Learning to drive #2

[Jennyfromtheblog]

Agree too!! Ask for another instructor, learning to drive is stressful already, you don’t need added pressure from a difficult instructor.
I had two lessons with a guy who just shouted at me and mocked me. To the point he said his 5 year old could drive better than me and had more confidence than me! Absolute prick!! Put me off driving for two whole years.
I then found a lovely female instructor, super patient, explained things well when I made any mistakes.
I passed my test first time in December and got my car last week. Safe to say not many drivers know how to use the roundabouts properly as most don’t indicator on or off or just in general

 

[klarakluckbag]

Getting the right instructor makes a huge difference. I found mine (my third, the first two were 20 years earlier) after seeing my neighbour, who is a complete dingbat, pass her test with him. I thought that if he could get her to learn to drive, he could teach anyone, even me! We were the same age, from the same part of town, and so we had a lot in common. He would make rude comments about "women drivers" who can't reverse properly (knowing full well that I'd try harder just to prove him wrong lol) I would swear at him for making me drive up narrow hills with cars parked on both sides, the lessons were hard work sometimes, but having an instructor that I could just chat with, made it much easier for me. It took me a year with him, I was 46 when I passed my test and it was worth every penny, I'm so glad that I did it.

I passed the theory test first time, I had a DVD with the hazard perception videos, I'm sure it's all available online now. The ones that I used for practice (10 mins every night for a couple of months) were much harder than the ones in the actual test!

 

[Boredofgrey]

my situation is quite unique so i'm not sure if anyone else will be able to relate, but my god does anyone else get sick of people taking the piss out of you because you dont have a driving license yet? i'm mid twenties and yes, i 'should' have it by now, but it's bad enough/embarrassing enough being in the situation without having others belittle you for not having it

I passed my test aged 37. Passed my degree aged 35. Bought a house aged 36. Got married at 28. There’s no perfect time to do life stuff. Driving lessons are bloody expensive and then as a young driver, insurance is almost non affordable. If you’re funding it all yourself and others have had parental help then I’d tell them to pipe down a little!

 

[Thank(space)you]

It's almost a month since I've passed, I gave my friend a lift yesterday as she was running late for work and she said she can tell even since passing how much my driving has improved and my confidence has improved

 

[Sallyspal]

My test is coming up next week.. 4th time lucky for me too… I know I can drive but my nerves seem to get the better of me before the test

 

[gossipgal21]

I’m so pleased. The test felt really quick (so much so I actually thought he’d brought me back early) and although I was nervous I just tried to drive normally.
I picked up 2 minors.

Honestly it’s all been worth it just to know I never have to do a lesson again or another test

 

[Pinkfoxxie]

Terrible lesson today, steering was rubbish, hitting the accelerator instead of the break managed not to hit anyone or break the car so still taking it as a win

 

[loobyscoobydoo]

Argghh!!

Any tips on how to recover from a bad lesson? Aside from the obvious of just get behind the wheel again

I set off from work today rather than home and got flustered doing that as it's city centre and from there it was just silly mistake after silly mistake with me getting more and more flustered over time to the point where I was basically holding back tears for the latter half of my lesson. I'm normally good at keeping my cool when I make small errors but I just couldn't today. I'm trying hard to see positives in what I did but I just feel so annoyed at myself. I'm not giving up but just wondering how other people recovered from a bad lesson and got their confidence back before the next?

I was meant to go out practicing at the weekend in my boyfriends car but I've come home in such a state I think he's going to suggest we don't practice at the weekend.

 

[Dancing Dave]

Right, first lesson down.


It wasn’t a disaster but it wasn't great. He said I was very heavy footed on the accelerator. Gear changes didn't massively compute between keeping an eye on the road, steering wheel position, clutch and gears I was bamboozled! But, we started out in an empty car park and then we switched, got a main road and switched again and off I went. Drove for a good while. I think I was just being overly cautious, he said younger learners have no fear so the older (me) can be a bit too cautious, but once I was on thee straight road and kept it light I was ok. I'll get insured on my mums car as that's what I'll be practising in between my lessons. She said she'd take me to the same car park and we can go over gears etc.

So glad I did it. Automatic is still in the back of my head, but my instructor came highly recommended and he is incredible so I'm gonna hang tough with manual and practice my gears. It's still only Lesson 1 so we'll get there! Thanks all for the push, many more updates to come on my journey to finally being the designated driver in my group. I owe a lot of spins!

 

[Clover123]

It's a very hard test! But everyone manages to pass eventually. And we will too!
It sounds like you just got unlucky so get booking another one and I bet you'll pass second time!

 

[noseybirdxo]

One of the things I swear helped me, is by visualising myself passing.

This.

But also just completely rationalizing it to realise that there’s no pressure on it. There’s no pressure on you to pass - if you do then great, if you don’t then it’s ACTUALLY OKAY despite what your brain tells you. Take that pressure off yourself and treat it like a lesson with another instructor rather than a test etc. Visualising as above is really good. Just breath, as I’ve said before in this thread - you can drive or you wouldn’t be doing your test so just believe that!!! If it helps you - my BIL told me to talk either to myself or out loud the things I was doing and why I was doing it like “I need to do mirror, signal and move over here because I need to go right at this roundabout” for example. That really really helped me!

Good luck

 

[cuttle90]

My original test was July - my instructor made the call that I wasn't ready so swapped my test with another one of his students to Thursday and I passed first time.
My lesson before was horrendous I entirely forgot how to reverse into a parking space, so we went out the following night AGAIN with my instructor and we got it back to being better but I knew I would have to straighten up if I got that manoeuvre on my test. My lesson (40 minutes) before my test was ok but I had to do a REAL emergency stop as a lady pulled out straight in front of me.
I know that I perform ok under pressure, its more the nerves in the lead up that make me crazy. I did some relaxation with a NLP practitioner the night before, listened to 5 minute learning to drive podcasts (crammed these in in the 24 - 48 hours before) about driving tests and then watched some of the DGN driving school pass test videos on YouTube and happy to say I passed my test, first time, with 3 minors.

My manouevre was pulling into a car parking space, I got 5 pull up and drive away at the side of the road + a hill start on a releatively flat road but he asked me to demonstrate 0 roll back which I did.
1st minor - 40mph on a 60mph roundabout (in my defence this was from a stopped start) - he said not saying do 60mph but speed could of been up
2nd minor - one blind spot check missed
3rd minor - crossing dual carriageway to turn right - there was car, gap, car, gap he said I could of went but that I made the right call as If i had went and stalled I would of failed for a major (i didn't stall in the end but that was my fear!)

 

[DaisySims89]

I passed my test in May and I still feel like I am getting used to my car
I haven't stalled in ages and general driving is fine, but I need to get used to how long & wide my car actually is!
Parking is still my weakest skill, I can go into bay forwards quite easily now but haven't managed to reverse park yet
For ages I drove to a car park 20mins walk away from work because it was quieter

 

[Abbiexoxoxoxox]

Have my test on Thursday, will be my second one.
Only got a couple of minors on my first one but got a serious fault on my parallel park
I’m sooo nervous, felt sick and nervy all week, but having lessons every evening and glued to online videos so hoping they pay off.
Feel the pressure now my theory runs out in a few months. Wish me luck please! X

 

[jackieweaver’sauthority]

I’ve been watching this thread as this was my third time at learning to drive. I passed yesterday! If someone had told me I would do it at 6 months pregnant I would have laughed at them but I think having that as more of my focus didn’t allow me too much time to worry about the test. Think he felt a bit sorry for me as he let me off when I rolled back a bit on a hill and stalled and I didn’t even get the car in the parking bay lines at the end

 

[candyland_]

Eeek.. My test is this afternoon

 

[Lalla]

Just found this thread, I had my first driving test today and failed. It’s a little frustrating because I got no minors, but I made a really stupid mistake where I was driving down a straight road with a mini roundabout at the end, I’d never been down it before and I honestly thought that it was 2 lanes with oncoming traffic (ie a normal road) but it was actually a one way street so I needed to be in the right lane for the roundabout, whereas I positioned myself to the right of the left hand lane (if that makes sense). I was a silly mistake but I wasn’t too down because what can I do now, what’s done is done! I think I was also feeling stressed as it was the sat nav independent driving stage but turns out I was one of the people who had to do follow the signs.

I didn’t feel so bad, I know it’s my fault and the examiner was actually very nice at the end but my driving instructor has made me feel terrible. I had the silent treatment all the way home and he called me an idiot a lot and kept telling me how disappointed he was in me as he needs to have a good amount of passes for his instructor record. I just feel like it’s really knocked my confidence now and I feel like a total moron. Honestly just hoping I can pass at some point so I can move on

As someone who took 6 tests (over 25 years!) to pass, please don't be too hard on yourself. And if possible get a new instructor asap because yours sounds like a complete twat. How dare he speak to you like that? - I'm vicariously angry on your behalf!

I didn't realise how much difference a good instructor makes until I had one who was good (the previous ones were not, for various reasons!). Mine was the most patient man in the world and only ever said encouraging things - after I failed my first test with him (4th overall) he told me not to worry, he thought it was a bit harsh and I was such a good driver he knew I'd pass next time And even when I didn't then next time he just gave me some more encouraging words and told me to apply asap for another test. And that one I did pass (5 years ago now).

 

[BashmentLady]

I passed the driving test last week and still can't believe it. Here's a few wee things that helped me that might help others, as I had very low confidence, and hadn't been driving for 13 years (when I last failed my test!):

• I did it in automatic. Fair play to anyone who can get their head around manual, but I'm not one of them and automatic is now a lot more available. It gave me confidence as I could spend more time concentrating on observation and positioning, rather than worrying what gear I was in.
• I talked to myself during the test. When I did the test before, I found it really disconcerting being in the car with someone who can only give your instructions, no normal chat. Talking to myself (which the tester didn't seem to mind, just made it clear he wasn't going to respond) helped me vocalise what I was seeing and doing, and for things like reversing around the corner helped me with positioning (in in in in OUT OUT OUT!).
• I didn't do a full pre-test before the test. Instead, we went on a couple of popular routes and worked on positioning. I was nervous that if I made a mess of the turnabout and reverse around a corner in the pre-test, that I would be on edge for the test. When I get flustered I fuck everything up, so I wanted to go in as calm and at ease as possible. Just doing the routes, getting familiar for the positions and speeds, I felt calm going in.
• Youtube - a few instructors have the test centre I was with on their channels and seeing how they did things and what to expect helped a lot. I don't have access to a car (yet!) so this was a way of getting familiar without being able to physically go.

 

[daisy2809]

my situation is quite unique so i'm not sure if anyone else will be able to relate, but my god does anyone else get sick of people taking the piss out of you because you dont have a driving license yet? i'm mid twenties and yes, i 'should' have it by now, but it's bad enough/embarrassing enough being in the situation without having others belittle you for not having it

 

[Sharkfan]

I decided to bite the bullet and sign up for an intensive course as my original instructor was happy I was test ready so thought it’d be ideal as it gave me some more practice before my test and ensured the instructor they found me would be available for my test day. Plus my parents are able to take me to quieter car parks so I can practice manoeuvres there.


Now the lessons themselves are a similar price to anywhere else but to the deposit the company takes (purely for putting you in contact with an instructor) is nearly £200- I initially thought this went towards covering the cost of test day as that’s a service they offer but it turns out all they do is find you a test and you have to pay for everything else on top. Obviously it’s a lot of money but I wasn’t too annoyed as I hoped I’d be able to have a bit of a refresher with my new instructor and actually pass this time so it’d be worth it. However, I’ve had two lessons now and my instructor doesn’t think I’ll be ready and I’ve spent both lessons close to tears because he’s constantly stressing me out. He really went over the top about me making minor mistakes, like not indicating exactly when he told me too on a roundabout, and then going on about it for ages- causing me to not be able to concentrate on what I was doing right then and make further mistakes. I nearly bit through my lip yesterday when I was coming off the roundabout and as I indicated (just after passing the previous exit and well in time before I came off) he said it was too late- as if all the other cars aren’t even bothering to signal!

All he constantly says is to take it easy and not stress but I’ve honestly never been so stressed about driving than when I was in his car. I’m considering asking the company if they could find me an alternative test date so I can push it back a little but have a feeling that’ll have another excessive cost attached to it so it feels like I’m just pouring money down the drain.