professionals instructors and not so professional

Orla K

This is a rant that I REALLY need to give. Please forgive the spelling mistakes.

I've had two paid for lessons one of them today, in the professional instructors car, my last one was today. I got on fine I drove somewhere between 30-40km on a twisting road/straight, with no trouble, the instructor didn't touch his peddles, no complains, no panic, just an easy and relaxing drive.

We used the instructors car because for one thing the battery had gone on mine.

I called my father because I knew he has jump leads. He then wanted me to go for a short drive around where I live. The only reason I said yes was to warm up the car.
First, he wouldn't let me turn the lights on before I started.
Second, as soon as I started moving his voice went into a high pitched shout.
Third, he completely paniced that I was going to hit someone else's car, he even go out to make sure.
Fourth, he was getting the words brake, accelorator and cluch mixed up, and he didn't notice, he told me to push down on the brake and accelorator.
Fifth, and I nearly forgot about this, since I didn't have the lights, he noticed when we got into a bit of a dark area and then reached over to my right side and started flicking every switch he could find.
Sixth, I was pulling into a parking space to turn around (two spaces free each side) he was shouting (high pitched) STOP STOP!
Finally, him doing these thing and constantly reaching out in front of me made me panic and forget.

I will say that he has been driving for A LOT longer then I have, I wouldn't be the best driver, but I would have done a lot better than that if he wasn't in the car.
To make it worse, at the end he turns and says 'Are you like this with Paul?' (Paul being the professional) Now my father thinks I'm a worse driver than I am and worse still he's going to be talking about this for the next year.


I'd like to add that my father is the kind of person that can't just sit and watch you do something, as well as that he's all elbows.
For christmas dinner, which I cooked, I had to tell him he wasn't allowed in the kitchen, he still had plans to 'help' until my granny, his mother, banned him from giving any help.

timmywex

Well he was defo right to tell you not to turn on the lights, would kill the battery while theres nothing in it, shoulda remembered it though once the engine was on!

Orla K

Well I was going to go inside for a bit and leave the engine running but he said we'll go for a spin and get it warmed up more. While I was outside the car. So I got in when the engine was already on and about to go.

DriveSkill

Well at least you lived to tell the tale and I hope ye are still on speaking terms

He was wrong about the lights if the engine was running you should have been able turn them on - its good practice even in daytime.

In his defence, he probably felt totally out of control - which he was -because I assume he didnt have dual controls. Teaching a family member how to drive can be stressful (on both parties) and if you are anyway anxious about driving it makes it worse. I'm sure lots of people on here will have examples of lessons turning into shouting matches between themselves and parents or whoever.

One advantage of using an actual instructor is they wont shout at you no matter what you do (if they do find another instructor!). If you make a mistake they should able to assess this risk and danger and either take control or calmly direct you on how to correct it. Equally a pupil will generally not shout at the instructor if they are told they going too fast for example

Anyway, best of luck with driving and try and remain calm no matter what the circumstances.

Alanstrainor

DriveSkill wrote: »

Well at least you lived to tell the tale and I hope ye are still on speaking terms

He was wrong about the lights if the engine was running you should have been able turn them on - its good practice even in daytime.

In his defence, he probably felt totally out of control - which he was -because I assume he didnt have dual controls. Teaching a family member how to drive can be stressful (on both parties) and if you are anyway anxious about driving it makes it worse. I'm sure lots of people on here will have examples of lessons turning into shouting matches between themselves and parents or whoever.

One advantage of using an actual instructor is they wont shout at you no matter what you do (if they do find another instructor!). If you make a mistake they should able to assess this risk and danger and either take control or calmly direct you on how to correct it. Equally a pupil will generally not shout at the instructor if they are told they going too fast for example

Anyway, best of luck with driving and try and remain calm no matter what the circumstances.

+1 To that! Family members generally make terrible instructors, for numerous reasons. From the licensed driver feeling out of control, to the fact that on their first "outing" with you they have no idea how competent you are behind the wheel. And also, because you are more likely to dispute and argue with some one you know well like a Dad or Mother, just because they're family. I remember having a similar experience with my Dad while learning, hell i even created a thread on here about my experiences, get a good few lessons, and then go for some practice.

Orla K

I have a good instructor and I'm normally calm behind the wheel (probably because I'm not 17 and used to cycle around a city, I'm used to traffic and the rules of the road). I'm not getting lessons from him, I never would. The engine needed to be running for a bit so we drove around for lees than five minutes and he decided to tell me what to do.

I knew this was going to happen when I was just thinking about getting a licence. I would have prefered it if I had a few more hours of driving.


Also why on the Irish boards does it want to spell licence the American way of license?

Alanstrainor

Orla K wrote: »

Also why on the Irish boards does it want to spell licence the American way of license?

Boards isn't telling you how to spell...your browser is. Mozilla firefox? Chrome?...you need to sort out your browsers dictionary.

Now back to learning to Drive i go.