By The Acclaim Team on 19th October 2024 in News

Where should I be after 20 driving lessons?

If you’ve recently begun your driving journey, you might be asking yourself, “Where should I be after 20 driving lessons?” This is a common question for new learners and an important milestone to gauge progress. Whether you're enrolled in traditional weekly lessons or an intensive driving course, understanding what to expect after 20 lessons will help you measure your skills and readiness for the driving test.

At Acclaim Driving School, we understand that every learner is unique and that your driving journey is a personal one. After 20 lessons with us, you should have gained a solid foundation of essential driving skills and confidence behind the wheel. Read on to find out where to expect to be at the 20-lesson mark.

Typical Progress After 20 Driving Lessons

By the time you’ve completed 20 driving lessons, you’re likely to have covered a broad range of foundational driving skills. Here’s an in-depth look at what you should expect to have learned:

Basic Car Control

Handling the car confidently is the first step in learning to drive. By the 20th lesson, you should be able to control the car smoothly, understanding how to:

Start and stop the car safely.
Change gears efficiently (if learning in a manual car).
Steer accurately, maintaining control on straight roads and around corners.
Accelerate and brake smoothly, adapting to road conditions.

This basic car control forms the bedrock of safe driving. If you’re still feeling uneasy about managing the vehicle, don’t worry—it’s common for learners to need additional practice before becoming fully comfortable.

Mastering Essential Maneuvers

A significant part of driving lessons involves learning how to perform specific manoeuvres that are necessary for real-world driving and for passing the driving test. By lesson 20, you should have practised key manoeuvres such as:

Moving off and stopping: Knowing when and how to pull away from the curb and stop safely in various scenarios.
Parking: You should have been introduced to parallel parking, bay parking, and parking on a hill.
Turning in the road: Whether it’s a three-point turn or making a U-turn, this manoeuvre teaches you to reverse and turn the car in confined spaces.
Reversing around a corner: This is another common skill that involves controlling the car in reverse while maintaining spatial awareness.

These manoeuvres will be regularly practised until they become second nature, so don’t worry if you’re not yet perfect. An intensive driving course often accelerates this process, with more frequent practice in a shorter time frame.

Navigating Different Road Types

After 20 lessons, you should have experienced driving on a variety of road types, from quiet residential streets to busier urban roads. This exposure is crucial for developing versatility in your driving skills.

Residential roads: Often the first type of road new drivers encounter. You should feel confident navigating narrow streets, avoiding parked cars, and understanding priority at junctions.
Urban roads: By lesson 20, you should be more comfortable driving in towns and cities. This includes understanding how to deal with traffic, pedestrians, traffic lights, and roundabouts.
Country lanes or rural roads: These roads can be more challenging due to sharp bends, narrow lanes, and changing speed limits. You should have been introduced to these by now, even if you’re still building confidence.
Dual carriageways: In some cases, you may have driven on a dual carriageway, where higher speeds and faster decision-making are required. This type of road is often covered in later lessons or during an intensive driving course to prepare learners for more advanced driving.

Understanding Road Signs and Rules

By your 20th lesson, you should have a solid grasp of common road signs, traffic signals, and road markings. Recognising signs such as stop, give way, and speed limits is essential for safe driving. You’ll also need to understand more specific signs, such as those for pedestrian crossings, bus lanes, and school zones.

In addition to signs, you should be familiar with general traffic rules, including:

Right of way at junctions and roundabouts.
The use of indicators when changing lanes or turning.
Maintaining safe distances between vehicles (the “two-second rule”).
Understanding the Highway Code, especially when it comes to different speed limits and who has priority in various situations.

Learning road signs and rules is often easier for those who practice driving theory alongside their lessons. Combining the two helps reinforce your knowledge.

Building Confidence at Junctions and Roundabouts

Junctions and roundabouts are often where learners struggle the most, as they require quick decision-making and an understanding of traffic flow. After 20 lessons, you should feel more confident when approaching these, but it’s perfectly normal if they still feel intimidating.

You should have practised:

Turning left and right at junctions: Understanding how to position your car correctly, when to signal, and how to judge the speed of oncoming traffic.
Navigating roundabouts: You’ll have been introduced to small and medium roundabouts, learning how to approach them, choose the correct lane, and safely enter and exit.

In an intensive driving course, learners often face more exposure to complex junctions and roundabouts early on due to the condensed nature of the lessons, which can speed up the learning curve.

Improving Your Observational Skills

Good observation is key to safe driving, and by your 20th lesson, you should be developing better awareness of what’s happening around you. This includes:

Using mirrors regularly: You should be in the habit of checking your mirrors before turning, changing lanes, or stopping.
Checking blind spots: When moving off or changing lanes, checking your blind spots should become second nature.
Anticipating the actions of others: Whether it’s predicting the behaviour of another driver or a pedestrian, being able to anticipate potential hazards is a crucial skill that you’ll continue to develop.

These observational skills improve with practice, and you should notice that you’re becoming more aware of your surroundings as you gain experience.

Dealing with Traffic and Weather Conditions

Driving in different weather conditions and varying traffic levels is an important part of becoming a skilled driver. By lesson 20, you should have experienced:

Driving in light to moderate traffic: Learning to deal with stop-and-go traffic, judging gaps in traffic, and maintaining appropriate speeds.
Driving in different weather conditions: Depending on when and where your lessons take place, you might have driven in rain, fog, or even snow. These experiences are valuable, as they teach you how to adjust your driving to stay safe.

If you haven’t yet experienced driving in more challenging conditions, don’t worry. Your instructor will ensure you’re prepared as you progress.

Intensive Driving Course vs. Regular Lessons: What’s the Difference?

If you’ve opted for an intensive driving course, your learning experience might look slightly different compared to traditional weekly lessons. Intensive courses typically involve several hours of driving per day over the course of one or two weeks, condensing what would normally take months into a shorter period.

Below you will find some of the key differences:

Learning Pace

An intensive driving course offers rapid progression. By the time you’ve completed 20 hours of driving in an intensive format, you may have already covered much of the syllabus. This is ideal for learners who prefer to immerse themselves in driving and want to take their test quickly. However, the fast pace can feel overwhelming for some learners, particularly if you need more time to process what you’ve learned between lessons.

Retention and Muscle Memory

Because intensive courses involve more frequent lessons, learners often retain information better and develop muscle memory faster. If you’re practising the same skills multiple times in one day, it’s easier to remember the correct techniques. In contrast, learners taking weekly lessons may need to spend time at the beginning of each lesson refreshing what they learned previously.

Confidence Building

One potential drawback of an intensive driving course is that it might not give you as much time to build confidence gradually. Driving can be stressful, especially for new learners, and a more gradual approach allows you to become comfortable behind the wheel at your own pace. That said, many learners find that the increased exposure to driving during an intensive course helps them feel more confident faster.

Assessing Your Readiness for the Driving Test After 20 Lessons

A common question learners ask is whether they’ll be ready to take their driving test after 20 lessons. The answer depends on several factors, including your confidence, the quality of your lessons, and how often you practice outside of formal instruction.

According to the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the average learner requires around 45 hours of professional instruction, combined with 22 hours of private practice, to be test-ready. However, some learners may be ready after fewer lessons, particularly if they’ve been practising regularly or are following an intensive driving course.

Here are a few signs that you might be ready for the driving test:

You feel comfortable driving independently: You should be able to drive with minimal input from your instructor and feel confident in your ability to handle the car.
You can perform all necessary manoeuvres: You should be able to complete all the required manoeuvres, such as parallel parking, reversing around a corner, and turning in the road, with confidence and accuracy.
You’re familiar with different road types and traffic conditions: If you’ve driven on residential roads, urban streets, dual carriageways, and rural lanes and handled various traffic situations, you’re likely to be well-prepared for the test.
You’re confident in your decision-making: During your lessons, you should be able to make decisions quickly and correctly, whether it’s judging when to move off from a junction or entering a roundabout.

What If You’re Not Where You Expected to Be After 20 Lessons?

It’s common for learners to feel like they should be further along in their learning after 20 lessons, especially if they’ve heard stories of friends or family passing their test quickly. However, driving is a skill that develops at different rates for different people, and there’s no “one-size-fits-all” timeline.

If you feel like you’re not progressing as quickly as you’d like, consider the following:

Talk to your instructor. Your driving instructor can give you honest feedback about your progress and suggest areas for improvement. They may recommend extra lessons or specific practice sessions focused on your weaker areas.
Private practice: If possible, try to practice with a qualified adult outside of your lessons. This additional driving time can help reinforce what you’ve learned and improve your confidence.
Patience is key: Remember that everyone learns at their own pace. Some people may need 40 or even 50 lessons to feel fully comfortable, while others may be ready sooner. What matters is that you feel confident and safe behind the wheel rather than rushing to pass your test.

So, Where Should I Be After 20 Driving Lessons?

By the time you’ve completed 20 driving lessons, whether through an intensive driving course or a traditional weekly schedule, you should have a strong foundation in driving skills. You’ll likely feel more comfortable behind the wheel, have experience on a range of road types, and develop your observational and decision-making abilities.

However, it’s important to remember that learning to drive is a highly individual process. While some learners may be ready to take their driving test after 20 lessons, others may need more time and practice. What’s most important is that you feel confident in your ability to drive safely and independently.

If you’re unsure of where you stand after 20 lessons, don’t hesitate to talk to your instructor and get their feedback. With consistent practice and the right guidance, you’ll be on the road to passing your driving test and becoming a competent, confident driver.

Become a confident driver with Acclaim

At Acclaim Driving School, we’re not here to teach you to pass your test—we’re here to help you become a confident, safe driver for life. Whether you’re on your 20th lesson or just starting out, we understand how important it is to learn at your own pace, and we’re with you every step of the way.

If you're looking to fast-track your learning, our intensive driving course is a great way to build your skills quickly without feeling rushed. We’ll make sure you get the attention you need to feel truly comfortable on the road, no matter your experience level.

Ready to take the next step? Book a lesson with one of our friendly instructors; they are here to guide you at your own pace and help you feel comfortable and confident behind the wheel. We’ll work with you until you feel fully prepared so that when the time comes to take your test, you’ll be more than ready.