Can I learn to drive in a week?

Question

I live in the caribean therefore I'm not as priviledge to have driver's ed in school but now I'm to the point where I want my driver's licence and I can't wait any longer. But driver lessons here are $25 an hour and that's pretty steep. I have taken a couple lessons but due to the high cost I would go on and off but now if I dedicate a whole week to it, an hour everyday, is it possible to learn to drive well in that amount of time?
Also any other suggestions are welcomed.

Answer 1

Well, another one presents him/herself for that ancient (75 years or so) rite of passage, the securing of a drivers license.

Oh! HOW I could wax on poetically (and NOT so poetically) about the experience you are about to endure. And endure you will. You will endure fearful parents, nagging siblings, high insurance rates, impromptu visits to the Judge, the body shop, the payday lender, the used (and new) parts lot, the customizer shop, the nic nak shop while on vacation (all trying to sell you a custom parking sign, license plate, funny lights, large foam dice, insensitive bumper stickers etc) the misunderstood boy/girl friend who 'keys' your spiffy paint job, need I go on?

But all of that PALES to the personal onslaught that awaits you as you attempt to take your place in a new society/environment called the American Road. (I am NOT nationalistic, but you ain't been impressed until you get on a main throughfare like in Atlanta, GA on I-285)

Most Americans learn to drive about like they learn to make love, they get a small manual, read the first few pages to get a feel for where the "controls" and gear shifter are and BLAM! The're in the drivers seat and on the road. And if you ask any of them if THEY are a good driver/lover they will be the first to sing their own praises.

Having throughly dumped on your coming out parade, I feel it is of great responbility for all who can, to share with, and articulate to those who are about to enter this new experience, just what they are up against.

As a child you did NOT wake up in the morning and go off to college, or work, or to a volunteer group to build homes for the needy-why? because you had NO concept of work, construction, tools, safety, or knowledge of the trades necessary to do these things. You had to start slow as a child and everyday hone your motor skills as well as your mental skills and your social skills.

Well...guess what? As a newly minted driver you have got to start all over again on ALL of those same skills. You didn't learn to jump rope the first time, nor walk the first time, or ride a two wheel bike the first time...or second...or third time.

But now you are about to enter a realm of 3 dimensions, physical, social, and legal...all being approached with the cover of your own personality..HOW will you react to someone who cuts you off, or slows your progress, or who tailgates you? Until you are there you will not know.

Anyone can get the "hang" of driving a car but to garner the skill to command a car with a sense of second nature and timing is quite something else.

I had a great headstart. My dad was a cab driver in St. Louis, MO in the 50' & 60's. many a night I would go with him on his rounds-listening to the chatter of the dispatcher's radio, the precise timing of keying the microphone to get the order, the drive away, the traffic negotiation, the balance between getting there in a timely fashion and all the while preserving fuel with an accelerator touch as if there were "an egg under it"

Every intersection, every light, every contact with the other drivers, all were choreographed by my father to get him THROUGH the situation safely, legally, and courtesly (remember, cabs are brightly colored things with unit numbers and telephone numbers on them. Folks can drop a dime on you in a minute)

This much experienced routine, (my dad ALWAYS took 15 minutes to warm up the cab upon first starting it-even in the summertime) had the same effect on me as if I had been driving all that time myself. The rythmn, timing, and dedication to ritual as it applies to driving, was absorbed by me in those late evening "work sessions" through osmosis.

Having said all that I have said about driving, I want to leave you with this ONE piece of advise, the physical act of driving is simple. The rules of the road can be learned. But the final measure of a driver, one who has mastered the art truely, is that person who can travel in any kind of situation and can do so with dignity and respect for the other driver. Personal tempers have NO place on the road. A cavalier attitude about the rules of the road are nothing but human hurbris flauting chance.

And after all is said and done, the most important rule for safe driving is constant awareness and constant concentration on the road. At 60-70 mph, it takes just ONE minute moment of laspe of concentration and you will find yourself in an unrecoverable situation that has spelled disaster and/or permanent disfigurement for many young people. The anedote for this grim assesment? Knowlege and understanding by you as you start this new school of learning.

Many thousands have lost their lives due to violating these basic rules of the road I have shared with you here. Don't let that sacrifice go to waste. Learn from it. Profit by it. And most of all, stay safe.

God luck on you trip.

De Deuce

Answer 2

No Learning to drive takes quite awhile. You have to have some hours out on the road with an instructor like a week worth of driving. Then I think you have to a driving test with a cop which you must show them how well you can drive.

Answer 3

You wouldn't learn how to drive well, but if you really did it every day seriously for a week it might be enough to pass your exam. i have my license but I don't really drive that well yet. The test wasn't really that intense.

Answer 4

yes you can find a friend o relative with wheels and a large vacant parking lot and practice.