How come my parent only needed ten lessons?

I love this question.

Lots of people also seem to know someone who has a friend who passed in ten, but strangely the persons name is never known to them. I have also never met the instructor who taught them. Never. Strange that. There are quite a few of us instructors looking out for this superinstructor.

Firstly there is the question of private practice. Did they have any private practice? For some pupils it can be a brilliant addition to their lessons. For others, particularly if there is someone in the passenger seat that interferes, it can be a nightmare.

Secondly the test itself has changed significantly. It is now much harder to pass. The driving test today is nearly as hard as the advanced test was when I was taught. It is longer, there are more manoeuvres in it, the courses are harder; containing more difficult junctions and a greater variety of road types, traffic is at least four times worse, and the examiners are less lenient when looking for mistakes.

There is one other thing that needs taking into consideration. Road conditions. When I learnt in Nuneaton there were approximately four mini roundabouts in the town, no speed bumps, very few pedestrian crossings, very few traffic lights, smaller junctions, no width reducing traffic calming schemes, fewer roads because the town was significantly smaller and therefore there were less pedestrians, there was approximately one quarter of the traffic on the roads that there is now and people were more considerate then because they had the time to be. Sounds easier doesn't it? And it was!

If your parent learnt well in their lesson time, had a good level of private practice and plenty of it and kept their calm on the day, then yes, years ago it was maybe just possible for the best ones to learn in ten lessons. But not many people managed it even then. I do know of one person that passed in ten; I also know people who claim ten lessons now, but I know that they had thirty because I knew them at the time. Memory seems to conveniently change over time. Just as a matter of interest I wonder how many lessons you will be admitting to in twenty or thirty years time?

If you think that all driving instructors just rip people off for the lesson fees then please go and browse another web site. I don't want you on this one.