"Time to Get the Show on the Road" - My journey to learn how to drive

P_1

So at 25 years of age I figured that it was time to get myself behind the wheel and to master the art of driving. Passed the Theory Test, collected the Learner Peremit and got insured on the folks car with the minimum of fuss.

Over the next few months, I hope to share my journey with you good folks on this forum and to hopefully share and pick up a few tips and tricks.

First of all I should state my ambitions. I intend on applying for the test in Raheny towards the end of August with the ambition of taking it (and hopefully passing it first time) towards the end of September.

In terms of driving skills, thanks to the patience of my Dad, I have managed to start the car, go through the gears, turn left and right and stop without cutting the engine out.

I have my first 'proper' lesson with an instructor next Wednesday so my first 'report' should come Wednesday evening. Here's looking forward to 6 months worth of constructive posting.

**Timbuk2**

Really looking forward to reading this, it's a very good idea!

Best of luck with the driving

Faith+1

Great idea OP. Best of luck with journey!

DrivingMad

good luck op!! As a matter of interest, will you be learning to drive under the EDT system of 12 lessons?

Nasty_Girl

Good luck!
I started my own journey around your age - I didnt have the help of parents unfortunately

Two tips I will gladly give :
If youre not happy with an instructor - change them!
If you don't suceed in Raheny - dont be afraid to try Finglas. I personally found the routes a lot nicer but its different for everyone.

Edit: thought of another:
When youre coming up to your test request that whoever is with you stay quiet for a bit (unless youre about to do something terrible) because thats what its like in the test

Chemistry Ftw

Good luck OP, going through the 12 EDT lessons myself at the moment so it'll be interesting to see how other people are getting along Out of a matter of interest, does anyone know percentage of people who pass the driving test the first time?

Faith+1

Chemistry Ftw wrote: »

Good luck OP, going through the 12 EDT lessons myself at the moment so it'll be interesting to see how other people are getting along Out of a matter of interest, does anyone know percentage of people who pass the driving test the first time?

I'd say around 40%??

Lon Dubh

Pass rates 2010
http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Learner-Drivers/The-Driving-Test/Driving-Test-Centre/Pass-Rates/

Edit: Actually they are probably overall pass rates and not necessarily first time test pass rates.

Chris_Heilong

Faith+1 wrote: »

I'd say around 40%??

I would say thats an overall pass rate for the country, I think most people pass on their third attempt but thats just based on people I have spoken with.

Edit: Actually the official pass rate seems to be around 50%

P_1

Ok so I had my first lesson today, as promised, here is how it went:

The Route
Started on Alfie Byrne Road, then left onto Clontarf Road, right up Malahide Road, left down Griffith Avenue all the way down to Glasnevin, then left down Constitution Hill (and through all the traffic!), finishing up down by Oliver Bond Street.

Observations
First of all a bit of a jolt getting going onto the public highway behind the wheel but my instructor put me nicely at ease. Cut out a few times (mainly at traffic lights and a few times in the traffic on Constution Hill and Church Street). Got used to going through the gears and the unexpected delight that is being cut in front of in traffic. Got to handle a particularly difficult right turn that included a hill start and busy traffic in the opposite lane.

Things to Work On
1 - Getting used to the clutch and how to balance it with the accelerator when getting started.
2 - Steadying my grip on the steering wheel.
3 - Going through the gears.

Next Lesson
Next Wednesday at the same time.


Cheers for all the advise and suggestions that has been added so far.

Until next time...

P_1

Right so time for an update...

Have 3 hours of lessons and about 10 hours of practice under my belt at this stage.

So far EDTs 1,2 and 3 have been passed.

Still need some work on my junctions in my opinion, not a fan of the right turn onto a major road at a T-Junction at all, practice will make perfect though...

Tried out some of the flashier stuff recently, namely reversing around corners and 3 point turns.

Have had a nice mix of driving in the city, on country roads and on major roads.

Happy with:
Starting
Stopping
General driving
Roundabouts
3 point turns
Reversing around corners

Not so happy with:
Right turns at T-Junctions

Haven't driven in the rain yet though, next lesson is on Thursday and given the general dampness of the past week I'd imagine we'll soon see how I manage in that.

Still feel as if I'm on track for the test in September.

P_1

And another update..

No rain (thanfully) instead a lovely evening for driving.

Another lesson today, went from East Wall to Balbriggan through a nice interesting mix of gridlock and 5th gear dual carriageway cruising.

Went reasonably well, some things to work on as ever though..

Need to work on shifting between gears, not sure if it was 'different car syndrome' but the gear changes were a bit heavy for my liking, also same with hill starting in traffic.

Gradually braking to a stop in traffic could also use some work, was coming to a jolt of a stop sometimes if you know what I mean.

Have a month till the next lesson (got a trip to London for a certain match to organise and pay for before then) so I should get a decent wedge of practice in to iron out some of those kinks.

Belle Morte

Best of luck with your driving lessons, it'll be all so worth it when you pass

sqooka

This is exactly my aim, with almost the same time-frame! How much practicing are you doing in between your lessons? I know everyone will learn to drive at different speeds (I think I'm a bit on the slow side to pick it up personally) but because you need a driver to accompany you I can only manage two hours a week with my dad. I'm beginning to worry that won't be enough at all

P_1

sqooka wrote: »

This is exactly my aim, with almost the same time-frame! How much practicing are you doing in between your lessons? I know everyone will learn to drive at different speeds (I think I'm a bit on the slow side to pick it up personally) but because you need a driver to accompany you I can only manage two hours a week with my dad. I'm beginning to worry that won't be enough at all

I'd be doing about the same, maybe slightly more each week. If you think about it, practicing for 2 hours a week for 6 months is 48 hours of solid practice at a very minimum. Add 12 hours of lessons and you should be ok.

How long have you been at it now?

sqooka

Well, I passed my provisional in feb and got straight on with the EDT stuff, but unfortunately I couldn't get insured on the family car as I'm too young (24) for the old company, so I had to wait till my dad was renewing insurance. So I've only been able to practice between the lessons for a few weeks now. I might try and get it up to 3 times a week practicing, I just really want my license ASAP. I've gotta say though, it's all going swimmingly now I can practice, but I am still having to think about it and if I get surprised and have to break I sometimes stall. I was reading all the things people failed on here, very helpful! The most common seems to be blindspots so I'm making sure to be careful about that coz my driving instructor never pulls me up on it. I actually think I like driving so far though, but it might be a while before I stop being overly cautious. I was just starting to worry coz a lot of the people who passed first time in a very short space of time seemed to be driving every day