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Who Can't Drive?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/27/ntest127.xml

Well if you've not taken your test yet you better hurry before it becomes 5 times longer to pass and 5 times more expensive to learn

I'm not sure how the average 100 hours and new 500 hours figure is worked out - we didn't have theory test when I passed - someone wanna break down 100 hours fr me from their experience - I think I had about 15 lessons before passing 2nd time.
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    An average now of 100 hours behind the wheel before you try your test? Pull the other one. I don't believe that for a second. I suspect most people haven't even been behind the wheel for half that amount of time before doing their test. I crammed in as many lessons as I could within three months, but there is no way that I had 100 hours of tuition. That would have cost me, at a rate of £22 per hour, £2,200. There is no way I could have afforded that!

    If you took this literally, here's a breakdown of the bill;
    Total cost of obtaining provisional licence: £45.00
    Total cost of 500 hours of lessons, at £22 per hour: £11,000
    Total cost of doing theory test: £28.50
    Total cost of doing practical test: £48.50 (though this is due to rise in 2008)
    And once you've passed...
    Cost of buying a car: Anywhere from £400 upwards...
    Cost of keeping it fuelled up, putting in £20 a week, every week for a year: £1,040
    Cost of insurance: Seen quotes ranging from £600 - £3000.
    Taking the biggest figures in each category...
    TOTAL: £15,562

    Speaks for itself, doesn't it?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yeah that's what I don't understand where do the 100 and 500 hours come from?

    and if it really is £15,000 per student I'm gonna setup a string of driving schools .. :)

    Cute 18 year old girls paying me £15,000 to spend time with me .. sounds alright to me .. :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Most learners go out with family as well as having lessons though. I'd done well over 100 hours of learning when I passed, but that was with having driven up to Newcastle, Hull, York etc via the back roads to look round universities, as well as standard driving around home and so on.

    When I took my test the 1st time though I certainly hadn't done anywhere near enough and I wasn't ready to cope with what roads had to throw at me. Never had another lesson with an instructor after that though and passed my test on my mum's car.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I failed for picky driving test details that got me major faults, but over the 4 tests I took, had less than 10 faults overall.

    I'd done about 5000 miles by the time I passed, which assuming an average of 30 mph (seems likely to be too high) that's 167 hours behind the wheel.

    Could easily have passed far sooner but by getting that much time in it made me a much better driver, the big criticism of young drivers is their inexperience so I suppose requiring a minimum amount would help that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think we'll see numbers of people driving without a liesence rocket.
    It all sounds too much to me, although have noticed crazy crazy driving over the past couplea years, way 2 regularly.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    I had very few proper driving lessons. Probably didn't spend more than £100.
    I'm glad it was easier 11 years ago. :D Not something I have to worry about.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    So when does this come into affect?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Driving is expensive anyway. I'm really not sure why people expect learning to drive to be cheap.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    learning over a longer period of time will probably be better, because then you can experience more weather/light conditions. But making it alot more expensive will probably just create a two teir system - i thought social mobility was supposedly being tackled?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Mist wrote: »
    Driving is expensive anyway. I'm really not sure why people expect learning to drive to be cheap.

    Exactly. How much does it cost to run a car? £40 a week? £50? That's two lessons a week, which is more than most people have when they complain about the cost of them.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Skive wrote: »
    I had very few proper driving lessons. Probably didn't spend more than £100.
    I'm glad it was easier 11 years ago. :D Not something I have to worry about.


    Same as mate
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    DG wrote: »
    [ 5 times longer to pass and 5 times more expensive to learn

    :eek:
    i already have my licence and have for a fair few years but 5 times as expensive...
    when i was learning i remember an hours session cost about £20
    £20 x 5 = £100/hr - there is no way that can be right!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    he means 'and therefore'
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    500 hours must be bullshit. That's 10 years at an hour a week. I reckon they've put an extra 0 in there by mistake. It'd even take a year and a half having a lesson every day.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh this is shit isn't it? Stupid idea.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Does the '100' hours thing apply to ALL learners? or just one's who are 18?

    I'm 21 and soo close to taking my test, I just need to find a new instructor in the new year and brush up on my maneouvres first...

    When's all this coming into action?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    the 12 months thing is stupid. people learn at different rates.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    otter wrote: »
    the 12 months thing is stupid. people learn at different rates.

    :yes: And it would probably be a waste of time for people who took lessons, stopped for whatever reason and then chose to start again.

    I'm not allowed to drive so this won't apply to me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    rachie004 wrote: »
    500 hours just to drive a car?

    Some commercial pilots don't even have 250 hours flying! It's a good way to get people off the roads and into the air though - it'd cost less to get a private pilots licence than what it will to get a drivers licence

    I quite like that idea, now just if i can get my work to build a landing strip out the back
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    otter wrote: »
    the 12 months thing is stupid. people learn at different rates.


    You only learn to really drive AFTER you pass your test and are then out on the road on your own. You learn by making mistakes and near misses.

    All the driving test does is bring you up to some kind of minimum standard

    Most new driver have accident cos of lack of experience, lack of awareness around them, over confidence, etc not because they don't know one pedal from the other.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They should allow you to drive with others when you are learning to get much much more experience. Then you get real life experience too and as much as you need/want. Like here, once you pass a written test to get a drivers permit, then you can drive with a licensed driver over 18 or 21, I don't remember. At least thats how it went when I got mine, they're changing everything up here too. But then my brother would take me out to parking lots and I'd learn to drive stick, my parents could take me out to back roads at first to learn to drive then drive around the town without some teacher besides you with their foot on the brake being an annoying back seat driver freaking you out! Took me forever to get the hang of it. I'd be lost if I could have only driven once a week. I'd probably still be learning :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They should allow you to drive with others when you are learning to get much much more experience. Then you get real life experience too and as much as you need/want. Like here, once you pass a written test to get a drivers permit, then you can drive with a licensed driver over 18 or 21, I don't remember

    You can do that here too. As long as the other person is 21 or over and held their licence for 3 years :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You can do that here too. As long as the other person is 21 or over and held their licence for 3 years :thumb:


    Ah my bad. I thought I remember being told you couldn't. Then nevermind what I thought ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When I learnt to drive I our college had organised a course at a driving centre where you have a private driving track with traffic lights, etc where you can learn to drive in a safe environment. I don't know how many of those still exist - then they had driving simulators you sit in but they were really basic back then.

    The crazy thing is now people's home PC's are so powerful the government can easily provide all new drivers with a free car driving simulation to use at home on your PC, Xbox, Wii or PS.

    It might cost a few million to develop but it could easily save many times that in reduced accidents over time, etc. You can simulate all the unexpected things that happen in life like a child running into the road, etc or a car indicating to turn at a junction but drivng straight ahead.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've been learning for an obscene amount of time now. I've booked my test, but it's taken me a long time to get to this stage.

    So, to answer.. me. I can't drive. Not in any professional capacity.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Drivers under 25 are more likely than anyone else to have an accident, and one in five of 17-year old drivers have had an accident. To those of you that think these changes are a "stupid idea" - are you seriously saying you're happy with the present system? And if not, what alternative are you proposing?
    DG wrote: »
    You only learn to really drive AFTER you pass your test and are then out on the road on your own. You learn by making mistakes and near misses.
    Oh god yes. I remember the first time I was driving at night on my own. Almost crashed into a wall that night. Quite a scary experience.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I spend way less than 100 hours behind the wheel before I passed (with 1 minor :p ). I didn't practice in other cars (except half an hour in my mams) because I live away from home, so I think I spent about 40 hours of lessons learning. It cost me about a grand

    Off the subject I had a deer run out in front of my car on the motorway 2 days ago. It was quite scary. Luckily I'd kept my eye on the cars behind me so it was safe to brake, otherwise it would be dead :crying:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm 25 and I still haven't passed a driving test, although I can physically drive a car. I'm sick of it getting more and more expensive, it's a joke. If they want to make the roads safer, there are many other things they could look at, such as the safety of older drivers who took a test many many years ago.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katchika wrote: »
    There are many other things they could look at, such as the safety of older drivers who took a test many many years ago.

    :yes:

    That really pisses me off, seeing older people who took driving tests when they were easy, driving in a way that they would be instantly failed at if they took a test today. I'm not friends with the DSA at the moment, since I failed a test in November :p
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