My 1st Driving lesson tomorrow

Minibiker · 16 Feb 2020 at 18:18

Hi all

So tomorrow I have my first driving lesson, not feeling nervous at all, I'm actually quite excited to get in the car.. I passed my theory a couple of weeks ago and have been waiting for my instructor to have some free slots... The first lesson is a hour and a half and starts at 6pm..

Anyone remember what they done on their first lesson? Probably not a lot!

Also, would it be a good idea to book a block of 10 hours? I know it won't take me long to be ready for my test as I have road experience on a motorbike for 12+ years

Cheers

Uncle Petey · 16 Feb 2020 at 18:22

My first lesson was going somewhere quiet to get some practice with low speed maneuvers and clutch control, then he put me straight out on busy main roads lol.
Your years of bike experience should give you a big head start, so it's mainly about getting used to the car. I'd book 5-10 hours and take it from there.

Minibiker · 16 Feb 2020 at 18:53

Uncle Petey said:
My first lesson was going somewhere quiet to get some practice with low speed maneuvers and clutch control, then he put me straight out on busy main roads lol.
Your years of bike experience should give you a big head start, so it's mainly about getting used to the car. I'd book 5-10 hours and take it from there.

That's exactly what I thought the first lesson would be, car control etc i think once I've got to grips with the controls I will be fine with driving

Phemo · 16 Feb 2020 at 19:37

You shouldn't have any problems since you know the rules of the road already. I suspect you'll just need to get used to using a clutch pedal and having slightly crappier visibility than you're used to on a bike and then you'll be away.

petriodet · 16 Feb 2020 at 19:44

I passed my car test a few years ago after riding motorcycles for four year, first lesson moved quick as I got to grips with the clutch straight away after the second lesson he booked my test and I done a further 4 1hour lessons which were just practicing the parking and we drove a couple of the test routes but I passed with flying colours, was all easy for me due to riding the motorbike. You should have nothing to worry about.

tom_e · 16 Feb 2020 at 19:47

You'll need to get used to reduced visibility, massive size increase, massively decreased performance, parking/maneuvers, people treating you like a learner even though you won't be crawling along like your standard Iearner and being stuck in traffic.

It's good to have the road sense head start but don't let that fool you that learning the car nuances will be straight forward and relearning to use the road in a car.

chaparral · 16 Feb 2020 at 20:09

Minibiker said:
Anyone remember what they done on their first lesson? Probably not a lot!

Mine wasn't a lesson as I had my own car

But I never forget as my second day of driving I was driving in the snow all day back in 1987 :eek:

Minibiker · 16 Feb 2020 at 20:17

Phemo said:
You shouldn't have any problems since you know the rules of the road already. I suspect you'll just need to get used to using a clutch pedal and having slightly crappier visibility than you're used to on a bike and then you'll be away.

Yeah road sense is pretty bang on and I'm very patient when on the road so fingers crossed it will go smooth.

petriodet said:
I passed my car test a few years ago after riding motorcycles for four year, first lesson moved quick as I got to grips with the clutch straight away after the second lesson he booked my test and I done a further 4 1hour lessons which were just practicing the parking and we drove a couple of the test routes but I passed with flying colours, was all easy for me due to riding the motorbike. You should have nothing to worry about.

WOW! That moved quick for you then, that's how I hope things will go for me, I'm a pretty quick learner with most things so hoping driving will be another thing I'll learn quick.

tom_e said:
You'll need to get used to reduced visibility, massive size increase, massively decreased performance, parking/maneuvers, people treating you like a learner even though you won't be crawling along like your standard Iearner and being stuck in traffic.

It's good to have the road sense head start but don't let that fool you that learning the car nuances will be straight forward and relearning to use the road in a car.

Very true, visibility will be a big factor with all the blind spots and pillars, I'm pretty confident I'll be able to keep up with the flow of traffic when driving unlike some first time road users

chaparral said:
Mine wasn't a lesson as I had my own car

But I never forget as my second day of driving I was driving in the snow all day back in 1987

Ohhh I bet that was fun! Atleast you got confidence when it comes to the snowy months

chaparral · 16 Feb 2020 at 20:32

Minibiker said:
Ohhh I bet that was fun! Atleast you got confidence when it comes to the snowy months

It was great fun specially with that first car being an old Austin mini 1000

Minibiker · 16 Feb 2020 at 20:38

chaparral said:
It was great fun specially with that first car being an old Austin mini 1000

Bet you felt like a rally driver doing a swedish stage of the WRC

Uncle Petey · 18 Feb 2020 at 16:14

So how did it go?

Minibiker · 18 Feb 2020 at 16:44

Uncle Petey said:
So how did it go?

Fantastic thank you for asking... The instructor said for a first lesson he was really impressed and didn't do a normal first lesson... We literally pulled up at a quiet spot and he said 'go on then show me how you'd pull away' I done that and drove round the block a few times before heading home.. On the way home we stopped at a set of lights and he then said 'see you've just drove all that way and I didn't tell you anything, your mirror use and road sense is spot on'

When we got back to mine he said 'this won't take you long to be ready for a test'

So overall it's looking pretty good after the first lesson :cool:

Uncle Petey · 18 Feb 2020 at 18:01

Nice one!

Skynet5 · 18 Feb 2020 at 21:58

Good luck.

Welcome to the traffic jams.

Minibiker · 18 Feb 2020 at 22:00

lnoton said:
Good luck.

Welcome to the traffic jams.

Thank you... I'll only be stuck in traffic when at work as I'm buying another motorbike once I've got my car licence sorted

Minibiker · 22 Feb 2020 at 21:17

A little update, Friday i had my second lesson which went very well... We went off to a side road to try out parallel parking, He asked if i wanted any help or if i wanted to give it a go on my own, I said ill try it alone.... Well i done really well and backed it straight in, He asked me to do it again just incase the first time was a tad lucky.... I done it the second time just as good with great observations. He then told me to head into the town where we done a few large roundabouts and once again i sailed through them with ease.

Its starting to look like all this road experience on the Motorbike has paid off for me, I have a lesson on Monday and after that lesson he is going to book me in for my test middle of March

Next lesson he wants to see how i get on with Bay Parking

jsmoke · 22 Feb 2020 at 21:30

Many moons ago, can hardly remember. I vaguely remember being very nervous though for the test.

Minibiker · 22 Feb 2020 at 21:33

jsmoke said:
Many moons ago, can hardly remember. I vaguely remember being very nervous though for the test.

Yeah i think I'll be a little nervous on the day, I'm really relaxed when I'm in the car with my instructor but when someone is marking you as you go it's probably going to get them nerves going

Minibiker · 30 Aug 2020 at 19:12

Hi all

Sorry to bump my old thread but have a question to ask you experienced drivers...

Is there anyway to tell if your close enough to the kerb when pulling up? Like do you use anything on the car as a reference point?

jsmoke · 30 Aug 2020 at 19:15

My first lesson was around September 1993, I remember I was very nervous for the test though.