Learning to drive driving you mad?

[ShowOfHands]

So here it is, a learning to drive thread.

I think there are a few of us. I predict much swearing. Is it only me that goes one step forwards, only to go 8 steps backwards?

I'm SOH, have been learning for the grand total of a fortnight. DH is teaching me. My aim is to be driving by the end of September when dd is supposed to start nursery and they change the driving test again.

I live rurally (very rurally) and rely on dh for lifts everywhere. Even a supermarket trip is reliant upon him being home from work. And as he's a police officer, he's never home on time, works long hours and as a consequence, we're fairly isolated.

I am trying to focus on the new lease of life for us.

I don't have a provisional licence yet (still waiting for it) but live on private land with tracks of about 3 miles so am driving round a farm atm.

I'll kick off the swearing so there's no illusion of standing on ceremony. How the buggery feck do you look in 3 mirrors, one windscreen, at the speedometer and not cry all at the same time? Answers on a postcard.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy!!!

WELL DONE YOU!!!!! Oh, woman, I'm so happy for you!!!! Oh, you must be over the moon!!!!

congratulations sugar !!

congratulations sugar !!

Heartofcrystal, welcome to the thread! Glad you found a new instructor and you're happier with her. It does sound the other was holding you back.

Waves to all, must go back to work!

Yay omg Sugar that's brilliant! Well done you! Here's hoping that I'll be just as good.

Good luck on your lessons with a new instructor Heart. Hopefully that'll speed up the process and save you some money.

SUGARMOUSEPINK .... Well done on passing , i knew you`d do it ! .

keep driving everyone ! ...

Hi ladies,

Well had a lesson with my soon to be ex instructor, (too late to cancel without losing money altogether) so i thought i'll use this lesson to definately make sure i was making the right decision.

Conversation went something along these lines

Me "so i've heard the driving test is changing in october?"
Him "Yes it is, but you don't need to worry about that, it'll have been in place a few months before you have your test"
Me "Well that is another thing i need to talk to you about"
Him "Ok, go on"
Me "Well my block of 30 hours will be up soon, and am wondering how many more lessons you think i will need? So i can start putting money aside for them"
Him "I really coudn't say"
Me "Well i may have to take a break for a while then, as it will be £96 a week without block booking discount"
Him "Why don't you just do one lesson a week then?"
Me "I need to try and get the best part of my lessons done before mat leave ends"
Him "Oh right, we will see how you do on the next few lessons"

Plus point i learnt the turn in the road, got it perfect on third attempt,
Shame that it took 50 minutes for me to actually get behind the wheel.

After 5-6 perfect turns in the road, intructor says "Great you done them without any instruction from me"

Drives me home and marks my drivers log as level 1.
Grrrrr sorry for the rant, feels better now i've typed it though.

No more shouting, sex talk and leg feeling, it's going to be bliss with my female instructor.

Good luck all on lessons and tests

Heart , im with Sugar on this one , that instructor is taking the p*ss tbh .
Your paying to be taught how to drive, if its not happening time to get a new instrutcor.... your new lady instructor sounds fab !

Had my first car induced argument with dh today ....
Was dropping him off at the pub, and driving along a 20 zone with loads of speed bumps ... going along nicely .Then a stupid boy racer type comes and tailgates me.
DH is telling me to speed up because "theres a cue behind me " .
I actually shouted at him !.
Quote : dh .."hurry up , you need to drive faster "
me " FECK OFF ITS A 20 IM DOING FECKING 20 , IM NOT GETTING DONE FOR SPEEDING BECAUSE OF THE KNOBBER BEHIND ME OR THE ONE SITTING BESIDE ME"

Road rage? or twat in the passinger seat rage? .

lol SUGAR ! ..funily enough he lurves JC /TOPGEAR ...think he wants to be the stig deep down...

Have got my licence already , the examiner took the provisional off me and gave me a pass certificate to use until i got the real one..it came about a week later ...

You should get your pink one through soon x

Hi Sugar, He's not even let me on a main road yet only driving around blocks. Here is a breakdown of my lessons so far all 2 hour lessons.

1st, in a park driving around in circles. Didn't expect much from my first lesson though.

2nd, in a car park to work on my steering for the entire lesson. Even tho after 10-15 minutes he said my steering was near on perfect.

3rd lesson, back to park where i had my first, there isn't even any left/ right turns or junctions at this park. around in circles for another 2 hours. to get me comfortable on the roads.

4th lesson very very quiet industrial estate. doing left and right turns and a T junction.

5th same location, same lesson only difference is i got to go around a roundabout once.

6th up to residential streets, because i hadn't seen many cars for weeks i started to stall, for the first time since i started driving. I was only driving around the block over and over again.

7th same place, same place same block entire lesson. didn't stall once. perfected emerging.

8th different place same lesson, very very quiet streets.

9th different place, doing crossroads block driving again.

10th pretty much the same aside from he taught me how to stop at junctions without using handbrake. I didn't stall once, even though he said i would.

11th turn in the road for entire lesson. perfect after 3 attempts.

Haven't even done traffic lights yet, he's been telling me he's going to let me drive home very soon since lesson 7 , glad to be shut of him tbh.

On the one single lesson i was stalling, he was shouting and going on and on when i was trying to start the car back up. Up to the point my legs started shaking.

The leg touching was on the final lesson, lets just say didn't make for comfortable driving. Sex talk i could just say " Excuse me i don't want to know" not that he took any notice.

It's crazy only now can i see what a joke he was, purely because i have taken a step back. He was from a big company, so i am going to report him on monday.

New instructor has taken me out and said am i good driver just lacking confidence. And told me to book my test . Booked 7th of october, but bit worried about test change.

Sorry it's a long one again haha, one day it'll keep it short.

Droves good on you for telling dh the score, tell him no more pub lifts until back seat driving is muted.

Hello everybody, I've just had an instructive (...actually, how long have I been sitting here reading every word on this entire thread??)

I'm Nyx, live in Glasgow and have failed my test once so far. Have had between 40-50 hours lessons (not sure how many exactly without checking) and do all the driving with DH at the weekend etc.

Do you know, I was hardly nervous at all about my test the first time. I was confident, knew there was a chance I might fail (obviously!) but have driven so much now that I really felt not too bad about it. My test went absolutely beautifully, my manoeuvers - how on earth do you spell that? - were flawless, for a wonder; I had only two minors - but the instructor took me to a junction I'd never been to before, turning right into a retail park. There were traffic lights and I was the first car in the queue. Queue of traffic to my left, who were going straight ahead. Their lights turned green, and I edged forward, ready to turn right when I could...and the examiner told me to stop, I hadn't waited for the filter arrow. What blardy filter arrow! I didn't notice there was a filter arrow. I could have cried. The first thing my examiner said when he was told was "oh no...and I've never taken you there, have I?" - I was very nice to him but inside was thinking "no, you prat, you're supposed to take me on the test routes surely...!" And my DH when I got home admitted that he very rarely waits for the filter at that junction but edges forward, just as I had done. Devastated!

So my next test is the day after tomorrow. And this time, I am almost sick with fear. I really feel I've taken about 10 steps back. I was out with DH today and we were yelling at each other! I nearly pulled out of a side road into a main road in front of another car, I did check both ways but simply didn't see it. And he totally yelled at me and kept on and on about it for about 10 minutes. I could have stopped the car and throttled him.

I'm sorry, I've gone on and on...can you tell I'm nervous?! Well done to everyone on this thread who has passed, it's such a milestone and I wish it was me

D'oh...first thing my instructor said, not my examiner. It's late

Thanks Sugarmouse

Heart - I agree, sounds like your instructor has been taking the p* I think. Good luck with your new instructor!

Sugar, am starting to think he shouted for that very reason, to knock my confidence because i tend to have snowball effect. One thing goes wrong and that is it, i would mess up on everything. Am still not convinced i am a good driver, my poor instructor has her work cut out for her. Can tell you one thing though, i shall not be giving him a good review when i speak to the office again tomorrow.

Nyx, Goodluck on your test, i have my fingers crossed for you!

Cheers Heart, and yes, tell on him!

Morning!

I've been reading posts these days but haven't got round to posting.

Heart, on your behalf. I cannot believe this man! Definitely report him. So glad you have a new instructor and she's great

Nyx, welcome to the thread. Sending you passing vibes today!!! You will pass!!!

Droves, stick to those guns, and I second Sugar's idea, if he wants pub lifts then he shall tone down the back seat driver attitude

Sugar, I didn't know what you mentioned about the points in the first two years. Good to know

Right, I didn't have a mock test last class in the end... I thought we had one hour and my instructor thought we had two This Friday I'll have one. Argh! I did a turn around the corner and even though it was a hard one I was doing great until a car entered the road and I didn't stop as I hadn't seen it My instructor said "great manoeuvre but unfortunately the car incident would have made you fail" in a very sweet tone I'll never forget to look again and again now, I tell you

Two weeks till test now

Waves!

Good morning

Thanks Gauchita, I need all the good vibes I can get! I think I'm in denial...I'm not that nervous but I feel kind of in limbo. I am not thinking about it. I'm going to wash the car this morning, the test is at 2:37pm.

What a pain other cars are, eh?? I am scared that will happen in my test, I am very focussed on the manoeuvre when I'm doing it and just don't notice other cars. My instructor advised me to open my window just a little before starting a manoeuvre, to give me a better chance of hearing a car coming!

Nyx, yes, my instructor suggested the same Remember, when doing manoeuvres, check check check Will be thinking of you at 2.37!