Thinking about learning to drive? Learning to drive is an incredibly valuable life skill that can improve your life in countless ways, including giving you much greater freedom and independence. With the cost-of-living crisis, many are looking to make savings, but with something as valuable as learning to drive, you will find this to be worth the cost.

Young people are deterred due to the cost

An article in the Guardian in 2021 found that many young people are put off the idea of learning to drive by the cost. This is understandable when you consider the cost of a car, lessons, and insurance, which has seen many people decide that they will not learn to drive.

Average cost per region

As you might expect, the cost of learning to drive can vary by region. NimbleFins found that the overall average cost per lesson in the UK is £23 if you buy in bulk or £27 for a one-off lesson. London, unsurprisingly, is the most expensive at £30 to buy one 1-hour lesson while the South West was the most affordable at £24. The average driver takes 47 hours of lessons, which means that the average cost for lessons in the UK is £1,080.

Provisional & learner insurance

To learn to drive, you need to have a provisional license as well as insurance for any vehicles that you drive. A provisional driving license costs £34 and the cost of learner driver insurance can vary. You can get flexible temporary cover, though, which will help to keep your costs down.

Driving tests

You will also have driving tests cost to cover too. These include your theory test, which will cost £23 and has a pass rate of 55.7%. The practical test, meanwhile, is £62 for a weekday test or £75 for an evening or weekend. The pass rate for the practical test is 49.8%, so you want to make sure that you are ready to avoid having to take the test again.

How to cut costs

Many of the costs of learning to drive are fixed, but there are ways that you could end up paying less for the overall experience. These include block booking lessons, shopping around when it comes to insurance and instructors and practising lots between lessons to ensure that you are ready for your test so that you will hopefully pass the first time.

Learning to drive is a great life skill and passing your test is an incredible feeling. The cost of learning to drive can be expensive and it is understandable that the costs deter people, especially in the current climate, but it will prove to be worthwhile and there are a few ways that you could bring the cost of learning to drive down.