Wondering is there any free/cheap programme for beginner lessons available out there? Vic
Any Free Introductory Driving Programs/Lessons?
capslock janitor on 26/01/2025 - 09:37
Last edited 26/01/2025 - 09:38
Last edited 26/01/2025 - 09:38
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The Vic state government free single lesson program was canned a few years ago, I believe.
Great find. It's a great initiative. Both of my kids took advantage of this. I was required to sit in the back and observe. A fair bit of time was used to discuss drink/drug driving etc but the actual driving was a least 25-30 minutes. The instructor that delivered the lesson also ended up giving the kids a few paid lessons before test day to learn the test route.
Nothing teaches you how to drive like stealing a car and being chased by cops
and you then ruin your future job prospects with a criminal conviction and/or jail time.
Not a smart move.
Obviously not meant to get caught.
You'll get caught eventually.
Woosh
The negs on your comment defy belief.
Grand theft auto
Any free introductory driving programs/lessons?
If you don't have friends or family to take you, then you'll need to pay for lessons like the rest of us.
This is a real issue, because for some kids it changes their life. Some for the better. Some for far worse.
A few years back the well-off idiots who set road safety policy decided that in the name of making young drivers safer, they'd require them to do a lot of supervised driving before they were granted a licence. But a lot of kids just don't have access to someone who has a car and licence and the time and cares enough about them to give them that. Aboriginal kids. Refugee kids. Single parent kids. It was hugely discriminatory measure that meant that the kids who had well-off parents, like most of the road safety people were, could clock up those hours and get their licences, and get the jobs that required licences, and have the mobility a licence allowed. And the underprivileged kids were stuffed.
And, worse, there isn't actually any proof that those extra hours make kids better drivers. The latest research I've seen said upping the number of hours didn't make them any safer. What the research does say is that the earlier age you get your licence the stupider you behave the minute after you get it and have your mates in your car, not your parents. What kills young drivers is not lack of skills, it is over-confidence and deliberate risk-taking.
Partially agree. 120hours is a lot, but i meant i got to sit in the drivers seat a lot and help to teach.
Bith my learners took more than 12 months, but they werent super keen at the start and it took a while to get to a point where they were confidenr to drive anywhere.
What about families that are low income, don't own a car, and are socially isolated for whatever reason? 120 hours from a stranger or acquaintance is a big ask.
It is a big imposition. In my case it meant quite a bit of driving just for teaching, so additional fuel.
Friends have twins. So that was 240hrs. It would be a real struggle for someone without a car.BUT, for now its also quite easy to fake hours.
What's wrong with those mentioned kids and families? Small car can be bought for $1k. It's like 2-3 weeks work in maccas.
Link to roadworthy car for $1k please.
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/first-car-lifestyles/?sort=…
Well, no Teslas unfortunately in that price range.
@localhost: I'm not sure how it works in other states but all of the VIC listings I opened said no roadworthy certificate provided. The cheapest car I have seen in Vic with an included roadworthy certificate is around $3k.
@MS Paint: If $3k is a problem, then you shouldn't drive a car. Petrol and insurance per year will be more.
With $10-$16/hour minimal wage you need 300 hours to work for $3k, which is 40 days. What a drama….
@localhost: 40 working days is different to 40 days. Minor technicality but that's where I made the misinterpretation.
@MS Paint: And if you work on a weekend it's double rate sometimes.
So, are you happy now? Can a normal teen working not 7 but 2-3 hours per day be able to save $3 over 3-4 months?
@localhost: I've always been happy throughout this discussion. I believe it's time to take off your cranky pants though.
Thanks for clarifying that it's gone from buying a car in 2 weeks to a more realistic 4 months.
The barrier is less the cost of the car and more access to a fully licensed driver with both the time and inclination to teach you/complete the hour requirements. If you don't have this it's essentially impossible to get your P license, regardless of access to a car.
Wasn't the original premise that you needed a licence to get a job?
Took a turn that you needed a car for which you needed a job so that you could purchase that car but couldn't get the job because you couldn't get there because you didn't have a license?
If access to a car AND a qualified driver are the obstacles to entry, consider this=>
- Will need $100 in your pocket to get started.
- Get a part time job
- Book a driving lesson an hour before your first shift starts so that your qualified driving instructor picks you up at home, provides your first hour of driving lessons and culminates by dropping you off at your place of work.
=> so a bit like a taxi ride to work where you are driving which includes a one hour driving lesson from a qualified instructor.
- Have a second lesson scheduled for the end of your shift.
- At end of shift, driving instructor picks you up from work, provides lesson which terminates with him dropping you home.
RINSE REPEAT AS YOU CAN EARN MONEY AND CAN AFFORD IT UNTIL YOU ATTAIN THE HOURS REQUIRED.
Remember a driver's licence is a priveledge, not a right.
A small positive for this is you're not paying for rego, insurance, fuel, maintenance, potential fines or risk to licence status.
Also, can apply for special consideration => because all lessons were with a qualified driving instructor (which was also proof that you didn't fudge your hours and really did do all the ones you declared) => 60 hours of driving was accepted instead of the 100 that was required.
@Muppet Detector: The question asked was
What's wrong with those mentioned kids and families? Small car can be bought for $1k. It's like 2-3 weeks work in maccas.
which displayed the lack of understanding of others' circumstances that GordonD was alluding to.
Your suggestion is pretty impractical for highly disadvantaged groups and displays the same lack of understanding. What is the cost of two driving lessons compared to the take home pay from one minimum wage shift?
Lack of access to private transport (licence and/or reliable car) is a very significant barrier to reducing disadvantage, particularly outside of major cities where public transport is minimal.
The licencing system, while designed with good intentions, further entrenches disadvantage but making it disproportionately more difficult for more disadvantaged groups to attain a licence, impacting their job prospects, etc.
@larndis: I didn't write what you have quoted me as saying.
I don't create the laws and I am not an advocate for breaking the law, even if I don't agree with it.
I merely presented a pathway that a person may like to consider if they want a licence but don't have direct access to some of the things people were presenting as potential obstacles.
- no one to supervise you? Check.
- no car? Check
I didn't say it was a perfect idea, but it is an idea and it does have merit for some people in some situations.
I am so sorry that I do not have a solution for every problem in every situation.I will try to do better next time.
As I said though, if you are really disadvantaged by the rules, there is an avenue where you can appeal for special consideration.
@Muppet Detector: You were querying the original premise, so I was clarifying what I was replying to. Given the initial comment by GordonD was about the discriminatory nature of the licensing requirements, and your proposed solution is not feasible for disadvantaged groups, I fail to see the relevance of your comments.
Certainly no one has asked you to solve all the world's problems, I'm just pointing out the issues with your suggestion. I have no idea how breaking the law came into it. Maybe some wires got crossed.
An avenue for special consideration is better than nothing, but doesn't change the fundamentally uneven playing field.
@larndis: The conversation I tagged onto, the obstacles presented were no one with enough time to supervise the required hours (an example of twins was one example), another obstacle was access to a car.
I extended access to those options by suggesting a way you could access your lessons and work if you could get a small amount of money together to start you off.
The uneven playing field starts many years before a kid is even eligible to get a licence, sometimes before they are even born.
All my kids had legal jobs from when they turned 14 and 3 months. They didn't have cars, often they walked or rode bikes and yet they had jobs. They were able to save a bunch of money by the time they were looking to buying cars.
If a 14 year old can get a job without a car, damn sure a reasonably healthy 17 year old kid can.
@larndis: Also, people who are blind or epileptic get jobs. A lot of them probably don't drive a whole lot.
Crikey, some kids even ride bicycles or walk if they don't have a car/licence to get to work.
It is no secret that equality before the law is legal fiction. Unfortunately, sometimes some people just have to find different ways of doing things if they really want or need something.
Some will fall through the cracks and that is sad, but for others, there are legal ways to access what you want even if it might be harder for you than for others.
Ever seen the movie Homeless to Harvard?
I dunno, maybe a kid who faced significant disadvantage could make a plea to some church social committee (or other place where people volunteer).
What are the rules to start a gofundme page?
=> specified "legal avenues", because upstream there were suggestions of fudging your log book or stealing cars etc.
Law is often an ass, disadvantage isn't usually an available defence for breaking it though.
Is there anything like this in WA?
TAC L2P program if you qualify…
I n the US back in the late 70’s early 80’s we could pay a fee for insurance and some cost towards the cars provided, think is was around 70.00 USD, in high school years 9-12 you would get extensive driving lessons and practice. It was so beneficial to me. Au should offer similar.
Driver's Education was a school subject in Iowa USA in 1986 (probably different years too but that was the year I was there).
Cost nothing, learned road rules, car maintenance etc and got driving lessons.
Had to be 16 which I assume was the minimum age you needed to be to hold a learner's licence.
Not helpful for you in Vic but NSW has the DLAP program - https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/driver-…
There is also the Momentum program for Aboriginal people age 16-55
https://realfutures.net/momentum-program/I believe NRMA has a national program which is free for the person who is instructing called keys2drive
Keys2drive concluded on 30 June 2023
ah bummer. cheers.
Your dad? Mum? Uncle ? Friend?