Confessions of a Driving Instructor

Since the last lesson I have been out for a practice drive with my co-trainee, during which we attempted the manoeuvres again (but this time with more accuracy!)

This lesson I found I have improved on all of the points from the first lesson. The observation part of manoeuvring I was better at this time, but I still panic when other vehicles approach (such as when doing a turn in the road). I am now approaching situations more carefully, but I am still a bit too eager to accelerate with the flow of traffic, rather than allowing a safe gap to build. My steering is better (well, I didn’t get any negative comments from my trainer, so I think it is better).

We again drove around Burgess Hill and the surrounding towns, which helped because I am beginning to recognise some of the roads and junctions, so I am beginning to know what to expect.

After the Part 2 Induction session I have been trying to improve my driving, and today was my first check with the trainer of my ability (or otherwise!).

For the first lesson, we drove around Burgess Hill and the surrounding towns and villages, with a short excursion to Brighton.

Overall, I don’t think the session went too badly – the trainer didn’t try to jump out of the car whilst I was driving, which is a good sign

Now on to the bad points:

• My manoeuvres (such as a turn in the road) were done terribly, with me remembering very little of what I was taught when I learnt to drive 14 years ago.
• I was too fast approaching situations, meaning my driving is reactive rather than proactive.
• I also was not steering correctly – it was described by the trainer as driving like a racing driver (not feeding the steering wheel through my hands, so my hands would remain at about the same height on the steering wheel at all times)

Oh well – it looks like some practice is needed before the next lesson!

The Part 2 Induction session was held in the same location as the Part1 Induction, but was only attended by four trainees – I don’t know if the Part 1 Induction scared the other three away, or if they were having their Part 2 Induction on a different day

We were guided through the Part 2 training and exam details by our trainer, including being shown a video of someone on their Part 2 test. The driving standard appears to be very high – I just hope I can ”un-learn” my bad habits!

After another overview of the Part 3 training, we were split into two pairs (so we can help each other and learn together) and we arranged our first driving lesson – only 6 days away!