OK, so I know that some people think that learner drivers shouldn't be on the road, but where else can they practice?
It would be fab if there was a special car park or a village in the area to practice parking and dealing with junctions just for learner drivers and away from the general public, but there isn't. We have to use quiet areas of superstore car parks and hope we're not asked to leave because customers are nervous of us hitting their car that is parked on the other side of the car park!
As driving instructions we try to pick our areas carefully, choose somewhere quiet to begin with, off the main roads, but eventually learners have to get out there and play with the big boys. As they soon find out, it's not just about learning to drive a car..... that's the easy bit. It's about dealing with different road conditions, road signs and markings and dealing with other road users. Now that's the tricky bit! Anticipating what other people are going to do next, allowing for them to make errors i.e. not indicating, cutting us up, bad lane discipline etc.
So how come learner drivers don't receive the same respect on the roads as full licence holders? After all they have a driving instructor making sure that they stick to speed limits, get in the correct lane for roundabouts and indicate at junctions. Now sometimes, even learners make mistakes; stall, panic and cross lanes on roundabouts, hesitate at junctions.... and as soon as they do, other drivers show their annoyance by beeping their horn, tailgating, or using hand signals (and I'm not talking about those you find in the Highway Code)!
A few instances of this inconsiderate behaviour spring to mind......teaching a pupil the turn in the road, and a resident stopping his car behind us and asking if we could go somewhere else to practice; stalling at a junction and getting beeped from a driver behind who then followed us home and subjected us to verbal abuse. Nice!
At the end of the day, learners are insured and have a licence to be on the road. Deal with it - you were a learner once!
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Are you a bad driver?
Why oh why do other motorists insist on tailgating, undertaking and generally harassing learner drivers?
Do they not remember what it was like to be a learner driver themselves?
By the time my learners are on the 'big' roads, they are already capable of doing the speed limit so there is absolutely no need for other drivers to overtake and break the law!
Speed limits are there for a reason, and I wonder how many of you know what the national speed limit is on a:-
A recent example of bad driving was when a learner and I were driving along a 30 mph road with a bus lane on our left. The driver behind us decided he was fed up of doing the speed limit and undertook us using the bus lane as we approached a set of traffic lights. We cruised up in the lane next to him and overtook him on our green light...... the hare and the tortoise story springs to mind!
So, according to the news recently it seems that new rules are coming into force next year where police will be able to enforce on the spot fines of £100 for bad driving. Perhaps if driving instructors were able to enforce these fines too, we would have much more respect on the roads! After all, we are out there witnessing all sorts of bad driving all day and every day!
Do they not remember what it was like to be a learner driver themselves?
By the time my learners are on the 'big' roads, they are already capable of doing the speed limit so there is absolutely no need for other drivers to overtake and break the law!
Speed limits are there for a reason, and I wonder how many of you know what the national speed limit is on a:-
- single carriageway
- dual carriageway
- motorway
A recent example of bad driving was when a learner and I were driving along a 30 mph road with a bus lane on our left. The driver behind us decided he was fed up of doing the speed limit and undertook us using the bus lane as we approached a set of traffic lights. We cruised up in the lane next to him and overtook him on our green light...... the hare and the tortoise story springs to mind!
So, according to the news recently it seems that new rules are coming into force next year where police will be able to enforce on the spot fines of £100 for bad driving. Perhaps if driving instructors were able to enforce these fines too, we would have much more respect on the roads! After all, we are out there witnessing all sorts of bad driving all day and every day!
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
It's all in the preparation!
That lesson before a driving test and waiting in that 'doctor's surgery' type waiting room can be quite daunting to most learners, and it doesn't matter how much you think you are prepared, at the end of the day it's all about luck! Where will the examiner take you? What type of hazards will you come across and will you be able to deal with them in a safe manner? Will you be able to remember directions and follow sign posts and road markings? Not only will you worry about getting back to the test centre in one piece, but you'll also worry about which manoeuvre the examiner will give you....... Please God let it be the turn in the road!
Your driving instructor is there to prepare you for test day, and hopefully family members can help too with a little extra driving practice, but what more can you (the learner) do to make sure test day is a success? Well, I have to tell you about an exceptional pupil who managed to do just that today! In fact, I've never known anyone to put so much effort into test day preparation as this pupil has!
He started driving with me last November after a 17 year break and two failed tests, and because his work place was relocating he decided to take up lessons again. He eventually ended up having four hours a week with me as he wasn't always able to get out and practice privately. He said that he wasn't a 'natural' and had to work hard to get results, and I didn't realise how hard he worked until recently. Not only did he have driving lessons, but he made notes! The Show me Tell me questions he typed up and made extra notes; he went on Google maps and looked up the roundabouts in the area so he could familiarise himself with the lanes; he took pictures of the engine and labelled the bits he needed to know, including the internal controls; he even wrote up notes after each lesson i.e. how to deal with junctions, reverse parking, general driving etc. And he even wrote down some of my sayings, for example, 'Be positive', 'Make a decision and stick to it', 'Drive in a brisk and business-like manner', 'Remember - slow car, fast wheel'!
Anyway, his attention to detail paid off today and he passed with only one minor! So you see, sometimes you just have to go that extra mile to get what you want, as things are not always handed to you on a (L) plate!
Your driving instructor is there to prepare you for test day, and hopefully family members can help too with a little extra driving practice, but what more can you (the learner) do to make sure test day is a success? Well, I have to tell you about an exceptional pupil who managed to do just that today! In fact, I've never known anyone to put so much effort into test day preparation as this pupil has!
He started driving with me last November after a 17 year break and two failed tests, and because his work place was relocating he decided to take up lessons again. He eventually ended up having four hours a week with me as he wasn't always able to get out and practice privately. He said that he wasn't a 'natural' and had to work hard to get results, and I didn't realise how hard he worked until recently. Not only did he have driving lessons, but he made notes! The Show me Tell me questions he typed up and made extra notes; he went on Google maps and looked up the roundabouts in the area so he could familiarise himself with the lanes; he took pictures of the engine and labelled the bits he needed to know, including the internal controls; he even wrote up notes after each lesson i.e. how to deal with junctions, reverse parking, general driving etc. And he even wrote down some of my sayings, for example, 'Be positive', 'Make a decision and stick to it', 'Drive in a brisk and business-like manner', 'Remember - slow car, fast wheel'!
Anyway, his attention to detail paid off today and he passed with only one minor! So you see, sometimes you just have to go that extra mile to get what you want, as things are not always handed to you on a (L) plate!
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