Driving

Currently reading:
Driving

I hated my first few lessons...I thought it was hard too!
I had such crap clutch control, but as soon as my instructor explained to me how it worked, I got the hang of it. In the end I passed first time after 5 months of lessons (2hrs per week) (y)

You'll be fine, just stay positive - think of the freedom!!!!!
 
I had been driving since the age of 12, so when I came to 17 it was a case of unlearning all the bad habits, and getting the positioning right on the road so I didn't run over the man carrying the red flag.

The scariest thing ever, is sitting in the passenger seat with a 17 year old doing her first road driving.

Cheers

PD
 
I learned in a 1.8 mini, Was great fun, although my first lesson he just made me talk over the theory of driving. Was a bit of a let down, I thought i would be driving about. Soon sorted that one out on the next lesson tho.

After just under 2 months of about 4hrs per week i sat my test and passed first time. Soon after invested in a wee fiat. Passed my test 17th april this year.

Keep at it, if you dont like the instructor there is no bother in changing to a new one, its your money, you spend it on who is going to help you the most and get you through that test
 
Awww your be fine give it a little while it's a confidence thing :)

I was lucky because my uncle has a farm so had been driving on his land since 16 so in my first lesson i drove on dual carriageway up to manor royale (Gatwick) plus i learnt in my own car with my instructor :)

xxxx
xxx
xx
x
 
Just started my driving lesson last week.... not easy... :( think I'm gonna quit... still learning on how to turn left and right and all those stuff.. :cry:

I'd suggest rather than spending more money on lessons, take your money and go Karting. That'll get you used to the basics of pointing a car where you want to go, and the braking and accelerating, and at the same time you'll enjoy it.

Then when you next go for a driving lesson you'll be more confident that you can make the car go (and stop) where you want it to go. Then you can start to learn the other bits :)
 
i must admit i took a 2 hour lesson on my birthday, i was really looking foward to it but after i had a long hard think about driving, i didnt like it at all.

i was used to a motorbike which i ragged to within an inch of its life, i was a mentallist on it. in the instructors car i slowed down every time cars came the opposite direction, main problem was spacial awareness and coordination, i was crap for around 10 lessons.

got a lot better when i got insured on my grandads car, even if he did only let me drive on industrial estates an hour a week at first lol

trust me when you pass its the best feeling ever, keep going(y)
 
:ROFLMAO:....

My bike test lasted 15mins - none of this pursuit nonsense - just ride around the test centre clockwise, then again counter-clock wise while the examiner stood on the pavement and watched you (y)

Honda H100 to GSX-R750 in 900 seconds :D
Did he wear a gaberdeen raincoat and a trilby? On the subject of learning to drive, although I don't do a lot of instruction now, I have held an ADI "Badge"
for 21 years and have obviously lost count of the number of people I've taught. One constant in all the variables is that everybody learns at different rates. Stuggling to come to terms with corners on the 1st lesson is not a problem. Learning the push-pull method isn't that easy. It's not intuitive. In all
probability, you've spent all your life watching people cross their hands on the
wheel, so getting your head round this style will take a little getting used to. If taught properly, it's a method you will use all your driving life. If not you'll dump it within a week of passing your test. At the moment, all your concentration is devoted to not how to operate the controls, but what the hell they all are and even where they are. You will find you gradually get used
to them and will be able to transfer your attention to what goes on outside the car and will think less and less about what to push and when to push them. Keep it up, relax and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Finally, don't pay much attention to what people say about when they were learning.
Blokes especially, will tell you they passed in about 25 minutes when they were 12 years old. After a while even they believe it.
 
Dont worry about lessons in the end I had 70 lessons, and passed third time. Driving did not come naturally to me. Just keep plugging at it and you will get there eventually
 
I had my first 4 hours on a closed park park (Britannia Stadium) practicing clutch control and doing things like slow cone slaloms.

After that I learnt in the instructors 1.6 Diesel Clio (I think that was the engine size) and in my 1.0 Rover Metro with my parents. With my dad was good (he's since become a motorcycle instructor) and with my mum usually ended up as a row! :eek:
 
More lessons than I can remember and 3 goes to pass the test. Now, many years later I'm allowed to drive big white vans with blue lights for a living!

Stick with it, driving is a combination of skills, knowledge, experience and judgement. Whilst some find that one part of that comes naturally and more easily than others, developing all four takes work.

You never stop learning - but enjoy the road ahead. :)
 
took me 2 weeks to pass my test from my birthday..
i have been racing cars since i was 13 yrs old, so i did have quite a lot of experience lol!
driving feels so slow on the road tho, as im used to doing 150mph+ on the racetrack!
 
Currently learning to drive also. My test is booked for November 25th and im bricking it. I make simple mistakes and kick myself for it but I know I CAN drive and im alright at it. It took me forever to feel right and comfortable. My first driving instrutor was a smelly old half qualified prevert who did nothing but told me off and told me I was terrible. I now have a really support and understanding instructor whos female. She has a high pass rate and shes more a friend than a teacher.
If you feel uncomfortable try another instructor. I found out that independent teachers seem more keen to keep your spirits up than put you down all the time.
Keep at it! I never thought I would get this far...If I can then anyone can lol.
 
I'm 15.. 16 in february and i'm pretty confident with actually "driving" ie controlling the car - accelerating, braking, steering and even powersliding on a field! But i'm not sure how i'd get on on a real road. The closest i've got was a solid gravel track about a mile long.

Can't wait til i start lessons though.. hope i don't need too many!
 
not sure if anyone has said this but try more then one instructor. my first one was a tosser. i felt stupid and was always grabbing the wheel. so after 5 lessons i felt i was not getting better. a started with a new instructor and all of a suddern i was sooooo much better. go figure.
My 1st instructor openly admitted to being a "bit of a boy racer" in his "younger days" (he was late 20's, early 30's and IMO, still a "boy racer"!). He would often shout and scream (and swear) for the slightest of mistakes (isn't that what learner drivers do? make mistakes that can then be corrected?). The scariest thing he did happened en route to pick up his next pupil. Headed out towards Great Coates, doing about 55-60 and approaching a slight right hand bend. All of a sudden he starts f-ing and blinding about not "f**king turning" and "trying to get us both f**king killed". He then grabbed the wheel, yanked to the left and slammed the brakes on. I hadn't actually reached the bend, had I turned when he wanted me to, I would certainly have crossed to the wrong side fo the road. The next lesson with him was supposed to be covering a turn in the road. He starting cursing and swearing again because I refused to use the "City" function (it was a wee Punto that ate clutches like I eat biscuits!!). I struggled with it.

I then decided enough was enough and cancelled the remaining lesson (had booked 6 as part of the special offer the company was running). Complained to the boss who took me out for a free lesson to put his mind at rest (just incase I did anything to provoke his behaviour...). It was then I also found out my instructor wasn't only a PDI!!

I'd lost all confidence in driving, thought I was useless at it and only half-heartedly looked around other driving schools. Then, one day whilst riding home from college I spotted the guy I wanted to go with in the first place! Chased him all the way down Littlefield Lane in Grimsby to the lights, where I scribbled down the phone number (good job he had a pupil in the car, didn't fancy trying to cycle at 30 for any length of time :D).

My mum rang him on my behalf (short turn around between lessons, nipped home for lunch lol) and he gave me a half price lesson after hearing the above. Within 5 minutes my confidence had been restored and discovered I wasn't that bad!! Had another half dozen lessons with him, did test 1 and failed (on a technicality, not bad driving...the technicality being another **** of a driver not knowing what he was doing...as a consequence, I had apparently "impeded the flow of traffic"). Another 2 refresher lessons and test 2 was ballsed up big style (had 2 hour lesson prior to test - too long, got tired and it showed!!). 1 more lesson and pre-test lesson for number 3, had same examiner as test 1 - doing fine until the home straight - wasn't paying attention to a truck, had to do an emergency stop (unplanned = instant serious fault). Then, just pre-test lesson for number four (only a few weeks later) and had same examiner again, this time, he was being watched as well :D. Passed...1 minor :D

(The examiner I had 3 times was/is known as "Picky Paul Fail 'em All" to most ADI's in the area ;))

Passed my test on 05/10/2008, theory certificate would have expired 07/10/2008 and went on holiday 08/10/2008 lol

Currently learning to drive also. My test is booked for November 25th and im bricking it. I make simple mistakes and kick myself for it but I know I CAN drive and im alright at it. It took me forever to feel right and comfortable. My first driving instrutor was a smelly old half qualified prevert who did nothing but told me off and told me I was terrible. I now have a really support and understanding instructor whos female. She has a high pass rate and shes more a friend than a teacher.
If you feel uncomfortable try another instructor. I found out that independent teachers seem more keen to keep your spirits up than put you down all the time.
Keep at it! I never thought I would get this far...If I can then anyone can lol.
The best advice I was given for my test(s) was to get all your silly mistakes out of the way in the hour before your test. Then when it comes to test time, smile and greet the examiner politely (they're less likely to be miserable if you appear cheerful). This won't affect their judgement, but it is easier to relax if they are being somewhat happy and cheerful with you.

On the test itself, if you think you've made a mistake, just keep going. On test 4 I clipped a kerb on the A180 as an ambulance on blue's-and-two's came hurtling by. The test centre was just off the A180, so was only a few minutes into the test. Just kept going and figured "Hey, if it is a failure, may as well just keep going - not like they'll end it for that!!"

Turns out, he didn't even mark it as a minor (presumably because he was focusing on the much heavier vehicle speeding up behind us making lots of noise and lots of blue flashing lights rather than how close the kerb was lol)






It's taken me a year, but I've finally got my own car (yay) and absolutely love it (even the little "Fiat-isms" it has :D). I'm soo glad I didn't give up when that ****-of-boy-racer-driving instructor kept putting me down!
 
Back
Top