Learning to drive #2

[Lalla]

I drove by myself today! Only up the road to Greggs and then I was too shook to actually go into Greggs so came straight back. Actual driving was fine but I'm struggling so much with the clutch in our car, it just doesn't behave the way I'm used to when learning my instructors car. Definitely felt like other people on the road were judging me but in reality they probably didn't notice anything

I did manage to reverse park into our bay at home though on first attempt and then went back to the car twice to check the handbrake was deffo on

My bf says I just need more experience driving his car and I'll soon adjust so we're gonna do some short journeys throughout the week.

I've ordered something to collect from matalan at the big shopping park to force myself to drive out this week as well lol

That's brilliant. My first trip was to Lidl (which is walking distance from our house) it was so exciting to be able to go there and not have to think about only buying stuff that I could carry home!

One thing I would suggest is not putting off motorway driving - which is something I did at first. I had a little tiny car when I passed which only had 4 gears and struggled to get to 60 (think Simon's car in the Inbetweeners - different car but similar size and lack of speed!). So I couldn't face trying to go on motorways and avoided them for the first few years until I got a bigger and better car - yesterday I did a 4.5 hour drive from the West Midlands to Kent, in the pouring rain and wind, and it was fine. If anything I quite enjoyed it - I love being in my car now!

 

[Gflo93]

I actually can’t believe it, I passed my test today! Am still in shock . So nervous to go out on my own for the first time!

It feels like a blur… When I drove to the test centre with my husband I had a big (stupid) pre test panic on a huge roundabout which ended up with me in tears… but I somehow pulled it together for the actual test! The lady actually thought I was a confident chilled driver… LOL.

 

[noseybirdxo]

I actually can’t believe it, I passed my test today! Am still in shock . So nervous to go out on my own for the first time!

It feels like a blur… When I drove to the test centre with my husband I had a big (stupid) pre test panic on a huge roundabout which ended up with me in tears… but I somehow pulled it together for the actual test! The lady actually thought I was a confident chilled driver… LOL.

huge congrats to you!!!!!

 

[Gflo93]

huge congrats to you!!!!!

Thank you so much, I’m so happy. Going to brave driving to the shop today! X

 

[Dancing Dave]

I actually can’t believe it, I passed my test today! Am still in shock . So nervous to go out on my own for the first time!

It feels like a blur… When I drove to the test centre with my husband I had a big (stupid) pre test panic on a huge roundabout which ended up with me in tears… but I somehow pulled it together for the actual test! The lady actually thought I was a confident chilled driver… LOL.

Congratulations

 

[xx3221]

I actually can’t believe it, I passed my test today! Am still in shock . So nervous to go out on my own for the first time!

It feels like a blur… When I drove to the test centre with my husband I had a big (stupid) pre test panic on a huge roundabout which ended up with me in tears… but I somehow pulled it together for the actual test! The lady actually thought I was a confident chilled driver… LOL.

Congratulations! Best feeling in the world right here's to a lifetime of freedom

 

[PinkMariner]

I actually can’t believe it, I passed my test today! Am still in shock . So nervous to go out on my own for the first time!

It feels like a blur… When I drove to the test centre with my husband I had a big (stupid) pre test panic on a huge roundabout which ended up with me in tears… but I somehow pulled it together for the actual test! The lady actually thought I was a confident chilled driver… LOL.

Congrats!!! It is the best feeling ever - the world is your oyster now!!!
When I first passed, my hubby hardly saw me for weeks, I would finish work and just drive for fun! lol

 

[under the ivy]

I prefer motorway driving to any other driving. I live in big Northern city and the roads are an utter nightmare. Don’t feel as stressed on a motorway!

 

[xx3221]

I prefer motorway driving to any other driving. I live in big Northern city and the roads are an utter nightmare. Don’t feel as stressed on a motorway!

Agreed. The motorway was made out to be some sort of huge deal, all scary and pay crazy amounts of attention or you'll crash. My first ever motorway trip was with my family which was a mistake because they stressed me out so much.
I started commuting to University for a month or so which was a 50min drive there, 50min drive back and it did wonders for my confidence on the motorway

 

[Lalla]

Thank you so much, I’m so happy. Going to brave driving to the shop today! X

Congrats on passing - hope your first solo drive went well!

 

[Gflo93]

Thanks so much everyone . Drove to Tesco and bought one of those cooked roast chickens for lunch… yum. Just needed an excuse to get out! Was so nervous and my parking was deffo a little wonky but feel so relieved to have done it. Felt so weird not having anyone next to me (especially when I had to do a right round a big roundabout - my nemesis) but felt so nice to just get on with it in peace .

 

[loobyscoobydoo]

Congrats @Gflo93

 

[Lurkerlurker2019]

I prefer motorway driving to any other driving. I live in big Northern city and the roads are an utter nightmare. Don’t feel as stressed on a motorway!

Same! I only had my car 3 weeks after passing my test and I drove from Leeds to Edinburgh. Getting out on an open road with your foot down is so much better than stop start in rush hour traffic.

 

[TheGlossy]

I had another lesson with new my automatic driving instructor and I asked him to give me an estimate of how many hours of driving I still need (given I already did 100+ in manual) and he told me "about 20, but maybe more" and asked me not to drive in between lessons until I "get the hang of it". I've never had an instructor ask me not to drive in between lessons. His pass rate is supposedly 100%.

While I've learned a lot with the two lessons, 20 hours or more seems a bit much to me, especially given I already have driving experience albeit in manual. It shouldn't be this complicated to switch from manual to automatic. He's treating this as if I'm a brand new driver even though he acknowledged that I clearly know how to drive.

I'm on the verge of giving up because I'm absolutely fed up with this BS. I passed my theory test in 2018 and while I didn't get to drive between January 2020 and now, it shouldn't be this hard to pass your driving test. I'm almost 32 and I still don't have this license, meanwhile some 18 year old airheads pass the test with flying colors. I'm so fed up, I just want to be an adult like any other and be free to drive places instead of being restricted to areas that are linked to some kind of public transport. I was on the verge of tears during the lesson because I'm getting really annoyed.

 

[BettyCrockerr]

I had another lesson with new my automatic driving instructor and I asked him to give me an estimate of how many hours of driving I still need (given I already did 100+ in manual) and he told me "about 20, but maybe more" and asked me not to drive in between lessons until I "get the hang of it". I've never had an instructor ask me not to drive in between lessons. His pass rate is supposedly 100%.

While I've learned a lot with the two lessons, 20 hours or more seems a bit much to me, especially given I already have driving experience albeit in manual. It shouldn't be this complicated to switch from manual to automatic. He's treating this as if I'm a brand new driver even though he acknowledged that I clearly know how to drive.

I'm on the verge of giving up because I'm absolutely fed up with this BS. I passed my theory test in 2018 and while I didn't get to drive between January 2020 and now, it shouldn't be this hard to pass your driving test. I'm almost 32 and I still don't have this license, meanwhile some 18 year old airheads pass the test with flying colors. I'm so fed up, I just want to be an adult like any other and be free to drive places instead of being restricted to areas that are linked to some kind of public transport. I was on the verge of tears during the lesson because I'm getting really annoyed.

Honestly, I think you need to just book a test. Get something booked, and see how it goes.

When this instructor said he thinks you need upwards of another 20 hours of lessons - what on earth for? What is it that he thinks you need so many lessons to learn??? If you can competently drive, do all the manoeuvres and can complete mock tests then that’s enough.

 

[xx3221]

I had another lesson with new my automatic driving instructor and I asked him to give me an estimate of how many hours of driving I still need (given I already did 100+ in manual) and he told me "about 20, but maybe more" and asked me not to drive in between lessons until I "get the hang of it". I've never had an instructor ask me not to drive in between lessons. His pass rate is supposedly 100%.

While I've learned a lot with the two lessons, 20 hours or more seems a bit much to me, especially given I already have driving experience albeit in manual. It shouldn't be this complicated to switch from manual to automatic. He's treating this as if I'm a brand new driver even though he acknowledged that I clearly know how to drive.

I'm on the verge of giving up because I'm absolutely fed up with this BS. I passed my theory test in 2018 and while I didn't get to drive between January 2020 and now, it shouldn't be this hard to pass your driving test. I'm almost 32 and I still don't have this license, meanwhile some 18 year old airheads pass the test with flying colors. I'm so fed up, I just want to be an adult like any other and be free to drive places instead of being restricted to areas that are linked to some kind of public transport. I was on the verge of tears during the lesson because I'm getting really annoyed.

I had a lot of lessons with one instructor and she was so expensive. She went on holiday and I never had lessons with her again. I stopped lessons in July 2018 and found a new instructor. I started with him in January 2019 and passed by April, but he had good intentions and wanted me to pass ASAP - a lot of instructors are money grabbers. The best thing I can suggest is doing your test if you feel confident. If you fail, it's not a big deal. You'll know what to work on. But, can I ask why you've decided to get automatic lessons instead of manual?

 

[cuttle90]

Hi fellow learners, I started learning in October 2021, the first available theory test was March which is now booked for next Friday - feeling really stressed about it. I downloaded the 4 in 1 app - i've completed all the pass guarantee stuff. Consistently getting 50/50 in the theory question section, and got my first 93% on hazard perception but just worried that i'm going to go into my theory test, forget everything and fail. My instructor has told me no pressure but make sure you pass it

 

[Lollypad]

Hi fellow learners, I started learning in October 2021, the first available theory test was March which is now booked for next Friday - feeling really stressed about it. I downloaded the 4 in 1 app - i've completed all the pass guarantee stuff. Consistently getting 50/50 in the theory question section, and got my first 93% on hazard perception but just worried that i'm going to go into my theory test, forget everything and fail. My instructor has told me no pressure but make sure you pass it

Take it slow, there’s far more time than you need, and trust your instincts. You can also flag questions to review later if you need to, just take deep breaths and take it easy.

 

[cuttle90]

Take it slow, there’s far more time than you need, and trust your instincts. You can also flag questions to review later if you need to, just take deep breaths and take it easy.

Thank you, I am dreading getting it wrong but I guess practice, practice, practice and then just hope the preparation pays off xx

 

[TheGlossy]

Honestly, I think you need to just book a test. Get something booked, and see how it goes.

When this instructor said he thinks you need upwards of another 20 hours of lessons - what on earth for? What is it that he thinks you need so many lessons to learn??? If you can competently drive, do all the manoeuvres and can complete mock tests then that’s enough.

Go figure. He said I need to re-learn how to perform the entire driving lifecycle and yet during the first lesson, he said I clearly know how to drive. He contradicts himself a lot. He showed me how to do a U-turn yesterday when I know how to do them and did it perfectly in my last test. I bluntly told him I feel as though I'm going backwards if I have to re-learn the lifecycle from scratch as if I were a brand new driver. Him telling me I can't drive in between lessons because I have to learn to operate a car is a joke. Surely, after more than 100 hours, I know how to operate a car.

He had the audacity to tell me: "I saw your last results and I don't think you knew what the test was about". At that point, I was close to 90 hours of driving and it was my second test, so I surely knew what the test was about. We had an issue with the car I rented from my then instructor which was not road-worthy and the tester told me I shouldn't have sat the test in the first place because of that, but he still managed to mark me negatively (primarily around gearing and progression) despite that.

There's a huge backlog with testing at the moment, so no one can book a test. It's straight to waiting list!

I had a lot of lessons with one instructor and she was so expensive. She went on holiday and I never had lessons with her again. I stopped lessons in July 2018 and found a new instructor. I started with him in January 2019 and passed by April, but he had good intentions and wanted me to pass ASAP - a lot of instructors are money grabbers. The best thing I can suggest is doing your test if you feel confident. If you fail, it's not a big deal. You'll know what to work on. But, can I ask why you've decided to get automatic lessons instead of manual?

Exactly, a lot of them are money grabbers. It doesn't matter if they are private or affiliated with a school. I find the private ones to be as greedy as the school-affiliated ones because they probably don't have as many students.

I already sat the test twice in manual, failed both times. I've accumulated roughly 100+ hours of driving in manual and decided to switch to automatic instead because it's been a couple of years since I passed my theory (4 exactly). I haven't driven since January 2020 due to COVID, so I thought I'd go automatic now that lessons are available again in a bid to get my license as soon as possible and also to remove gearing from the process since it's my big problem.



To be honest, I'm not liking automatic driving at all. I much prefer manual because it makes far more sense in my head in the sense that your speed is directly adjusted through the gears and you have clear control, whereas in automatic, the brake / gas manoeuvre to adjust the speed is really confusing because you have no real visibility/control over what you're doing and the gas pedal is very sensitive. I really don't like automatic driving and find it more annoying than anything else, but it's the easy route.