Please suggest a lesson structure for final preparation for Test.

wayne0308

Hi,

I will be booking my test during the xmas holidays so that my test time will come at some stage in February.

My driving experience:
- I did 9 hours of driving lessons starting off the week after I got my learners permit on 31 July this year. 5 hours in the instructors car and then 4 hours in my own. I did this before driving accompanied with parents etc.
- I've taken a single (sometimes double) lesson about every 2 - 3 weeks since then.
- I drive approximately 3-5 hours each weekend accompanied by one of my parents in my own car. (I've tried but can't find anyone else that has the time).


My impression is that what I've been doing so far is not nearly enough to be prepared fully for the test. I knew this at the beginning but I simply couldn't afford more lessons than I was already doing. I've have been saving as much as I can to get what lessons I need before the test.

My problem is that I'm in college in Dublin and my car is at my parents place in Waterford. I don't know anyone in Dublin that would accompany me so Waterford is where I've done all my driving and will do my test.

I was hoping that someone could lay out a lesson structure for me that would begin next week or the following week that would continue until mid-February In order for me to prepare adequately to take my test and hopefully pass. Would 2 hrs a week be sufficient? Should I try to get lessons in Dublin along with the ones I get down home?

Thanks for all help given.

RSA ADI MARK

hi wayne0308,could you not get your adi to structure a lesson plan for you

DriveSkill

Hi,

The question you ask is very difficult to answer without really knowing the details of what you have covered so far and also your ability level.

Based on the details you gave on your current experience it would seem like you have around 100-120 hours (of which perhaps 20 has been under instruction) in total of driving experience. This is about the minimum required for people who would be considered test standard assuming you start from a total beginner. However, there is no fixed formula so its difficult to judge - some people pass the test without ever taking a formal driving lesson and others need literally hundreds of hours with an instructor!

The other varying factor is that it is not just about hours but also what type of driving you have done. I assume when you started off your instructor covered the basics and should have introduced the 'system of driving' using Mirror,Signal,Position,Speed,Look (MSPSL). If you have been driving for a number of months then you will certainly have covered turning left and right, I assume some reasonably large roundabouts, various traffic light controlled junctions etc. You should also have been shown and taught the correct method for the turnabout and reverse. The key point when learning to drive is to be disciplined enough to always follow the system even when driving when accompanied with someone other than your instructor - you've got to develop the good habits so that it comes naturally and therefore you can focus your attention on the more important aspects of excellent observation and anticipation rather than trying to remember on the day of the test whether it was mirror first or signal first

As for lesson structure : dont think of it as perparing for the driving test - that is just one day (or actually just 1 hour!) - its more about learning to drive correctly and safely from now on. True, you will have to practice the maneouvers but the main part of the test is really about being able to drive smoothly, confidently with excellent observation and anticipation of other road users. Every extra hour to put in will benefit you provided as I said above you are disciplined to follow the correct procedure at all times and dont develop bad habits!

Coming up to the test it would be worthwhile getting to know the area around the test center. Get an instructor to point out any potential tricky or difficult junctions, road layouts etc. Dont be too worried about knowing exact routes but it definitely helps to have an idea of which junctions are STOP and which are Yield, know the busy junctions from the quiet ones and have an idea of lane and road markings etc in the area.

Good luck with it!

wayne0308

DriveSkill wrote: »

Hi,

The question you ask is very difficult to answer without really knowing the details of what you have covered so far and also your ability level.

Based on the details you gave on your current experience it would seem like you have around 100-120 hours (of which perhaps 20 has been under instruction) in total of driving experience. This is about the minimum required for people who would be considered test standard assuming you start from a total beginner. However, there is no fixed formula so its difficult to judge - some people pass the test without ever taking a formal driving lesson and others need literally hundreds of hours with an instructor!

The other varying factor is that it is not just about hours but also what type of driving you have done. I assume when you started off your instructor covered the basics and should have introduced the 'system of driving' using Mirror,Signal,Position,Speed,Look (MSPSL). If you have been driving for a number of months then you will certainly have covered turning left and right, I assume some reasonably large roundabouts, various traffic light controlled junctions etc. You should also have been shown and taught the correct method for the turnabout and reverse. The key point when learning to drive is to be disciplined enough to always follow the system even when driving when accompanied with someone other than your instructor - you've got to develop the good habits so that it comes naturally and therefore you can focus your attention on the more important aspects of excellent observation and anticipation rather than trying to remember on the day of the test whether it was mirror first or signal first

As for lesson structure : dont think of it as perparing for the driving test - that is just one day (or actually just 1 hour!) - its more about learning to drive correctly and safely from now on. True, you will have to practice the maneouvers but the main part of the test is really about being able to drive smoothly, confidently with excellent observation and anticipation of other road users. Every extra hour to put in will benefit you provided as I said above you are disciplined to follow the correct procedure at all times and dont develop bad habits!

Coming up to the test it would be worthwhile getting to know the area around the test center. Get an instructor to point out any potential tricky or difficult junctions, road layouts etc. Dont be too worried about knowing exact routes but it definitely helps to have an idea of which junctions are STOP and which are Yield, know the busy junctions from the quiet ones and have an idea of lane and road markings etc in the area.

Good luck with it!

Thanks for your reply. Indeed I've covered all the maneuvers and I think I can do them all almost without thinking. Observation and positioning are absolutely fine, I've gotten fairly good in spotting hazards and reacting. I think more hours could still help though. The instructor reckons I'm competent in most of the areas I need to be except for one.

I think my main weakness comes with clutch control with hillstarts. If I have the road to myself I can do a steep hillstart without any problems as long as I'm not under any pressure. When you introduce heavy traffic , and an example of this is very busy roundabout in the town I practice in. It's a steep hillstart on 2 of the approaches and this roundabout is very busy (it's on every test route as well as it's very central to the area). I find this very difficult and frustrating as you have to act very quickly once a gap appears. So I'm certainly not competent in this area, though I really should be.

I think if I could drive during week as well as weekends this just wouldn't be a problem. I know it wouldn't be. But having a gap of 4-5 days where I can't do any driving just doesn't help at all. It feels like I'm starting from scratch every weekend when it comes to this problem. It's so frustrating.

DriveSkill

wayne0308 wrote: »

I think my main weakness comes with clutch control with hillstarts. If I have the road to myself I can do a steep hillstart without any problems as long as I'm not under any pressure. When you introduce heavy traffic , and an example of this is very busy roundabout in the town I practice in. It's a steep hillstart on 2 of the approaches and this roundabout is very busy (it's on every test route as well as it's very central to the area). I find this very difficult and frustrating as you have to act very quickly once a gap appears. So I'm certainly not competent in this area, though I really should be.

The key to emerging from a junction into busy traffic, whether that be coming onto a roundabout or just coming out of a junction onto a main road, is to plan ahead.

Dont wait till the gap appears directly in front of you to start leaving up the clutch etc. As you are looking onto the roundabout look for the gaps which will appear in 3-5 seconds time, once you've identified a gap start to leave up the clutch, hold at the biting point and when the gap is in front of you, release the handbrake you can move off immediately. With practice you'll be able to let the clutch up, release the handbrake and be moving smoothly in less than a second!

Its important that if the situation changes and the gap which you thought was going to appear doesnt then you must put back in the clutch fully - dont sit for more than 2-3 seconds with the car at the biting point.

Dont be overly concerned with traffic behind, certainly you need to know what is there but dont let them pressure you into moving off until you know it is safe.