Learning to drive.

BettyCrockerr · Jul 6, 2021

Thank(space)you said:
I just feel like I'm so ready for my test (it's booked for end of Sept) my instructor has had no critique for the last 2 weeks.
However he keeps telling me I need to be out practicing daily (which isn't feasible) in the back of my mind I wonder if he's gearing up to postponing my September test too

But that makes no sense…
your instructor told you that you were test ready, and you booked your test for the end of June, and then he said you weren’t ready and your test was postponed until September…

dude

You can drive. You were ready for your test last month.

id drop to 1 lesson a week and ask to have mock tests each lesson from here on out. Know the car inside out, go over manoeuvres so you can do them in your sleep, drive the test routes, do loads of the independent drives and just hammer every lesson from now on.
but DO NOT ALLOW HIM TO POSTPONE THAT TEST AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

LaurieLaurie · Jul 6, 2021

under the ivy said:
My test isn’t til the start of November and I’m thinking of having my lessons every other week, rather than every week. I can drive now and like you say @Thank(space)you , I’m not getting any critiques. It’s a bit poor of him to say to practice daily if you can’t! My uncle offered to take me out on Sunday but he drives a manual

I considered doing this then I skipped the odd week due to him needing the day off and my next lesson back was a little rusty. Glad I’ve kept one a week.

batherine · Jul 8, 2021

I've been lurking here for a while. First test was just after Christmas but cancelled due to snow, second test in May and felt really confident but made a stupid mistake (did not check mirrors changing lanes) and got a major and failed. Today I PASSED!!! I was so nervous, my left leg was shaking throughout, stalled early on at a junction due to my violent leg shake. Examiner told me to pull over and compose myself. It was at a test centre I managed to get a cancellation at so didn't know the area very well, school kids everywhere, spent 95% of it in 2nd gear below 23mph. Thought it was a disaster. Probably my worst drive in the past 9 months but I managed to pass with only 1 minor due to that stalling!!!! Very happy and it's nice to feel free. So keep at it as you never know what will happen

LaurieLaurie · Jul 9, 2021

batherine said:
I've been lurking here for a while. First test was just after Christmas but cancelled due to snow, second test in May and felt really confident but made a stupid mistake (did not check mirrors changing lanes) and got a major and failed. Today I PASSED!!! I was so nervous, my left leg was shaking throughout, stalled early on at a junction due to my violent leg shake. Examiner told me to pull over and compose myself. It was at a test centre I managed to get a cancellation at so didn't know the area very well, school kids everywhere, spent 95% of it in 2nd gear below 23mph. Thought it was a disaster. Probably my worst drive in the past 9 months but I managed to pass with only 1 minor due to that stalling!!!! Very happy and it's nice to feel free. So keep at it as you never know what will happen

Well done

.

TheGlossy · Jul 9, 2021

Does anyone have any experience with automatic cars? How is it compared to manual?

I got my theory test in April 2018, then started lessons right away. Fast forward, two years later, I still don't have a license. Sat the test in manual twice in 2019. Failed it both times . Spent over €6K on lessons which all turned out to be a complete rip off. I haven't been able to get lessons since March 2020 due to COVID. I just took one lesson in manual in October 2020 to see if I still wanted to drive a manual, it was a complete disaster and the instructor suggested I go for automatic. I know an automatic license is restrictive, but at least, I'll have a license.

All women in my family are license-less and it would be a huge accomplishment for me to beat this generational curse! I need my transportation freedom. I'm 30 and this is way overdue!

BettyCrockerr · Jul 9, 2021

TheGlossy said:
Does anyone have any experience with automatic cars? How is it compared to manual?

I got my theory test in April 2018, then started lessons right away. Fast forward, two years later, I still don't have a license. Sat the test in manual twice in 2019. Failed it both times . Spent over €6K on lessons which all turned out to be a complete rip off. I haven't been able to get lessons since March 2020 due to COVID. I just took one lesson in manual in October 2020 to see if I still wanted to drive a manual, it was a complete disaster and the instructor suggested I go for automatic. I know an automatic license is restrictive, but at least, I'll have a license.

All women in my family are license-less and it would be a huge accomplishment for me to beat this generational curse! I need my transportation freedom. I'm 30 and this is way overdue!

If your only issue and barrier to passing your test is related to gear work and all other aspects of your ability to operate the car and drive safely on public roads etc and you want to drive an automatic car etc then it’s a no brainer, obviously just go for it.

TheGlossy · Jul 9, 2021

BettyCrockerr said:
If your only issue and barrier to passing your test is related to gear work and all other aspects of your ability to operate the car and drive safely on public roads etc and you want to drive an automatic car etc then it’s a no brainer, obviously just go for it.

The gear is definitely the issue. The assessors both told me my observation is great, but the gear management still needs a lot of work. After all these lessons (about 4 hours per week), I think it's time to forget about the manual. Most people told me they passed their test in manual though currently driving automatic and they would never go back to manual. I think going automatic would certainly relieve me from all the gear work and allow me to just focus on observation/driving. There's to much to manage with a gear.

LadyB65 · Jul 9, 2021

TheGlossy said:
Does anyone have any experience with automatic cars? How is it compared to manual?

I got my theory test in April 2018, then started lessons right away. Fast forward, two years later, I still don't have a license. Sat the test in manual twice in 2019. Failed it both times . Spent over €6K on lessons which all turned out to be a complete rip off. I haven't been able to get lessons since March 2020 due to COVID. I just took one lesson in manual in October 2020 to see if I still wanted to drive a manual, it was a complete disaster and the instructor suggested I go for automatic. I know an automatic license is restrictive, but at least, I'll have a license.

All women in my family are license-less and it would be a huge accomplishment for me to beat this generational curse! I need my transportation freedom. I'm 30 and this is way overdue!

Absolutely go for it in automatic if the gears are causing you issues, it took me ages to master the gears and clutch, so kind of wish I had done automatic, I would have saved so much money! A lot of my friends now drive automatics even though they have manual licenses - and in a few years time when we move more to electric, I believe they will mostly all be automatic?
If your issue isn’t gear work then at least not having to worry about gears will give you the opportunity to concentrate on other areas of driving! Good Luck in whatever you decide to do!

TheGlossy · Jul 9, 2021

LadyB65 said:
Absolutely go for it in automatic if the gears are causing you issues, it took me ages to master the gears and clutch, so kind of wish I had done automatic, I would have saved so much money! A lot of my friends now drive automatics even though they have manual licenses - and in a few years time when we move more to electric, I believe they will mostly all be automatic?
If your issue isn’t gear work then at least not having to worry about gears will give you the opportunity to concentrate on other areas of driving! Good Luck in whatever you decide to do!

Thank you!

Yeah, gear work is the major issue. I'm fine with observation and all other aspects, but gear management is so much work. I spend all of my time worrying about the gear and it impacts my driving/observation. Clutch is OK though costing is sometimes a thing. When it comes to gear work, dropping to 1 or 2 at turns etc.. is a real problem. I either change too early or too late. It's truly a headache.

That's what I was thinking as well. If cars are slowly all moving towards electric, what's the purpose of getting a manual? Granted, they're a bit cheaper, but that's about the only advantage.

BettyCrockerr · Jul 9, 2021

TheGlossy said:
The gear is definitely the issue. The assessors both told me my observation is great, but the gear management still needs a lot of work. After all these lessons (about 4 hours per week), I think it's time to forget about the manual. Most people told me they passed their test in manual though currently driving automatic and they would never go back to manual. I think going automatic would certainly relieve me from all the gear work and allow me to just focus on observation/driving. There's to much to manage with a gear.

In that case then yeah don’t even question it - just go for it in automatic!

Belulah · Jul 9, 2021

batherine said:
I've been lurking here for a while. First test was just after Christmas but cancelled due to snow, second test in May and felt really confident but made a stupid mistake (did not check mirrors changing lanes) and got a major and failed. Today I PASSED!!! I was so nervous, my left leg was shaking throughout, stalled early on at a junction due to my violent leg shake. Examiner told me to pull over and compose myself. It was at a test centre I managed to get a cancellation at so didn't know the area very well, school kids everywhere, spent 95% of it in 2nd gear below 23mph. Thought it was a disaster. Probably my worst drive in the past 9 months but I managed to pass with only 1 minor due to that stalling!!!! Very happy and it's nice to feel free. So keep at it as you never know what will happen

Congratulations! Must feel like a dream!

@TheGlossy - could you have a one off lesson in auto and see how you get on?

TheGlossy · Jul 9, 2021

Belulah said:
Congratulations! Must feel like a dream!

@TheGlossy - could you have a one off lesson in auto and see how you get on?

Yeah, I wanted to book a lesson just to give it a try, but every single school I rang said they're operating on a waiting list basis now because they have so much demand post-lockdown that they no longer have immediate availability. The earliest available slot is end of September/early October. They're prioritizing essential workers. It's a bit annoying as I renewed my license in October and almost one year later, I haven't been able to drive at all. I bet they'll use this as an excuse to increase their prices.

I unfortunately don't have anyone to drive with, so I'm completely dependent on driving schools which is an utter pain and financial drain.

BettyCrockerr · Jul 9, 2021

TheGlossy said:
Yeah, I wanted to book a lesson just to give it a try, but every single school I rang said they're operating on a waiting list basis now because they have so much demand post-lockdown that they no longer have immediate availability. The earliest available slot is end of September/early October. They're prioritizing essential workers. It's a bit annoying as I renewed my license in October and almost one year later, I haven't been able to drive at all. I bet they'll use this as an excuse to increase their prices.

I unfortunately don't have anyone to drive with, so I'm completely dependent on driving schools which is an utter pain and financial drain.

Controversial- but why not ask someone you know who has their license etc to hire an automatic for a few days? Then get them to drive you to somewhere empty or very quiet or private land etc and then you have a go in the automatic??? it will at least give you a chance to drive around in one a bit so you can feel how it’s different to a manual etc and then at least you can make an informed choice?

TheGlossy · Jul 9, 2021

BettyCrockerr said:
Controversial- but why not ask someone you know who has their license etc to hire an automatic for a few days? Then get them to drive you to somewhere empty or very quiet or private land etc and then you have a go in the automatic??? it will at least give you a chance to drive around in one a bit so you can feel how it’s different to a manual etc and then at least you can make an informed choice?

Well, this could have been an option, but I don't have any friends or family around. So no option but to rely on the lessons.

The joys of being alone in this world

Belulah · Jul 9, 2021

@TheGlossy I’d get on the waiting list. I think it sounds like you’ve made you mind up about going auto. I was totally dependent on driving schools for a long time. It was such a drain.

TheGlossy · Jul 9, 2021

Belulah said:
@TheGlossy I’d get on the waiting list. I think it sounds like you’ve made you mind up about going auto. I was totally dependent on driving schools for a long time. It was such a drain.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I want to go automatic. It will take me another 10 years of lessons with a manual.

They ask you to pay upfront just to get on the waiting list. Complete rip off.

LaurieLaurie · Jul 10, 2021

My driving instructor has rang me to say he’s just realised he’s double booked for my test in august. I’m gutted, there’s nothing else to change it to.

Kthxbye · Jul 10, 2021

LaurieLaurie said:
My driving instructor has rang me to say he’s just realised he’s double booked for my test in august. I’m gutted, there’s nothing else to change it to.

Do you know someone who would let you use their car, and accompany you to your test? You can get 1 day insurance, and you don't have to go with an instructor, or take your test in a driving school car

LaurieLaurie · Jul 12, 2021

Kthxbye said:
Do you know someone who would let you use their car, and accompany you to your test? You can get 1 day insurance, and you don't have to go with an instructor, or take your test in a driving school car

Yes, thank you. I know I wouldn’t feel confident doing that so I’ve managed to book one for later in the year and will keep an eye out for earlier tests, the app I use seems to have cancellations every day atm.

Thank(space)you · Jul 12, 2021

My instructor is annoyed I'm self isolating as my child has covid-19 symptoms. He's saying how do I expect to pass my test if I'm cancelling lessons

Learning to drive.

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