Periodically, I will get a pupil who is desperate to pass their driving test as soon as possible.
When this happens, I explain to the pupil that since the typical new learner in the UK takes an average of around 46 hours to learn to drive, learning quickly is pretty much going to involve getting those 46 hours in in a short period of time. I strongly emphasise that this is an average, and although some people might be able to do it in fewer hours, equally there will be some who require more. I also emphasise that it isn’t a target – if they can do it quicker, great; if they can’t, they’ve got to accept it.
My quickest ever learner – starting from no experience at all – passed his test first time after only 14½ hours of lessons. I’ve had others pass first time after between 17 and 25 hours lessons. Some of these have access to private practice, and some don’t. My own pupils’ overall average number of lessons taken before passing is between 30-40 hours.
At the other end of the scale, my slowest ever learner took 160 hours, and passed on his third attempt. I know of one lady who took over 200 hours and passed on her 7th attempt (100 of those hours were with me before I finally persuaded her to switch to automatic lessons). And I’ve had a few others who have ended up taking 60 or 70 hours before finally passing.
I currently don’t do full-on (as in more than 2 hours of driving a day) intensive courses. The one time I tried, it turned out that the pupil was well into the slow side of the curve, and two intensive courses of 20 hours spaced over a week each time resulted in two comprehensive test fails. My own version of an “intensive” course is a 30-hour paid-upfront package and no more than 2 hours of driving per day. I don’t advertise it, and I only mention it after a positive initial assessment lesson (there’s no way I’m going to offer it to someone who might struggle). As I said above, people have to accept that they might not learn as quickly as they’d hoped.
Recently, I have noticed a renewed interest in intensive lessons. Some people need a licence in order to improve their employment prospects or job security, some want to pass before they go off to university, while others are in the process of converting a full licence from overseas to a UK one. People with previous driving experience are likely to need fewer lessons, and a more intensive style can often suit them.
Of course, I only cover Nottinghamshire, and I am only one of hundreds of driving instructors in this area. So even if I don’t provide full-on intensive lessons, there are plenty of instructors who do. If you Google the topic, a company called PassMeFast crops up a lot. They cover Cheshire, North/South/East/West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Merseyside, and they might be able to help you if you are desperate to get a licence. They seem to offer a wide range of packages.
PassMeFast offers crash courses of up to 48 hours of lessons and, looking at their website, they’re pretty sensible about timescales. The description of that 48 hour course implies that the learner could do as few as four hours of driving per week over a 12-week period. I tell my own beginners to think in terms of 3 months to reach test standard if they are taking regular lessons.
PassMeFast offers both manual and automatic tuition, and they can also help with your theory test. They can arrange for fast-track tests, which take place at the end of your course, and they schedule commencement of your lessons around the test date. Training is done local to you, and the test is at a local centre, so you won’t have to travel. And they offer an assessment lesson so you can decide which course is best for you.
It is also encouraging that in their terms and conditions they make it clear that they won’t allow people to go to test if their driving standards are deemed unsatisfactory by their instructor. PassMeFast does not employ instructors – they simply act as agents between enlisted instructors and pupils seeking lessons. However, they do arbitrate where necessary. And they quite rightly state that they cannot guarantee that you will pass your tests.
Looking at some of the customer reviews on their website, they obviously have a lot of satisfied customers – and they are real ones, as they all have Facebook profiles.
So, if you’re looking to pass your test quickly, and you think that an intensive course might be the way to go, if you’re in an area covered by PassMeFast it can’t hurt to give them a call.