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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2023 14:31:02 GMT 1
Received a text from our grandson this afternoon to say that his driving lessons start from next Wednesday!!! Like a lot of other would be drivers his plans have been put on hold because of Covid and driving testers going on strike.
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Post by houpla on Mar 9, 2023 17:03:45 GMT 1
That must be exciting for him, joseph. Is it a two-part test now in UK? I seem to remember that a theory part was introduced. I'm not sure whether it's been introduced yet, but in France there's going to be three parts to gaining a permis, theory, practical and maintenance  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2023 18:20:04 GMT 1
You have to pass a theory test before you can take the real test houpla. The theory test is valid for a year and this is where Covid caused chaos with practical tests being cancelled. The theory test validity time was increased to ease the backlog.
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Post by houpla on Mar 9, 2023 18:24:59 GMT 1
It's all a far cry from the days when the examiner asked you half a dozen questions and that was that!  I always thought that it was a bit illogical that you could pass the test without ever having driven on a dual carriage-way, never mind a motorway.... Hope all goes well for your grandson! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2023 13:02:12 GMT 1
He will be learning in a Ford Puma. No idea about size, shape etc will go for an online browse later on. As an aside my wife and I were crossing a supermarket car park yesterday when I saw an original Austin Mini. Lord almighty was it small. Remember 60 odd years ago my elder brother had a canary yellow one. Four of us and our luggage crammed into it to travel from South Yorkshire to Great Yarmouth.
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Post by Loiseau on Mar 10, 2023 14:08:54 GMT 1
It's all a far cry from the days when the examiner asked you half a dozen questions and that was that! I always thought that it was a bit illogical that you could pass the test without ever having driven on a dual carriage-way, never mind a motorway.... Hope all goes well for your grandson! I'm sure you could drive on dual carriageways as a learner. It’s how I gave my daughter an approximation to motorway driving (which, indeed, you couldn’t/can’t do on an actual motorway). |
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Post by ForumUser2 on Mar 10, 2023 16:33:55 GMT 1
Both my parents were issued their Driving licences in Belfast way before driving tests were required. Mother stopped driving 20 years ago after ending up on the Humber Bridge while driving from Huddersfield to North Yorkshire. Yeah, me neither.
91-year-old father still drives his Skoda Kamiq most days and does about 1000 miles a month. Still on the ball but prefers not to drive in the dark now. Mind you he runs his life via his smartphone, embraces the tech in his car and generally hasn't ever felt the need for the "I'm too old for that" excuse for being mentally lazy. Hope I'm as sprightly at that age. (Sometimes I wish I was that sprightly now!)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2023 17:29:56 GMT 1
That's what I did Loiseau on the dual carriageway to the M1. Down the dual, round the motorway roundabout and back up the other side of the dual. Nowadays most driving schools offer an hours "tuition" on a motorway when you have passed the test itself.
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Le-Dolly
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Post by Le-Dolly on Mar 10, 2023 17:32:16 GMT 1
Took my bike test in India, I drove forwards...................PASS. I changed the license to a Thai then a Moroccan then a French. I still have the Moroccan, fully legal to have two, or more, in Morocco.
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Post by pcpa on Mar 10, 2023 20:28:00 GMT 1
I'm too old to be mentally lazy!
I dont like driving at night any more due to the cataract on my one remaining eye, autoroutes are not too bad, quiet country roads no problem at all, busy urban areas are a nightmare.
I'm hoping all that will change with the operation in 3 weeks for an multi-focaux intra ocular lens.
20 years ago I was the team member who always drew the night stints in 24 hour races as my night vision was very good and I had the best night lap times, the other team drivers were older than me.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2023 23:25:15 GMT 1
Just found out that his lessons are 2 hours long and cost £34!
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Post by omegal on Mar 13, 2023 0:19:49 GMT 1
Not sure about elsewhere in the UK but costs in London are £25-30 per hour so £50-60 for a two hour lesson.
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Nifty
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Post by Nifty on Mar 15, 2023 7:24:49 GMT 1
I seem to remember that my driving instruction cost me about £18.
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Post by pcpa on Mar 15, 2023 8:14:31 GMT 1
Zero for me, and I never had any free instruction either.
My late father never took a test, he bought his license from the Post Office like you would a TV license.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2023 11:48:32 GMT 1
Sorry forgot to say that his instructor is a family friend so he is getting "mates rates". Well he is off and running at 10.30 this morning.
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I always thought that it was a bit illogical that you could pass the test without ever having driven on a dual carriage-way, never mind a motorway....
