Psst...I want to learn how to drive...


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Adam Goi

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...people crazy! ;)

Haha...I can do that pretty well so the next challenge for me is to learn how to drive a real car. Yeah baby, a real one! ;)

I'm quite clueless of what I need to do although I'm aware that I have to take Basic, Advance theory tests and then the practical(?) test.

Can those who have such experience (of which I'm sure many of you do) tell me how I should go about doing it? Any useful urls? Any lobangs, i.e. driving instructors and such?

TIA! ;)
 

Originally posted by kongg
Pls go and learn how to ride a bicycle 1st lah!!

that's the very first lesson that you must take. 4 wheels can kill pple....2 wheels at most bruise only and broken bones for the rider, cannot die one....

kah kah kah kah !!!!!!!:D
 

my colleague enrolled at bukit batok driving center... costs arnd. $70 / session. 2 1/2 hours/session.
 

adam..

first go book basic theory test, then buy the book and study. Don't assume it's easy cos lots of people thought so and failed. :D But study one day before the test is sufficient. Try to do it fast, but don't make careless mistakes. What I heard is that each class has a quota of passing candidates. If you're among the first few to hit the pass marks, you have a higher chance of passing.

once you pass basic, go book advanced theory test date, buy the book and study, same process. But now you can apply for the provisional licence and start taking practical lessons. There are 3 driving centres in Singapore, I took my lessons with a private instructor at Comfort Driving Centre (Ubi). The traffic there isn't really good for driving tests though, I heard Bukit Batok Driving Centre is better and easier. If you take lessons from the school, you'll get your test date faster, and your (touchwood) retest date faster, and higher chances of passing. But you get different instructor for each lesson, and the total cost adds up to be more. A private instructor will be able to give you better attention and more lao jio tips, but test dates are getting longer to obtain.

at www.ecitizen.gov.sg there is a ranking of private instructors at the different schools. Not sure how accurate the list is, maybe it'll be helpful to you.

Once you pass your advanced theory, your instructor can start applying for the practical test date for you. You will drive along the public roads and also go into the driving circuit within the school. THen just hope and pray you get a good examiner, smooth traffic and good weather on your test day.
 

hmm... me learning private now...
exam date is 6 months after i got my advance...
so better to clear advance first...

dunno if the rate i'm learning is a lot...
is $23 an hour and usually one lesson is 1.5 hours...
so it's around $35 per lesson...
(now school too $$$$$$$$$$$$$$)

my instructor say usually need around 25 lessons...
so it's around 900 lor...:what:
 

Hi Adam,

I would suggest booking for theory and advance tests on ur own and study at your leisure. Although driving schools will require u to pay for their theory lessons EVEN though I've passed my advance, I would still advise against taking the test in school because the process is extremely cumbersome - need to go for 4 lessons, book trial test at funny timings, know which computerised terminal to take test, know how the computers work, then if pass then can book actual test.

All i wanted is to take the test. Lucky i took it before I enrolled in BBDC. BBDC lessons are $66 for 100 mins each lessons, but mid way u'll have to pay for a driving 3d simulator to introduce you to road hazards and accidents. Quite interesting if u ask me, thoroughly enjoyed that lesson.

Oh yah.. when u enrolled in school they also gave u a copy of basic and advance theory.. so now i have 2 copies..

When booking a test centre, I book Queenstown, which is convenient for me after work. I also find that the test isn't that difficult - as long got study sure can pass. btw, the Qn booklet is also strewn with other ppl's thought process *hint *hint.

If you're buying the theory text books yourself, I'm sure u know there are 2 types - the authentic TP one and a commerical one. For Basic, the commerical one is good because it has textbook content and test for you.

For the advanced, i bought the original TP one and the commercial one. The TP one is only textbook stuff, no question, whereas the commerical one is all questions.

I'm sure u know the driving pract test dates for school is as quick as every 3 mths, but for private it's half a year..

I've spent close to 2.2K liao.. my first time driving test is on Monday.. wish me luck!:kok:
 

the suggestion to cycle is also good. It gives a good feel of a vehicle in momentum. Most of my instructors also give related examples to cycling when teaching me.

oh yah.. if you think you're good, or if you have prior experience, you can opt for the fixed instructor. Under this scheme this 1or 2 instructors can monitor ur progress more clearly and chop more chops in ur book for u, so you can actually complete in about 15 lessons. The Open scheme is minimum 25 lessons though.

You pay more per lesson under the fixed instructor (about $5), but it's the experience that matters. It's a tough balance between saving money and getting enough practice for the test. Today or Streats ran an article a few weeks back.. people spending $3000-$5000 just to get their licenses..:bheart:
 

my uncle says in UK, just hang up a L plate and practise all you want. Just pay for the test...:confused:
 

Originally posted by shawntim
my uncle says in UK, just hang up a L plate and practise all you want. Just pay for the test...:confused:

... you will only need someone who pass the test to sit beside you. I got my licence from UK and when back home, just need to convert it to Sg licence.

UK licence is a piece of A4 size paper and it will last until you are 60 (or is it 70?) years old. No need to renew it yearly or once every 3 years.
 

Originally posted by AdamGoi
...people crazy! ;)

Haha...I can do that pretty well so the next challenge for me is to learn how to drive a real car. Yeah baby, a real one! ;)
TIA! ;)

LOL so u wanna drive ppl up the wall both ways huh?
heard first-hand stories that for exams u shd choose some really congested timing n area (near ang moh quee camp) then the instructor wants to go home and will route u back to base (oops I mean sch) earlier than usual...
 

My own experience: Failed the test the first time :embrass: , so had to apply for re-test. The re-test date was 2 weeks more than a year from my first day of registration, so the driving school charged me for a full year of registration fee. Don't remember how much that was already, but felt that this is very unfair of the driving school.

Anyway, good luck!

- Roy
 

Adam,
think Tweek & shawntim covered most of the stuff... if u do decide to goto one of the schools, Bukit Batok Driving Centre do have a website that contains most of the info and even book your lessons/test online! 80% of the my lessons are all booked online!
http://www.bbdc.com.sg/

..NuTs..
 

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