Learner drivers swap professional lessons for practising with family and friends as costs rise

• Learner drivers are shifting away from professional lessons to practise with family and friends amid rising prices and instructor shortages, new research reveals
• The proportion of learners having lessons with a professional instructor has fallen from 98% to 92% in recent years[1], according to new research
• Sales of temporary learner driver policies rose 238% in 2024[2], reveals Tempcover data
• Two in five learners (38%) turned to family and friends to reduce the high cost of lessons with a professional instructor[3]
• Worryingly, a fifth of younger learner drivers (19%) have been uninsured for lessons with family and friends[4], with two fifths (42%) incorrectly assuming they were covered under the car owner's insurance while driving with them[5]

Temporary insurance experts at Tempcover recommend taking out learner driver insurance – which can be more cost-effective – and offers flexible pay-as-you-go options to log hours behind the wheel.

Learner drivers are increasingly practising for their L-test with family and friends amid the rising price of professional lessons and instructor shortages, reveals research by Tempcover, the temporary car insurance service.

The vast majority – 98.3% – of motorists who learned to drive in the 1990s had some lessons with a professional driving instructor, but this has fallen to 92% in recent years. The proportion of motorists having most of their lessons with a professional instructor has dropped from 88.3% to 81.9% in just ten years[1].

Sales of temporary learner driver policies rose 238% in 2024[2], reveals Tempcover data, suggesting budding motorists are increasingly practising in private cars, relying on informal arrangements outside of professional driving schools. 

Graph: Proportion of learners having professional lessons by decade

[Graph based on research conducted by Opinium, 2000 UK adults][1]

Two in five learners (38%) say they turned to practising with family and friends to reduce the high cost of lessons with a professional instructor[3].

Learning to drive has long been a rite of passage towards independence, but the road to a licence has become harder in recent years. Rising lesson costs and instructor shortages have driven many people to rethink how they prepare for life behind the wheel.

Driving lessons now cost between £25 and £45 per hour, and with the average learner needing 45 hours of lessons plus 22 hours of private practice to pass, the cost has skyrocketed to between £1,125 and £2,025 for lessons alone[6].

Concerningly, a fifth of learner drivers aged 18 to 34 years old (19%) say they have learned to drive in someone else’s car without any insurance cover[4]. 

Two fifths (42%) of uninsured drivers incorrectly assumed they were covered under the car owner's insurance while driving with them. A quarter (24%) said they didn’t consider insurance, and a fifth (22%) were willing to take the risk of being caught without cover[5].

Other challenges include a shortage of professional instructors. Hotspots across the UK report just one driving instructor per 350–400 learners, with waiting lists for practical test slots stretching up to six months[7].

Faced with these challenges, more learners are shifting towards informal arrangements outside of professional driving schools like Tempcover, which offers short-term learner driver insurance policies. Learners can practise in a friend or family member's car with them, accommodating irregular schedules and enabling more spontaneous sessions.

Tempcover learner cover costs as little as £24.21 for a day of cover, making it 31% cheaper than a £35 driving lesson[8]. Temporary learner cover can be a lifeline for learners, offering a flexible and cost effective solution to gain valuable supervised experience without the financial burden of traditional driving lesson costs.  

Jake Lambert, temporary insurance expert at Tempcover, comments: “Passing your driving test is often a milestone on the path to independence and adulthood. 

“Amid rising costs and instructor uncertainty, learners are adapting with the growing popularity of temporary learner insurance we're seeing, which offers flexible coverage in just minutes.

“This option allows learners to practise with trusted friends and family, accommodating irregular schedules with pay-as-you-go flexibility to log more hours behind the wheel.  

“We're proud to support learners on their driving journey and anticipate this trend will continue into 2025.”