My driving instructor blamed me

[emily0108]

So i had a driving lesson yesterday, only my 3rd one, and it ended in such a disaster. I'm learning in an automatic as I had a few lessons in a manual and just could not grasp the clutch and gears and felt like I wasn't progressing.

I was coming up to a T junction, and a few minutes before approaching my instructor tells me to take my foot off the gas pedal and let the car slow down a bit on its own before even touching the break pedal. So at this point both my feet are flat on the ground. He then tells me to put my foot on the break, but I lost my foot bearings and accidentally put my foot on the gas pedal (and quite hard oops) so instead of slowing down we sped up and was almost at the end of the junction. There was no cars in front luckily, but we kept moving forward as if we was going to pull out. He shouted at me quite nastily "BREAK BREAK BREAK", and slammed his foot really hard down on his break. Obviously the car stopped but the break pedals came loose and neither would work at all. This was due to him making an emergency stop . He then shouted at me nastily "it's your fault, you have broke the car and I have a test in 45 mins". It's a bit of a blur because I was so worked up, he said other things to me out of anger as well.

I was so shocked, I felt liking crying my eyes out. I'm an inexperienced driver who is still very nervous on the road, and surely my instructor should be able to take full control over the car? What if an examiner had to do an emergency stop for someone and the breaks broke? It's made me feel very unsafe and even more nervous for future lessons. He was so nasty to me about it, I even apologised and he just ignored me. He managed to tighten both breaks back up, and then drove me home. Later on I realised that I shouldn't of apologised for temporarily breaking his car because it wasn't my fault? Or was it.. AIBU?

The car couldn't cope with an emergency stop and therefore this is not your fault.

I thought you were going to say that you'd accidentally mounted the kerb and killed a dog.

You should certainly not have both feet flat on the ground approaching a junction, that is common sense!

But his car pedal issues was not your fault, they are designed to withstand an emergency stop. Might be worth looking for another (3rd?) instructor.

No you shouldn't have had both feet flat on the floor but that's not your fault, it was the instructor's. Thats why he was there, to teach you.

He had dual controls, he should have dealt with it appropriately.

Find someone else.

And yes @BlueBug45 thats really helpful.

You never put both feet flat on the floor, you have your foot hovering over the pedal ready to use.

Accelerating when you are meaning to brake is a significant error... I'm confused why you continued driving rather than correcting your error and slowing down?

Saying that to remain visibly angry at you afterwards is a poor reaction in a teacher, as it won't help you learn and drive better. So I would seek a new teacher as you won't drive well now you are inhibited by this one. But I think you are underestimating your errors here.

Infact ever, what if you had to perform an emergency stop yourself, you wouldn’t be able to.

Yanbu. I stopped lessons with my first driving instructor because he was like this - always blaming me for "stupid" mistakes that in retrospect he should have been able to handle. I did once sarcastically tell him that if he wanted to be driven by perfect drivers all the time he should resign as a driving instructor, which shut him up for a while, but ultimately I got a new instructor. The second guy was lovely - no shouting, no blaming, very calm, and I passed my test first time. Definitely switch.

You need a new instructor. I would make sure I never saw him again if I were you. He should have been covering his brake pedal the whole time and should have applied it without shouting at you. He should have been ready in that situation. You didn't need to apologise and his sulking and non acceptance of the apology shows him in an awful light. I would move on. Sorry that happened to you! Not your fault though xxx

Your driving instructors a knob. He should have full control at all times.

'You have broke the car'? Sounds like he can't speak English, let alone teach driving.

LTB

I found learning to drive really hard and I had an instructor like yours, I know my driving probably want great but shouting at me and swearing was not going to make it any better. I changed instructors to a lovely calm one, I don’t think he shouted at me once.

I think OP has the message about not putting their right foot on the floor now.
You would have thought 'pedal hovering' would have been covered by the instructor prior to this so there was no doubt.

You need another instructor. That kind of loss of temper isn't appropriate.

I learned in an automatic after really struggling in a manual, and my instructor was always very calm, never raised her voice, and she was always slightly annoyed when a new pupil came to her from another instructor who had terrified them by shouting at them, because as far as she as concerned they were in the wrong profession. For the record, the worst thing I ever did with her was fall asleep behind the wheel in crawling traffic, and she had to brake to stop me going into the car in front. Did she raise her voice and get upset with me? No. I didn't need to be shouted at to be horrified with myself and learn a very important lesson, and neither do you OP. I started those lessons with serious road anxiety, and finished them with nearly none at all.

Anyway back to you OP. Aside from the shouting, your instructor should have told you about where you place your feet while driving, IMHO it's not totally obvious that you should operate both pedals with your right foot only. I'm also worried about his car/brakes.

I'm sorry but putting your foot on the floor is like folding your arms letting go of the steering wheel. He is a shit instructor for not emphasising foot control in your first lesson

Autocorrect fail meant wrecks

Well I guess he was upset, because the car wouldn;t work and it was going to be pretty shit for the person taking their test - they wouldn't have been able to do it. So I understand why he was angry, but it's up to him to ensure these situations don't arise, so not really your fault.

He should have been braking for you before it got to the point of an emergency stop. If you regularly put both your feet on the floor he should have noticed this and stopped you doing it - it's not a habit you want to get into.

But I'd say change instructors - it sounds as if he is getting you to do stuff beyond your capability when you are not ready. Everyone takes as long as they take - I took a long time to learn - there's no rule that says by X lesson you should be able to do XYZ, so much is down to confidence and your trust in your teacher.

By the way - did he suggest you abandon learning on a manual? I find a lot of instructors do this if they suspect someone is a nervous driver, but don't assume you will never be able to learn on a manual, it just takes longer to click into place with some people.

Anyway - don't let it put you off - every single person who has learned to drive has a horror story of the lesson that was a disaster - it's a rite of passage !

As others have pointed out, your feet should never be flat on the floor. What if a child was to run into the road and you accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake pedal?

Saying that, your instructor sounds like a complete arsehole. Definitely find a new one and make a complaint about him if possible. Don't let this completely ruin your confidence, just try and learn from it

@MrsStrowman it maybe commonsense to you to cover the brake, but it won't be if you have never driven a car or any other type of vehicle on the road.

OP if you next driving instructor doesn't notice you don't know where to put your feet when driving then find another one and continue until you find one who notices. It is cheaper in the long term to go through different driving instructors than to have a major accident.

I learnt many years ago and certain things my instructor said stick in my mind to this day:
• Cover the brake
• 'Braking, braking!' as I didn't brake at a red traffic light and he had to brake for me😬
You are paying an instructor to teach you to drive because if you knew how to do all these things you wouldn't need lessons.
Anyone can learn to drive, you just need the right instructor. Don't let anyone put you off. You can do it.

Ok, no you shouldn't have both feet flat on the floor. This was covered in my first driving lesson when they show you the ropes kind of thing, however, that being said, part of learning is making mistakes so you learn from them. I'd guess you won't do it again.

In my first 5 lessons my instructor had to break for me a few times because i got flustered and panicked. He never shouted at me though.

The key for me was getting in the car with a positive attitude and positive thoughts. If you get in thinking ffs I did this the last lesson and I'm going to fuck this one up too chances are you will. Be positive! Everyone has to learn, not everyone is a natural driver and that's ok.

Find another instructed and get in the car thinking this is going to be a good lesson and every mistake you make no matter how big or small think to yourself wow I won't do that again but don't beat yourself up over it

Your left foot should always be "tucked away" to the side in an automatic. Your right should be hovering over the brake when not actively on the accelerator.

Change instructor and, for the sake of other road users, until you become more confident you should stick to quiet roads at quiet times.

I had a great instructor who drove me to a quiet industrial estate for my first few lessons until he let me loose on the main roads. It built my confidence in the controls and his confidence that I knew how to use them.

You never know when you need to brake in an emergency - children running into the road etc. You need to have the confidence that YOU can stop the car even if it's dual-control. If the worst happened and the instructor was having a sneezing fit, for example, it would be down to you.

What you did was dangerous.

That said, you're a learner and the most concerning thing for me is the fact that 3 lessons in, he hadn't realised you were putting your foot flat on the floor if you weren't actually accelerating or braking. He needs to have been looking at what you're doing with your feet while you're so new to it all.

Change instructors. And consider putting in a complaint if he's part of a larger driving school. He's been very lax.

If someone tutoring you 1:1 loses their temper with you then move on.

Particularly when you're in a confined space and cannot easily get away.

I did something very similar when learning in a manual OP. Didn't have my foot flat on the floor, was hovering, still accidentally used the accelerator, Fortunately not hard and my instructor, quite correctly, just used his brake, which did not then break. He wasn't even a particularly good instructor but he knew it was an honest mistake and pretty much kept calm.

The brake pedals shouldn't break just because you use them in an emergency, and it isn't your fault if they do. And to those saying it's intuitive to hover - it might be for you, it won't be for everyone. Good instructors, in anything, know that what's intuitive is quite variable. The OP's instructor should have noticed and corrected this.

Find a new instructor.

There is a reason why learner cars are dual control. Yes, they do have do be quite firm with instructions if they have to react quickly to a situation, but the instructor should have been telling you to cover the brake as you were approaching the junction, in readiness for coming to a stop.

As for the car being damaged - bollocks. If the car isn't capable of sustaining an emergency stop then it's not roadworthy. Bear in mind that every driving test will involve having to do one!

I was a really nervous driver and it took me a couple of goes before I found an instructor that I felt comfortable with. Do find someone else; it will make a huge difference to how you feel about learning to drive.

I imagine he was shocked. It's not great he shouted but it seems like he clearly explained when you were supposed to brake and you didn't brake when told to. You nearly caused an accident.
I'd be concerned about the brakes coming loose but you need to be ready to brake at all times if needed not sitting with your feet no where near the pedals.