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?

If you want your English corrected then it's either 'should have' or 'should've". It's not "should of".

OP don't put your right foot flat on the floor ever unless you have the handbrake on. Put your left on the foot rest or tuck it under the chair if it's distracting, I did on the advice of an instructor friend when I first drove auto or you end up accelerating and braking at the same time which is as bad as clutch coasting in a manual, because you're used to using both feet in a manual. Your right foot should be on one pedal or the other or hovering above (you can rest your heel on the floor), so you can react quickly if someone steps out in the road, a car ahead stops quickly, etc.

Why are your feet flat on the floor?

Sounds like your teacher shit himself. I would too if I was hurtling towards a junction like that

You should never have both feet flat on the floor. That's Lesson 1 with any good instructor!

Your foot should always be hovering between the break and accelerator unless you're bloody stationary.

You need a new instructor. If he can’t even teach you how to cover the brake then he doesn’t sound very competent

FFS no Tuesday 1pm is NOT good, please cancel and tell him why or get your OH to do so on your behalf, what a dangerous twat; my DD is just starting lessons to think some wanker like that might get in a car with her is scary.

Just cancel the next session and find a new instructor.
Maybe ask on a local Facebook site for one experienced with early / nervous learners (I.e have a nice manner).

but since people just aren't natural drivers and not realising it's not ok to take both feet completely off the pedals of a moving tonne of metal you are in charge of

People learn things in different ways. some people can't wait to drive and as passengers they sit and watch drivers so when it comes to their turn they have a decent idea of what to do to get a car to go, to move and stop.

Other people don't do that, nor do they pick up on inferences. Unless they are specifically told never to have both feet flat on the floor, they don't know that's a wrong thing to do.

The instructor should have noticed what his pupil was doing with her feet a long time before this. He should have noticed that when he said 'take your foot off' she followed his instruction literally.

Then he should have demonstrated that her left leg and foot need to be comfortable and somewhere out of the way of the pedals, then demonstrated how and where she could rest her heel on the floor so she could cover either pedal as the need arose.

The OP has never been told that it's dangerous to have both feet on the floor in a moving vehicle. It's not her fault she didn't know that.

The instructor has dual controls so they can take control before an emergency stop is needed. The brakes should also not fail after an emergency stop.
It sounds as if he hasn't explained things properly (my first instructor didn't either). I would find a new instructor.

I’m worried you’ve mentioned having your right foot flat on the floor again in your update - you should NEVER have your right foot on the floor. Your right foot should always have something to do. It’s either on the gas or the brake, or hovering over them if you’re easing up. Your left foot is the only foot that is allowed to be doing nothing. Ideally on the foot rest but flat on the floor is probably ok if that’s more comfortable as long as it’s nowhere near the pedals and not getting in the way of your right foot.

I am sure there will be another instructor somewhere. You need to ditch this guy, confidence is everything in passing your test and he’s eroded that completely.

Its bean a long day

I think I only do it when he actually tells me to take my foot off the gas, like when the car has time to start to slow down itself. I don't know why I didn't naturally just hover over the break, I just didn't. I think if he hadn't of said that, I would of just moved from the gas pedal to brake and would of started to slow down by slowing putting pressure on to the brake until I gradually stopped. I literally did just take my foot off the gas. He is very chatty and does distract me a little though as well. But we all make mistakes, lesson learnt. I don't think this means that I shouldn't be on the road though, bit harsh

Putting both feet on the floor? You shouldn't need to be told not to do that.

Oh, don't be so silly.

I know many people who were very smug about their instinctive grasp of driving. They've all had more accidents than me since we passed our tests - including writing off cars and, in one case, blinding a passenger in an entirely preventable accident.

The OP may be struggling to learn. And the people correcting her grammar and spelling may be interested to know those same struggles aren't unusual for someone with a co-ordination issue.

But, if she takes her time with a good instructor who doesn't lose his head and panic, she'll be able to find out whether she can manage this or not.

For the instructor, there's no excuse. You do not get to snap at a student for making a mistake. Having another test lined up is your problem to solve, not theirs.

Why would he be shitting himself if he had his own bloody brake right there?

Think of all the incidents and accidents that happen when teaching someone to drive - all part and parcel of being an instructor and they have to remain calm not panic like yours did. Car Defo faulty - braking hard does not damage the brakes.

Hope you can find the right instructor, OP. For what it's worth, I had the "brake, brake, brake!" shout in my first driving test; the examiner slammed the brakes on because apparently I was going too fast round a bend.

After a few more lessons and more practice I was much more comfortable in the car and passed on the next attempt despite stalling 3 times in the rain.

I would have thought that an automatic driving instructor would get a higher proportion of people who were finding foot coordination anything but instinctive, and ought to be practised in providing really clear instructions and drills to help with this, for anyone who has already tried on a manual and realised that wasn't for them.

When you drive, you are in some charge of a 2 tonne weapon. You make a mistake and people can die. Coasting along with your feet flat on the floor and a child steps out... before you can brake you first need to lift your foot up and position it. Those previous milliseconds can be the difference between that child living or dieing. That should be obvious. That should be something you realise as soon as you sit behind a she'll and try out the pedals.

If you don't have the sense to figure that out without it being explained, then what else can't you figure out on your own? Some people lack the awareness driving requires.

OP I think it’s entirely understandable that you understood “off” to literally mean right off, but the fact your dozy instructor obviously hasn’t spotted and corrected the problem is just further fuel to why you need shot of him.

Learning to drive is difficult, ignore the sanctimonious people on this thread. Find yourself an instructor who makes the process more enjoyable. You’ll get there!

There's no point in lecturing the OP about dangerous driving. New drivers are dangerous. Learning to drive is dangerous. That's why we have advanced drivers to teach us and dual controlled cars. The instructor should have corrected OP's foot position and calmly used the brake.

I drove out into a busy junction in my first test, OP. The examiner had to do an emergency stop for us. It was right at the start too. I had to do the whole test knowing I'd failed. Passed the second time.

I take it you've never made any mistakes Iaimtomisbehave1? I think the OP is well aware of what a car is and doesn't need you to point it out. She made as mistake and, rather than braking himself, her idiot instructor panicked and shouted at her. Perhaps he's the one not cut out for driving, not OP.

OP. Get a new driving instructor.
He should have seen the situation breaked himself in good time.
As for you damaging his car, No. One emergency stop and the brakes fail? I don't think so.
FWIW, I know someone who actually wrote off the driving instructor's car during a lesson. I'm not kidding. They weren't held responsible for the accident and their driving instructor didn't swear or shout.
Time to find someone new.

BRAKED

OP, when I was learning to drive, I was stopped at a busy T-Junction when a van smashed into the back of my instructor's car. That part couldn't possibly have been my fault. But we were shunted out into the oncoming traffic. That part possibly was my fault, as I didn't have the handbrake on.

The car sustained quite a lot of damage, and worse still, my instructor hurt his back. Never once did my instructor raise his voice at me, and when he got out to speak to the van driver, he didn't raise his voice at them, either.

I did some properly stupid things when learning to drive. I once mounted a kerb, got my pedals mixed up and nearly accelerated into a tree. Instructor had to grab the wheel to stop this from happening. Another time, I scraped a lady's wing mirror while she was innocently driving along in the next lane. I was a properly awful driver. It took me 2 years and lots of tears to be confident enough to pass my test. And now I drive for miles every day, with none of my early stupidity.

Don't be discouraged. Your instructor doesn't sound like a good fit for you, and it absolutely wasn't your fault that the pedal on his car broke. Look around for a new instructor, but keep taking lessons. It's much harder to start again once you've stopped than it is to just keep plodding on.

I learned to drive in the early 70's in a Mini, during one lesson I stalled the car on a main road, instructor was tanting and shouting. To his surprise, I told him not to talk to me in that way, I was paying him to teach me not the other way round. I got out of the car and walked home, asked for a new instructor and got an apology.

The point of an instructor is to tell you when you're doing something wrong/how to do it properly, it doesn't matter if it's something instinctive or not.

Frankly there is nothing instinctive about driving a car, how could there be? It is a metal box with an engine and wheels designed by man and less than 200 years old. If we had instincts relating to it it would be extremely unusual.

Your instructor is responsible for telling you that should always cover the brake, no matter what. Your instructor is also responsible to cover the secondary brake themselves. I wouldn't continue in a car with an instructor I couldn't trust not to loose their rag at me. Yes, they were probably scared or even angry at both you and himself (for not covering his brake) but unfortunately, the nature of their job means sometimes this stuff may happen but they need to remain calm. I would suggest a well reviewed instructor from a reputable, well reviewed company (like the AA).