i would love to hear about your learning to drive experiences

[lou lou]

hi as the title says i would love to hear about other peoples learning to drive experiences, i am learning at the moment and so struggling with it i come home really deflated as i feel i have not done very well i have already changed driving insructers once and last night i was doing reversing and was just not getting it, is it difficult or is it just me the amount of times i just want to give up but i know i cant. I am begining to think i will never master it have any of you been the same? really struggle with clutch control when reversing as well, i think i maybe putting to much gas on any one got any good tips for controlling it ?

[WibbleWobble]

i leant as soon as i was 17 (in the mid 1980s). I had to work picking potatoes to get the £150 to buy my beetle (not the modern one). Dad would take me out with my brother 12 and sister 6 in the back. Sister was seen crossing herself on my first attempts to drive!

Not being very interested in cars at that age i would get my legs and hands mixed up...wrong peddles etc. So dad would slap my leg!!!:eek:

he was a teacher....as in the old way so this was one up from throwing a board rubber at me!

I took my first test when i was 8 onths preg with DD1. My mum had managed to crash my beetle just before i was due the test. I was in hospital for pre eclampsia and the hosp let me out to practice in my dads audi quattro (as in fire up the quattro...ashes to ashes style) but the quattro was a BIG CAR with FIVE GEARS. I have a bump the size of belgium and dad had to put blocks of wood on the peddles.


i failed....couldnt see anything, couldnt turn round to reverse and got mixed up with the gears.

passed a year later.....but feel i started to learn as soon as i passed.

passed my bike test three years ago....had to go through the theory test. Now i can ride the biggest bikes.....and i really enjoyed the experience.


you will be fine

bet you will be better than me!!!!


mandy xxx

[flowerpots]

hi hun, im learning at the moment, i started to learn 8 years ago got to the round abouts and just quit because they frightened the life out of me, the driving instructor just used to SCREAM 'GO!!!!!' in my ear. i started learning in feb and im nearly ready for my test. im now learning with a female instructor who is VERY VERY patient with me.

Its tough learning to drive, this time i struggling with parallel parking, i think with the right instructor you will get there in the end.

Dont give up, it will up be worth it........eventually.

XXXXXXXXXX

[sweets]

i learnt as a teenager and remember how hard it was!

i hated roundabouts, pedestrians and cyclists lol, i used to swear at people in my head saying saying dont you dare cross the ****** road lol

my insructor was ok but didnt really say much and i was very shy so it was quite a silent hour :panic:

it took me 4 attempts to pass, cant remember why i failed the first, second i went too fast and third i tried to do a hill start not in gear and went flying back :laughing:

driving now is second nature tho.

[kindredspirits]

Ok - my DH is a driving instructor so I have a lot of experience in this. My first advice would be to find an instructor with a nice diesel car (fiesta etc) Diesel's are so much easier to master clutch control on as they move at the bite without having to use the accelerator pedal (makes reversing etc far easier and stalling is far less likely.)

The other thing is, and I hate to speak badly of people, some driving instructors will teach you slower to ensure you do more lessons therefore spend more money with them. Ensure you have an instructor with a green badge - pink badges mean they are trainees who have not passed their part 3 ADI test and therefore are inexperienced. There are a lot of pink badges on the roads these days due to the rise of RED and the Instructor College (who are rip off merchants btw, i'd avoid them if i were you.) Don't be afraid to ask their latest grade, 6 is the highest, but a 5 is a good grade as well.

My learning to drive experience..... mmmm ended up moving in with the instructor when i was 17 ;) mind you i had already passed (first time with only 23 hrs tuition.) Seriously, you CAN do it - you need to find the right instructor that suits you - don't be afraid to try a few and see who's teaching style suits you best, don't choose one with a flashy car they tend to be harder to drive! :thumbsup:

[debratina]

hi
i was learning to drive up until the end of may 2010
i had passed my theory test first time
and then when we were driving home (my husband was driving)
we were invovled in a car accident :(
seen then i cant get in a car with out panicing:panic:

best of luck
Debra x

[gigglinggoblin]

My first lesson was in an empty car park learning to use the clutch - this was my request because I couldnt get my head round it and I was scared witless of setting off on the road. Spent an hour starting and stopping. Driving instructor was happy to do it and it gave me so much more confidence, I went on to pass first time. Do you think that would help you? Remember you are paying them so they shouldnt have a problem with doing it your way.

[singingcactus]

I was 17, in the TA, and was given 8 lessons over the course of 8 days with my test at the end of the week. The gits in the office were laying bets on whether I'd pass or fail - my captain bet against me! :eek: My QMSI won the bet though cos he bet I would pass ha ha ha. I did pass so there captain Hall!!! (not bitter much hehe)

[Sleeping Baby]

I was 20 when I started to learn to drive and on my first lesson I did the classic grabbing the instruters knee instead of the gear stick, that set the tone of the lessons! He was a lovely old boy and we laughed a lot mostley at my driving :blush: Took me four goes at the test couse I kept falling apart but I finally passed on Friday the 13th.

[Katiekoo]

Right, I had lessons when I was 17, got the hang of it a bit but not enough to pass. Went to uni - had no money. Finally started learning again aged 21 and took lessons in an automatic - brilliant! It turns out i'm a very good driver, good road sense, good judgement etc just can't work the gears and use my brain to concentrate! :blush:
I felt so liberated, I belong on the raod after all! I'm very happy with my auto car and my husband even loves it too - great for long journeys and not that un-economical, slightly higher cost when you buy it that's all. You can get tectronic gear boxes now too so one car can be both auto and manual.

It's strange but people are very negative about auto drivers - "what if you had to drive a manual in an emergency" and so on - mostly men I might add! In all these 11 years of driving I have never been in an emergency that meant I had to drive a manual - I'd call a taxi rather than break the law by driving a manual :rolleyes:
So if you are really struggling with the operation of the gears/clutch maybe try an automatic ? Just a thought :)

[Alibali]

I learned at 17 too, but I remember one day, maybe about lesson 10 or so I was at a roundabout and kept on stalling the car, there was a big queue behing me and I was getting flustered, as I tried to pull off for the 5th or 6th time I stalled again, my driving instructoe smirked and said 'stalled again' to which I got out the car, shouted 'well if you think you can do better you drive':blush: :blush: then slammed the door and stormed off:blush: :blush: Needless to say he could actually do better:laughing:

[sarah707]

I still remember having lessons... but it was a long time ago :o

To start with the car controlled me and I was so scared. It felt like using a sewing machine, putting my foot down too much and the machine just took off.

I changed for a female instructor and she was wonderful. She was really patient with me and took me on quiet roads until I got the hang of it.

If you are unhappy change your instructor. At the end of the day you are paying for them to deliver a service.

Good luck! :D

[merry]

The right instructor will make all the difference, I got nowhere with my first one, many many lessons and failed twice, 2nd instructor it all just clicked and I passed in half the time. My children both learned in diesel cars and say they're much easier to drive than my petrol one, less likely to stall, easier to reverse, they've both gone on to buy diesels themselves. I found learning to drive extremely difficult and thought I'd never get the hang of it, but eventually it does become second nature, though I'd never have believed that when I was learning.

:)