I'm really driving!

pandamoanium

Hey all!

So I had a practice session with my dad the other day, went to a local quiet car park and after 10 minutes I got bored of stopping/starting, reversing, driving around etc.. and wanted to be a bit more adventurous so I persuaded him to let me drive home and to my surprise he agreed!

So I had my first venture on a real road with real traffic and you know what, I loved it! It went great! Before I start to get too big for my boots though I must stress that home was only a 7 minute drive away, through a fairly quiet residential area.

I went out for a practice session again this evening, it was pitch black at the time so the father figure wasn't too sure about it, however I insisted that I'd have to get to grips with night-time driving at some stage and that there was no time like the present!

It was pitch dark and lashing rain, however I went driving for around 45 minutes, again I really enjoyed it! Went down to a nearby beach and through various estates and junctions.. it all went really well, I even tried a hill start which didn't go too badly at all!

Anyways, I'm delighted that my first foray into driving on public roads went well - no maiming or fatalities so far anyhow! Makes for a refreshing change from isolated carparks and the like!

Btw, I'm just wondering how most people stagger their driving lessons?

Is one lesson a week the average? Or do some take two or more lessons a week? Or one every fortnight?

I'm just wondering what would be the most beneficial to me, I'm aiming to get at least 4/5 hours worth of practice in between each lesson.

Thanks for reading guys!

Beau x1

Up for a drag race once we get our licenses?

I do one lesson a week, when I was on holidays I tried to do them a day or 2 apart though. I practice whenever I can go out with the 'rents, I've tried to go out tonight but they were having none of it. Maybe tomorrow! But yeah, ideally 3 hours practice is a nice figure in between each lesson.

purplegeko

Im so excited my very first lesson is wednesday morning. never even started a car before. When i told my instructor that on the phone this morning when i booked the lesson he was delighted - no bad habits - but secretly i think he was delighted because he knows i'm probably going to need extra lessons.
I was wondering about spacing lessons too as i'm not working at the mo' i was thinking one a week.

pandamoanium

Hey Beau!

Yeah, race you to the starting line!

How long are you driving for? I must admit I've been soooo lazy, I'm on my 2nd Provisional.. oops sorry, Learner Permit, now, never bothered driving on my 1st one, decided though that come Jan I was gonna start, call it my new year resolution or something!

I've just had one lesson so far, think I'll try get one again for this weekend.

I've really gotten a buzz for the whole driving mallarkey now, I think I'll be annoying the parental units to let me drive them now when they're popping to the local shop and post office etc.. I'm already trying to decide what car to get for later on in the year, when *hopefully* I'll have passed the test!

Getting ahead of myself? Me? God no, never! :pac:

pandamoanium

Hey Purplegeko!

Congrats on taking the plunge! You'll be flying in no time I'm sure!

I've only had one lesson, so I'm pretty much a newbie like you too! Well, if the posts on here are anything to go by, you being a blank canvas is probably the best start you're giving yourself so well done!

Have you block booked a few lessons or just the one to see how you get on with your instructor first?

Report back on Wed to let us know how you got on!

Busi_Girl08

Im pretty new, got my Permit in December.

Have had only one go behind the wheel so far, with my Dad in the UL campus.

I was honestly really freaked out, the clutch and accelorator was a lot more confusing than I though, and I'm a bit worried that I'll never get the hang of the gears:(

Can someone here please give me some peace of mind, for someone who was pretty much in the same state of mind as me on their first go, does it get easier??!!

pandamoanium

Hey Busi Girl!

First of all, congrats on getting out there and getting started, that's half the battle!

I'm afraid I'm not really in a position to give you advice as I'm just a beginner aswell, however from reading posts on here, and going by my first lesson, it DOES get a lot easier!

My first lesson was going well for the first half hour, then the last 30 minutes were a disaster and I couldn't get a hang of the clutch and accelerator, I'm pleased to say now though that I've come on leaps and bounds since.

I think the majority of people have difficulty with the clutch and accelerator, it's just one of those things you need practice on and before you know it it'll come naturally to you.

Please try and not to get freaked out, make sure you go to a large wide open space with no cars around so you can't hit any cars/walls etc.. If you have a large space like that, then really, you haven't much to worry about, it's not like you'll hit anything

Just keep practising, each little bit helps and it does get easier!

timmywex

I got 4 lessons, once a week for the first 4 weeks of driving, and ill get another 2 maybe in the week before my test.

That'll do for me, as i didnt need any more thus far, but ill have to wait and see

id recommend one week spaces, gives a fair but of time to practice everything in between!

brian076

pandamoanium wrote: »

Hey all!







Is one lesson a week the average? Or do some take two or more lessons a week? Or one every fortnight?

I'm just wondering what would be the most beneficial to me, I'm aiming to get at least 4/5 hours worth of practice in between each lesson.

Thanks for reading guys!

Well done with the 1st drive. Ideally if you can take at least 2 lessons a week for the 1st 2 weeks, then maybe 1 lesson a week for the next 4 weeks, and perhaps another 2 leaving a 2 week gap. That'd be 10 lessons in about 10 weeks. But really it's up to each individual, the time they have available and what they can afford.

YourName

I'm driving a little while longer here, since about November, and now I'm waiting on my test, hopefully for the start of February.

My lessons were a bit expensive in comparison to other places, but well worth it, as they were brilliant to me, I done one every week up to christmas, and now I'm just practicing everything I have learned, and then I will get one lesson and a pre-test before I go for the real thing.

I was the sort that didn't have a clue when starting, and suffered really badly under helm of the Accelerator/Clutch, however now I have the hang of it (thank god), I just kept at it, and tried to keep my mind off it, if you think about it too much you won't get it right.

So listen congrats on getting out for the first few times, always exciting, I still get that excitment, I drove a good bit on Sunday, out to Malahide and back, good oul trip, and still gets you excited, its the sense of freedom and control I think.

Anyway best of luck,
Andy

pandamoanium

mcgowaner wrote: »

I'm driving a little while longer here, since about November, and now I'm waiting on my test, hopefully for the start of February.

My lessons were a bit expensive in comparison to other places, but well worth it, as they were brilliant to me, I done one every week up to christmas, and now I'm just practicing everything I have learned, and then I will get one lesson and a pre-test before I go for the real thing.

I was the sort that didn't have a clue when starting, and suffered really badly under helm of the Accelerator/Clutch, however now I have the hang of it (thank god), I just kept at it, and tried to keep my mind off it, if you think about it too much you won't get it right.

Hi Andy!

Wow, you seem to be doing really well! Can't believe you only started in November and you're hoping to do the test in February, you must be really flying it! Have you only had 4 lessons already?

Re: the clutch and accelerator - yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head there, the more you think about it you build it up to be this big thing and you end up psyching yourself out!

Best of luck with your test, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

brian076 wrote: »

Well done with the 1st drive. Ideally if you can take at least 2 lessons a week for the 1st 2 weeks, then maybe 1 lesson a week for the next 4 weeks, and perhaps another 2 leaving a 2 week gap. That'd be 10 lessons in about 10 weeks. But really it's up to each individual, the time they have available and what they can afford.

timmywex wrote: »

I got 4 lessons, once a week for the first 4 weeks of driving, and ill get another 2 maybe in the week before my test.

That'll do for me, as i didnt need any more thus far, but ill have to wait and see

id recommend one week spaces, gives a fair but of time to practice everything in between!

Thanks for the info guys!

Gosh, everyone seems to be doing so well, flying it after 4 lessons or so, god I always thought you'd want around 10 at least before even contemplating applying for the driving test!

I've pre-booked my lessons, got 11 for the price of 10, so 1 down, another 10 to go!

I'll keep you all updated of how I get on!

brian076

mcgowaner wrote: »

My lessons were a bit expensive in comparison to other places, but well worth it, as they were brilliant to me, I done one every week up to christmas, and now I'm just practicing everything I have learned, and then I will get one lesson and a pre-test before I go for the real thing.


Anyway best of luck,
Andy

If you've only been driving since November you may need more than 1 lesson & 1 pre-test.
Forget about the "lesson", as soon as you get your test date you should take a pre-test and try and get an accurate assessment of your driving. That will give you time to work on any areas where you may need improvement, but don't be surprised if your instructor suggests more than 1 other pre-test.
It's much better to put the effort in on your 1st test, rather than cutting corners and having to come back and do it again.

YourName

No I've done about 8 of 9, Two Hour, lessons so far, it must have been mid october when I started getting lessons then.

Yeh the Accelerator/Clutch problem seems to be everyones biggest fear/problem, but I learned quickly that theres much more important things to be worrying about when pulling away then your feet, so in turn you learn to forget about them and you will get the hang of it. So please don't ponder on it too much if it becomes a problem.

Brian076: You see, if I could I would have kept up my lessons, however following on after christmas money has been tight which meant I wouldn't be able to afford weekly lessons, so I am trying my best not to pick up bad habits, going over my notes regularly, and getting out as much as I can. But I will take your advice on board, maybe if I book the pretest straight away when I get my test date, and then work on what I did badly on in the test, with lessons and "funds-depending" with another pretest. But lets no hijack pandamoanium's thread here, but thank you for your comment.

Another bit of advice I would give is to write down a few little notes after you do a lesson, that way the little tips your instructor gives you won't be forgotten. Also you should write down what new things you learnt during that lesson, that way when you read back over it it gives you a bit of confidence, which is important when it comes down to learning to drive. Also another thing I found is that when I am out practicing on my own (well, with a qualified driver beside me) I come up with a lot of questions that I wish I could ask my instructor, so I found that if you write them down afterwards you won't forget to ask your instructor during your next lesson, and of course also write down his/her answer when you get home.

Now I ain't the sort to be doing out diary entries (i.e. I'm a lad), but for once it did prove to be very effective.

Another thing is to expect that you are going to have a bad day every now and again, I know that I did, but you have to understand that it was only one bad day in comparison to a load of good days, and it is almost always down to the fact that you may not have been in the right frame of mind going out, however make sure you force yourself to go out the next day with a clean sheet, and don't ponder on that one small upset you had.

I remember one day I was out with my instructor and I was coming out onto T-Junction, I was going left and I looked to my right, I saw a cars headlights coming towards me however I felt that it was far enough away to allow me to proceed with turning left (It was a Yield sign not a Stop sign), however as I went to go my instructor looked right and felt that the car was too close, so he slammed on the breaks (Dual-control), which gave me such a fright and automatically shot my confidence right down. So I went home seriously pissed off, swearing that I was giving up on this whole driving lark, it was now my enemy and I did not want to tackle it anymore, my confidence was gone, I felt I was an unsafe and useless driver, however I went home, took a look over how much I had progressed over my last lessons in my notes and dragged myself out the next day, took a while to get comfortable again but I did and thats what matters.

Sorry about the long post, however my one point is to keep at it, it is exciting, but like all things it can get to you sometimes, but be motivated and stay determined, don't let anyone put you down, and always remember how many times you pulled off properly and not how many times you conked, how many times you had a good day and not how many times you had a bad day.

Keep it up,
Andy

DriveSkill

First of all, well done and congratulations to all who have started driving recently!

I think this piece of advice from Andy :

mcgowaner wrote: »

Another thing is to expect that you are going to have a bad day every now and again,

is very important to keep in mind. Its happens to lots of people that maybe on the 3rd, 4th or 5th lesson they feel like they are going backwards. Maybe you get a fright if you have a 'close call' and the instructor uses the dual controls, maybe you keep stalling even though you were fine on the previous lesson etc. The important thing is to keep at it it will come right in the end and dont let little setbacks along the way distract you from your overall goal!

Best of luck,
Declan.

purplegeko

Just had the first lesson this morning - loved it for the first 20-30 mins and was fetting the hang of the clutch, accelerator and steering etc but i fell apart in the last 20 mins and conked out on a main road and started to panic.
I have another lesson in the morning i figured if i don't get straight back into it i will put it off for over a month and forget everthing. Plus nobody wants to take me out until i get a bit more confidence. It will take time i suppose and everyone i have talked to says it gets better over time.
As far a spacing lessons in future i was thinking of 2 a week for a while and play it by ear. But being realistic i don't see myself taking the test this year unfortunately.

jordainius

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

Im pretty new, got my Permit in December.

Have had only one go behind the wheel so far, with my Dad in the UL campus.

I was honestly really freaked out, the clutch and accelorator was a lot more confusing than I though, and I'm a bit worried that I'll never get the hang of the gears:(

Can someone here please give me some peace of mind, for someone who was pretty much in the same state of mind as me on their first go, does it get easier??!!

I was a disaster at first, the car made some fairly nasty sounds with my gear changing and such! I also made a lot of gear change errors, like when upshifting i used to go from 1st to 4th by mistake instead of second! I also had a huge fear of going from 5th to reverse (instead of 4th) coz i was so bad but luckily it never happened!!

Something that helped me was to just sit in the car in the driveway and just sit in the car practising my gear changing. Didn't bother even starting the car, just sat there holding the clutch and going from 1 to 5 and back down again. I kept doing it for a few days until it just became second nature for me to know exactly where each gear was. It may seem a bit odd doing gear changes in a stationary unstarted car but at least you wont have the actual driving to worry about if you do that!

And when you are driving, just go as slow as you need to go, dom't rush anything. And expect other road users to become impatient and some more to drive in an intimidating manner- try your best to never let these people force you into a hasty decision.

Also, I can't offer you any advice regarding getting used to the clutch and accelerator but I can assure you that it will definitely come to you in time, so don't worry about it!

It took me a few months to get used to driving and in the beginning I used to think that I'd never get the hang of it, but just keep practicing and it will come to you and you'll gradually become more confidant!:D

Busi_Girl08

Thanks Jordainius!!

I'll try that!!!!

KathleenF

Hey guys, I'm another newbie to driving, had my first lesson today, not so bad, I actually drove a car, yay! It'll take a LOT of practice, but sure so do most things Going to take two lessons every week, so I'll have bout ten done by the end of Feb hopefully. My goal is to be able to drive to work by then, (only a ten minute drive) so fingers crossed. And I want to have the test passed by the end of May. I'm determined and I really want this, in fairness almost all of my other friends are driving at this stage, so heres hoping! Good luck to everyone else on this thread, sure how hard can it be?

Busi_Girl08

KathleenF wrote: »

how hard can it be?

I couldn't help but imagine that in Jeremy Clarkson's voice :pac:

Best of luck Kathleen!!