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.

Hi there. Clouds - congratulations!!! Well done you! I actually posted that yesterday but I was on my iPhone and it doesn't appear to have posted . Good luck with StreetCar - perhaps you should ask your instructor to join you for the first time; not because you couldn't do it on your own - you could, you passed the test and that is not easy! - but just to give you the confidence. I agree that a car of your own would be the absolute best thing you could do - your confidence just quietly grows the more you drive. Well done!

Mistsandmellow and Silverymoon - hello there! Silvery, I agree with Sugarmouse that your instructor all those years ago was a complete arse. Try to forget all about that and start again - you will be great .

Let us know how you're both getting on!

I was at the Spar today and who should we park next to but my driving instructor! I haven't spoken to him since I passed my test. And it wasn't even me driving, it was my DH! DD and I got out of the car to talk to him while DH was in the shop, and while I was chatting away, DD pulled the driving school decal thingy off the side of his car - it's a magnetised thing. I was mortified but he just laughed and told her it was like a fridge magnet and she'd better put it back please

Thanks Ladies
just gonna take it one step at a time and not put any pressure on.
Tomorrow I will check if my current provisional is still valid and if so order a replacement and if not apply for one and then think about the next step
nyx lol at your dd

Thanks for the welcome

My provisional is a paper one I have had since I was 17 and I'm now almost 39. It's the oldest thing in the house apart from me and DH!

Need to update it ASAP, I've sent away for the forms.

at your instructor Silvery.

Thanks, Nyx.

The hill starts make sense to me in theory, but it seems like the sort of thing that will take so much practice, and I hate knowing we havne't done it in lessons. There seems to be so much I havne't had experience of, partly because I never had a chance to practice outside the lessons, and we did so much just on the test routes to get comfortable there. Great for the test, but not for afterwards.

It's good to know that the door handle trick works more generally, though.

Still haven't got brave enough, but one of these days I will..

It's a good idea I think not to tell people you are having the lessons, or much about them, apart from those you really want to know, because it takes the pressure off. I didn't tell a single person that it was my test day, until afterwards.

You can do the provisional stuff online if you don't have one already, and then they nick your passport photo and signature from that site, and it comes really quickly as a result. I think it doesn't work if you are just updating though.

I've been off for a while! cloud congrats on passing!

I've got a big gap between lessons but DH took me out twice over the weekend. Getting much better at clutch control etc. A bit nervous about going onto busy roads though!

I've got my theory test next week. How much revision (to those who've passed) did you do? I've got the hazard perception DVD but there aren't many clips on it (14?). How many in the real thing?

well done clouds ! ....

!

silverymoon .... the old instructor was a bad instructor ...you`ll get a nice one this time who will help you, like they are supposed to. If you get another arsehole bad instructor , sack him/her .You are paying them to teach you , if they not up to the job dont give them the money.

SUGAR i did the same thing whilst in edinburgh 2 days after i passed , it was the longest 2 weeks of my life ...waiting for that envelope that never came !!!!
hope its ok , dont worry though , it wont change the outcome, so there no point lass !

I had the most hideous experience with my attempt to drive a street car, alone. Nightmare, and left me more panicky and phobic than I'd been at the first lesson. And I just went around in a square! I am having some more lessons still and my instructor is going to come with me next time, help me sort the gears out and so on, and I will feel more confident. There still seems to be a lot that I need more practice with that wasn't on the test, and I have no-one else to practice with.

I didn't revise much for the theory, but I learn and memorise pretty easily. There were loads of really obvious ones about attitude and so on, with really stupid choices as the alternatives (What do you do if you've had too much to drink at a party? A) drive home really really slowly B) put your hazard lights on C) have lots of coffee D) ring a taxi. Or along those lines, anyway!!). There were harder ones about stopping distances and speed limits and things which are worth learning well, because they can be very precise (what's the speed on a dual carriageway when towing a trailer? etc). Some road signs can look really obvious but are actually wrong. But learning things like what the shape means, what the colours mean, etc can help. Like thinking about the sign that tells you that when the lane is wide enough for only one car to get through, and the people coming the other way have priority - it's a circle with a red outline, black arrow showing they can go, red arrow showing you can't. Makes sense, red circles are 'you mustn't do this...' signs. Then if you think about the sign that will be on the opposite side, lots of people think that it will just be the reverse, with the black arrow telling you that you can go, and the red arrow saying you can't. But it's not. It's a blue rectangle, with the arrows in red and white. That's because it's giving guidance, saying that you have priority over the other traffic. But it can't be a 'must' sign (red circle), because it can't MAKE you go ahead of someone else in the way that it can MAKE you give way when you're on the other side, if you see what I mean.

Hazard perception - I think there are 14 clips on the real thing. One of them I think is a double hazard (I think I missed this, as I only got 5 points on that one). Mostly they were fine. I could see hazards everywhere, so I was never quite sure what/when they wanted me to click, but it was still fine and I got through without a problem though I thought I hadn't!

It made me feel very sick practising for it, though I did several from the online sites for free. After the real thing I felt kind of sick, too, and I tried to rest my eyes in between clips to make the feeling go away. I hate watching something from the driver's eye view, when the world around me is not moving and I'm not getting the kinaesthetic feeling that would be compatible with it. I don't feel sick ever when I am actually driving.

Hi all,

Clouds, sorry you had a hard time with the car. Sugar is right, though, it's normal. And that was not even your car, something you would often drive and be used to, so it sounds completely normal. I'm still getting used to my own car

Sugar, one more week, everything crossed here for you for no envelope to arrive. I agree with what some of the others said, 32-33 would not count as above the threshold, according to what I've heard. I had to brave the M62 to Bradford for a week and a half every single day so that helped a bit. Leeds is a different cup of tea, though I still need some more courage for that, especially because when you get INTO Leeds, it's still crazy Oooohhh talk roundup appearance, I haven't read it yet but will later

Iggle, glad to hear you're feeling much better/more confident Good luck on your theory this week!

Yesterday I had to park but on the right side instead of on the left and it took me a few manoeuvres to get it right I still feel nervous when going on new routes even though I use the sat nav so looking forward to the moment in the future when I'll just "drive"

Waves to all

Yes, I definitely felt totally out of my depth for ages! I spent the first lesson shaking and crying, waste of my £40 there. It got better but very slowly over the next several months. I couldn't do anything where I'd meet other traffic without panicking and bursting into tear for ages, and my instructor would have to grab the wheel and talk me through getting off onto a side street. (And we were just on quiet residential roads!!). I couldn't multi-task either, and the gears especially bothered me. I could shift up, as I could hear it, but wouldn't ever remembver to shift down when I slowed. Even now I don't always remember (and I've passed!). It's a real conscious thing that I think about "it's a roundabout, you must be in second gear" or "you are turning onto a minor road, you must shift down". But I don't always remember. After about 6 months I stopped panicking quite as much, and then it seemed like we were actually practising driving, rather than just combatting fear.

It does improve, just slowly! Things have become (mostly) habit, that I thought I would never get the hang of.

Good luck.

It's still a lot of work, though. I am going to have another lesson tomorrow. I think I need about another 8 or 10 really, which is going to cost a lot, but I have to have more practice on roads beyond the test routes, in the country, on the motorway, reading signs and going new places, etc. And in a new car, too. Think we're going to try that tomorrow, which means then I can go out on my own a bit more and see if I can go further than a little square next time!

hi every1
im louise and im 37.i was looking thru internet and came across this great discussion group.read every1s comments and was amazed to read exactly how many ppl feel the way i do about driving.
i have been learning to drive since start of may and had about 25 lessons now.yesterday i sat a mock test and failed it.got 9 minors and a serious.i didnt indicate when changing lane on a dual carriageway.got myself all worked up with this new indepedant driving forgot to indicate.nerves seem to get the better of me.
i to had problems with the gears and when to change up or down.took me about lesson 15 for it to finally sink in.still have difficulties sumtimes going from 4th to 2nd.never know if its in 2nd and will panic when i miss it.my next lesson is tuesday and iv to go over all the mistakes i made on mock test.
hope u all dont mind me posting here

Hi, I haven't been on here for a while. Congrats to clouds and everyone else who has passed.

Tbh, I've been feeling lower than a snakes bottom and on the verge of quitting. Had an awful mock test yesterday, today was my fourth test and as far as I was concerned, it was the end of the road.

But....

I PASSED!!!

Only just (got more minors then on previous tests, but there you go).

I just remember thinking that it was time I had some good luck and if every other person can drive, why not me.

I think I nearly blew the instructor's eardrums, I was screaming that loudly.

Seriously, I am the furthest thing from a natural driver and have really struggled, but I got there in the end.

Congratulations Goth :)

I know what you mean about quitting, I've thought about it numerous times in the past few weeks and, haven't even done a proper test yet. My lesson last week was a total nightmare, I forgot absolutely everything, from how to change gears, what gears I should be in, to which way to turn the wheel doing manouvers. As for one of the reverse round a bend, I could have been a member of starsky and hutch, it was that quick, but probably the best I've done for a long while. All in all it didn't do much for my confidence for my test on thursday.
I have told both my dh and instructor that if I fail I won't be doing any more because I can't stand the stress of lessons, and I've started to get really moody. It's as if I've got bad pmt every week.
Sorry for going on again, that's why I haven't been on for a while, I didn't want to bring anyone else down.
Happy driving everyone x

Yes, please don't let this thread die just when I want to join! I've been having lessons since summer, got my test booked for 8th December, and just taken out a month's insurance so I can practice with my Dad.

Luckily Dad is friends with a driving instructor who's been out with us in the car twice this weekend, which has been really helpful. Even started to understand the whole 'reversing' thing, which is a first!

I'd be gutted if this thread died - surely there must be some more learner drivers out there on Mumsnet?

Hello I'm still here and learning! I've booked my test for feb and have passed the theory now. Despite messing up two clips

I haven't started on manuveures (sp??!) yet but have had 8 hours of lessons. When do you think I'll get cracking on them?

Lessons are going well - so far I stall once a lesson and haven't done too badly driving about. But I'm nervous going out with DH as no dual controls

No reversing yet spooky! Instructor said today we'd start at the next lesson. Lesson today was good - needed a bit of help at times and went up to 55mph on a dual carriageway. It felt really slow going at 30mph once we got back into town did loads of stop - start driving during the school run.

yes around here there are a lot of slow moving traffic jams! All of my lessons from now until Christmas are during the school run so will be getting plenty of practise in. I do get nervous seeing all the school kids though - they like to run out into the road

Hello,
I've not been on this thread for ages, as I was such a misery, I didn't want to put a black cloud over everyone.
Felt like it would never be me driving as I was so shite.

But I passed today!!!!! 3 minors

Didn't tell a soul this time

Hope alls going well for everyone.
Will catch up properly later when I'm not shaking so much I can't type!