I've always considered myself to be a pretty independent person in most areas of my life. However, there is one area in which I have been totally dependent upon others the past few decades of my life - getting from A to B by means of a car. Yes - all my solo adventures have been made with the use of my own two feet and public transport. Due to events the past few years I started thinking that perhaps I really should get my driving license. After all, as the nature of the job I want is likely to involve travel - how likely am I to be successful in an application without a driving license? A couple of years ago I cheekily asked if driving lessons counted as a 'training course' for my personal development plan - naturally the answer was 'no'. My attitude is I was no worse off for asking and they could have surprised me (so I'm an optimist).This year I finally decided to take the plunge and started saving. It's an expensive business in the UK as there's a fair bit involved cost wise:
- Cost of a provisional driving licence (if you don't have one already): £50
- Insurance for a learner driver on the practice car
- Theory test: £30
- Practical test: £56.50
- Driving lessons: £20 to £26 per hour in my area
- Supplementary materials (e.g. DVD, Highway code): £25 for learner pack from DSA inc. L plates
- Free information: Lots of good stuff on the motoring pages of the Direct Gov website.
'I'm pleased to say you've passed.'
For anyone else out there in their mid-thirties and thinks it's too late to learn - think again. If I can do it - so can you!
Major thanks go to:
My partner: All your support, patience with manoeuvres and learning to trust my ability to stop the car.
My driving instructor - Dave Lewsey: Your patience with a perfectionist learner, willingness to translate concepts into something that worked for me (mantra: RLR, Rbs, Lbs, Bwdw) and your sense of humour - I loved lessons with you and no longer having them is the only downside of passing my test.
Posts
