I have recently come back from a week's holiday in Scotland, and even though I wasn't working, I still had my driving instructor hat on! I noted a few things whilst we were there, and thought I would share them with you.
Firstly, in a week, I only saw two driving school cars; one parked on a driveway, and the other negotiating a roundabout who happened to be driving in front of us. Husband was getting a little annoyed at his hesitation, so I had to explain what the poor lad was probably feeling i.e. under pressure from other drivers to move away quickly, and the fact he was probably still trying to communicate with his feet!
Secondly, I noticed 300 yard markers counting down to a change in speed limit. This proved effective, especially with my husband who actually slowed down and was doing the speed limit by the time he passed the sign. I haven't noticed that we have this here, but think it's a good idea to get people to focus on changing their speed in good time.
Thirdly, roadworks. The A74 extension was opening 9 months early and under budget. Wow! How often does this happen down here? Also, when you saw roadworks, men were actually at work and no sooner did they start, they had finished. Again, something we're not used to down south!
Fourthly, and the most surprising was that no matter how far north you go, you will still see nutters on the road! In the Highlands, it was a regular occurrence to see people overtaking on blind bends! Mad!
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Hints and Tips for full licence holders!
Today has been a very frustrating day and quite frankly, I'm surprised I'm here to tell the tale!
In four hours of teaching, I came across 5 instances of inpatient driving, and in two cases could have been serious accidents.
First thing this morning, a pupil and I had entered a side road to do a manoeuvre. Our first choice wasn't possible, so we decided to do the turn in the road. To do this manoeuvre, you need a Safe, Convenient and Legal Position! Half way into the manoeuvre, two vehicles entered the road. The first vehicle was happy to wait until we finished, and when we did we waved our thanks. However, the second driver pulled up along side us and told us that this wasn't a good place to carry out the manoeuvre! Why? My pupil and I then agreed that he was probably fed up because he had to wait a minute or two, and that was his real gripe.... Honestly, as if I didn't know what I was doing? Question is, would he have given me the same grief if I wasn't a learner car?
The next two incidents involved a roundabout and happened in quick succession. We were turning right, third exit and as we were approaching our exit a driver from our left pulled out in front of us which caused us to break to avoid hitting them, and a second later as we were just about to enter our road, another car from our left decided to pull out along side us before we'd got off the roundabout, forcing my driver into the right hand lane. Two things to remember when dealing with roundabouts...... it's usually customary to look and give way to your right on approaching roundabouts, and to actually let the car coming off the roundabout to pass you first before you proceed!
So, after an eventful morning, I make my way home for some lunch. On approaching my driveway, I indicate to the oncoming vehicle that I'm going to pull over to the right so that when they've passed me, I can reverse onto my drive. The oncoming vehicle signals to me to go ahead and do my thing and as I position myself ready to reverse, she changes her mind and heads straight for me.....
A similar thing happened later during the afternoon. I'm teaching a pupil right junctions and we come across a meeting traffic situation where I make my pupil stop to give way. The oncoming vehicle, again, signals for us to come forward whilst they wait. This then panics my pupil as she knows she must move as quickly as possible but is still learning to co-ordinate her feet so she's a little slow in moving off. The vehicle coming the other way gets bored and starts to move at the same time as us. This panics my pupil further and she stalls. As we're trying to get started again, the woman in the other vehicle indicates that we should get out of her way...... which obviously is going to take some time. Eventually she reverses, turns the car around and goes the other way!
So, if you're going to be kind enough to let a learner go before you, please bear in mind that they are not as experienced as you, will be slower and may stall. If you can't be patient and wait, don't bother letting them go in the first place - sometimes its kinder that way!
In four hours of teaching, I came across 5 instances of inpatient driving, and in two cases could have been serious accidents.
First thing this morning, a pupil and I had entered a side road to do a manoeuvre. Our first choice wasn't possible, so we decided to do the turn in the road. To do this manoeuvre, you need a Safe, Convenient and Legal Position! Half way into the manoeuvre, two vehicles entered the road. The first vehicle was happy to wait until we finished, and when we did we waved our thanks. However, the second driver pulled up along side us and told us that this wasn't a good place to carry out the manoeuvre! Why? My pupil and I then agreed that he was probably fed up because he had to wait a minute or two, and that was his real gripe.... Honestly, as if I didn't know what I was doing? Question is, would he have given me the same grief if I wasn't a learner car?
The next two incidents involved a roundabout and happened in quick succession. We were turning right, third exit and as we were approaching our exit a driver from our left pulled out in front of us which caused us to break to avoid hitting them, and a second later as we were just about to enter our road, another car from our left decided to pull out along side us before we'd got off the roundabout, forcing my driver into the right hand lane. Two things to remember when dealing with roundabouts...... it's usually customary to look and give way to your right on approaching roundabouts, and to actually let the car coming off the roundabout to pass you first before you proceed!
So, after an eventful morning, I make my way home for some lunch. On approaching my driveway, I indicate to the oncoming vehicle that I'm going to pull over to the right so that when they've passed me, I can reverse onto my drive. The oncoming vehicle signals to me to go ahead and do my thing and as I position myself ready to reverse, she changes her mind and heads straight for me.....
A similar thing happened later during the afternoon. I'm teaching a pupil right junctions and we come across a meeting traffic situation where I make my pupil stop to give way. The oncoming vehicle, again, signals for us to come forward whilst they wait. This then panics my pupil as she knows she must move as quickly as possible but is still learning to co-ordinate her feet so she's a little slow in moving off. The vehicle coming the other way gets bored and starts to move at the same time as us. This panics my pupil further and she stalls. As we're trying to get started again, the woman in the other vehicle indicates that we should get out of her way...... which obviously is going to take some time. Eventually she reverses, turns the car around and goes the other way!
So, if you're going to be kind enough to let a learner go before you, please bear in mind that they are not as experienced as you, will be slower and may stall. If you can't be patient and wait, don't bother letting them go in the first place - sometimes its kinder that way!
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