Driving is a skill that a person should learn as soon as they reach legal age. With the design of modern cars, learning how to drive has already become easier. How long does it take to learn how to drive?
It takes an average person around 45 hours to learn how to drive with professional driving lessons. You also need to practice your newly learned driving skills for at least 20 hours. You can spread out that amount of time into three to four months.
If you want to learn how to drive, you should spend at least 6 hours every month practicing what you’ve learned. Regularly practicing will make you a decent driver in one year.
Read on to learn about the length of time it will take you to learn to drive a car and some tips on facilitating your learning curve.
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How Long Does It Take to Learn How to Drive?
To learn how to drive, an average person will take around 45 hours of professional driving lessons and 20 hours of practice. You can spread that time over three to four months.
Beyond classroom lessons and practice sessions, you will need around 22 hours of actual road driving. To be a decent driver, you should at least spend 6 hours every month perfecting your driving skills.
Several Factors Influence the Length of Time
The amount of time required to learn how to drive will depend on the individual. Several factors will influence the length of time. The 45-hour estimate is only the usual length of time it will take for most people.
Once you learn how to drive, you won’t forget it. While your driving skills may deteriorate if you don’t drive regularly, you will retain the fundamentals of driving once you have learned it.
Refresher Course for Those Who Stopped Driving for Years
But you can be out of touch. So, if you’ve not been driving for years, you may benefit from a refresher course about driving fundamentals. Doing so will easily build up your confidence in driving on the road.
A complete beginner can learn how to drive in as short as two weeks if interested and put in the necessary practice hours.
But you won’t develop the proper skills and confidence in driving on busy streets and highways in just a short time. It will take you several months to develop decent and safe driving skills.
Everyone Learns to Drive at a Different Pace
When it comes to learning how to drive, we are all different from each other. While you may be worried about driving uphill, another person will be afraid of parallel parking.
You may have heard that one person passed their driving test the first time they took it. In reality, so many people have to take it a couple of times before passing.
Learn to Drive At Your Own Pace
So, you don’t need to force it. You have to learn to drive at your own pace. The 45-hour and 22- hour limit is just an estimate. It can take you a shorter or longer time, depending on how you absorb the lessons and how frequently you can put them into actual practice.
Can You Drive by Yourself With a Permit?
Driving Is Not Just Stop and Go
A Lot of Coordination Involved
Driving a car is not simply making it run. It is just not a stop-and-go activity. Making a car run is very easy. But what you do after that is a very different thing. There’s a lot of coordination involved. You have to look out for vehicles, pedestrians, or wildlife that will pass by while driving on the streets.
A mirror dashcam with a front and rear view will come in handy for this purpose:
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When you take proper driving lessons, you will realize that it is not just making the car run and stop, which button to push or wheel to turn, or lever to pull. It’s also about interacting with other vehicles and pedestrians on the road.
Know the Road Signs and Signals
You should also be concerned about many things, such as having the right braking distance from the vehicle. You also need to know the meaning of all the signs and signals you will encounter while driving.
Build Your Driving Confidence
It’s also about building your driving confidence. It’s okay if you are afraid of driving in the streets after learning the fundamental skills and the basic road rules. That attitude will help you avoid road accidents on your first few attempts at driving alone.
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However, that should only be for your first few months. If you are still not confident in driving on busy streets after one year of driving, you will be a danger to other drivers on the road. You have to build your driving confidence. And you can do that by practicing.
In case of a roadside emergency, you have to equip yourself with a Flashing Warning Flare Kit:
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Again, how long does it take to learn how to drive? On average, it will take around 45 hours of driving lessons plus around 20 hours of practice to learn how to drive. Learn how to drive within a year by practicing six hours each month.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Manual?
How to Learn to Drive Quickly
You need to accept that you can’t avoid spending adequate time learning to drive. It is not possible in just a few short weeks. So, don’t feel that you are weak if you’re still struggling to drive after a couple of weeks.
You are learning to drive first, to pass the driving test. So, you need to concentrate on the basics first. And the best way to learn how to drive quickly is to get the basics down.
To quickly learn how to drive, follow the below steps:
1. Learn From the Right Instructor
If you can, enroll in a reputable driving school.
2. Learn the Theory of Driving
This is one of the topics that you will be tested on when you take the driving test.
3. Practice Driving Regularly
Driving schools offer theory and practical driving. Aside from what they teach, practice driving on your own. Since you are still a student driver, don’t forget to bring along a licensed driver while you are practicing. I think the law requires it.
4. Study the Highway Code
This is part of the theory test. You also have to pass this test to get your driver’s license.
5. Be Confident
It’s natural to be afraid as you start. But as you gain knowledge and put the required practice, you should gain more confidence in your ability to drive.
6. Don’t Get Discouraged
You’re just a beginner, so you are bound to make mistakes and fail sometimes. But go on, learn from your mistakes, and you will be on your way to being a good driver.
Factors That Affect How Long It Will Take You to Learn to Drive
Several factors can shorten or lengthen the time you learn to drive. You should also understand that a level of learning will enable you to pass the driver’s license test.
However, driving on busy streets requires a higher degree of driving skills. It will take years before they develop their skills as good drivers for some people. In the United States, people have an easier time learning to drive. Why? Most people in this country drive everywhere.
If you’re an American, the car culture in the country enables you to drive a car even if you’re still a teenager. That may be driving off the road, but you will learn the necessary skills to pass a driving test even before becoming an adult.
That said, here are the factors that will influence the length of time you will learn to drive:
1. Hours Spent on Learning
The more hours you spend in the classroom and on the road practicing, the faster you will learn to drive, and vice versa. So, if you want to learn faster, spend more time learning and practicing.
2. Quality of Your Instructor
A good instructor willing to impart all their knowledge and skills will facilitate the pupil’s learning, whatever subject they are teaching. So, choose a reputable driving school with concerned teachers, and you will learn to drive faster.
3. Type of Car You Use
Driving a manual transmission car is more difficult than driving a car with automatic transmission. Some drivers can drive cars with automatic transmissions but can’t drive cars with stick-shift transmissions.
In other words, it is easier to drive a car with automatic transmission. So, if you are using this car type while learning to drive, you will learn faster.
However, it is still better to learn to drive manual transmission cars because they offer some car handling advantages over cars with automatic transmissions.
Why It Takes Three Months to Learn to Drive?
Modern Cars Have Cutting-edge Technologies That Make Learning Easier
Learning to drive is never easier with today’s modern cars. Modern cars have adopted many cutting-edge technologies that make learning to drive easier than before. So, you can learn the basics in a few days.
The basics include stepping on the clutch and the accelerator to move the vehicle forward; stepping on the brakes to stop it; and steering the steering wheel to where you want to go.
You require at least three months to learn how to drive because when you are driving, you are multi-tasking. When driving properly, you have to do several things simultaneously. What you are building in yourself is the ability to drive automatically.
You have to do many things simultaneously to move your vehicle forward in the direction you want to go at a safe speed for you and the other vehicles you encounter on the road.
Learn How to Drive Instinctively
You can’t drive your car if you are still approaching it as going from step one to step two, and so forth. You must drive instinctively, and that takes time. The least average is three months or at the very least 45 days of regular driving on busy streets and roads.
You have to learn many things to be a decent and safe driver. You have to learn how to move your vehicle forward and backward safely. Additionally, you need to learn the finer points in parking your car, whether parallel, reverse, or inclined.
A blind spot mirror will help you in doing the tasks mentioned by eliminating your blind spot:
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Build Multi-Tasking Skills
So, you need adequate time to build your multi-tasking skills and create your situational awareness on the road. You need to know when to turn on your signals when changing lanes, to stop, or parking. Your speed should be adjusted according to the situation on the road and so forth.
Conclusion: How Long Does It Take to Learn How to Drive?
If you are an average person, you can drive by taking around 45 hours of professional driving lessons. Then you have to practice what you’ve learned in the classroom for at least 20 hours. You can spread out your learning time over three to four months.
If you want to shorten your learning curve, you should at least spend 6 hours each month perfecting your driving skills. By doing this, you will develop decent driving skills in one year.
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