Crash courses are intensive courses of driving lessons which aim to teach you everything you need to pass your practical driving test in just a few days.
Usually, crash courses run from Monday to Friday, with six hours of learning each day and your driving test happening on the Saturday.
But, are these intensive courses a good idea?
The average learner driver in the UK will have 47 hours of lessons with a driving instructor before taking their test, as well as 20 hours of private practice with, for example, a parent.
With the cost of driving lessons growing more and more, these lessons can easily cost in excess of £1,500, even before paying the test fees.
With intensive crash courses often coming in at less than half of that cost, it’s easy to see why they are an attractive option for cash-strapped teenagers looking to get on the road fast.
Crash courses are also very useful for older learners who have a pressing need to get on the road quickly.
For example, someone who is about to start a new job where they need to drive – or need to be able to drive to get to the office – may only have a few days or weeks in which to go from non-driver to fully-fledged motorist.
But, is it really possible to become a safe and legal driver in just a week?
Well, legally, yes. If you pass your driving test – no matter how much time you have, or haven’t, spent learning to drive – then you are legally allowed to drive solo on the road. Whether it’s a safe thing to do, though, is another matter.
As we’ve already seen, the average learner spends 67 hours on the road – usually over several months – developing their skills, knowledge, and confidence as a driver. The weeks and months between lessons are also valuable in that they allow knowledge and skills to become embedded and the opportunity to cement learning over time.
By contrast, a one-week crash course might promise to turn you into a fully-legal motorist in less than half that time: just 30 hours. Whether or not you feel that’s enough time to develop your skills and learn to be a safe driver is a question that requires very careful consideration indeed.
