer is you go in for your test anyway, and you might manage to fluke a half decent drive without too many faults and pass. You end up with a full licence, but not really properly prepared to drive safely on your own.
If learning with an instructor over a more normal period of time, they would know that you weren't quite ready and postpone the test a little while.
Associate
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Think mine was under £400 for a weeks course passed first time 1 minor. inlcuded B+B stay.
They are great if you already have the basics go for it.
As for peopel saying pushed and manage to pass? does it actually matter? you learn more in the first week alone than you would 2 weeks in a car with someone if you ask me.
Like everyone says they teach you to pass a test not drive.
They are great if you already have the basics go for it.
As for peopel saying pushed and manage to pass? does it actually matter? you learn more in the first week alone than you would 2 weeks in a car with someone if you ask me.
Like everyone says they teach you to pass a test not drive.
They shouldn't. A decent instructor will teach you to drive - and impart plenty of relevant real world knowledge along the way. A by-product of this is that the learner will be able to pass the test, but the real goal is that they've got the foundations of actually understanding how the real world works.
A great many instructors unfortunately do just teach entirely along test routes and teach learners purely to pass the test. They can pass, and the instructors have "done their job", but the new drivers have no understanding of how the roads work in real life - which is the reason there are so many shoddy drivers on the road.
The downside of going in for the test too early and fluking a pass is that you get a full licence despite not being fully prepared. The problem with "learning more in the first week alone" by yourself is that a lot of young drivers end up upside down in a field, or embedded in the back of another car at a set of traffic lights...