Driving Lesson

[Rosenicola]

I have just had my driving lesson and managed to knock a wing mirror off a car.

Bad i know!!

I need to know how to determine how far away from the curb I am as i find it hard.

I know i should look in the wing mirror, but then i sway on the road.

I know i sound like a terrible driver, but everything else is fine.

Any pointers or tricks to make it easier.

Thanks

xxx

[bigmamma]

Hi Rosenicola , don't expect it all to come together too early love .Driving lessons are to teach you to the point where you can pass your test safely but learning to feel at one with your car will only come through experience .
Keep at it love and all the best :-)

[kwicky]

If you knocked off your wing mirror by being too far away from the kerb and hit an oncoming vehicle then obviously you cannot judge the width of your car. You need additional lessons for this. You sound as if you are concentrating too much on your bonnet rather than looking further ahead.

[Rosenicola]

Thanks Bigmamma xx

That's what my instructor said.

I need to look ahead, but then i swerve away from the curb, i can't win - :-(

I'm sure it will come with practice as u said...
Thanks
xx

[Panic Button]

There is no substitute for experience. You need to build time behind the wheel.

[warpig3]

PMSL <Rosenicola, I just had my second driving lesson tonight amd managed to reverse the car up the kerb, i was sooooo embarrassed. but hey, sod it, I am sure these instructors have seen everything under the sun so am not that worried. And as I like to think of it, if the stupidest person I know can drive then it cant be that difficult, just practice. Stick with it, that what I intend to do.

Good luck.
warpig

PS listen to bigmamma, she is right!

[Rosenicola]

Thaks WP xx

Just my instructor made me feel so bad going on about the cost of the mirror and stuff.

Honestly, his temples were bulging through anger.

I felt soooooo stupid..

I was dying to laugh, but he was just rambling on about how it could have been a child or something, and i supppose he is right.

I'll be fine i'm sure and thanks for the replies PPL.

Goodluck with the driving Warpig, you're probably better than me - LOL

[cazzz1975]

my instructer used to eat pork pies and read the paper during my lesson, then to teach him a lesson I drove the car into the roundabout!,

we parted company soon after, I also lodged a complaint about his noisy eating

[Psychick]

Can I suggest you change your driving instructor?
When I was having lessons, if I was about to do something like that, my instructor wouldve gently steered me away from trouble. (Then tell me to pull over and tell me off!! lol)
This is why they have dual controls and can reach the steering wheel!
If he did not stop you from doing this then either, he didnt see it coming himself (bad instructor!) or he actually let you do it (bad instructor!)
Go get yourself a different one!

[Rosenicola]

I know, i was thinking about getting a new one, but then the new ones dont know your progress and it's a farce.

I'd have punched my instructor if he was smacking his lips eating in my ear when i was trying to drive - LOL

[warpig3]

I have to agree with pyschick, if anything happens while you are driving surely the instructor has responsibility to some degree, yes, I know i reversed up a kerb but this was in an industrial estate and I am sure she would not have let me attempt it if there had been the chance I could have hit something, she was great about it, no damage , just a minor indiscretion, which happens to us all. She certainly didnt make me feel bad about it, well I guess she couldn't , especially when she stalled the car 5 mins later! oh how I laughed (silently to myself)!!!!

Keep at it Rosenicola, if you do i will.

warpig
XX

[Rosenicola]

Thanks Warpig..

I will keep it up and prove the bu$$er wrong

If he has a go at me again i will just say to him waht u guys have said..

Thanks, feel a bit better and i'm not the only one that makes mistakes - LOL

XX

[warpig3]

Yeehaa, see you at the next Formula One race then <rosenicola, I will be the irish bird on the hot dog stand!!!!!

[bigmamma]

If you don't feel your instructor did all he could to avert the incident then he wasn't doing his job properly. He was totally in the wrong to lose his rag and blame you !!!
You are his responsibility and should remain calm and in control at all times .

[bigmamma]

that should read ....you are his responsibility and he should remain calm and in control at all times :-)

[warpig3]

bigmamma I agree, I wouldn't be learning with someone i didn't feel totally confident about. And i think as you get older you are more aware of the consequenses of your actions, therefore a good instructor is paramount.

[joko]

get the car the right distance from the parked car (should be an arms length) - get in sit straight and find a marker that lines up more or less with the kerb - such as a knobbly bit of the car or windscreen wipers.
as long as the marker is always ''running along'' the kerb you should be find

also do the same with the wheels of the car parked in front of it.

as long as you keep roughly that distance you should be fine - that is a very generous gap though, so be prepared to need to move in a bit in smaller roads.

you could get the instructor to drive right up close to the car and you can find another marker that shows you are too close

my instructor told me this.

[Rosenicola]

I will try this Joko..

Thanks a bunch guys

xxx

[Psychick]

My first instructor was completely useless! We would get to a junction and I would have to interrupt her babbling on about her next holiday or shopping to ask which way to go! She was getting me to drive on dual carriageways and round the town where I live without even having given me a lesson on reversing or emergency stops!!
Needless to say, I changed and after one lesson, my new instructor knew exactly where I was and knew what I needed to be taught/work on. Seriously, change your instructor before he lets you have a serious accident!!
I dont be hard on yourself, its not actually your fault, its his!!

[Bob906]

Hi Rosienicola---Joko is right if you find a nobbly bit that you can see easily like a windscreen washer jet in the middle of the bonnet, that will help. I tried it with my grand-daughter and she is perfect every time

Best of luck with your lessons and don't give up

[kwicky]

Never ever go with one of these one man band driving outfits. The car is their livelyhood and cannot be off the road even for 1 day. Better to stick with a larger reputable company as they will have spare cars in case of an accident.