Learning to drive !! The Story as it happens!!

irish1967

O.K... got my theory test.. still dont know what a power box is on a tractor...lol... now first lesson.

Note: I am 40, male and never drove before.. quite a nervous passenger due to several bad smashes..and watching to many episodes of police camera action etc; Nothing ventured nothing gained so the first lesson was today. Here goes.

11am to 12noon. Thursday 4th September 2008
He the instuctor was on time. Met me at the house. Known him as a taxi driver for 10 years. Handy I guess that I know the guy. He drove out onto wide (fast) open road. OK mirrors, seatbelt, lights, wipers (neccessity this year), horn, seat settings, pedals... all explained. Time to get into that drivers seat... gulp. Getting ready to go.. we're gonna drive on hard shoulder... damn.. truck pulls in 100 yards ahead.. not to worry he says. (I was). ABC ABC ABC me thinks - accelerator, brake, clutch . And off we go.. Got round the truck.. was kinda amazed how quick we were in 4th gear I imagined it would be longer. Cant help sneaking peek at speedometer.. ohhh 60 km/h... little smile. Realise even at this stage I am holdiong steering wheel too damn tight. And stop... half a mile... that was kinda cool. Cars flying by me at 100... someday I think .. someday! Right off again. Fourth gear again quicker than imagined... theres a roundabout coming up and I know it ! Dual controls kick in and he takes me through it.. 1st exit. Stop again.. Right he tells me.. gonna drive 10 miles ( on exactly the same stretch of road as I posted a YouTube video of a guy doing 155mph a few months ago).. and then 10 miles back. Still holding wheel too tight... relax, relax. Off we go.. hard shoulder first then indicate out. Done! Getting used to this 4th gear thing. Oooh.. 80km/h... never thought i would see it. Road not too busy nothing has overtaken me....yet. Road is dead straight for first couple of miles... hmm.. traffic calming islands ahead.. steady now.. through them at 70... (This my very first lesson folks.. never drove a car before). Instructors phone now rings...lol ... he takes the call as i keep the yellow line as my marker and sit at 85 km/h... hands still too tight on steering wheel.. again telling myself to relax. OK .. stop on hand shoulder.. indicate... and handbrake etc... phewww I say. Doing fine he says. Then follows clutch biting point talk. Bite... a little gas.. changing up and down gears... bite and then realise handbrake etc etc.. 5 mins of this... kinda confusing but i guess I'll get the hang of it. Drive another 5 miles... and stop again. Instructor does the u-turn for me and now its 10 miles back. Then the strangest thing..Instructor says... 'hem.. whats the speed limit... 100 km/h i say.. well slow down then he says... OH DEAR GOD !! 101.....yikes... didnt even realise ! NEVER thought I would do that. Now the roundabout... he's gonna dual control this I think.. but no... slows me down... 3rd exit.. no traffic coming and I am through it... he'll stop where we started I think... no... drive back to house... road fairly quiet... road works... green light... yikes turning red.. just through on red... another junction.. 3rd gear.. made it... damn.. I'm home! Was that an hour? yep! Fastest hour ever but I am all chuffed with myself. Says he.. we'll do 2 hour lessons from now on... and then he tells me the 6 month rule.. damn ! Didnt know that.. ah well all the more time to practice... Next Lesson Tuesay 9th at 11am... Tune in for the next exciting installment then !!

christophicus

Lol Good job, and very well written. looking forward to hear how you get on !

Posy

Driving on the hard shoulder, getting to 100km/h, driving on roundabouts.. If my instructor had made me do that on my first lesson I'd still be in hospital, on valium with the steering wheel mark embossed on my palms...

kirving

First lesson on today(well technicaly yesterday) too! It went grand! Only got up to about 65 due to speed limits, but I went on a few round abouts and all that. I cut out once overall. I was in a brand new 1.4 TDCI Fiesta, lovely car!

I go the clutch biting point talk too, but not a whole lot of the dual controls -maybe I just didnt notice!

Devia

If you're in Donegal as your location says then im not surprised you put the boot down on your first drive, you lads are maniacs :P

Heroditas

Sounds like you had a geat time in your first lesson.
I spent my first lesson many moons ago bunny-hopping along through the estate cursing the whole clutch/bite point theory! Then I was brought out through Lucan village. Lordy I was terrified! :P

sunnyside

That was nothing like my first lessons. It was only from about lesson 7 on when I started doing the lessons in my own car which I'd just bought that we went on roads where the speed limit is 100 or 120 and I didn't use 4th gear much either until then.

My earlier lessons were all about clutch biting point, gear changing 3rd to 2nd is the most difficult, left and right turns at junctions and lots of traffic lights and busy residential areas which meant constant stopping and starting and watching out for kids and dogs who usually came out of nowhere all the time! Stress. Bit of reversing and turning as well.

According to my instructor all of the above is much more difficult than driving fast and straight ahead on main roads. Having now done that I totally agree. I think it's important to know how to change down the gears and control the car before you go driving fast because you'll always have to slow down again at some point! I imagine the reason he had you driving in 4th gear is because it's really easy to change from 3rd to 4th and vice versa.

Interesting to see how both the OP and Kevin know how fast they drove on the first lesson. That wasn't something that crossed my mind, still doesn't during my on-going lessons.

Good luck with your lessons, I'll definitely be reading your updates. Can I ask why you decided to take up driving at 40 if you never felt the need to learn before?

Posy

Sunnyside, your driving experience seems so like my own it's scary. My provisional licence is expired in a fortnight so I'll have to apply for my test before I renew it, gulp.
I could not imagine driving in my own car before having ten lessons or so, let alone whizzing around main roads or roundabouts on the first lesson. Even typing this is making me nauseous.

irish1967

hmmm... 2nd lesson in a few hours.... yuck its raining (surprise, surprise).

Alanstrainor

Hope it goes/went well, be sure to post back!

irish1967

11am-12noon 9th September 2008
Hi honey ! I'm hommmmmme ! Second lesson completed... First off it only lasted an hour instead of the planned 2 hours as I think the Indian Monsoon had moved to Donegal especially for the occasion. Driving rain and gale force gusts.. hmm this is gonna be a trickier drive today. Instructor thought having to concentrate on very bad weather conditions as well as driving would be stressful enough for 1 hour... by the end I agreed totally.

OK.. into the car. Forgot to mention last time the car in question is an Opel Meriva.. well ok.. I didnt forget the last time.. I didnt know the model and only knew it was an Opel from the steering wheel emblem. Right.. adjust mirrors.. adjust seat.. seat belt on and away we go! Due to large funeral on last weeks route we aint going to have those lovely straight roads to start with this time... country roads today for about 5-6 miles. No center white line and potholes (this is Donegal afterall). Lot of very large puddles... going to be 'fun' today. Luckily enough no cars coming towards me on this stretch.. very twisty. Narrow bridges.. trees on both sides.. he warns me road 'may' be slippy.( Road to new Solis Hotel for those in the know). Indicated and passed pedistrian without instructor saying a word.. me all pleased at that..... funny how silly little things please you like that. Coming to main road... brake gently... change down... clutch in... Its hard not to think silly what ifs when you are approaching a fast main road from a side road.. what if I mess this up and accidently go to far out... hmm get back to the back of my head silly thoughts. Ok Loads of cars coming... holding on clutch.. so many cars. Handbrake.. first.. road clear.. though hard to tell with rain and spray.. I can see the definite need for cars to have lights on in this weather. On to main road.. same on as last week now... getting used to changing straight up through gears.. oh wait I'm doing it without him telling me this time.. thats kinda cool. Turning right ahead he says.. oh oh another side road and this time one I have never been on even as a passenger. Three circuits of this side road which joins main road at both ends... steep down hill when coming to main road and steep uphill when leaving it... road turning arrows etc.. plenty of up and down through gears work and junction work.

Out on main road again.. consciously keeping at 80 km/h because I can feel wind moving car and rain is really heavy. Another side road to right... well slip road to pub carpark... I know whats coming next. NO not a pint... tut tut.. its a hill start ! Got bite point no problems and started smoothly.. need more pactice on that me thinks... 2nd hill start... went fine as well.. its funny how I am not thinking about my foot work as much now.. It just seems to be happening. Out onto main road again... and yes.. here it comes.. my first stall ! Grrrrrr. No worries knew it was gonna happen sooner or later.

Right.. back on main road I hope but I know big funeral will be getting out of chapel about now... its going be the very narrow (for me) and twisty back road home again and I was right. And this time there is a dark blue Ford Focus up my a**. Every time I get to 4th gear something comes the other way.. have to watch not to let car slide into ditch... nerve racking. Oh no.. a large tractor and trailer coming at me... brake... clutch... stall. Ford Focus up my .. you know again... grrrr.. re-started before large tractor passed so ok. Focus has to stay behind.. no room to over take even on a bike on this road.

Road now has white line.. difficult not to cross it on right hand bends.. and avoid ditch on left handers.. this needs a lot more thought and concentraion than last week... Oh by the way... hands on steering wheel this week are perfect.. not trying to strangle wheel like on 1st lesson. And after another juction left and a few more up gear down gear things... I'm home.

All in all.. a lot more comfortable with car now. Never looked down at gearstick once this time. Feet seem to know what to do... Would have loved weather to be better but I guess today was the rule rather than the exception given Irish weather. Was kinda pleased about the back roads by the end. Spacal awareness was better than I thought.. when meeting cars on narrow road. Drove at speed comfortable to myself and eased off more coming into bends without having to be told to. (oh and on the same stretch as last week I did 100 again. Its very very wide and straight.. you really have to remind yourself to go slower).

Next lesson.. well work coming into play now so could be Friday.. could be next Monday.. dont know yet... Have to say.. I cant wait.. starting to really enjoy this now but I wont get too cocky... Slow and steady is best and I know town driving is gonna come soon enough. And for those who know the Diamond in Donegal town thats where thats gonna happen. See ye all next time. Drive safely and learn well. ABC ABC MSM MSM.

sunnyside

Glad it went well. Looks like you're finding it much easier than I did, it took me ages to learn to change the gears properly. I was able to change them but my instructor wouldn't let me alone about gear changing until I was doing it his much better way. Country roads scare me, but I live in a city so it's easy to avoid them.

irish1967

Just a wee footnote after lesson 2... was standing waiting on a bus tonight.. which as usual was 20 mins late... bus stop near a roundabout.. a steep hill.. a carpark and several junctions.
Has anyone else who is learning noticed how you watch others driving differently since they began lessons? I was watching braking.. the lines drivers took.. how they lifted off from stops...speeds in all situations.

Wonderful how your view changes once lessons kick in.

daveharnett

irish1967 wrote: »

Has anyone else who is learning noticed how you watch others driving differently since they began lessons? I was watching braking.. the lines drivers took.. how they lifted off from stops...speeds in all situations.

Wonderful how your view changes once lessons kick in.

Very true irish. It opens one's eyes to a lot of the more subtle stuff. I find that it also affects one's perceptions as a passenger in a big way.

Sounds like you're making very quick progress. Keep it up!

kirving

You're right Irish, I notice a huge amount more now! Its good fun learning, I dont wanna really go out without the instructor because he's a huge help. My parent's car feels so much bigger than the Fiesta which is hard to adjust to.

By Monday I'll have 5 lessons, which probably isn't enough, especially since I'll be changing car, but I dont have a lot of spare time since I'm going to college.

Good Luck!

irish1967

1.00pm - 3.00pm Monday 15th Sept. 2008
Ah now its getting harder... Picked up in the usual spot... not raining like the last day so the first of the 2 hour lessons kicks in. Wonder what I have in store for me today? I think its good that the instructor never tells me what we are going to do in advance because I would be going over it in my head for days prior to the lesson and would probably be more nervous.. In fact he never really tells me what we are about to do and where we are going until we are there.

Ok.. usual pre-start checks and off we go... going towards roundabout we did in lesson 1.. he duel controlled it that time but not now.. got through it and off 1st exit no problems.. then we are on the Clar staright again. Aha.. heres a new thing... 5th gear ! Found it first time. Watching my speed more now.. backing off when approaching the 100 km/h. Ok.. off main road no problems and now on quiet straight older road... pull in to left here.. and stop.
Ok says he... 3 point turn.. he didnt call it that but cant remember what he called it. Ok.. clutch and brake only.. road dead quiet.. signal mirrors look over shoulder and away we go... Oh yeah.. flipping typical.. a car comes along.. and yes I stall.. no worries.. restart and turn in 3 goes ... I had imagined road was too narrow to do that but it went ok.

Off we go again heading out busy road again.. same pub car park as before.. stalled going in but hey... so what. Ok now its hill starts.. biting point etc.. no problems. Out onto main road again and I know we are going up the road and turning round to come back as usual... but no.. oh no... we're going to TOWN !! Now , for years as a passenger I have hated a certain stretch of road.. main road but narrow with numerous signs saying CAUTION SOFT MARGINS.. theres a drop of about 5 foot into boggy ground on both sides and a least a dozen times I have seen cars and trucks toppled into this drop... gulp ! But y'know.. it was easier than I thought... a lot easier. Dear god I am driving into a town !! Got through no problems in slow moving trafiic.. housing estate next for a another 3 point turn.. no stall this time. Back along minor road and out onto main road again for return journey.

Very slow moving old blue Ford tractor ahead... continuous white line on the soft margin stretch.. nothing to do but stay behind it. Big black Hyundai 4x4 behind me up my you know what.. tractor turns off and away we go. 4x4 thinks he'll pass but I am at 80 before he is and he can't. In fact for next 10 miles he is behind me by a good distance.. I can imagine how drivers could go too fast in that situation because the guy behind thought he would be pushy.. I'll stick at 100 km/h.

More town driving through Donegal Town now... oh we did take a wee 5 minutes break after the first hour.. thats when i discovered I had forgoten my cigs.. could have done with one then. Through town no problems and then the final new bit... reversing round a corner ! Now this i found hard... it will need a lot of practice... I had watched others do it and thought i looked kinda easy but nope ! I can see me having to practice this a lot. Kerbs , mirrors looking all around.. lot to take in but I take it as a challenge.. i hate anything beating me.. Should I have to spend a full hour on it I will !

So all in all a good day... 'The Day of The Stalls' I think I will call it.. I think I had about 5 or 6 stalls in all. A lot of stuff is falling into place but I have to remember not to get too cocky. Next lesson probably next Monday.. all lessons will be 2 hour ones from now on. (note to self - remember to bring fags next time)

Alanstrainor

Very well written and it sounds to me like you're making great progress! For Your first time doing both the turnabout(3 point turn) and reverse around the corner manoeuvres it sounds to me like you did very well. I wouldn't worry too much about the odd stall, you're still only starting out, in time you'll have it perfected.
Keep us posted! And best of Luck with the next lesson, with or without the fags!
Alan.

macroman

Important thing when you stall is relax, the more you rush and let other motorists get to you "cos you're a learner" the more you'll keep stalling. The manoeuvres generally get easier with practice. If you use the same car for lessons and your test you'll know when you see a certain part of the path in your window/mirror that's when you turn - if you're interchanging cars it can get confusing

It's well written, reminds me that I've to get some more lessons before my test in November - was supposed to be next Friday but put it back because felt I wasn't fully prepared and had no car

irish1967

12.30pm - 2.30pm Tuesday 23rd Sept. 2008

Hmmm.. a nice sunny day for a change... wonder what is in store for me today? Hardly going to be a trip to the seaside..lol... well actually thats exactly what it was .. a trip to the seaside !
Started off today as usual on the lovely wide road... managed the roundabout no problem... well it was first exit. Did a lap of my favourite little side road. Approaching a main road a fast main road still kinda worries me... the 'what ifs' from a previous lessons are kinda still there.
Now back towards town... roundabout... 2nd exit... yikes heading for town and its 1pm.. lunch time. Funny driving in town traffic isnt really bothering me at all.. didnt go right into center but had a few tight squeezes courtesy of a few parked cars (doubled parked that is.) Right back outta town and onto a new stretch of wide road.. well new to drive on but been on it as a passenger 100's of times.. i think that makes it a little easier. Then off onto back roads I had never travelled.... As we went on taking various lefts and rights the road was getting narrower and narrower... lots of blind corners steep hills ups and downs... boy it was tight and twisty. .. After miles the grass started to appear in the middle of the road. Cars coming the other way had me on guard continuously.. importance of looking ahead very important.. although I wasnt technically doing anything new it was great to practice at ease.. I actually was learning control without even realising it... and the sun was still shining.
Been on twisty narrow roads now for an hour... concentration was constant.. side roads.. dogs.. pedestrians.. oncoming vehicles..very steep inclines and hairpins and of course potholes.. lots and lots of them! Then the roads got even narrower.. I mean.. no wider than the car itself... next thing I know we are at the end of the road with only the Atlantic Ocean ahead of us ! (for those in the know I was at the lighthouse at St. Johns Point). At this stage it was 1.55pm..fag break time...and woohooo.. I remembered them this time ! I took this time to ring my better half.. telling her where i was she reminded me that i had to be home at 2.30 as her parents were coming and she was at work !! Yikes !! I said to the instructor... "will we be back in Donegal Town fro 2.30pm?".. he came out with a totally classic answer which i am still smiling about.. he said.." I don't know..its you who are driving !!!"...LMAO
Well the road home was fine.. until we got behind another learner driver..lol. Well bottom line is I actually over took my first vehicle. The driver was doing 50km/h on a wide straight road so I guess many might not find that a memorable event.. but I did. Broke my overtaking cherry. ( I smiled)

So.. what was this lesson (all 2 hours and 5 minutes of it), all about? Well I guess it was kinda revision.. I found nothing really stressful at all and was very comfortable behind the wheel. A lot of gear changing involved..control in narrow spaces.. not unlike the town driving I will be doing next lesson but without the traffic. The narrow roads with blind bends etc... to practice expecting the unexpected... and the trip to the seaside..... well it was a nice day !

Next lesson Thursday at 12.30pm... lets hope everyone in town goes to the beach.. that way the town driving would be easier

Wishbone Ash

irish1967 wrote: »

Then the roads got even narrower.. I mean.. no wider than the car itself... next thing I know we are at the end of the road with only the Atlantic Ocean ahead of us ! (for those in the know I was at the lighthouse at St. Johns Point)

I've been down there a few times - narrow indeed but very quaint and scenic.

irish1967

Just back from the 2 hours... knackered... town driving hit hard today... no open road driving at all... by far the hardest lesson so far... full report to follow later.

irish1967

12.30pm - 2.30pm Thursday 25th Sept. 2008
Phew.. well it was bound to happen sooner or later... the stressful lesson hit today.. NO open roads for me today.. round and round and round we went... was kinda glad it was over.
Well started out as normal but off the wide fast road we went after only half a mile and straight into town... Traffic was heavy and slow but that didnt bother me too much.. we were getting technical on other stuff.. the reversing round corner stuff was in FULL swing today... must have done it 10 or more times... slowwwwwly does it.. see the V... close the V.. look around.. blind spots... too close.. too far away... signal.. mirrors ok.. do it again... ok.. and again... and AGAIN. Junctions on inclines.. brakes.. clutch biting point.. cars everywhere... stall. Traffic lanes... mirrors.. etc etc etc. Have to admit I didnt realise the first hour had passed when we pulled into a petrol station car park for the half time fag ! (Actually 2 cigs back to back).
Puff puff puff
Then it was off we go again.. more reversing round corners... and now 3 point turns.. no real problem with the 3 point turns. Drivers doing u-turns in junctions I was using.. pedestrians walking all over the place.. double parking... cars charging at ya when the obstruction is on there side.. grrrrr. I was glad of Tuesdays practice on tight twisty roads without traffic. I can see why some people hate town driving but I guess its a neccessity. The 2 hours was tiring today for the first time.
So I guess the town will get another scare next lesson .. next week. I dont think I have seen so much of Donegal Town but since that is where my test will be based I know I'll have to practice it more. I will consciously have to slow down.. not only in speed... god i never realised how slow 50 km/h actually is... but also I need just to slow down and take the experience slower... calmmmmmmly does it.. don't get flustered.
Its coming to that time when herself is going to let me drive the new A3..(she suggested it this evening for the coming weekend).. that in itself will be scarey cause its her baby.. Gulp. Since its going to be at least March '09 until I can sit my test I guess will put a few miles on the Vorsprung Durk Technic motor before that.
Sitting here wondering.. round town first and then the open road or vice versa.. which is best? Two totally different ranges of skills required... they interlink but do you walk before you run ... do you have to go straight before you go round corners?.. fast before slow? I am sure both are right. Think I'll have a beer now, chillax and wander thru the Boards.
See ye all next week. If I get my paws on the A3 there will be a special update

sunnyside

irish1967 wrote: »

[
Sitting here wondering.. round town first and then the open road or vice versa.. which is best? Two totally different ranges of skills required...

I'd say it's better to do the "round town" driving first because it's much more difficult than driving fast on an "open road".

Would be interested in hearing what the mods think about that.

Sounds like your doing really well irish1967.

Wishbone Ash

You would probably be better concentrating on urban driving.

(Driving down St John's Point, although interesting, would not really contribute much to the overall learning experience. ).

irish1967

Re the St. Johns Point drive... Yeah I agree in one way that it may not contribute to learning in one way but the confidence one can get from actually driving 'somewhere' and not just round and round was very satisfying. I did weigh up the 'is this doing me any good' question. I think the fact that I did something that just weeks ago would have been unthinkable gave me that confidence boost that everyone needs now and again.:)

Any update? I was enjoying reading how the lessons were going!

irish1967

12.30pm - 1.30pm Thursday 2nd October
I knew sooner or later work would get in the way of writing this.. sorry about the delay.

Well the weather turned bad again.. when is it ever good? I knew even before the lesson that it would be cut down to 1 hour instead of 2... I was right. Well here goes the town driving again... circuit after circuit of Donegal Town. With RSA and SRS in the town there are 2 different sets of routes and corners and hill starts etc and with up to 6 different driving schools on these roads at the same town it can be fun at times. I think I counted all 6 on Thursday...lol.. it was funny driving past the same cars all the time and at one stage there was a queue for the reversing round corners corners.

Was glad to see the thread on reverserving round corners ... that as I had mentioned in lessons 3 & 4 was what I found most difficult.

Ok.. off we go.. avoid potholes on road leading to my house.. more like craters.. first instinct is to steer completely round them but it made more sense when instructor pointed out to try and get them between the wheels.. safer than going too far left or too far right. A lot of things make sense when its pointed out.. first instincts have to be stifled at times. The 3 point turns caused no real problems.. good control and observation. Then came the dreaded reversing round corners bit.. I think the main problem with me is that I am in the front of the car (obviously) and its the back of the car that you have to steer. Close the V.. close the V.. helps a good bit. having read the thread on this I agree that is a matter of practice. One thing that I have noticed though is that not all corners are the same ... I know that sounds obvious again but some corners are like feckin bananas.. not uniform in their curviture. Oh and wheelie bins dont help.. missed on by literally millimeters... told the instructor I knew i would miss it...lol.. like surrrrrrre.

The physical driving round the town is not difficult in itself.. though I do think that in a car with big red L's and a roof sign it may be easier than in an unmarked car. People see you coming and give way a little easier cause they are worried about me hitting their car.

I think in all I did the corner thingie about 12 times, 3 three point turns, 4 hill starts and around every concievable street in the town at least twice... and the stall count for for Thursday was.. hmm... i think twice.. maybe three times. Not too bad me thinks.

Lesson was over but as I had an appointment in Ballyshannon.. 12 miles away and since the instructor was going that way I got to drive it. This was the first time I had actually driven that road but more importantly it was the first time I had actually driven somewhere what i had needed to go... if you know what I mean. Normally I would go by bus. There was great satisfaction in actually 'going somewhere'.

Next lesson is on Thursday 9th from 2pm-4pm and since he wants to keep a few lessons spare for near my test which wont be until at least 2nd March 2009 I am coming near the end of the 15 lessons I had booked.

(Wonders.. my girlfriend is insured fully comp.. can I drive her car with her and L plates or do I need extra insurance?)... Need to get practice in between my lessons.

sunnyside

irish1967 wrote: »

[B(Wonders.. my girlfriend is insured fully comp.. can I drive her car with her and L plates or do I need extra insurance?)... Need to get practice in between my lessons.

You'd have to pay to add your name to her insurance policy. Her insurance wouldn't cover you. This driving business is expensive.

Sounds like you're doing great.

RedzDrivingScho

Hello Irish.......

Enjoying your thread so far...... as sunnyside says your girlfriend would have to contact her insurance company and add you to her policy....there will probably be a charge for that but because of your age (ahem!!) it shouldn't be too much......

Best of luck with your driving and look forward your next post....

Richard

bigpinkelephant

It sounds to me like your instructor is concentrating a little too much on "the test" and not so much on everyday driving.

Have you driven at night? You should really be getting some lessons in the evenings. I did most of my learning at night and I think it did me the world of good. Also, for the reverse around the corner and turnabout- you should be able to do these just fine without too much practice. They are basically to see if you can use your mirrors while reversing and gauge your distances when you haven't much room to manouevre. Essential in a shopping centre car park on a Saturday.

I understand that the town you live in has 2 test centres but try to avoid "learning the route" as much as you can. At the end of the day, you can either drive well, or you can't- you should be able to use your driving skills on any road, or in any situation.

DrivingMad

Hey there Irish1967!
I am loving your thread, much better than a soap on the box.....
when will we be hearing from you again? Its been a while now....