Are Intensive Driving Courses for Me?

Whenever someone decides to start driving, like a lot of things in life these day’s, they want it (their licence to drive) like, yesterday! There may be a lot of reasons for someone needing to pass their test quickly; a new job, going abroad, during college/university holidays etc. These are known as Intensive Driving Courses (Crash Courses).

So, what is an intensive driving course?

Every person is unique and the number of hours practice necessary to reach the required standard for the UK test will vary from one person to another. In my experience, the number of hours necessary for the average candidate varied between twenty five to thirty five. Obviously, some candidates will do this quicker and others longer. A lot depends on their previous road experience (had driving instruction previously, driven a moped), their level of spatial awareness (the the skill of judging distance, speed and angles) and any private practice they may undertake. Some people take to driving like a duck to water, others do not!

Driving crash courses are simply having that number of hours of driving lessons in a quicker period. That could be over a few day’s a few weeks or longer. “Great! My driving licence in a week!” – not necessarily so. If you try and get say, 40 hours of training done in a week, the 7 day’s will be very intense and possibly stressful for you. Now, some people can cope with this and others not. If you are someone that may struggle with that speed of learning and stress, then you may not be ready for your test at the end of that week.

Most people adopt a ‘middle of the road’ approach and have say, 10 hours in a week (two hours per day). That way, as the driving lessons are spread over 4 weeks, they have more time to take in and digest the new information and driving skills they are learning. Still, 4 weeks is better than 1 lesson per week over 40 weeks!

What Driving crash courses are not

They are not a ‘magic pill’ to gaining a driving licence. A guaranteed pass is a myth – nobody could guarantee that! At the end of the day, it is yourself and yourself only that will be taking the driving test. Mistakes can happen and nerves may play a part in that. If you see such claims, be very wary. The guarantee could just be that if you fail your test, they will provide another test at the driving school’s cost.

If you do need to pass your driving test fast, it is best to enquire of a number of driving schools to see what deals they offer and how they relate to you during your initial talk. Also, before booking and paying for your intensive driving course up-front (most driving instructors will require this to confirm such a courses) you would be advised to have a lesson or two from your shortlist to see how you actually get on with them and that their teaching practices accord with your style of learning.

The Driving Schools Directory offers an Driving Crash Courses Pupils Enquiry Service that, after you have completed a few basic details, they will make contact with the driving instructors in the area that you require to take your course in and those driving schools will make contact with you. This removes much of the trawling around for you and makes the process of organising your driving crash course far easier.

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