Getting behind the wheel of a car can be exhilarating—or nerve wracking. After all, while the freedom of the open road is an exciting prospect, you might also be nervous because… well, you have no idea what you’re doing yet! One thing that can help to ease your mind, however, is knowing what to expect on your first lesson.
Driving lessons are an essential step in becoming a confident and skilled driver. They provide you with the opportunity to learn and practice essential driving techniques with the guidance of an experienced instructor. While the duration of your first driving lesson may vary depending on your chosen driving school or instructor, it will likely be around two hours long. This will be more than enough time for your driving instructor to introduce basics like the cockpit drill and even get you out onto the roads briefly. Unless you’ve decided on a particularly intensive approach, it’s unlikely that your lesson will be any longer than that.
Once you're in the car, your driving instructor will go through the cockpit drill. This is a series of checks you need to make before driving to make sure everything is adjusted correctly, such as your seat and mirrors. You'll then cover the car's controls, including the clutch, brake and accelerator, and you'll probably spend some time trying to find the biting point, before moving on to your indicators.
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There's not much you need to do to prepare for your first driving lesson. Just get a good night's sleep and make sure you've eaten something — there's nothing worse than driving on an empty stomach!
The most important thing you'll need is your provisional licence. Your driving instructor legally needs to check this at the start of your lesson, and if you don't have it with you, the lesson will be cancelled.
We'd also recommend wearing flat shoes, such as trainers, and bringing a bottle of water with you.
You might have noticed that your first driving lesson involves a lot of checks and not much driving. Hopefully you won't be too disappointed by this — it's really important you're familiar with all of the controls and pedals before you get going.
But don't worry, at the end of your first driving lesson your driving instructor will probably ask you to do some slow driving around a quiet residential area.
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It’s your first driving lesson. You are definitely going to make at least one mistake—it’s pretty much a given. Instead of spending your entire lesson worrying about slipping up, just concentrate on what your instructor is teaching you. Trust us, your instructor will have seen learners do every silly thing imaginable in lessons.
You can’t know whether driving is or isn’t for you after just one lesson! Whilst some learners take to driving straight away, others need while longer before they actually start to enjoy driving and build up their confidence. So, even if you feel disheartened after your first lesson, try to wait until you’ve finished a few more to make up your mind.
It depends on what you’ve arranged with your driving instructor. With PassMeFast, you can usually get picked up from either home or your workplace. Other driving schools or instructors might only accept a home pickup. If you’re not sure, it’s best to check with your instructor rather than just assume.
Breathe in and out! Nerves are completely normal for learner drivers—your instructor certainly won’t hold it against you. You might find it helpful to check out our handy guides to avoiding test day nerves and relaxing before your test. Whilst they do talk about the driving test, some of the tips will still be relevant for your first lesson.
As we’ve covered, you need to make sure you’ve got your provisional licence. You also need to wear comfortable clothes and flat shoes. It could be worthwhile giving the Highway Code a quick read. Whether you’ve passed your theory test or not, there’s plenty to learn!
Yes. Some driving instructors even encourage learners to do so, as it will help them combine the theoretical side with some hands-on experience. It’s entirely up to you. If you want to get it out of the way, do so. Make sure you don’t leave it too late, however, as you need to pass the theory before you book your practical test.
On average, learner drivers need around 40 to 50 hours of driving lessons before they’re ready to face the driving test. This can vary depending on how quickly you get to grips with certain skills. Your driving instructor will be able to advise you on whether you need more or less hours once they’ve assessed your ability.
Not necessarily! Some learner drivers struggle with getting to grips with clutch control, which is why they decide to make the move to an automatic car. Of course, just because you don’t have to faff about with the clutch doesn’t mean you’ll find it easier to drive.
Yes! As long as you’re following the rules! You can find out everything you need to know about this in our guide to practising driving outside of lessons.
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