Driving lessons
The most most popular areas in Crawley include:
Bewbush, Broadfield, Furnace Green, Ifield, Langley Green, Maidenbower, Pound Hill, Southgate, Three Bridges, and Tilgate.
Enter your postcode above to find prices in your local area of Crawley.
View other guides: Driving Lessons in London, Driving Lessons in Birmingham, Driving Lessons in Manchester.
Learning to drive in Crawley
If you’re looking to get into the driver’s seat, you can’t get much better than Crawley. Situated just above High Weald AONB, a stone’s throw from Gatwick Airport, it’s got a vast mix of rural roads, dual carriageways and busy urban streets to get you used to life behind the wheel.
When you’re starting out, you’ll want to practise your skills somewhere quiet. That’s why we recommend heading to a residential area like Northgate, which is usually very peaceful. This will give you a good chance to get to grips with moving off and stopping without pressure from other vehicles. Just try to get there during the daytimes in the week, so that there aren’t too many parked cars lining the streets!
When you’re feeling more confident, there are all sorts of areas in Crawley that’ll put your skills to the test. You could navigate the narrow, one-way streets of the town centre, or spend some time perfecting your dual carriageway driving (and your roundabout skills!) on the A23 or A264.
However, being so close to High Weald AONB, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face learning to drive in Crawley is the winding, rural roads. It can be tricky to judge the appropriate speed on them. They’re usually national speed limit but because of their narrowness, occasional potholes and blind bends, that can often be too fast. Don’t worry, with your Midrive instructor by your side you’ll nail it in no time!
Taking your test in Crawley
Crawley Test Centre is situated just outside Pease Pottage, right on the edge of High Weald AONB, with its multitude of country lanes.
Although the DVSA no longer publishes test routes, there are certain areas that are likely to crop up. Whichever way you turn out of the test centre, you’ll do a small stretch on Brighton Road. It’s not usually busy, but the speed limit here is 50 mph. That means you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled as you turn out of the test centre, as cars might seem to appear out of nowhere.
If you’re asked to turn left out of the test centre, you’ll quickly encounter a small roundabout. From here, you could turn onto a winding rural road, like Parish Lane, or you could quickly find yourself on the larger roundabout that connects Brighton Road with the A23, A264 and M23. You won’t be asked to drive on a motorway during your test, but the A23 dual carriageway is particularly likely to come up, as it’ll be your main route into Crawley itself.
If your examiner asks you to head into Crawley, you could find yourself on busy A roads with lots of traffic lights - so you’ll have to make sure you’re responding to road markings early enough to get into the right lane. It’s also possible that you’ll head into a residential area like Southgate to carry out your manoeuvre and (if it crops up) your emergency stop. Don’t forget that your driving instructor will introduce you to the areas around the test centre in advance so that you’re fully prepared for test day!
Driving test centre locations
There’s only one test centre in Crawley. To view a full list of test centres near you, visit gov.uk.
- Crawley: Unit 2 The Pavillions, Brighton Road, Pease Pottage, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 9BJ
Manual vs Automatic
Take your pick from manual or automatic driving lessons in Crawley.
Everyone’s different, so make sure you think about whether a manual or automatic licence would suit you best before booking lessons. They both have their positives!
A manual licence offers you that much more flexibility, as it qualifies you to drive both manual and automatic cars. That’s in contrast to an automatic licence, which only qualifies you to drive automatics. Manual cars and lessons also tend to be cheaper, and some drivers like the sense of control a manual car offers them, particularly over long distances.
Although an automatic licence is more restrictive in one sense, learning in an automatic car can be quicker, since you don’t have to get your head around clutch control and changing gears. It’s also easier to drive an automatic in heavy traffic, since it does away with the need to press the clutch each time you come to a standstill. At the end of the day, the choice is yours!