My driving lessons thread

gam3r

gam3r

gam3r

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London..
Wahay i turned 17 on March 2nd and i booked with the AA, with some guy my sister passed with first time(thats bloody amazing). The AA cost a mint though, £24 a lesson here in London, but luckily i got a few vouchers - 3 lessons for the price of two :D

So i had my first lesson on Tuesday the 14th. - My first outing with a manual car(only driven auto before)

In this lesson the guy told me about the car and its controls etc, then he let me get in and start of down the hill. I went around a few round abouts in residential areas and right turns and give ways. I managed to stall the car like 3 times during 30mins of driving at giveways(damn that clutch - im always lifting it too early). The instructor let me go into second gear a few times as well. All in all, not a bad lesson, i thought i did pretty good for a first time manual driver.

And today - March 16th, Thursday, another lesson - considerably more difficult than the first.

This time i set of on a flat road, not a hill and went around a few more roundabouts in residential areas, right turns, give ways, curved hills and something new - left turns. This time the clutch gave me more problems than the first lesson, but i got it sorted by the end of the lesson because i found out i wasn't pushing the clutch down quick enough after i had braked. I still had trouble finding the biting point, so i stalled about 6 times ( oh no). Also, this time i went on some busy roads with a decent amount of traffic ( it was coming up to 5:30pm) and i did ok. Not a bad lesson, the instructor says im doing really good after two lessons. In this lesson also, i switched between gear 1 and 2 more frequently.


My problem is i let go of the clutch way to early sometimes. It kinda hurts my clutch operating foot but i don't know why. Maybe i should put my seat back more?


Anyway, next lessons are next tuesday and thursday, 21st and 23rd respectively.

I'll try to keep this thread updated with each lesson, but i can't promise anything :)


The thing that is worrying me most is, the fact that i have my theory booked on the 1st of april and i have done no studying what so ever! :(
 
Hey there :)

Yep the new Focus (05'?) Nice car..


All the online theory tests ive done so far ive failed lol!

I think the problem is that my seat is too close to the wheel, moving it back may help maybe.
 
Right know, im using this book to revise, although i haven't even read it properly yet - Its so boring!

0115524495.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
 
Had another today: 21/03/06

This time i did what i did in the second lesson, but this time i moved up into 3rd whic really feels awkward because of the direction you have to shift. This time instead of driving around residential areas i went on to the main roads, about 4 different ones. The most noticable was the busy streatham high road(goes straight through brixton and into central london). I was pretty good on the main roads, but i did stall at a zebra crossing :( still some problems with the ol' clutch but i was getting better towards the end of the lesson. Also i shifted from 3 straight to 1, which felt weird as well. The max speed i drove at was around 35mph on main roads, but i went at 30mph in a 20mph zone lol! My instructor didn't say anything though.

And now a question. The clutch is getting me here, i want to know how many lessons till you don't have to worry about it so much, as in it becomes "natural"?

Next lesson is thursday, and i have to bring a bumper cheque of £264 for 12 lessons. Ouch. :(
 
MrMatteh said:
took me a few lessons to fully get clutch control. i can remember thinking 'im never going to get this'

but you do, trust me :). comes very easy in the end, don't even notice it
Click to expand...


Thats exactly what im thinking at the moment. Fussy clutch...Pffffffft :eek: It only took you a few lessons? :(. Prior to these 3 lessons i've never touched a manual car.
 
Block booking hurts the wallet, but i get discount when i block book. I dont really have the opportunity to go practice with my dad because they think i cant control the car after 3 lessons only and my sister wouldn't let me touch our only manual vehicle...this coupled with being in london = :(. Got me theory on the 1st April, almost finished reading the highway code book but i've done nothing at all to do with hazard and blah blah..
 
Im in greater london, area of streatham bordering norbury(croydon borough). I like the guy im being instructed by, he taught my sister and some other people i know and i get along with him.
 
This guy just drives around my area, he is very good he lets me take over the car from the start and leaves all the waffle out. He lets me book to my convenience as well :). I know its costly, but i like the quality of teaching so far, plus you get to learn in a nice car 05 where as if you went with a private little firm on the high street you may have to use a 2 year old car or something .:)
 
here we go again - Today, 23/03/06 Another lesson

This lesson i did pretty much the same as in the previous lesson, getting to grips with main roads (London road in particular). At the start of the lesson i must have screwed up so bad and stalled like 3 times in a row while braking around a corner and starting off again due to traffic. The instructor got kinda frustrated but he was ok, he took me into a side road and showed me a better method for clutch control, we went through it and since then i didn't stall once! YAY, im getting to terms with the clutch nicely now i think i've almost mastered it :D. Also im getting much more used to traffic, shifting in 3 etc. Im happy that the clutch has finally clicked into place. I still need more practice of course with it, but after the first 15 mins of the lesson when i was talked through the clutch by the instructer, i never made the car jerk at all afterwards. :D :D


Didn't go into gear 4. Is that normally used on normal roads, or is it for dual carriagways or something?

This was my 4th lesson :)

Peace out
 
Manuvers as in 3 point turns, parralel parking? That does sound drab...Worst thing is i think ill probably suck at it. But hey, practice makes perfect ;)
 
hi ZG. I do the same thing! I rest my foot on the clutch! It doesn't hurt anymore that much, just sometimes when in traffic maybe. I need to get out of that habbit of keeping my foot over the clutch. I discovered that my left foot was too tense so i loosened it up a lil and was more smoth with the clutch. :D
 
Lol..Sorry i haven't updated this thread in AGES..you know college work etc.

Now im on my 13th lesson. I'm good with clutch control now, i found the perfect seat position which is comfy and i rarely stall. I haven't stalled in the past 4 lessons actually :D

My instructor says im doing well and i should book the practical mind june and he said i just need to fine tune everything such as gear changes etc but nothing major. I have started doing parking now 3point turns/parrallel etc and im generally much more confident. He doesn't let me go onto any silent roads anymore, just busy busy main roads :D

Cya ;)
 
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