Learning to Drive class 3

last SG · 2004-03-26T17:18:54+00:00

It is true. I am lucky to meet a nice tester (Mr Chua). I striked the kerb in S course, a stupid mistake, 10 points lost. Later on the road, I also made seve...

swenn SG

Hi .

I only attended 8 driving lessons so far but my previous lesson was very bad . The instructor , I met for first time say I everything did wrongly and I learnt nothing in all my previous lessons leh .

Can anyone give me tips on driving and turning into a filter lane .
Which method will turn nicely cause I keep making wide turning my instructor say.

Here are the mistakes he told me :
1. wrong method use for looking at rear mirror .
2. wrong position of leg after release clutch.
3. weak in steering the wheel
4. make wide turnings
5. throwing the clutch and pressing too hard on the acelerator
6. car will shift to the right m can't keep e car in the middle of the land.

omg ..... sigh sigh
then the instructor very bad kindda like sneer at me .

ntu slacker SG

hand over hand method
sharp bends change to 2nd gear and turn rapidly... once the front wheels cross e apex

i mean rapdily....

gradual bend 3rd gear also can lah... and turn staedily. not too fast or too slow

u BBDC?
alot of nasty instructors there... but they mean no harm. just book in advance and u will get ur usual one... so no worries.

swenn SG

yesterday the one I met is my usual one , got 2 . but previouslly I got 4 last minutes boooking . he quiet mad at that , grumble grumble grumble .

So low morale now then he like give up of me like that somemore.

But it not like I dun want to learnt or a bad student . I think I wll prefer him to tell me straight the correction instead .

swenn SG

do I turn rapidly at the turning point right? hand over hand ar

tetsumi SG

actually the worse the instructor the more likely u will pass, cos if he's strict wif u then u will learn even better... that's wat i think.. haha...

ok... i tell u how i turn into filter lane, not 100% correct but can make it lahz... Mr. Green
1) when approaching filter lane, signal left n check left blind spot, prepare to drop gear to gear 2
2) when inside filter lane, brake a little n drop to gear 2
3) c if got pedestrian anot, if got then stop, if dun have then proceed up a little bit.
4) then c ur right side got car anot, if dun have then u check ur left blind spot for motorcycles b4 u move off

that's it...

1. wrong method use for looking at rear mirror .
ans: hmm.. ur wrong method for looking at rear mirror wat does it means? tot juz use ur eyes look at the mirror every 5 - 10 sec for a short glance?

2. wrong position of leg after release clutch.
ans: wrong position ah? where do u place ur leg? i always place mine on the floor board near the clutch, can rest left leg oso mahz.. LoL! Mr. Green

3. weak in steering the wheel
ans: always use both hands to hold the steering wheels. hold it a bit firm when u going to make a turn cos there will be a force pulling ur steering. it is called power steering i think.. not that sure wat it's called.

4. make wide turnings
ans: this depends a lot on ur judgement n control of the car, if u always make wide turnings hor, next time at a turn, u remind urself to turn more...

5. throwing the clutch and pressing too hard on the accelerator
ans: throw clutch ah... haha.. u sound like me... last time i always do that 1.. then car jerk n jerk... this 1 u have to rely on urself liaoz, must keep reminding urself to release gently... practise more... that's the only way.
pressing too hard on accelerator is for the lesson called Rapid Acceleration. the way to overcome pressing too hard on the accelerator is to have a feel of the acceleration of the car, if u feel that the car is slowly accelerating, step a bit more. if u feel the car is accelerating too fast, slow a bit.. this 1 u have to depend on ur judgement.

6. car will shift to the right n can't keep e car in the middle of the lane
ans: actually to correct this error hor, i try to steer the car to the centre of the lane by steering the car till the driver seat is near the centre of the lane. cos the lane is very big for the car, so if the driver seat is near the centre of the lane, then u will be more or less in the centre of the lane already.

ok lahz... my post super long... hope can help u... Laughing
ans:

swenn SG

thanks tetsumi!
I also dunno why he suddenly say I put my left leg wrong . I put on the floor facing e front of the clutch . he want me to put beside the clutch Rolling Eyes

I think my turning I really need change . will work hard on it .

I still have the problem of changing wrong gears Embarassed

He also say I tip my head when I look at the mirror tell me to roll my eye ball . very strict~~

[email protected] SG

turning wide?
turn the steering wheel more, and a bit faster, or else, go slower.

[email protected] SG

pratice makes perfect.
just do it more often.
but yah left leg must put next to clutch. wrong gear problem, the trick is to go easy on it.
when u shift into 2nd, make sure it has been pushed all the way to the left from neutral b4 u pull it back.
going into 3rd, either push it up or pull it down from 2 or 1, then gently let the gear stick guide your hand back towards the N position, then push foward firmly. from 1 to 2, 2 to 1, 3 to 4 or 4 to 3, simply push foward or pull back firmly

swenn SG

orh orh Sad

[email protected] SG

yup.
the same steering angle, gives you different degrees of turning at diff speeds. so if u find that u can't easily change the way n how fast u turn the wheel, then lower your vehicle speed.

ntu slacker SG

yup apex = turning pt

drive smoothly. will get u lots of brownie points. dress well. and look confident. even if its not a test, he will dare not scold u.. cos quite a few instructors have impression that young ppl are reckless and all tt

and slow down before turning. shift to a lower gear if necc.

always change lanes smoothly with minimal checking of mirrors. excessive checking can distract u from obstructions ahead.

mmm these enough??

on my 5th lesson onli... ask HENG. he more pro Laughing

Theatre Of Dreams SG

haha i'm on 10 lessons already, but only met my group instructor 4 times. the other 6 times: all 6 different instructors Rolling Eyes bo bian most of them i booked last min during the 1-wk hols...

when comments are made, just give some slight response like 'orh', 'ok' to show u appreciate lor. don't be so easily demoralised, scoldings make u a better driver... i had an instructor who was of few words; phew..., i thought. but after that another instructor came by and corrected many flaws of mine, which were unmentioned of by the previous instructor... so now, who'll u prefer?

srx70 SG

Swenn, I suppose the problem lies with the instructor more then it lies with you. Driving is something that takes a lot of practice, time and experience to get used to. It is very normal for a new driver to feel confuse and loss when trying manipulate something he/she is not familiar. Situation will be even worse if there is person beside you keep scolding you. The more you get scolded, the more you will be de-moralized, and the worse you will perform. It you are taking a driving course from driving school, suggest that you check with the clerk if you can change to another more patient instructor. If you are learning from some private instructor, fire him and get another one. As a general guide for novice driver, try to adapt the following habits when making a turn.

1) Always check your blind spot before you turn. Look out for
motorcyclist.

2) Try to turn slowly and adjust your wheel accordingly. If there's a
vehicle infront of you, try to stay inline with that car and position
your car with it.

3) For now, do not change gear when you turn. Change it only
after you finished the turn.

4) Release the wheel gently. The car will self centre by itself.

Hope this helps.

Theatre Of Dreams SG

car drifting to the right could be due to u taking ur eyes off the road for too long. maybe due to u checking the mirrors for too long, or looking down while changing gear, so watch it. don't keep ur eyes off-road for more than 2 secs.

one way to counter wide turning is to turn ur car to the curvature of the kerb. once u see ur car drifting too far off from the curve then u steer in more(gauge yourself a clearance to prevent rear wheel from kissing kerb). but of course be prepared to return in time as the path straightens. for right-turn at junctions, try to start ur turning pt earlier, then keep as close as possible to the centre line.

for the clutch, release it slowly to the biting pt and Hold it there for a Sec before releasing fully. this should prevent the jerk caused by clutch throwing. haha the accelerator is the most sensitive pedal, so u gotta be gentle on it. learn to balance the 2 flank pedals, ur gear changing will improve surely.

these are problems we all learners meet, just have to analyse and piece up the solutions, surely can fine tune wan... performance will improve with every lesson, as experience builds up...

be proactive! cheers~ Wink

i_am_sam SG

That sounds exactly like me. I am facing the same problems. Hope more pros give their advice here.

swenn SG

thanks thanks maybe I dress too causal , that lesson happen to wear tees and jeans look like student .

I dun mind much him scolding at my mistakes .
But then I think he shouldn't demoralise me which was what he was doing lor . I still remember the last question he ask hor
" when your next lesson"
" my ans"
" htmpt good luck"

like what the .. throughout the lesson I was paying attention to his words and trying to adapt to his teaching ways. In the end got this type of attitude from him like I am a problem student like that ..

you know his english commands hor I really can't catch lor . he keep say "left leg left leg left leg" I was like "huh what"
Only after a while I know what he is trying to say.

[email protected] SG

relax. some of them really chao beng one

digicharat SG

hahaha yup i met a few.
still remember got once one of them keep talking cock with me during my lesson. so didnt motice the car move slightly into the opposit traffic. lucky in curcuit. so all driving slowly. Laughing

tetsumi SG

every instructor got different teaching techniques...
last time me at BBDC my grp got 2 instructors,
instructor A taught me technique A, instructor B taught me technique B.
in the end A told me B's technique was wrong, then B told me A's technique was wrong. then i went wtf???
in the end i kao myself lor... i tried a bit of A n B's technique.

tilt ur head to look at the mirror hor...
the instructor is strict wif u got reason 1...
cos hor, during TP test, if only ur eyes roll to check the mirror,
the tester cant c whether u got check rear mirror anot...
that's y it's always better to kay siao tilt ur head a little bit...
this is wat my instructor told me...
my instructor at BBDC last time was very gd to me..
he taught me everything he noe... Razz

[email protected] SG

haha but i prefer an instructor who will talk with me, as opposed to those "stony silence" kind