Learning to drive #2

[BettyCrockerr]

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!



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.

The automatic should feel easier to control. All you are doing is using the gas to increase decrease your speed and the brake to bring the speed down quicker when needed. I think you are over thinking it, just allow it to be a natural reaction to what’s going on in front of you. When driving a manual, you shouldn’t be reliant on the clutch/manual gears to control the car anyway. You should be able to control the speed of the car.


I have no idea what your instructor is talking about regarding the “lifecycle” of driving?! What’s he referring to?


Your instructor sounds like he’s making this far more complicated and convoluted than it is. It’s driving a car - not a mission to repair the Hubble telescope!!!

 

[TheGlossy]

The automatic should feel easier to control. All you are doing is using the gas to increase decrease your speed and the brake to bring the speed down quicker when needed. I think you are over thinking it, just allow it to be a natural reaction to what’s going on in front of you. When driving a manual, you shouldn’t be reliant on the clutch/manual gears to control the car anyway. You should be able to control the speed of the car.


I have no idea what your instructor is talking about regarding the “lifecycle” of driving?! What’s he referring to?


Your instructor sounds like he’s making this far more complicated and convoluted than it is. It’s driving a car - not a mission to repair the Hubble telescope!!!

I agree, it's not rocket science.

I think I'm overthinking it because he's making it more complicated than it is. I realized this yesterday. I was making the U-turn and it was going fine, then he made me stop because my hands were not positioned at the top of the steering wheel with my thumbs up. Never had this with any of my previous instructors.

Before and after each lesson, he will literally ask me to write down on a piece of paper the rules of the road such as "What does forward planning entail" etc... We literally spent the first and last 30 minutes of yesterday's lesson writing theory aspects on a piece of paper. It's an utter waste of time in my opinion. I don't need to write down the theory. You can't learn how to drive by writing down practical aspects on a piece of paper.

He said I need to learn how to start the car, manoeuvre the car controls, take off, turns / roundabouts etc.. basically the whole driving sequence really. I really don't understand this at all, because I'm the type to usually underestimate my abilities, but I'm pretty adamant I don't need to re-learn the whole "lifecycle". I need improvements definitely, but certainly not re-learn how to drive from scratch, especially if I'm told I know how to drive. Makes no sense.

 

[MrsBsDayOff]

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.

This driving instructor gives me red flags, his advice not to drive between lessons sounds rubbish and 100pc pass rate sounds like a lie. It sounds like you're not comfortable with him.

I passed my test years ago after a few road bumps with instructors. 1st instructor was nice man but just useless at teaching, not focused on the detail. After finishing a prepaid course of 10 lessons I didn't feel that I had progressed much. I then tried a 2nd instructor who I lasted 2 lessons with, she was awful, a bully, impatient and said "you're driving like you never had a lesson", "you're an ignorant driver" - I felt uncomfortable and never went back (she has a website tooting how wonderful an instructor she is, liar).
I was pretty peeved off by then and a friend put me in touch with my 3rd instructor, a wonderful man with the patience of a saint, always put me at ease, never gave out when I made mistakes, and prepared me impeccably for the test - I passed the test with him after about 30 hours instruction. I think if you got a better instructor who you're at ease with, you'll feel much more confident and pass the test.

 

[BettyCrockerr]

I agree, it's not rocket science.

I think I'm overthinking it because he's making it more complicated than it is. I realized this yesterday. I was making the U-turn and it was going fine, then he made me stop because my hands were not positioned at the top of the steering wheel with my thumbs up. Never had this with any of my previous instructors.

Before and after each lesson, he will literally ask me to write down on a piece of paper the rules of the road such as "What does forward planning entail" etc... We literally spent the first and last 30 minutes of yesterday's lesson writing theory aspects on a piece of paper. It's an utter waste of time in my opinion. I don't need to write down the theory. You can't learn how to drive by writing down practical aspects on a piece of paper.

He said I need to learn how to start the car, manoeuvre the car controls, take off, turns / roundabouts etc.. basically the whole driving sequence really. I really don't understand this at all, because I'm the type to usually underestimate my abilities, but I'm pretty adamant I don't need to re-learn the whole "lifecycle". I need improvements definitely, but certainly not re-learn how to drive from scratch, especially if I'm told I know how to drive. Makes no sense.

Wait - what? You are sitting in the car doing theory/writing notes during the lesson time that YOU are paying for?


No. No no no no no. No. That is a complete piss take. That’s not what the practical lessons are for, that’s not what he is being paid to do. The forward planning stuff is what you will naturally pick up as you gain more practical experience behind the wheel and he should be nurturing that DURING your lessons - he should be pointing out where you should be looking/what you should be aware off as you are driving until he is confident that you are doing this for yourself. Do you communicate with him verbally during the lessons?

As for this “lifecycle” nonsense - he’s chatting tit. You “learn” this stuff as you do your lessons - Christ almighty, leaning how to turn the ignition on?! Is this guy for real?!!

 

[MrsBsDayOff]

Wait - what? You are sitting in the car doing theory/writing notes during the lesson time that YOU are paying for?


No. No no no no no. No. That is a complete piss take. That’s not what the practical lessons are for, that’s not what he is being paid to do. The forward planning stuff is what you will naturally pick up as you gain more practical experience behind the wheel and he should be nurturing that DURING your lessons - he should be pointing out where you should be looking/what you should be aware off as you are driving until he is confident that you are doing this for yourself. Do you communicate with him verbally during the lessons?

As for this “lifecycle” nonsense - he’s chatting tit. You “learn” this stuff as you do your lessons - Christ almighty, leaning how to turn the ignition on?! Is this guy for real?!!

I agree, this poster needs to run quick and find a new instructor, this guy sounds like the pits.

 

[TheGlossy]

Wait - what? You are sitting in the car doing theory/writing notes during the lesson time that YOU are paying for?


No. No no no no no. No. That is a complete piss take. That’s not what the practical lessons are for, that’s not what he is being paid to do. The forward planning stuff is what you will naturally pick up as you gain more practical experience behind the wheel and he should be nurturing that DURING your lessons - he should be pointing out where you should be looking/what you should be aware off as you are driving until he is confident that you are doing this for yourself. Do you communicate with him verbally during the lessons?

As for this “lifecycle” nonsense - he’s chatting tit. You “learn” this stuff as you do your lessons - Christ almighty, leaning how to turn the ignition on?! Is this guy for real?!!

I agree, this poster needs to run quick and find a new instructor, this guy sounds like the pits.

Exactly. I agree completely with what you both said.

Yep. He asked me to write down some notes before the lesson to "memorialize" what I need to do. Then, at the end of the lesson, I need to write down "what has improved, what needs to be improved and future goals". It didn't sit well with me at all. That's not the purpose of these lessons. The no driving between lessons is a joke as well - a way for him to delay any progress and make me 100% reliant on him.

I do communicate verbally during lessons a lot because I'm a vocal person by nature, but a) he's not always receptive and b) his communication isn't great. For instance, yesterday, he asked me to park in some residential area to show me how to hold the steering wheel. I didn't think much of it and thought he just wanted to show me with the car on pause. Then, out of the blue he started asking me to turn right, get closer to the curb, then go reverse and turn again. Halfway through, I realized he wanted me to do a U-turn. Why on earth didn't he just communicate he wanted me to do a U-turn? Simple as that. He didn't exactly verbalize what he wanted me to do, so I was utterly confused as to what we were doing. If he had just said "we're going to do a U-turn", then I obviously would have known what to do. This might be a minor instance, but in that particular moment I realized his communication style isn't for me.

In the 4 hours I've dealt with him, I've also noticed he has a tendency to dodge remarks / questions.

My past instructors would always ask me to follow the same route as the one used for the actual test. I know both routes used by the test centres linked to my area. Yet, this guy makes it a point to take me to some random areas that are nowhere on the test route. Not a big deal in itself, but since I want to prepare for the test, it might be good to use the official test route.

I'm 100% done with him. Yesterday was my second lesson with him as I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt in case the first lesson was just me getting acclimated to his technique and the automatic car. However, I kept thinking about it today and it's no go. I'm not going to waste my money on him. A lot of red flags indeed.

 

[Lollypad]

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!



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.

If I’m honest if anyone I was paying an extortionate amount of money to spoke to me like that (don’t think you knew what the test was about) I wouldn’t be paying them for much longer. You deserve someone to treat you with respect in the stressful situations!

 

[cuttle90]

Passed my theory today 50/50 multiple choice and 63/75 hazard perception.
Drove for around 1.5 hours through the countryside on the scenic route way home from my theory test in our own car. Driving lesson with instructor tonight where we did spiral roundabouts which was good. Just a bit off with the pedals after hopping out of one car and into another. Didn't do very well with reversing two car lengths after pulling up on other side of the road but other than that it seemed to go OK. Lessons changing to Monday from next week.
My instructor looked for tests, it's going to be August we think but there was one cancellation on Monday so anyone looking out for available tests, keep checking because there are obviously still some around!

 

[noseybirdxo]

Passed my theory today 50/50 multiple choice and 63/75 hazard perception.
Drove for around 1.5 hours through the countryside on the scenic route way home from my theory test in our own car. Driving lesson with instructor tonight where we did spiral roundabouts which was good. Just a bit off with the pedals after hopping out of one car and into another. Didn't do very well with reversing two car lengths after pulling up on other side of the road but other than that it seemed to go OK. Lessons changing to Monday from next week.
My instructor looked for tests, it's going to be August we think but there was one cancellation on Monday so anyone looking out for available tests, keep checking because there are obviously still some around!

Have you signed up for any cancellation apps to get alerted about sooner tests? Book your test and sign up, I paid a one off fee on Speedy Tests and you put in your test date and and they’ll alert you by text and you just reply to book - the system searches for tou. You can use this service until you pass so even if you don’t pass first time, you can keep using the service. I got all my tests sooner through it and would recommend it to everyone.

There’s another called Testi/Testy? I can’t vouch for them but I’m sure others in this thread have used and mentioned others.

Well done on passing your theory

 

[Grejaha]

If the driving test is during peak hours, and the roads are really busy, I guess it’s not possible to complete the full driving test routes in 40 mins?

 

[noseybirdxo]

If the driving test is during peak hours, and the roads are really busy, I guess it’s not possible to complete the full driving test routes in 40 mins?

Generally speaking, most test centers have a lot of different routes and they’ll more than likely take things like traffic into consideration when deciding what route to take. You might not go far away from the test centre but you’ll do enough to demonstrate you’re a safe driver I personally didn’t mind mine being in some traffic but not everyone will feel the same

 

[under the ivy]

If the driving test is during peak hours, and the roads are really busy, I guess it’s not possible to complete the full driving test routes in 40 mins?

The examiners have loads of different routes to take you on. I was really lucky, mine took me through a quiet housing estate

 

[Grejaha]

The examiners have loads of different routes to take you on. I was really lucky, mine took me through a quiet housing estate

Had it this morning, stalled and she failed me. It’s crazy how one tiny error like that leads to a whole fail lmao she said I was good other than that one thing

 

[under the ivy]

Had it this morning, stalled and she failed me. It’s crazy how one tiny error like that leads to a whole fail lmao she said I was good other than that one thing

Oh no I’m sorry, that’s so bloody annoying! Take comfort that you know you’re good at driving and it was just one little thing x

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

Had it this morning, stalled and she failed me. It’s crazy how one tiny error like that leads to a whole fail lmao she said I was good other than that one thing

You don’t usually fail for stalling? Unless it was in a dangerous situation? Hopefully now you’ll know what to expect you’ll pass next time!

 

[Grejaha]

You don’t usually fail for stalling? Unless it was in a dangerous situation? Hopefully now you’ll know what to expect you’ll pass next time!

That’s what I thought too. There was nothing dangerous about the situation, other than that were cars behind but they were a good distance away had I rolled back

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

That’s what I thought too. There was nothing dangerous about the situation, other than that were cars behind but they were a good distance away had I rolled back

Strange, it’s usually a minor for stalling.

 

[Clover123]

Strange, it’s usually a minor for stalling.

Yes that's really harsh! I haven't heard of that before! Maybe check the feedback when you get it, it might explain more.

 

[BettyCrockerr]

Had it this morning, stalled and she failed me. It’s crazy how one tiny error like that leads to a whole fail lmao she said I was good other than that one thing

I stalled twice on the test where I passed. He said stalling in itself isn’t generally a fail, it’s how you react to it that matters.

 

[noseybirdxo]

Strange, it’s usually a minor for stalling.

Yeah it’s a minor for stalling. I stalled 3 times on my test and I thought that it would become a major because of that but it didn’t. It’s only a major if it’s a dangerous situation

Had it this morning, stalled and she failed me. It’s crazy how one tiny error like that leads to a whole fail lmao she said I was good other than that one thing

Was it your only driving fault? Or did you have quite a few minors on your feedback?