Many people want to pass their Driving Test as soon as possible and many driving schools in Sheffield and elsewhere advertise ‘Pass Your Test in One Day/Week’. It looks very appealing – use the bus this week, drive yourself next week. But consider the following:
Intensive training is designed absolutely and specifically to get people to pass the driving test in the shortest time possible. It isn’t about “safe driving for life”.
That is obviously my own opinion and others will have different ones, but I firmly believe that experience of driving on all kinds of roads and in all kinds of conditions is essential if you wish to become a good driver.
Even if someone offering intensive courses pretends not to be doing it just to get people through the test, the simple fact is that gaining driving experience requires time on the road, and signing up for an intensive course which allows you to go from absolute novice to potentially driving a Ferrari (if you could afford the insurance these days) in less than a fortnight (usually a week) is, in my opinion, an accident waiting to happen.
Many intensive course providers do it on a residential basis, well away from 
where you live (eg Blackpool is a popular destination), but you could actually be taking your test anywhere in the UK because what they do is find the earliest test that is available and book that for you. So you could live in Sheffield, learn in Blackpool for a week and take your test in Birmingham at the end of that week. And whilst a good driver should be able to drive anywhere, knowing a little about the local area does help. You might also find that when learning on a residential course, you share the car with two other learners and whilst you spend time in the car, a lot of it is spent watching others rather than practising for yourself.
Also, not everyone is suited to an intensive course. Confidence is one of the biggest factors when it comes to being a good, safe driver and not everyone has that natural confidence. Building up driving experience over a number of weeks improves confidence levels enormously.
If you have a busy home or work life and/or have little or no prior experience or knowledge of driving, you will find it almost impossible to learn a new skill without a break between lessons. Your brain needs time to assimilate all the new information you will be taking in (see here for the study) and taking breaks between lessons results in more productive lessons. Going immediately from one subject to another causes confusion.
It’s also not usually possible to get an early date for the Theory and Practical Tests and you can’t apply for the Practical Test until you have passed the Theory Test. This means that most people need between 8 and 10 weeks as a minimum from starting to learn to drive and taking the Practical Test, and the majority of our pupils spread their own learning over a much longer period, taking one or two hours per week. By doing this you are not only 
more likely to pass first time, but because the pressure is off, you are more prepared and relaxed and are more likely to become a better, safer driver.
As I firmly believe that it is not possible to learn all the skills and gain the vital experience in a day or a week, we don’t offer this type of intensive course. We can, however, tailor a course of driving lessons in Sheffield to suit your needs over 8 to 10 weeks and this should equip you with the skills that are essential to survive in today’s road and traffic conditions. This will, however, entail you taking more than one lesson each week.
As has been previously well-documented, young drivers are much more at risk of having an accident than older ones. The reasons for this are not necessarily related to a lack of actual driving skills but research has shown that they are more probably due to external influences,such as fatigue, peer presure (showing off) and more….
