Driving Lessons Blog

Dual Carriageway and Multi-lane Roundabouts

2011-11-02T12:51:00.009Z

It is time again for me to update this learning to drive blog of mine to reflect what I have been doing lately with my driving instructor.

In my last lesson I was introduced to driving on dual carriageways, and because I only booked a one hour session we covered joining from traffic lights and t-junctions properly, but only had one attempt using a slip road which was a full talk through by my instructor. In order to make more progress this time and be able to cover a wider range of traffic conditions and speed limits I booked a 2hr lesson with him.

At the beginning of the session as was usual, my instructor started with a recap of the last lesson's main topics, using questions to find out how much I remembered and then went on to mention that we would be doing more practice of dual carriageways, including more slip roads, higher speed limits and roundabouts like Apex corner which I had been hearing out in the Mill Hill/Hendon area!

We had to drive for about 15 minutes before we joined the first dual carriageway (watford way) via traffic lights, there was not a lot of cars around, but we soon encountered a slow moving honda civic car doing about 26mph on the 40mph road so my instructor talked me through overtaking it. He emphasised the importance of MSM, and that I should NEVER change lanes on a dual carriageway without using my mirrors and indicating even if I was only crossing the lane temporarily.

Slip Roads and Dual Carriageways
The first slip road we used to join a dual carriageway was somewhere in Borehamwood, and my instructor chose it because it was very long and it really helped me with understanding the principles of getting the approach right, assessing the speed of cars already on the road and accelerating away from the junction once I decided to join the dual carriageway. Because we used this place a few times I had situations where I had to stop and giveway due to the busy traffic we encountered on one ocassion, my instructor was quick to point out that I should not get confused with joining a motorway which I would have read about in the highway code where YOU MUST NOT STOP ON THE SLIP ROAD! There were some times where I got a bit scared, since some vehicles where going very fast and changing lanes suddenly without even indicating and I almost pulled out in front of them.

The other thing that we did was drive through some of the multi-lane roundabouts like apex and sterling corner and Mill Hill circus, but it was either a left turn or following the road ahead so it wasn't too difficult especially being controlled by traffic lights and most of the times I got stopped, giving me enough time to get prepared. My instructor did say that next time we booked a 2 hour session we will spend more time on these junctions and even pointed me to a roundabouts video he had posted on the internet just to give me an idea of what is involved, especially when turning right on a multi-laned roundabout from a dual carriageway. I also need to work on my driving manuevers, as I sometimes get things mixed up and can't remember which way to steer.

I will update you with how that goes, as I'm a bit busy at work right now, and also have a wedding to help my friend plan (maid of honor).

Driving on Dual Carriageways

2011-04-19T09:44:00.005+01:00

While I haven't posted in this blog recently, my driving lessons have been progressing slowly but steadily.

I recently had a full 2 hour session learning the full details of how to drive on dual carriageways.

After giving me a driving lesson briefing on dual carriageways, my instructor took me to the first situation of joining a dual carriageway via traffic lights. This was very easy to deal with, and my instructor reminded me to move immediately into the left hand lane so that I didn't hold up faster vehicles and force them to undertake (pass me) in the left lane.
Once in the road, I was then given tips on how to stay in my lane, and given plenty of practise in making progress not necessarily driving at the upper speed limit, but more about getting used to the traffic conditions and controlling my car.

Next I was introduced to emerging onto a dual carriageway via a T-Junction.
I was informed that on approach I should look out for signs, as it will always be a compulsary left turn and because of this the dsa examiner will not give any directions, also there might be a speed limit sign which will not only let me know the maximum I can drive at, but how fast cars on the road I'm about to join will be travelling at.

My driving instructor explained the importance of stopping at the give way and properly assessing the speed of the vehicles on the dual carriageway before deciding if it was safe to emerge (a common failing point on the driving test).
If I find a suitable gap, I need to make progress quickly and pick up speed so that cars don't have to slow down because of me joining the road.

The third and final way of joining a dual carriageway is via a slip road, and I only got to try this once during the driving lesson as we were running out of time, and it looked very hard, even though my instructor gave me a full talk through! He said we will do some more practice in the next session.

First Driving Lesson After Long Break

2011-03-01T14:43:00.004Z

Today I had my first driving lesson after a very long break (over 12 months), and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

My driving instructor picked me up at the agreed location, as I was not home, and he mentioned we will start driving on some quiet roads just to get me warmed up and see how my basic skills were.
I settled down quickly completing my cockpit drill without forgeting anything, got the car prepared and moved off smoothly without jerking the car, and was pretty pleased with that, as I thought I would start off rough.

The road we started off on was a bit narrow with cars parked on both sides, and my driving instructor had to remind me of the lesson about keeping the car in the middle of the road, as I was too close to vehicles on the left. It wasn't busy, so I didn't have any traffic to meet, after dealing with a few junctions turning left and right and emerging, we joined a main high street, where I had to avoid bus lanes, deal with pedestrian crossings, and drive up to the 30MPH speed limit (I actually exceeded it, and my driving instructor had to prompt me to bring it down), I wasn't doing too badly, until we got to traffic lights.

I'm not sure if it was the traffic lights or the dual carriageway, but my instructor said that I became unsettled despite having dealt with both before. Once on the dual carriageway road I calmed down again, it only had a 40MPH speed limit, and we didn't stay on it for long, but continued on local roads, high street and then it was time to do the turn in the road 3 point manuever for the very first time in over 12 months.

My instructor asked me if I wanted to attempt this on my own without any reminders from him, and I said Yes. The attempt was not good, the car went too fast, I didn't make proper use of the POM Routine and hit the kerb!
My driving instructor reminded me of the correct procedure including clutch control and we practised this for a copule of times, before I knew it time was up, and the driving lesson was over. Now I remember why I always booked 2 hour driving lessons with my instructor, I learnt more and spent less time trying to warm up.

I have decided that I'm going to continue, so will let you know how my next session goes which is booked for this weekend Saturday.

Resuming Driving Lessons Tomorrow

2011-02-28T12:08:00.005Z

After a very long break (almost a year and half), I am going to be resuming driving lessons with NW London instructor tommorrow.

I spoke to him over the weekend, have a half day booked at work (got other things to sort out as well), and will start off with a 1 hour refresher driving lesson just to see how I get on, and what I still remember.

A lot of things have changed while I've been working hard, but it seems that my plans of buying a car might have to wait due to new car insurance laws being introduced in Spring 2011. The quotes I've been getting are very expensive for the VW Fox I wanted to get (2nd hand), so I might have to wait till I get my Full UK licence and even do a Pass plus course to lower my insurance cost (hopefully first time pass).

I will let you know how it goes on the blog, and hopefully this time I will not allow anything to distract me from my goal and taking regular driving lessons.

The driving test has changed!

2010-10-16T16:10:00.005+01:00

I just found out from my Mill Hill driving instructor that the driving test changed on the 4th of October! He sent me a text asking if I had passed and obtained my full licence since he hadn't heard from me for a while.

On giving him a call, I now found out that I will have to do something new called independent driving on the test. I think i'm going to have to use some of my holiday time to get this driving lessons thing sorted out, as otherwise I will not make the time available to get the required tuition, because I even stopped preparing for the theory test which I already booked and had to cancel at the last minute.

Independent Driving Video

My work is going well, and I'm grateful that I do have a job, but I also want to get this UK licence as well so something's got to give.

I'll update this blog if anything happens soon.

Driving lessons break is BAD!

2010-05-27T12:15:00.003+01:00

I can't believe that it is almost one year since I last sat in a car's driver seat.
For this very reason last saturday I had a lesson with a different driving school in Hampstead Heath because I wanted to find out how much I still remembered as I still haven't decided if I'm going to be returning to taking regular driving lessons so I'm not ready to face my old instructor (nothing wrong with him, just too embaraced that I feel I've let him down for not sticking to my original commitment).

The driving lesson was only one hour long, and while I haven't totally forgotten everything I've been taught, the first 15 minutes or so where very frightning and nervous for me. I was making a lot of basic mistakes, improper use of POM routine, even MSM at Junctions was rubbish, I forgot which way to turn the steering while performing the turn in the road, sometimes it was like I had never been taught these things, and I was totally disappointed with the parallel parking maneuver, as I didn't manage to get it right at all, I should have gone over the video below before the lesson, but I thought I would be fine.

The break from lessons has not been totally a easy choice of mine, it's just that work was really getting hard and demanding and since I last wrote, I've now taken on more responsibilities, and since I'm lucky to have a job in the current economic climate, I can't put it at risk by not using the little time I get to rest and have a life of my own, afterall I don't really need to drive a car living in Hampstead NW3 london.
I reckon that it will take me at least 6 more lessons to get back to the stage I was last year or maybe more.

For the time being, no more driving lessons, so my learning to drive blog will not be updated for a while.

Driving Lessons 2010

2010-01-02T15:55:00.007Z

Happy new year 2010 to all of you! I haven't had any driving lessons for over 6 months and as we enter a new decade, I'm reminded of my dream of getting a full British licence so I can rent or hire a car when required, be it here in Hampstead, or when in holiday in the USA or spain (I have family there).

My Mill Hill based driving instructor sent me a text wishing me the best for 2010, and that kind of reminded me, that I had been learning to drive last year and that I needed to give thought to whether I will continue with my quest this year.

My work situation has improved a bit, and I should be able to juggle my career with taking driving lessons, but I am really going to have to think this through, as I don't want to waste money and have to stop midway again. Last year just before I started my tuition and this driving lessons blog, there had been a strong motivation to learn and pass the DSA test, I had just returned from a trip to the US, and it was impossible for the family I lived with to go anywhere without a car (taxi fares would be too much as they lived out of town) and this made me think of acquiring this life skill even though I don't currently have a need for a car since public transport links are pretty good here in Hampsstead (despite the fare increases in 2010 by transport for London TFL).

I will let you know when I resume lessons, as obviously I will start updating this blog again, but in the meantime I wish all of you in my shoes who are thinking or working towards their goal of a license success and al the best for the year 2010 ahead.

Crash course driving lessons

2009-06-26T12:30:00.007+01:00

In my last driving lessons blog post, I mentioned the fact that my learning process is being put on hold due to late hours at work during the 5 day week, and the need for me to use the weekend to rest and recover in order to have some semblance of a life. I still need to get my full UK licence, and have been considering taking crash course driving lessons as an alternative to my weekly sessions with my instructor which I haven't had now for almost 2 months.

I have been doing some research, looking at various organisations that offer intensive lessons to pass the practical car test in a week or 2 weeks including my NW London driving instructor, and the cost and options vary a lot, ranging from £800 to £2500 for the ones that offer guaranteed test pass options and are residential in nature.
One thing that is definately evident, is that it is a lot of hard work, you have one chance of passing (though odds are highly in your favour), it is not a 100% guarantee in which case you have to wait 10 days even if you get a free re-test and no charge on the extra tuition.

While I quite like the idea of a crash course of 30 driving lessons to pass the driving test in a week, I don't want to waste almost 14 days of my holidays on learning to drive, and the cost also means that I won't be able to take a proper holiday until next year, so at the moment I'm really undecided on what to do.
What I would really love is was for work to ease of, so I can return to my regular 2hr driving lessons, but due to the current economic climate, there is a freeze on taking in additional temps at my workplace, so it is probably going to be late autumn before things start to cool down.

I will still keep my options open, as I'm determined to get my licence this year, so there is still a good chance that I might bite the bullet, take the intensive driving crash course (if only life was predictable and I was sure to pass), forego the luxury holiday in the sun this year and get on with the rest of my life. I will update my driving blog as soon as I've made a decision.

Driving Lessons and Work

2009-06-01T13:11:00.004+01:00

After I had my first driving lesson, I was determined to have tuition on a weekly basis, so that I could take my test as soon as possible and get my full british driving licence even though there is still no need for me to buy a car. The main reason for this as I mentioned in the introduction to my driving lessons blog was the realisation that knowing how to drive a car is a very valuable life skill to possess. I have been working hard on keeping that promise over the last 3 months, however things have become very busy at work, and I've had to put in extra late hours which has meant I get home late and tired, and have had to use the weekend to rest and regain my strength, so I've had to cancel my last 2 weeks of driving lessons, and I'm not sure things are going to ease off until late summer!

My driving skills were improving, and despite the various problems that have presented themselves as hurdles, I've manged to work on avoiding stalling, learn and do some driving manoeuvres, taking special care to keep the car slow and effectively look around for hazards, deal with agressive road users and keep my emotions and nerves under control. I'm now not sure how this break in the learning process is going to affect my goal. I'm hoping that things do cool down sooner than later, and that I can return to my driving lessons, and will update this blog as soon as there is a change.

Driving maneuver problems

2009-05-22T17:24:00.004+01:00

I mentioned in my last blog post that I was having problems stalling while driving, well I was having different problems on my last driving lesson.

I've now been taught 2 driving maneuvers, and my instructor has pointed out that I'm doing the same thing wrong on both, I keep going too fast, and not taking or making effective observations.

I've been told that the reasons many people fail their drving tests while doing manouvers, is that they drive the car too fast, usually losing control and this fast speed doesn't allow them to take effective observations, missing hazards in the process and resulting in unsafe driving!
We therefore spent a lot of time during the driving lesson making sure that while performing both the turn in the road and the reverse parking exercises that I concentrated on having a slow car, looking all around and allowing the eyes to register what was happening around me.

I was told to always drive as if I was on a practical test with a DSA examiner, and not do anything during the lesson that I wouldn't do if it was a test. Well I've got a lot of work to do over the next couple of lessons in that department, but I will try my best even though I can't always remember everything and still drive the car smoothly!

More Reading
Turn in the road

Stalling on Driving Lessons

2009-05-14T09:45:00.004+01:00

My driving lessons have been going well so far, but lately I have been having problems stalling the car when moving off particularly at junctions and traffic lights, and the thing is a lot of the times there is nobody behind me, so I can't even attribute it to being under pressure from other road users.

My instructor has said I need to make sure I set the gas properly and make sure that I smoothly bring up the clutch and not to be too much in a hurry to get the car moving. If I concentrate hard, then the car doesn't stall, but sometimes I'm trying to make sure it is safe to proceed, that I either move my left foot too quickly, or don't use enough gas!

Apart from stalling the car, my driving maneuvers are getting better, and I'm working very hard on the parallel parking exercise as this is a skill I'll need a lot when I pass my driving test and get a car, because it is always hard to find parking spaces in the Hampstead streets here in NW3 London.

I'll continue to update my driving lesson blog with my progress, and am looking forward to getting close to driving test standard.

Parallel Parking Driving Maneuver

2009-05-08T10:33:00.027+01:00

In today's driving lesson, my instructor introduced me to a new driving maneuver the parallel parking exercise usually refered to by DSA examiners as the reverse parking maneuver.

As usual with my ADI, he started off by doing a lesson recap using Q&A to check if I remembered how to use clutch control to keep the car slow, where I should look when doing some straight reversing in the car, and why it is important to use the POM system for all my maneuvers in particular the importance of all round observations.

It was now time to have a full lesson briefing on the parallel parking exercise, and my instructor showed me a diagram of what we where about to do, the reference points for the manouver, and how much I needed to steer by at each point. 5 minutes later, it was time to do it for real, with my ADI giving me a full talk through step by step.

First I was instructed to move off and stop along side the target vehicle, keeping my car parallel to and about 1 metre away from it. He also mentioned that I should allow my car to go slightly forward past the vehicle and end up with my wheels straight.

Next I should select reverse gear and get the car prepared by finding the biting point, do a 6 point check to make sure it is safe and then release the handbrake to allow the car to reverse slowly backwards until the rear of my car had cleared the target vehicle by about 1 metre.
At this reference point, I should stop, look around again, paying attention to see if there where any vehicles about to pass me either from the front or rear, as my vehicle was about to swing out to the right when I steered.
IF it was safe, I was to steer the wheel one full revolution to the left (360), while keeping the car very slow, stopping when my car was at an angle of 45 degrees to the target vehicle (a way of checking this is that my left exterior mirror should be covering the offside rear light clusters of the target vehicle.

Once I get to this reference point I should stop, look around again to make sure it is safe, and then steer full lock to the right as the car continues to reverse backwards slowly, and I should stop once the car is parallel to the street kerb. To complete the maneuver, I need to steer one and a half revolutions to the left, and reverse slowly till I see the tyres of the target vehicle and a little of the road in front of me.

It wasn't too difficult on the first attempt of the exercise, as my driving instructor made sure that I hardly went past the biting point and the car was very slow, and he stopped me at the various refence points to make sure I could look, understand where they were, and what I should be looking for.

We had many goes on the paralel parking exercise, using different cars and other roads, and I also learnt that the gradient on the road had to be taken into account of, as most roads are not truly flat, but the middle was slightly higher than the sides, to allow water to drain away. I wasn't doing badly on the exercise at the end of the driving lesson, but I'll have to check my notes to remind me of everything for the next time, as it is a lot going on at the same time.

One thing that my ADI keep stressing was the fact that I should keep the car very slow at all times, be aware of what is happening around me at all times, stop if I might be a hazard to any other road users and pause to make sure I know which way I want to steer the car, all these are good habits which I need to develop, so that the DSA driving examiner will not have an exuse to fail me on this maneuver during the test.

Parallel Parking Video.

It is still a while before I need to consider that, as I want to be very confident with my driving anyway. Here is looking forward to more practise of this exercise on my next lessons.

By the way if any of you are looking for affordable cheap driving lessons in NW London from a honest, patient and knowlwdgeable instructor, then I fully recommend you go with mine (tell him Ann sent you), he might not be the cheapest, but in my opinion he is one of the best, I told an American colleague from work who had a Michigan licence to try him before going for a test already booked, he took just two 2hr lessons with him and passed in Mill Hill test centre with only 2 minors! Also my best friend had problems with the left reverse round the corner driving manuever, and even though she lived in east london and already had a test booked, wasn't confident with this manuever, so on a weekend sleep over I booked a one hour lesson with my instructor who gave her tips and practise on the exercise. She passed her driving test with 4 errors despite getting the same exercise on the test in a different car and location. His number is 07956233032, let him know I sent you, as he usually gives me a free lesson for recommendations.

Driving lesson 10

2009-04-23T15:12:00.007+01:00

Today marked 10 hours of driving lessons, and while it is not a milestone by any means, having read my blog, I don't think I'm doing too bad with learning to drive a car here in the UK, and if all goes well, I should be taking my driving test pretty soon hopefully.

Today my driving instructor just made me practice what we've been learning so far, so a lot of moving off and stopping, with particular attention taken to make sure I was using POM properly.
I also dealt with all sorts of junctions, turning left and right, emerged at T-Junctions and had to work hard on LADA, as it is not easy following the rules when other cars behind you want to get past you. I don't like having to deal with traffic, as it seems most of London's drivers are always in a hurry, never patient with Learner drivers' and having 'L' plates displayed seems to have the wrong effect as they try to squeeze through the narrow NW2 streets in Cricklewood even though I have the right of way, and they should be yeilding!

I also had more practising of my 3 point turn manouver, this time on more narrow and sometimes busy roads, learning what to do when cars turn up during the exercise, the importance of using the handbrake (parking brake to the Americans), and looking out for pedestrians.
I sometimes forget to look behind me when reversing instead using the interior mirror when my driving instructor says is wrong and will be marked down on during the test by the DSA examiner. I don't know where I got that bad driving habit from, but my ADI seems to be on top of it, so I won't be getting away with it. Roll on the next driving lesson, and you'll be the first to read of my adventures in this blog.

Provision Licence Expiring

2009-04-17T16:41:00.003+01:00

I got a letter today from the DVLA saying that the photocard on my provisional driving licence will be expiring next month, and that for my licence to continue to be valid, I need to renew my photocard licence at the cost of £20!

The letter also said that it was a criminal offence if I didn't surrender my expired photocard ID, and that I could face a fine of up to £1000.

I guess I'm paying for delaying starting to learn to drive a car, as I've had this licence since 1999 when I first planed to start driving lessons in London, but due to work and the fact that I've never really had a transportation problems because I live close to the London Underground station and buses to the west end are also easy to get, I've left it this long!

Now I've got to get my passport photos arranged, and fill in the photocard renewal application form and processed before it expires so I can continue with my driving lessons.

Turn in the Road First driving maneuver

2009-04-15T14:23:00.030+01:00

My driving lessons have been going well so far, and while it is a lot to learn, and very hard work, I seem to be making progress, and having been looking forward to today's lesson, because I will be doing my first driving maneuver, the turn in the road (my adi instructor said it used to be called the 3 point turn).

As usual, we had a recap of previous driving skills I had learnt, with my instructor using Q&A to findout where I would look while reversing and clutch control and what was the meaning of POM because as he explained, I will be using these skills while performing the turn in the road.

3 Point turn

It was time for the now familiar driving lesson briefing before a new DSA syllabus topic from the driver's record was covered, and to keep things simple, this lesson briefing explained the maneuver as a 3 point turn.

First I learnt how to use SCALP to chose the right spot to carry out this driving exercise, making particularly sure I don't do it too close to a junction.
Next I was reminded that I must use the POM System for all maneuvers and when carrying out my observations I must make sure there is no one around that will be affected by my driving. This also means that I don't need to use any signals for this or any of the other set exercises.
It is important that I keep the car very slow using clutch control, and that any steering that needs to be done should be with fast hands, hence I have been told to remember the slogan 'slow car, fast hands'.

The first point: Once it is safe, having prepared the car, I should put the handbrake down, as the car starts to move slowly forward, I should steer full lock to the right, using a little more gas to overcome the additional resistance caused by the steering and any road gradient. As I get closer to the other side of the road, I should get ready to use the brake and clutch to stop as I steer to the left, if necessary easing off the brake to allow finite movements forward to position my right exterior wing mirror to sit on top of the kerb edge. A bit hard to explain, but I know what it looks like.
Once I stop, I should put on my handbrake.

Second Point: select reverse gear, find the biting point and then carry out my full 6 points observations, and if safe handbrake down, as the car starts to move slowly, steer all the way to the left full lock, looking behind and around as the car moves across the road. As I get closer to the other side, slow down, look over my right should so I know where the kerb is and avoid hitting it as I stop close to it, steering to the right.

3rd point: Using POM move off forward, steering to the right, and continue up the road, driving in the opposite from where we came.

It all sounded simple when he explained it, but doing it practically was a different ball game. My first attempt of this new driving maneuver was not bad even though my instructor was giving me full talk through, I was nervous, and sometimes I would zone out, and not hear what I was being told probably because of panic fearing I would drive straight over the road and the opposite pavement! I had 4 attempts, on this very queit road, and was very thankful I didn't have to deal with any cars on this part of the lesson.

We drove around a bit to take a break from the maneuver, then I had a few more attempts, and this time it was getting better, with my clutch control improved now that I was no longer in panic mode!
It was soon time to go home, and before we swapped driving seats, my driving instructor and I filled in my driver's record and I was able to tick the turn in the road, with a 3 next to it. I totally enjoyed today's driving lesson!

My north west london driving instructor also recommended a DVD a visual guide to passing the driving test which I have been watching, and comparing notes with what I did today, and am quite happy that I'll be able to do it when the time for my practical driving test arrives, though that won't be for a few weeks now.

Turn in the Road Video

Driving Lessons Continue

2009-04-09T22:11:00.005+01:00

My driving lessons blog hasn't been updated much recently, as my driving instructor hasn't taught be anything new. We've continued to practise the skills I've learnt so far, Moving Off/Stopping, approaching junctions to turn left and right, emerging to turn left and right, paying attention to proper use of LADA.

We have been driving on more busy roads, and I've been trying to deal with all the inconsiderate drivers out there who can't bear the sight of a car with L plates in front of them, people overtaking me dangerously, riding up my tail, beeping their horn at me if I stall the car at a junction or while trying to decide on a safe gap when at a T Junction. I get more nervous with these people behind me, and make mistakes more easily. I also feel a litle under pressure when I'm the first person at traffic lights and have cars waiting behind me, it's like I'm holding them up because I can't go as quickly as them when the lights go green.

My driving instructor has said that I will be doing my first manouver next week, the turn in the road, so I'm looking forward to that driving lesson.

T Junctions Emerging

2009-03-30T19:39:00.007+01:00

Having survived last week's driving lesson where my driving instructor sprung a surprised on me unexpectedly and made me deal with traffic, today I learnt a new procedure, dealing with T Junctions also called emerging.

Open Junctions

The first thing we did as always on our driving lessons was to recap on last week's skills by practising junctions turning left and right, dealing with some busy roads, including those controlled by traffic lights, making sure I could move off under pressure of cars behind me without stalling the vehicle. I wasn't perfect, but my ADI said I was making steading progress learning to drive and that it was time to introduce a new topic.

As usual out came the lesson briefing manual, and I was told how to identify a T Junction by either seeing houses at the end of the road, the upside down triangle road marking, the give way sign or the double short lines painted at the end of the road.
I would still need to use the MSPSL routine on this junction, and initially will be stopping, then using LADA to judge if it is safe to proceed.

Look to the right, left and then right again.
Asses the situation, noting if there is a safe gap in the traffic and other conditions around. My instructor stressed the importantance of giving way to traffic on the main road, including those coming from the left if neccessary (buses, lorries or HGVs that might need the extra space).
Decide on what you are going to do.
Act on your decision, emerging into the T junction only when you can see it is safe.

We then started to practise, beginning with open junctions where we had some visibility into the road before we got to the give way line, even though we still stopped for the first 3 or 4 attempts.

Closed Junctions

With almost half of the driving lesson gone, my driving instructor pulled me over on the left, and said we would now drive to a place where we would be able to deal with closed T junctions, having to emerge where there is very limited visibility, using peep and creep routine and later on if there was time, also go to a junction with a stop line.
My instructor told me that it is very easy to fail the DSA practical test at closed T junctions if I approached too fast, did not use LADA properly, or got pressurised by other road users.

Driving Lesson 4 Traffic lights

2009-03-02T01:10:00.007Z

Dealing with Traffic!

Today's driving lesson which was my 4th, was mainly practising what we did last week, approaching junctions turning left and right, moving off and stopping and a bit of straight reversing. I was now getting up to 3rd gear, and making good progress when my driving instructor sprung a surprise on me!

I was concentrating on doing the best with my driving skills, and was following my ADI's instructions, so when he said 'at the give way we are going to turn left, I'll talk you through it', I didn't think much of it until I got to the end of the road and noticed it was a little busier than the roads we had been dealing with. Traffic I thought, Oh no!

I stopped in 2nd gear, put my handbrake on, selected first gear as my instructor talked me through checking the traffic to the right, left, then right again. When it was safe, he asked to go, and I turned left into the busier willesden lane in NW London, for the first time I had faster traffic coming towards me, and checking the rear view mirror also revealed cars were approaching from behind me. 'Take the next road on the left' I heard my driving instructor say, I breathed a sigh of relief as I used MSPSL to deal with the junction, as the traffic wizzed past me on the main road.

My instructor stopped me on the left, asked how I was doing, said okay and we continued with the driving lesson by doing some more practising on the junctions, more traffic and even got to deal with one road that had traffic lights on it. Before I knew it, the driving lesson was over and it was time to go home. Hopefully very soon I'll be able to drive through the NW2 and NW6 traffic to get home from a lesson.

Junctions turning left and right

2009-03-01T02:38:00.016Z

Driving Lesson 3

On arriving at the training area, my driving instructor said that on this driving lesson we will be dealing with approaching junctions to turn left first, and later right. However before we started that, we would have a quick recap of the last lesson using some Q&A and try moving off and stopping for a couple of times to make sure that I had not forgotten these essential driving skills.

I forgot to mention in my last driving lesson that I changed gears, going up to 3rd gear, I mentioned this because I had some problems with gears while dealing with junctions.

MSPSL

Having successfully completed moving off and stopping a couple of times, my ADI pulled me over on the left of the road so that he could give me a briefing on approaching junctions to turn left (he always takes out this book with pictures and abbrevations when introducing a new subject), but I partly blocked someone's driveway, so he told me to move forward, and reminded me of SCALP.

In order to sucessfully deal with junctions according to the DSA standard, I will have to use a new system (not another one!) called MSPSL, this is an expansion of MSM which I was introduced to during my last driving lesson.

Mirrors. Since I was going to be turning left, it will be interior and left exterior.
Signal left.
Position. I was told to use the normal driving position, a door's width from the side of the road or parked vehicles.
Speed. I should keep the car at a brisk walk pace when about to turn left, and should usually be in 2nd gear.
Look. As I approach, I need to be looking at the junction for pedestrians about to cross or already in the road (I must give way to people that are already on the tarmac), obstructions in the road I'm about to turn into, as well as other cars.

With the driving theory dealt with, it was time to practice the real thing as required on the DSA test.

I was fully concentrating on previous skills I'd learnt, so did POM when moving off, checked my mirrors as I got into the road and accelerated, changing into the 2nd gear. 'We are going to be taking the next road on the left' my instructor says, and then proceeds to give me a full talk through (it's hard listening to him and doing at the same time), but I had problems steering, and was wide going round so my instructor had to help me get the car back in control.

We spent considerable time practicing this, with my instructor reducing the amount of instructions as we dealt with a few junctions to the left, after a while I got the jest of it, and was able to independently approach a junction in the car turn left without any assistance from my driving instructor.

Approaching a junction to turn right

Time for another look at that book of my ADI as we now want to tackle junctions to the right. From the diagram, we still need to use MSPSL, but the only changes are the position of the car is now just to the left of the lane divider, and I have to be more cautious as oncoming cars have priority which means I might have to stop the car, something that I didn't have to do for the left handed junctions.
The first two attempts when well, probably because I now could steer the car, was well into the hand of things as the driving lessons was almost an hour in, but more importantly I hadn't dealt with any oncoming vehicles.
During my third attempt of turning right, there were 2 oncoming cars as I approached the junction, and I was still in 2nd gear, trying to not have to stop, when the car shook and stalled! I panicked and didn't apply the handbrake and the car started to roll forward as I had put the gears into neutral position. My instructor used his brake to stop the car, asked me to apply the handbrake and then restart the engine. By the time this was done, the junction was clear so I continued.

It was a very interesting but hard driving lesson, but I learnt a lot and hope that I'm able to remember it all for my next session. Looks like it's going to be ages before I will be ready for the DSA driving test, but a least I'm in a better position than I was before my first lesson.

Moving Off and Stopping

2009-03-01T00:02:00.021Z

My first driving lesson had not gone as I had expected because I did not drive the car, but I had now booked my second session which was 2hrs and was told by my driving instructor that we would definately be covering moving off and stopping and if I made good progress might even get to do junctions turning left during this lesson.

The first thing I had to do once I got into the driver's seat was my cockpit drill, once I had completed this, my driving instructor then gave me a lesson briefing on moving off and stopping. The first thing he talked about was POM.

POM system

My ADI explained the POM stood for Prepare, Oberserve and Move, and that I should use this routine everytime I was moving off or beginning a manouver.
I prepare the car by find the biting point, this involves putting the clutch down (you don't have this pedal if you are driving an automatic car, only manual transmission) and keeping it down, selecting first gear, then using the right foot to set the gas, next comes lifting the left foot up slowly until I hear a reduction in the engine noise (I had to do this 3 times because I kept stalling the car).

Observations

I was taught the importance of looking all around the car before moving off when parked on the side of the road and everytime I stopped while performing a maneuver.
I was told to do a 6 point check, starting by looking over my left shoulder, then left exterior mirror, interior mirror, the road ahead, right mirror and finally over my right shoulder. My driving instructor emphasied the importance of make sure I had checked my blind spots as it is very easy when on the driving test to miss another road user, and this could cause me to fail, so I should develop the habit right from now!

Moving Off in the car
Once I've made sure it is safe, my left hand should go on the handbrake, I should do a final check the right side of the car, put the handbrake down, bring the left foot up slowly (clutch), steer into the road, continue bring the clutch up, and once in the road, check my mirrors and give it a little gas!
It sounds simple, but I had problems doing all that together, and kept stalling the car. Once I finally got it, I started panicking as I was driving the car, but couln't steer straight! My ADI instructor had to keep helping me, as I couldn't press the gas with the right amount of pressure, look down the road even though it was wide I was still drifting towards the parked vehicles. It is hard learning to drive a car, I didn't expect to find it this tough!

Mirrors Signal Move

Soon it was time to stop on the left, and I had to use MSM for the first time, checking the interior then left external mirrors, there was nobody around on the quiet road we were driving on, so I didn't need to use the indicators to signal, so I came off the gas, steering a bit to the left. When he said cover the brake, I slammed my foot down, and the car jerked to a stop! Oops. OMG, I had just driven a car, I was exicted and wanted to try harder to get this thing right. Now I was enjoying my driving lessons as this was what I signed up for.

SCALP

I must always use SCALP to select where I stop the car. I must stop the car in a Safe, Convinient And Legal Position. So much to memorise and remember.

I had another go at moving off, stalling only once, started getting better at steering the car on a straight course and worked harder on using MSM when it was time to stop on the left. There is so much to learning to drive a car especially the way that the DSA examiners want it here in the UK, and I'm finding it hard to remember everything.

I got to do some reversing on the driving lesson, learning that I should look back, not using the mirrors, and was explained clutch control to keep the car slow when perfoming a manouver.

Before I knew it, time was up, and my driving instructor was driving me back to my NW3 Hampstead flat via the busy Finchley road dual carriageway. One day I'll be able to drive myself home from my lessons.

First Driving Lesson

2009-03-01T00:01:00.008Z

Having put off learning to drive a car, I finally had my first driving lessons today, it wasn't as I had expected it to go, and to some extent I was kind of disappointed.

Having decided I wanted to start the learner driver process, I did a search on the internet and chose my driving instructor based on the information on his website and the fact that he was an EX AA instructor and his price wasn't too expensive. We agreed on today and I booked 1hrs even though he said I should book 2hrs (I think he just wanted my money), had my full driving license with me (including the counterpart) as he said I won't be able to drive without it.

Controls Lesson

I got picked up at the appointed time, and after a brief eye test and examination of my provisional licence photo ID, I got into the passenger seat, as my driving instructor said he was going to drive me to a quiet area before we swapped seats as obviously I lived on a busy road in Hampstead and there was no way I would be able to drive the car from home on my first lesson.
It took us over 15 minutes to get to this long wide road somewhere near Wilesden, where my ADI pulled up, got out and I got into the driver's seat of a car for the very first time. I was very nervous, as I wasn't sure I'd be able to drive without crashing the car. I was not looking forward to this part of the driving lesson.

Cockpit Drill DSSSM

My driving instructor told me to relax, as it wasn't time to drive yet as he need to teach me a few things about getting ready to drive and the car controls. The first thing he said I had to learn as a complete beginner driver was the cockpit drill, and he explained that I should use the acronym DSSSM to remember it.

D triple S M
Doors. I as the driver in control of the car had the full responsibility of making sure all the doors of my vehicle are fully secured and closed.
Seat. Adjust your seat so your feet can operate the foot controls comfortably.
Steering. Adjust your seat reach and steering wheel column so can reach all hand controls easily.
Seatbelt. I was taught how to safely put on and take off the seatbelt and learnt about tensioner?
M I was taught how to adjust my mirrors, how to check them when driving and told the meaning of blind spots and why I needed to check them before moving off.
After he finished this, I thought this was now the time in the driving lesson when I finally was going to drive, but my ADI said it was now time to learn the car controls.

Car Controls

It looked like I would not be actually moving the car during my first driving lesson, as time was going and I was not being taught the ABC pedals.
Accelerator or Gas pedal as my instructor said he would be calling it. He told me I need to apply gentle pressur on this control with my right foot as it control how fast the engine went. I started the car, and tried setting the gas, the car made a loud noise and I quickly too my feet off! I tried again, this time I was able to do it properly.
Brake. The foot brake is also operated with the right foot, and therefore I can't use both the gas and brake pedals together. I was told how the car was slowed down using this pedal, and what instructions my driving instructor would use when refering to this foot control.
Clutch. The third foot control was the clutch and I was told what it did to the engine, and how it aws used to select gears. I breathed a sigh of relief when he finished, hoping that all this boring theory was over, I wanted to drive a car, not be a mechanic!

'I'm now going to talk about the gears, handbrake and indicators which you will need for moving off and stopping' m driving instructor said!
So some more theory on where the gears where, how each one worked, using the handbrake and the direction indicators.
Before I knew it, he said my first driving lesson was over, as we needed 15 minutes to drive home through the North London traffic, and that I should consider booking 2hrs for the next session so that we could have more time for learning moving off and stopping.
As I got out of the car and walked to my door, I was exicted that I was finally learning to drive a car, even though today I hadn't actually moved the vehicle during the lesson, the process had begun, and hopefully I will continue on the long path that will eventually lead me to passing the driving test.

If you search the internet, you should be able to find full driving lessons videos of an approved DSA instructor doing the full cockpit drill. Watching any of these learner videos before my lesson would have saved me some money, since I could have driven the car on my first driving lesson.

My Driving Lessons Blog

2009-02-28T15:12:00.007Z

My name is Ann, I'm a professional legal secretary working for a top law firm in the city of London, and this is my driving lessons blog.

As a busy person living in Hampstead, NW3, London, I've never given much thought to taking driving lessons and getting a full british licence until recently because I haven't really had a need for a car. I live close to the London underground stattion (tube), have a bus stop closeby with the west end, oxford street being just a ride away, and the Cinema at the O2 centre not that far away either, so all my transportation needs are easily met.

A recent trip to the United States of America got me thinking though, as the family I stayed with had 3 cars not because they wanted to show off, but it was necessary for them to get about. The driving age in the US is 16, so their teenaged son also had a car to get to college, the shops and football practice.
This provoked me to think about the need for me to be able to drive a car if the need ever arrived, so I decided that I would dust off my provisional driving licence and start preparing to get my full licence.

I didn't want to use AA or BSM, but neither did I want to just take any cheap driving lessons, so I did some research on the internet checking various websites and asked around my friends for recommendations before finally settling with my current instructor who operates an independent driving school in Mill Hill, North West London.

The reason I'm writing this lesson's blog is to keep a public diary of my learning to drive progress, but I enjoy writing as well, so just using it as an excuse.

I'm looking forward to my first driving lesson, and while I'm a little bit scared of losing control of the car, I've never been someone to back off from a challenge so bring it on!