Driving Lessons in Nottingham with Martin
Learner Drivers
How long will it take to learn to drive?
Before embarking on a plan to learn to drive, it is important to think about how many lessons you might need (to help you budget and understand how long it might take). Although it is impossible to estimate precisely (before you’ve even had a few lessons), on average, it can take around 45-50 hours of lessons (over a period of 4-8 months) to learn to drive and meet the standard required to pass the test. However, this is an average (so some people will need more lessons and a few people will be ready to take their test earlier). There are several factors which will influence the length of time it takes to learn how to drive. Some people simply learn to drive more quickly than others but these are generally people who are more confident, have a more natural ability/co-ordination, can make swift decisions or may have already had some driving experience (perhaps starting with a parent) and have the opportunity to practise between lessons with friends or family (or it may be that they simply live in a more suitable area to learn). In addition, generally speaking, the younger you are the less lessons you’ll probably need. Conversely, some people may need more than 50 hours of lessons (especially people who are slightly older, more nervous on the road, have an infrequent lesson plan, are not naturally co-ordinated or whose learning style requires more time to practice activities). The important thing to remember is that driving is a skill for the rest of your life, so be prepared to learn at your own pace.
Driving Lesson Length
I generally provide driving lessons in sessions that last either 1½ hours or 2 hours with the length of a session depending on personal circumstances, preferences and learning styles. A 2 hour lesson is the most cost effective, as there is as much learning time as you would get from 3 x 1 hour lessons (and a 2 hour lesson is far cheaper than 3 x 1 hour lessons). However, for many people, a 2 hour session can be quite intensive and quite tiring. In my experience, the 1½ hour lesson is probably the most effective for the majority of people and it still provides almost as much learning time as 2 x 1 hour lessons. Given the amount of time required to clean the car before and after a lesson (since the Covid-19 pandemic), I now only consider one hour lessons for pupils who have specific medical needs or where their learning is best in shorter sessions (noting that the price of one hour lessons in proportionately higher, to reflect this).
I do find that many people benefit from a semi intensive start (e.g. a couple of lessons a week, perhaps for the first couple of weeks) or having a couple of lessons a week, so I do provide semi intensive lessons, subject to my availability, tailored to your needs. While I have delivered truly intensive courses before, this can be very difficult to fit into my existing, and usually busy, diary commitments so it depends on your precise requirements and my availability at the time.
All your driving lessons commence and finish at an agreed location. This can be home, work, school, college or university and can start and finish at different locations (but only if agreed with me in advance). Please click here to see details of my lesson slots times.
Your First Driving Lesson
Your very first driving lesson will focus on learning about routine safety checks as well as providing a full explanation (and practical use) of the car’s main controls and instruments. Regardless of the length of the first lesson, you can expect to move off, change gear and stop the car in this lesson (as a minimum).
The First 5-10 minutes of a Driving Lesson
For the first 5-10 minutes of each subsequent driving lesson, we will start by recapping on what was learnt from the previous lesson and, if applicable, discuss any practice driving that you have had between your driving lessons. This discussion will help us agree the objective for the rest of the driving lesson (which may include further practice on a previous subject as well as progressing to a new area). This conversation will be held outside the car, without masks but socially distanced. After sanitising hands and applying a mask, we will then enter the car and you will get yourself ready to drive to an area that is suitable for the objective of the lesson. For the first few lessons, depending upon your location, I will drive you to and from a suitable area for the learning subject.
There is a clear structure to my driving lesson plans, reflecting the DVSA Driver’s Record. However, in line with the DVSA’s approach to client centred learning, I also take into account areas that you’d like to focus on and allow you to take ownership of your learning. Encouraging you to learn at your own pace, I also look to use different techniques to best suit your learning style and be flexible to your circumstances (e.g. if you live near roundabouts, it is likely that you will want to cover roundabouts far sooner and in more depth than someone who doesn’t live anywhere near a roundabout).
The Last 15-20 mins of each Driving Lesson
Within the last 15-20 minutes of your driving lesson, you will be driving back to your dropping off point. The aim is to arrive at about 5-10 minutes before the end of your lesson, so that we can both reflect on how the lesson went, answer any questions you might have and review your overall. This reflection also helps us both plan ahead for the next driving lesson and allows me to provide you with some guidance on areas you might want to focus on before the next driving lesson (especially if you are able to practise between driving lessons). Similar to the conversation at the beginning of the lesson, the final conversation will be held outside the car so that we can speak face to face but be at least 2 metres apart.
To book your first driving lesson with me or to explore your requirements in more detail, please contact me using my contact form, by telephone or send me a message (text or WhatsApp) using any of the contact details at the bottom of this page.