Do you feel angry with your pupils if they can drive fine but just can't keep it together for tests and keep failing? Or does it not really affect the instructor. Not angry, but it can be frustrating.
Can you explain how to parallel park please?!
There are loads of methods in books; none of them foolproof. I think it's more important to be able to correct it if you need to, rather than use a robotic method, here is how I used to explain it:
- For the purpose of the test, there's no parked car behind you. Notice how when you are parked, the kerb appears in the middle of the back windscreen. Look in the left mirror as well, and remember what this looks like.
- Start side by side with parked car. Reverse straight until back end of parked car is above top of back seat.
- Steer 3/4 turn to the left (on some cars 1 turn might work better). Remember to check over right shoulder because front of car swings out.
- Hold steering in this position until left mirror covers corner of parked car.
- Continue to reverse, steering right, about one and half turns at moderate pace; giving yourself loads of feedback with rear window and left mirror. If needed, lower the mirror a little. (The books often don't say this - they often give a method turn this way, then that way, which they say works every time - I don't believe in such methods).
- If you're going to touch the kerb, pull forwards and make a correction. If you're going to finish too far away, steer hard left, and then hard right soon after.
What new career. I was a di and guess what my new career was? Driving examiner? No, I didn't go down that route. I moved into another kind of tuition. In some areas, driving instruction was quite badly hit by the recession; too many instructors, not enough learners.
How do you not get whiplash from all the jerky stop starts (rubs neck and glares at DD1) I never found that to be a problem.
Do you ever have a pupil that you think "No, you will never be a safe driver , just give up now and save your money for taxi cabs" I had lots who were very slow to learn, but I never gave up on them. I'd sometimes try to persuade them to do automatic (which I didn't instruct myself) if they struggled. I'd sometimes meet pupils who'd never done anything involving making decisions really quickly, as you have to in driving. I used to encourage them to play computer games; whatever we might think about them, I do think they can be good for practising quick thinking.
when a learner is driving really slow I'd certainly think all sorts of things. I'd tell them there were dual accelerators once upon a time. I gave lessons in inner London, where there were no roads above 30mph reachable in an hour's lesson; and it's worse now because so many main roads in London are 20mph now.