Driving lessons

i went with jasons driving school, i think it was 25 or 30 per lesson, nice new car and patient instructor who speaks english well.
yellow.com.mt/Jason-s-Motoring-School/malta-gozo

Wow that's expensive!!  I am currently paying €14 per lesson with Rudolph Driving School. 

I don't think I am allowed to add the link here but you can Google to find their number.

Thank you both.
There are a minimum of lessons?
In fact I have a driving license, I just want to learn to drive to the left.

jeniRis wrote:

Thank you both.
There are a minimum of lessons?
In fact I have a driving license, I just want to learn to drive to the left.

If you already have a license, why bother? When I first came to Malta I got used to driving on the left after about 1 day. And I drive a manual, so shifting gears with the wrong hand does take some getting used to...

if you are nervous i would take a lesson or 2 as the teachers can also give insight into maltese driving habits and even some basic road rules you would think would be universal but for some reason are lost on people here, but for the price i would go with Rudolph if you just need some confidence.

I agree.  If you have a license already, I wouldn't waste your money.  I know plenty of people that have come to live in Malta from Northern Europe and they've had no problem adapting to driving on the left.  You just have to be a bit more wary here because people don't drive very well here.

I know that a lot of people are saying it is a waste of money but I don't believe it is. I admit that if you try driving in Malta on the left for long enough, you will probably get used to it. However, in the process of getting used to it, you might make a mistake and get into an accident. If you think lessons are expensive, then imagine how much an accident costs.

Everybody is different so some people might get used to it fast and others might take longer. If you feel that your driving skills are poorer than others, then I don't dee why it is such a big deal to take a few lessons.

I will say that as an American, when I drive in Malta, it almost feels like I have to relearn to drive. The first difference of course is driving on the left. The next problem is getting used to the narrow roads. Then there is the roundabouts. I know that they are more efficent that intersections be we don't have many of those in America so that is something to get used to. I also notice that many roads in Malta don't extend for very long. So if you want to travel two miles away, you may have to get onto 15 different roads to get to your destination. We also don't have a lot of manual cars in America so that is something to learn as well.

One thing that I find funny when people who come from right driving countries come to Malta, is that the windshield wiper switch and turn signals are reversed. So when someone wants to activate the turn signal, they turn on the windshield wipers.

I was once in Malta and my cousin was giving me a lesson on driving a manual car. I remembered that the windshield wiper and turn signal was reversed so I took a note of that. I made sure to pull on the lever on the right side of the steering wheel when I wanted to activate the turn signal. However, the windshield wipers still turned on.

I later asked my cousin why that happened. I was told that his car was German where they drove on the right side of the road so it was retrofitted to work in Malta. However, the levers were not moved. So as a result, in Malta the position of the turn signal and windshield wiper switch is different based on the the car you use.

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely take a few lessons.
I checked with Rudolph school, Lessons cost 10 euro per 40 minutes or 14 euro per hour.  cheap prices relative to the prices I know.

jmuthe wrote:

[...]

One thing that I find funny when people who come from right driving countries come to Malta, is that the windshield wiper switch and turn signals are reversed. So when someone wants to activate the turn signal, they turn on the windshield wipers.

[...]

That actually has to do with the car, not with Malta or with driving on the left...
I've driven a range of rental cars, both in Malta and in other countries, and all I can say is you ALWAYS have to familiarise yourself with where all the switches are... different makes, different switches... even the gears (especially the reverse) are different depending on whether you have a German car (reverse is usually in the same position as 1st gear, but push down the stick), French or Italian car (usually you have to lift the ring on the stick), Asian car (often where in my Czech car there would be the sixth gear), etc...

As for taking drivin lessons - I understand some people might find it helpful or might feel less stressed after taking a few - just don't expect that after a few lessons you wion't make any more mistakes! And ALWAYS expect the unexpected from all the other drivers on the roads, especially in Malta!

A lot of the older Japanese cars have indicators on the right whereas most European cars are on the left. Unfortunately, Malta has more than it's fair share of older cars.