Absolute beginner here

readyletsgo

Hi all, so, I've decided at the age of 33 (male) it's time to start driving. Put if off for way too long and now I have the fear of driving but I really need to get over that, but where do I start? I haven't been behind the wheel since I was 17 when I drove twice, on the beach tbh.

Any advice for a total beginner?

Thanks

Savage Tyrant

Just book some lessons from a reputable instructor is the best course of action.
Tell him/her you are a complete novice and they will ease you into it.
You'll be flying (sorry wrong intructor), driving in no time. It may be daunting at first but you'll quickly get the idea.
Good luck pal.

hadepsx

ask your pals (or google) about a local driving instructor that is pleasent and patient. maybe try booking 1 session with a few different instrutors until you find one that you can get on with. nothing worse than an ArSehole instructor.
remember you have to do 12 lessions (i think) before you can go for the test.

readyletsgo

Savage Tyrant wrote: »

Just book some lessons from a reputable instructor is the best course of action.
Tell him/her you are a complete novice and they will ease you into it.
You'll be flying (sorry wrong intructor), driving in no time. It may be daunting at first but you'll quickly get the idea.
Good luck pal.

cool man, thanks for the advice there, it is daunting, but I'll get over it with time.

hadepsx wrote: »

ask your pals (or google) about a local driving instructor that is pleasent and patient. maybe try booking 1 session with a few different instrutors until you find one that you can get on with. nothing worse than an ArSehole instructor.
remember you have to do 12 lessions (i think) before you can go for the test.

there is a couple of local instructors in my area so I'll start to get in contact with them. Mates all seem to be busy with things so I'll do it myself.

I'm not thinking of tests yet, just learn first lol. What price should I be looking at to get started?

Thanks guys

hadepsx

average price for lesson is about e35 per hour. although if you find a good instructor you like, they might give you a bulk price that could work out at e30 per hour. shop around and dont be afraid to ask.

I was like yourself, i didnt get my licence until i was 25, 33 now. it was the best thing i ever did. the freedom is great, no waiting for lifts or buses, go where you want when you want. just make sure you have some expendable income as driving a car can become very expensive if you are unlucky.

best of luck

ProudDUB

readyletsgo wrote: »

there is a couple of local instructors in my area so I'll start to get in contact with them. Mates all seem to be busy with things so I'll do it myself.

I'm not thinking of tests yet, just learn first lol. What price should I be looking at to get started?

Thanks guys

If you have never had a learner permit/license before, or it has long since expired, you have to get 12 mandatory lessons from an approved instructor. You can't get get friends or family to teach you how to drive any more. You can of course, use their cars to practice your driving in between "official" lessons, or get them to give you pointers on various aspects of driving along the way. But you still must do at least 12 lessons with an approved instructor, before you can sit your test.

Most driving schools and/or independent operators offer a discount if you pay for all 12 lessons up front, as opposed to paying as you go. But this forum is littered with posts from people who did that, were not happy with their instructor, (for a variety of reasons,) but were stuck with them, as they had prepaid for all their lessons. Different instructors have different teaching styles & different drivers learn in different ways.

So if you can afford the slightly higher pay as you go rates, it may not be a bad idea to pay for a couple of different lessons with different people, so that you can shop around for the best instructor that best suits your needs. Each instructor has to keep an official log of each lesson. So even if you switch instructors, each lesson that you do, still count towards your over all tally of 12 lessons.

readyletsgo

So I found a guy in my area who does lessons, €30 for one lesson then does deals for 3 or 5 etc. He seems nice enough and I made him fully aware that I know nothing. So my first lesson is at the weekend, basics about the car and some start and stop stuff and then he says he will give me some paper work to read over. So I'll see how I get on with him, if goes well I'll book more. exciting!

He said the same as you guys about minimum of 12 lessons before I do test etc so I'll find out more about all of that at the weekend.

Craftylee

Just to check you have a learners permit right?

That's all you need to get started with lessons, you'll enjoy it once you get going. Best of luck!

readyletsgo

Craftylee wrote: »

Just to check you have a learners permit right?

That's all you need to get started with lessons, you'll enjoy it once you get going. Best of luck!

No this is why I started this thread. Where do I get a learners permit?

Edit: do I need this learners permit before I start my lessons or can I get it during my lessons? Seems I've to get a lot of stuff together for it.

Craftylee

Ok so before you can learn to drive you will need a learners permit - full details here:

https://www.ndls.ie/how-to-apply/learner-permit.html

If you have a lesson booked you're going to want to cancel it as you can't legally drive without the permit and chacnes are the instructor won't teach you until you have it.

readyletsgo

Thank you! Ok I'll just have to cancel the first lesson and get this permit first. Does it take long to process?

Dontfadeaway

Did you do your theory test? If not then you will have to do that first.

Craftylee

So you will need to do your theory test first - you can book this online and you will need to revise the rules of the road. This can be located online or you can buy it from a book store, you can also find lots of useful revision sites around the web and do some mock tests that will really help.

Once you have passed your theory you can book an appointment at an NDLS centre and apply for the learners permit. This will then be posted out to you. So you would be looking at a good month or so before you can start to drive.

So for now get your theory booked and get revising

ProudDUB

You can also get the CD rom disc to study for the theory test. (You can buy it in bookshops, or rent it from your local library.) It is great, as it is interactive and you can do mock tests on it, that mimic the real theory test itself. The real test is done on a computer and you select the correct answers on the screen in front of you. The CD rom mimics that set up. It shuffles the few hundred possible questions and asks you 40 of them in random order. You have to get at least 36 right to pass. You can do as many mock tests as you want. Once you have studied all the questions and answers and you are regularly getting close to 40/40 in your mock tests, you are ready to sit the real theory tests itself.

If you pass, you'll be given a pass certificate. You then go an opticians and get the drivers license eye test done. You then take your theory test pass cert and the opticians report to your local NDLS centre to apply for your learner permit. Your permit will be posted out to you in a couple of weeks. You can not do any driving (including lessons) until you have that learner permit.

Your learner permit will have your driver number on it. Your first ADI instructor sets up a leaner account for you on the RSA's website, using this number. After each lesson, they log each lesson as complete on your RSA account. If you switch instructors, the new instructor just goes onto your existing RSA account and logs his lessons as being done. When all 12 lessons are logged as being done, and you have had your learner permit for at least 6 months, you can then sit your test.