Learner Driver

[Lord Tyrion]

My son is currently taking driving lessons and his teacher has said we can now start taking him on the public roads rather than on industrial estates. Tonight I decided to let him drive 8-9 miles to a nearby town. A good mix of roads.

His gear changes are good, driving generally is sound. I did have two FFS moments though on bends. On both occasions I did the slow down a bit, slow down a bit, SLOW DOWN. The calm voice got a little stronger. After the second one he told me this was the first time he had driven in the dark and on the unlit roads he wasn't sure where the bends were. In my calmest voice I suggested that if he was unsure then perhaps slowing down was the best course of action. Probably right dad came the reply. Not kidding I thought but kept to myself.

Back out again tomorrow but I'll take him a different route that is a bit better lit until he has more experience.

Any good stories where you have been out with learner drivers.

 

[Imurg]

How long have you got...?😁

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I supplemented both my daughters driving lessons with taking them a nearby industrial estate doing nothing but parking,as well as pulling away from junctions in 2nd gear and basically anything that involved good clutch control. Also went to a nearby public golf course thats car parl is on a nice slope. Had them both doing 360 circles backwards at a constant pace, again clutch control was essential. Eldest passed first time, youngest second. Both are excellent at any type of parking, and can get in and out of the smallest of spaces without flapping.
As you can tell, I left the main roads driving to the instructer in general as I felt if they had control of the clutch without thinking about it, they were halfway there.

 

[PIng]

Did the insurance company sting you when you added a learner to your policy? Mine wanted a ridiculous amount, so I thought the money would be better spent on lessons.

 

[snell]

I added my girlfriend on my old car when she was learning. Let her drive for the first time....1 mile later we've had a colossal argument and the engine has steam coming from whilst the engine warning is blarring away.....never again.

 

[ADB]

Never teach your wife to driver..,,,no good can come from it, believe me

 

[ScienceBoy]

Never teach your wife to driver..,,,no good can come from it, believe me

But what if she gets a handsome young instructor....

 

[ManinBlack]

Never teach your wife to driver..,,,no good can come from it, believe me

I was advised "If your wife wants to learn to drive, don't stand in her way"

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Did the insurance company sting you when you added a learner to your policy? Mine wanted a ridiculous amount, so I thought the money would be better spent on lessons.

We took a standalone policy for him. You can get them for fixed periods, 1 month, 3, 6 etc. They are only valid when they are provisional drivers, the idea being they are safe then as a qualified driver is always in the car with them. It was not too bad but we know it goes through the roof once he passes so he may or may not go on the insurance at that point.

We have done plenty of driving on industrial estates, our housing estate but he is ready for the open road now. We were careful to get approval from his instructor before doing so to make sure that he was ready. He is getting lessons once a week but I think getting out and practicing inbetween will help him. Last night was actually a good experience for him even if it got my heart going a little. I will take him out again tonight and we will work on what troubled him yesterday.

 

[Tashyboy]

Not a learner driver, but when my lad was a kid, I had set up an exchange visit with a kids team in Italy. The team and parents arrived on the Thursday, and the Mayor
( Ceriano Laghetto) and her two friends turned up at East Midlands airport on the Saturday. I picked them up. All three were drop dead gorgeous. the Mayor dropped straight into " civil mode".
Anyway I chucked there bags in the boot and they jumped in the car. I jumped in the car and sat there for ten seconds. They were chatting amongst themselves. The Mayor said " Andy, andiamo", ( we are going). I said "SI" and passed her the car keys. She looked shocked, then realised she had got in the drivers side of the car. I have never seen anyone go so red. Her pals were giving her some serious leg pulling. We were laughing til we got to the M1. In all honesty it helped her to relax.

 

[Slime]

I supplemented both my daughters driving lessons with taking them a nearby industrial estate doing nothing but parking,as well as pulling away from junctions in 2nd gear and basically anything that involved good clutch control. Also went to a nearby public golf course thats car parl is on a nice slope. Had them both doing 360 circles backwards at a constant pace, again clutch control was essential. Eldest passed first time, youngest second. Both are excellent at any type of parking, and can get in and out of the smallest of spaces without flapping.
As you can tell, I left the main roads driving to the instructer in general as I felt if they had control of the clutch without thinking about it, they were halfway there.

Why 2nd gear, is your gearbox faulty? Seriously though, why pull away in 2nd?

 

[Imurg]

Why 2nd gear, is your gearbox faulty? Seriously though, why pull away in 2nd?

Improves clutch control...
Got to be smooth to not stall it.
I use it a lot for some that are too quick off the clutch...

 

[Crazyface]

My son has just had a "lesson" with the GPO test person who checks you're safe to drive their vehicles. She asked him a question afterwards "When do you signal?"

Ok then what do you think her answer was?

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Why 2nd gear, is your gearbox faulty? Seriously though, why pull away in 2nd?

Because it highlights the clutch control they need.
Gearbox was fine (both cars being a Postman Pat style Micra) but after trying to pull away in second using first was a doddle.
Of course, they had been using first before I did that with them, but anything to help their clutch control was my thought process. Similarly I had them pulling away from rest using only the clutch, with the car on tick over. Again, in a 1 litre petrol engined car clutch control is paramount to get the thing going without stalling.
The confidence it gave them not having to think or worry about their clutch use was immense and I believe helped both of them pass as quickly as they did. The first one even took her test in her own car such was the confidence she and her instructor had.

 

[Rooter]

My son has just had a "lesson" with the GPO test person who checks you're safe to drive their vehicles. She asked him a question afterwards "When do you signal?"

Ok then what do you think her answer was?

no idea, but i always thought it was:

Mirror > Signal > Maneuver

 

[Imurg]

Mirrors.....👍

 

[Blue in Munich]

Or Manouevre - Signal - Mirror if you drive a London bus……..

 

[Golfmmad]

We have done plenty of driving on industrial estates, our housing estate but he is ready for the open road now. We were careful to get approval from his instructor before doing so to make sure that he was ready. He is getting lessons once a week but I think getting out and practicing inbetween will help him. Last night was actually a good experience for him even if it got my heart going a little. I will take him out again tonight and we will work on what troubled him yesterday.

Every little helps, as they say.

What I did with my son, like you, after approval from his Instructor, was to take him through the middle of Brighton so he had lots of practice at lane discipline. It's my view that being in the correct lane in lots of situations these days, including dual carrigeways and roundabouts, is paramount to being able to drive safely.
With so many cars on the road now, along with sometimes very impatient drivers, having the confidence with good lane discipline makes for safer stress free driving.

 

[Fish]

Or Manouevre - Signal - Mirror if you drive a London bus……..

or just weave in and out at great speed and give impolite hand signals to the beeps if you live in London or drive in and around it regularly :smirk:

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Just been out again. Great tip about setting off in 2nd gear. Really useful and I will be using that again. Clutch control at slow speeds is something I need to get him to practice.