Panic before Test!

Knix

Hi everyone,

So, I have my test this Friday in SGS Galway and I am petrified! I have something that I would like your opinions on please:

When I am coming to a junction or roundabout and slowing down to meet the traffic ahead of me at the junction I get a bit stuck on the gears. Basically when I am slowed down to 2nd gear and the traffic is still moving a little and then I need to slow down further, my car won't go in to 1st gear unless I pretty much come to a complete stop so I find myself coasting a little in 2nd when slowing as I don't want the car to stall. I hope this is making sense...what I want to know is how severely I will get marked for that?

Also, any other advice for the test would be greatly appreciated. I am scared that my nerves will be the big thing that may let me down as I seem to lose all composure when I am nervous in the car!

Thanks a lot!
N

DriveSkill

Hi,

I think your main problem is getting stuck 'in two minds'. As you approach each junction you need to assess the situation as early as you possibly can taking account of traffic, road markings, right of way, pedestrians etc - basically everything you should be observering anyway. Then it is really important to make a decision - are you going to come to a STOP or can you keep going. Once you've made the decision then try and stick to it (sometimes things will develop and for example force you to stop when you initially thought to keep going and that is OK). However, you dont want to get into a sitaution where you keep second guessing it...will I stop, will I go, will I stop etc :-)

For the specific situation you mention about coming up to slow moving traffic there are two options to deal with it depending on the speed of the traffic:

1. If its moving fairly consistently say at 10-15kph then best approach is to brake early down to say 10-15kph, leaving a reasonable gap (about 5-10m) between you and the car in front to allow for variations in speed. Select 2nd gear and come off the clutch completely. Then, control the speed and the gap with gentle braking and accelleration. Note most cars will not stall in 2nd gear unless you brake to almost a complete stop. Good exercise is to take a quiet road or industrial estate, get the car into 2nd gear and then come away from the accellerator completely!! Leave the car drive along under its own power - do not put in the clutch, most people are surprised that it doesnt stall, it should continue to drive very slowly forward (5-10kph) indefinitely really unless you hit something like a high speed ramp or steep uphill.

2. If the traffic you are coming up to is 'stop/start' then better option is probably to drive up behind the last car, come to a complete stop, straight into 1st and then move off again - repeat as required. Depending on the traffic you may or may not get into 2nd gear. If its really slow moving traffic its OK to stay in 1st and is not necessary to come fully off the clutch as you move slowly forward. Note that 1st gear and reverse are the only 2 gears that you can 'play' with the clutch to control the speed.

As for the nerves, not much advice I can give on that really. Pretty much everyone is nervous on the day of the test. Testers will take it into account to some extent but obviously there is a limited timeframe so you need to settle pretty quickly. If you find its really bad and getting the better of you then go speak to your GP and they may be able to help.

Best of luck with the test, try and remain calm and concentrate for the driving and dont try and second guess the examiner in terms of whether he is marking faults of not - go out and do your best, its all you can do!

Regards,
Declan.

biko

This is what I do, not sure it's still taught - as long as the wheels are moving, stay in second gear. During complete stop or 1 mph, change to first.
First gear is set so it can't be engaged during drive, it'll kill the engine.

When you approach you can slow down to a complete stop, engage first and start crawling towards the roundabout before taking off, this if there's cars in front of course. Or practice until you know at what speed you can shift to first.

When people are nervous they tend to be more jittery, try to slow everything down a little - give the rear view mirror a little longer glance, take your time speeding up/slowing down/changing gears etc.

Knix

Thanks so much for the advice guys, it is really helpful, I will keep everything in mind! I am off to practice in the church carpark this evening!
N

biko

Not sure if it helps but an ex of mine hated driving in the city because of all the traffic. She told me she would look in the each mirror for as long as it took for her to think "clear".

And coming up to a junction, look right "clear", left "clear", right again "clear" - drive.
This way she spend enough time looking and kinda did pay attention more (her words).

Alanstrainor

biko wrote: »

Not sure if it helps but an ex of mine hated driving in the city because of all the traffic. She told me she would look in the each mirror for as long as it took for her to think "clear".

This might not be the best practice, as ultimately, what's infront of you will always take priority over what's around you/in your mirrors. I can just see people spending too much time looking at their mirrors and not on the road, which is a common mistake, and a very dangerous one at that.

ssmith6287

biko wrote: »

This is what I do, not sure it's still taught - as long as the wheels are moving, stay in second gear. During complete stop or 1 mph, change to first.
First gear is set so it can't be engaged during drive, it'll kill the engine.

When you approach you can slow down to a complete stop, engage first and start crawling towards the roundabout before taking off, this if there's cars in front of course. Or practice until you know at what speed you can shift to first.

When people are nervous they tend to be more jittery, try to slow everything down a little - give the rear view mirror a little longer glance, take your time speeding up/slowing down/changing gears etc.

ya get a blue if you approach a roundabout with a clear view and stop. theres a yield on a roundabout nt a stop sign. only time u stop is when theres someone on the roundabout or if yer view is obstructed. slow down alright but dont stop. also a few tricky ones i notice in drogheda anyway. roundabout whaere ye take yer 2nd exit, u shud be in yer left lane UNLESS the turn is to the right of yer approach road, then u shud be in the right lane. this one caught me out

Wishbone Ash

ssmith6287 wrote: »

only time u stop is when theres someone on the roundabout or if yer view is obstructed

Or when the roundabout is controlled by lights and one has a red!