Did you realize that the Driving Standards Agency are planning on closing the Gravesend Driving Test Centre for good ?

Hence, we believe this will have a big impact on you as a learner, because you will have to travel further to the next nearset test centre, being Gillingham or Erith.
This will of course take longer to reach and hence increase lesson time and costs. There are other issues concerning polution also.
If you have concerns over this then you can contact us or talk to your local driving instructor to find out more

Learning to drive isn't easy and it's not cheap either. The cost of becoming a motorist can provide you with your first taste of road rage as licence fees, lessons and test charges all add up.

Before you start having lessons, you will need a provisional licence, which costs £45 from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. When you pass your test, you will upgrade free of charge to a full licence. You can have lessons with an approved driving instructor or practise with someone aged at least 21 who has held their licence for three or more years.

As a rough guide, research from the Driving Standards Agency shows that the average person will need 45 hours of lessons before they pass their test. The cost will vary according to where you live and the driving school you choose, but on average it's £24 per hour. This means you could be looking at a total bill of more than £1,000.

Maria McCarthy, author of The Girls' Guide to Losing Your L-plates: how to pass your driving test (published by Simon & Schuster), says it is important to map out your finances before you get behind the wheel. "Otherwise you run the risk of running out of money and having to stop and start lessons which will work out more expensive in the long run.

"Statistically," she adds, "it is cheaper to learn to drive when you are young as people generally take double their age in the number of lessons they need. So someone who is 17 should pass in about 34 lessons but a 30-year-old will take 60. At an average of £24 per lesson, it would cost £816 at 17 but £1,440 for someone who is 30."

The AA advocates two-hour lessons so learners have time to recap what they have previously learned, then acquire new skills and put everything into practice within one session. It also recommends block booking to save money. For example, if you arrange 12 lessons with the AA, you get £2 off each one.

When you are ready for your test, there are more fees to pay. You can take the combined theory and "hazard perception" examination whenever you like before or after you start learning to drive but you must pass this test, which costs £30.00, before you book the practical.

The theory exam consists of multiple-choice questions on subjects such as the Highway Code and traffic signs; you will need a mark of 43 out of 50 to pass. In the hazard-perception test, you are asked to respond to a series of video clips and the pass mark is 44 out of 75. Fail either part of the exam and you will have to resit the whole thing. Pass and you will get a certificate that lasts two years so you must do the practical within this time.

In the 40-minute road test, an examiner will judge your ability to drive safely and competently. A weekday test costs £56.50; evening or weekend tests cost more

If you're learning to drive with an instructor, then insurance will be included in the lesson cost. But if you have your own car and a friend or family member is teaching you to drive, you will need your own cover.

Richard Mason at comparison site Moneysupermarket.com recommends clickthepepper.com, which specialises in learner insurance. "It offers policies for just a few months at a time and is very reasonable. It understands that very few accidents occur when learning; it's when drivers pass the test that the number of accidents shoots up."

When you do pass, you might be shocked at the cost of car cover, especially if you are young and male. Insurers have clamped down on a practice known as "fronting", where parents claim to be the main driver of a car that is driven predominantly by their son or daughter.

"As well as being illegal, fronting is a false economy. Insurers are wise to the practice and many now set the price according to the age of the youngest driver on the policy," says Hayley Parsons, managing director at comparison site Gocompare. "In the long run, it is better for young drivers to hold insurance in their own name to build up a no-claims discount."

Some new motorists take Pass Plus, an advanced course that provides experience of driving in towns, on rural roads, at night and on motorways. The programme normally costs around £150. Some car insurers offer Pass Plus holders a discount.

Emma Lunn, The Independent