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Min. 120 driving lessons from August

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I heard this last year on the news but thought nothing was going to come of it.. but only the other day my friend's driving instructor told her that from the 1st August 2007, it will be the law for every person learning to drive to have a MINIMUM of 120 driving lessons.

I think this is ridiculous and unfair. I'll be 17 on 1st August and am saving for driving lessons but with most priced at about an average of £15-£20, my 120 lessons would cost at least 2 grand. Which I, nor i am sure can any of my other peers, cannot afford. At all.

You can start driving as soon as you're 17, and I only turn 17 in early July, so I have basically a month to learn and pay a few hundred pounds, or end up going into August paying thousands.

Can anyone tell me the set law on this, and if this IS true then is there anything we can do about it, e.g. write to the big boys in charge or something?

Thanks a lot.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    That's obscene! The average is only something like 50 hours before you can pass, isn't it?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've just had a good look on Google and can't find anything. Why not phone one of the bigger driving schools and ask them?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh no i hope not! I can't afford to start now, if they bought that in then i dunno what i'm gonna do. That's stupid. Someone could be ready and wasting money with more lessons than they need.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What about people who started learning a year ago, do they start from scratch? Or ten years ago? And can you learn with a friend or family or does it have to be with an instructor? Wow 120 is so much, no-one is going to be able to afford to drive!!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it might just be under consideration.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6223887.stm
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I doubt it will be 120 hours, but to be quite honest people do need to be learning for longer before they are unleashed on the roads. Too many young drivers simply don't have the experience to cope with driving on normal roads, especially in bad weather, and that's why so many people are killed on the roads.

    The cost shouldn't be a factor in whether or not the law comes in, because driving is a privilege not a right.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think it's hours, i think it's variety. So having to get it signed off that you have driven, at night, in rushhour, in the rain, in icy conditions etc... But if you can do that in 20 hrs then that's fine.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This on top of changing it to a 2 year MOT? I doubt how many of the accidents involving young drivers are a result of them not being good/experienced enough, and how many of them are as a result of them choosing to drive irresponsibly (at which point their inexperience will show, whereas a more experienced driver can drive irresponsibly and be more capable of getting him/herself out of trouble). That and the fact that often the cars young people drive are nowhere near the standard that they learned in (which brings me to my original point).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fiend_85 wrote: »
    I don't think it's hours, i think it's variety. So having to get it signed off that you have driven, at night, in rushhour, in the rain, in icy conditions etc... But if you can do that in 20 hrs then that's fine.
    I agree with that. That's what you're supposed to do on the pass plus.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I tell you something for nothing - driving lessons on the motorway should be enforced. This is included in the Pass-Plus course (which I did), but I don't think many people do it.

    It's a bit of a bugger as learner drivers aren't allowed on such major roads... yet they are without any instruction once they have passed.

    There are so many 'middle lane hogs', or 'fucking wankers', on the motorways causing congestion that it makes my piss boil, yet a few simple lessons would solve all this.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    As Jeremy Clarkson says, If there's room for you to undertake someone, there's room for them to move over and let you pass. So it's pretty simple. Prosecute people for being undertaken, rather than prosecuting the people that undertake. :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    As Jeremy Clarkson says, If there's room for you to undertake someone, there's room for them to move over and let you pass. So it's pretty simple. Prosecute people for being undertaken, rather than prosecuting the people that undertake. :D



    :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The trouble is that we don't have any police to enforce lane-hogging, because they've all been replaced by bloody speed cameras. Cameras which won't catch the old codger doing 50 in the middle lane, of course.

    A lot of accidents involving young drivers are because of irresponsible driving. I'd probably be in favour of raising the driving age by three years to 20, as it tends to be 17-year-old chavscum in their Saxos who cause the biggest problems.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Experience is probably the most important thing, although everything else contributes.

    I took 4 tests to pass, (and one cancellation with a 3 months rebook between each one) and in that time I got loads and loads of driving experience. My brother passed first time, he, my parents and I all acknowledge that the main reason I was/am a better driver than he is because I got so much supervised practise.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »
    The cost shouldn't be a factor in whether or not the law comes in, because driving is a privilege not a right.
    to be fair though, many people have to drive now, due to long commutes ect, can't just get a bus anywhere. I don't think people should be disadvantaged because they can't afford to learn. The government seem to be very willing to get young people from disadvantaged backgrounds onto schemes and give them grants to help them be hearded off to uni like cattle though.
    They say you don't learn to drive til you've passed, it's very much like school, you're just taught how to pass an exam then you're let out into the real world. I think it may be an idea for learners to have more supervised driving before they're allowed solo. Pass plus should be a must too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    oh no i hope not! I can't afford to start now, if they bought that in then i dunno what i'm gonna do. That's stupid. Someone could be ready and wasting money with more lessons than they need.

    I was thinking this as well.

    Will it be the same for people who started and did say, 20 lessons then stopped for a few months, would they have to do 100 lessons?:confused:
  • littlemissylittlemissy Posts: 9,972 Supreme Poster
    Ballerina wrote: »
    to be fair though, many people have to drive now, due to long commutes ect, can't just get a bus anywhere. I don't think people should be disadvantaged because they can't afford to learn.

    You don't *have* to drive. If you choose to work a fair distance away then you could get public transport. Yes, it isn't always an ideal option but about 99% of people don't *have* to drive. They just choose to as it is easier.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    The government seem to be very willing to get young people from disadvantaged backgrounds onto schemes and give them grants to help them be hearded off to uni like cattle though.

    What would be the point of learning to drive if you can't afford to get a car, pay for petrol, MOT, tax, etc? Or should the government pay for that as well?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sofie wrote: »
    What would be the point of learning to drive if you can't afford to get a car, pay for petrol, MOT, tax, etc? Or should the government pay for that as well?
    i'm not saying that, but if people can't get a good job in their area and can't drive then it's a bit of a dead end. If learning to drive would mean it being more likely to be paid more, more opportunities to further themselves ect, then i think driving lessons should be a bit more accessible.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    to be fair though, many people have to drive now, due to long commutes ect, can't just get a bus anywhere.

    No-one forces you to work that far away from home. Anyway, what's wrong with public transport? I use and it does work out much cheaper than driving...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »
    I doubt it will be 120 hours, but to be quite honest people do need to be learning for longer before they are unleashed on the roads. Too many young drivers simply don't have the experience to cope with driving on normal roads, especially in bad weather, and that's why so many people are killed on the roads.

    The cost shouldn't be a factor in whether or not the law comes in, because driving is a privilege not a right.

    If people are not experienced enough when they are unleashed on the roads then this is down to the driving test and examiner - if someone can show they can drive properly then the amount of hours with an official tutor is irrelevant.

    Also you seem to be stereotyping both 17 year olds and saxo drivers in your other posts - bit of a stupid sweeping generalisation don't you think?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Also you seem to be stereotyping both 17 year olds and saxo drivers in your other posts - bit of a stupid sweeping generalisation don't you think?

    Yeah, we all know it's the Corsa drivers that are the real wankers on the road.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Would it not make more sense to increase the difficulty of the test (say to pass-plus level) which would increase the number of hours required, but not penalise people able to put a lot of hours in outside of lessons, or who may have a natural affinity for driving.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The test should be in multiple parts:-

    1hr town driving - plus additional time to perform all manoeuvers
    30m Basic car maintenance - including wheel/bulb checking/changing and safe jacking of vehicle
    1hr motorway driving
    1hr on a skid pad

    Even then, that isn't really enough to give experience in all conditions, but it should be better than the current test.

    Some people will be safe with 10 hours of tuition, others will need 500 - and still be crap. It'd be unfair to make people do 100 hours of lessons that aren't required.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sofie wrote: »
    No-one forces you to work that far away from home. Anyway, what's wrong with public transport? I use and it does work out much cheaper than driving...

    maybe, but public transport is different everywhere. I'm just saying everything is more spread out now, and you can't always just hop on a bus.
    My friend from norway says that to pass their tests they need to do so many hours in certain conditions and a long distance drive (100 miles i think) to pass. Seems alot more sensible.
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