Well I just found this board so thought I would start a journal to look back on.

I'm Nikki (26, 27 on Saturday) married for nearly 5 years to Mark (41) neither of us drive which is a pain when we need to go shopping or want to go out somewhere, I wanted to learn to drive at 17 but always put it off and here I am 10 years later...I guess it's now or never!

I applied online for my provisional llicence on Friday 1st May and arranged a driving instructor, he said to text him when my licence arrived and he would contact me to book in properly. Well my licence arrived on Friday 8th May, 1 week after applying even with a bank holiday weekend!!! What service!

So I text my DI to let him know that my licence had arrived, I expected a call back on the Monday to book in, No I get a call straight back 5.30pm on Friday saying he had a cancellation at 6.pm and was I ready??!! NO WAY !! I was so scared but thought I better go and get started.

First lesson was 2 hours and was GREAT!! A long time was spent explaining how everything in the car works and what would be covered in the lessons. We went up to a quiet car park so that I could have a go at driving the car. We did some starting and stopping and some right and left turns. I found the steering pretty hard, I was ok turning the corner, but not fast enough straightening up so we ended up on the grass verge a few times lol. I'm a bit worried about that but I'm sure it will come *fingers crossed* At one point the DI asked me to drive to the back of the car park in between 2 parked cars and then stop at the back and that went fine, there was a man sat in one of the cars who looked a little worried lol.

We ran through the cockpit drill and I'm pretty confident that I can remember that for lesson 2 without any help, so at least something has sunk in.

I couldn't have a lesson last week as the DI was on holiday. Over the weekend after my 1st lesson I had a look on the DSA website to see how long the waiting list was for theory tests (DI told me practical tests in my town are about 6 weeks wait) and found that there was a test available for Thursday 14th May, so I though what the heck and booked it! (I'd been practising with books and discs even before applying for my licence) So I went on Thursday and PASSED!! I scored 50/50 on the questions but only scraped the hazard awareness with 48...I knew this was a problem from using the disc I have a habit of clicking too early (too scared to click more times as I was worried about scoring nothing for cheating!). Well a pass is a pass I'm just glad I don't have to do that again and can concentrate on the driving.

So lesson 2 is today 1600-1800. I'm a bit nervous but excited all the same. Will update later after the lesson.

Lesson 2
Monday 18th May
1600-1800

The lesson was fab, I LOVE Driving !!!

We did hill starts up and downhill, downhill was definitely easier lol but on the whole I did ok and at the end of the lesson there were no points to remember on this so must have been ok.

Then we went to a very long road which is always full of parked cars and has lots of narrow areas ... oh yeah and its a busy road lol. We were working on moving off and stopping and passing parked cars and meeting other traffic.

The DI said that my pull aways were really good which was cool, I was fine driving along the road, even in the narrow areas where I had to pass parked cars with other oncoming traffic I was fine, no panic and kept the car tight in so people could pass. The DI was impressed that I needed no help here.

I had also remembered the cockpit drill and only needed to be prompted to check that the car was in neutral. I also was remembering to do the 6 point observation before moving off.

On the second run along the road we got up to 2nd gear which was very smooth and I was pleased with it, I did find it a bit fast as I found towards the end of the lesson that I'd been watching the rev counter not the speedo so when I thought I was doing 20 I was really doing about 8mph LOL. No wonder the boy racer behind me looked so annoyed!

The thing I really need to work on is my stopping, I have 2 major problems here. 1st is sheer panic, I know I need to stop and am so scared that I won't stop in time that I get flustered and forget what to do. The other problem I have is that twice during the lesson I used the wrong foot to brake which left me unable to use the clutch, the 2nd time i did this I really panicked and just slammed my foot on the brake and stalled the car. The driving instructor asked why I did that and I said I panicked because my foot was in the wrong place and he was pleased that I knew what I did wrong. I have a handout sheet about stopping so I'll be reading it over and over again before the next lesson.

Next lesson we're going to do right and left turns and go on a faster road (I think its a 40mph)

Oh just another note from the last entry, the steering was absolutely fine today, the turns were much gentler than in the carpark and I found it came quite naturally and I could control the car easily. Oooooooh must mention the DI's car is a Peugeot 307 and its so nice! I have had my heart set on a 206 but may reconsider now after driving this.

Next lesson Friday morning 0800-1000

Lesson 3
Friday 22nd May
0800-1000

This lesson was sooo hard!

First we went back to the road we were on last week to do a quick recap on what we did last lesson which went fine, I needed no reminders on my cockpit drill, observations or pull away. I was worried about stopping but it went so much better this time :D I was ok with going round parked cars (there's a lot on this road) and also being early morning traffic was quite heavy and a lot of kids and a lollipop lady lol.

We moved onto left turns which were fine in themselves, we were going all round the area where my parents live so I know the roads well and was quite confident, however, I now have a huge problem with stopping at a junction! I can pull over to the side of the road and stop calmly and well, I don't know what's wrong with me when I get to a junction! I have a panic that we won't stop and will crash, then forget what my feet are supposed to be doing. I stalled the car soooo many times today I couldn't even count how many :( I think towards the end of the lesson I was really getting it and my DI said that I was using the clutch correctly at the end and was doing really well. I think I just got stressed in the middle as I felt everything was going so wrong... I'll make sure I read my handouts before next lesson and think about my stopping plan and hopefully it will be better next week.

Right turns were OK but we will work more on this next week.

I should be getting a car 2 weeks today :D One of my DH's friends is an independent car dealer and we've ordered a Peugeot 206, 1.1l 5 door car from him, he's confident that he will get me about a 02 reg for my budget :D Can't wait to see it :D

Next lesson next Wednesday 1500-1700

~*Love~*~Nikki *~

 

 

Lesson 4
Wednesday 27th May
1530-1730

This lesson was so good. It was a massive improvement on the last one...thank goodness, I was wondering if I can really do this. My confidence is now back and I feel like I can actually drive :D

My sheet is now signed as solo on cockpit drill I'm fine on this.  My pull aways and stops were ok today, such a relief. I only stalled twice, once at a junction when I stopped but didnt use my clutch enough, then again on a road when I went for 2nd gear but somehow got 4th and killed it lol.

We did a lot of right and left turning which was fine. I did cut one corner on a right turn which I must remember not to do. We did a lot of emerging from junctions which was fine, my confidence was back and I wasn't panicked about stopping in time.

We then moved on to emerge onto the main road through my home town, it's a 40mph road and I emerged fine and got quickly up to 35mph in 3rd gear. We were going to turn off left from this road, I did my mirror checks and started to change down gears, as I was doing this the car was drifting over to the middle of the road. The DI held the wheel and pulled us back on track. He didn't yell or anything and once we turned off and pulled over he said we weren't in danger, he didnt want me to look back and panick and put us in danger. He showed me how one hand on the wheel when changing gear can cause the car to go off course and showed me where to keep my hand when i'm one handed steering.

We drove home through town to close to my house before switching seats. We went over one small roundabout which was fine, but there are 2 huge busy roundabouts right by my house which the DI drove over to get me home lol.

My lesson for Friday is cancelled as the DI is getting a new car on Friday afternoon, he wants to get used to it himself before he takes any students out in it. I don't mind too much as he's so nice and I can see is point, I'd rather we were safe. He's getting a Peugeot 207 which is lovely :D I love these cars sooo much. Can't wait to drive it.

Lesson 5
Tuesday 2nd June
1730-1930

The new car is soooo nice to drive :D The old car really needed a new clutch and it was quite heavy, this one is so light and the steering is light...its a bit fast though lol.

This lesson we did more practice on left and right turns and different types of junctions, we did some crossroads and mini roundabouts and a bit of work on traffic lights. I must remember to follow the kerb round on left turns to keep my position... I think sometimes I'm doing silly mistakes which make life harder for me.

We did some work on the main road again and I was struggling to get over 35mph and slowed down way to early before my exit. I'm very nervous about driving fast in case I miss something up ahead, I feel a bit like my reactions aren't quick enough yet to think at that speed. My DI says I'm the opposite of a speed demon, I love my brakes and I love 1st gear lol. I was moving up the gears far more independently after he said this to me lol.

For the first time I was allowed to drive all the way home, this was so cool.We came from the end with the busy traffic light juntion, it was fairly quiet as it was later in the evening so I was fine doing a right turn there. Next lesson we will work more on traffic lights and roundabouts ...the DI was saying after this its just the manouvers and general driving practice :D This feels like its going quite fast :D

I don't remember if I noted here that I was buying a car. My dh's friend is an independent car dealer, I'd asked him to find me a Peugeot 206 but no news yet. He said about 2 weeks which would have been the end of this week. I've spoken to him and said he can widen the search for  Ford Focus as these are quite common and I sat in a friends one at the weekend and liked it. Hope to get some news soon so that I can go out and get more practice.

Next Lesson Thursday 4th June 1600-1800