Rubber Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Hey, Just bought my wife a Festy to learn to drive in. She has taken 7 - 8 lessons but she still seems to be asking me some obvious questions about how to drive. The instructor is doing all sorts of stuff like parallel parking but yet she seems to lack confidence in just driving around. I think she just needs time behind the wheel to put her lessons into practive. Unfortunately I'll be accompanying her!!! Hope this doesn't end in divorce!!!! Now, I don't claim to be the perfect driver but I was most of the way to taking my IAM test but never got around to doing it. However, I don't want to teach her a load of my bad habits! Any advice on how it is best to teach someone to drive? I'm scared!!! My plan is to go out to the highlands and just get her some time behind the wheel on quiet roads. We can worry about the city driving when she has confidence on how to drive first. Open to any advice! Cheers, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I would start with local driving If you bugger off somewhere quiet, when other vehicles are on the road she will be far worse. In at the deep end is sometimes the best remedy As for your bad habits, may I suggest reading the highway code to remind your self Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I taught my brother to drive. I started off by taking him around some quiet industrial estates just to get him used to the car & having me besides him. Then once he got more confident we went out on a sunday afternoon/evening on the main roads & then once he was ok with that I started getting him to chaueffer me around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Sounds like she needs a new instructor tbh. If he's already moved onto parallel parking but she still doesn't get the basics then there seems to be a communication breakdown somewhere along the line, and it might be worth cutting your losses and finding a new one. They're the experts and however much we all like to think of ourselves as driving gods (and clearly we all are!), I think we'd all fall down in the teaching aspect which is the most critical part. That said, just plenty of seat time is the way to go, regardless of where or when. If she's that nervous around other traffic then definitely go somewhere quiet for a bit before you tackle the city together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgthatsme Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Might I suggest that you and/or you wife speak to her instructor? If he is a professional with the right attitude he would welcome better understanding the unease your wife feels and develope lessons to address the issues. If his reaction isn't what you would expect, change the instructor. In either case, why not also bring up your "keen interest" to sit in a death trap to allow wifey to get more wheel time and ask him how best to go about it to support his lessons. Note my wife banned me from teaching my younger son to ride a bicycle so YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Practice, practice, practice. Come up with a short (few miles at most) loop, and keep repeating it. As she knows the course, she knows what is ahead and can work more on the actual driving than constantly worrying where she is going. Once you get the loop nailed (ie consistently no problems negotiating it) then try varying it with new bits to build up the confidence. Let the instructor work on the manouvers, you just get her plenty of seat time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 The instructor is probably following a lesson plan..... I would be tempted to change if need be. Practice..... Get her to drive to the supermarket in the evening. Maybe use one a bit further away. Just think about the routes, if they are tricky then avoid them. Get up to Altens or round the industrial bits of Dyce at the weekend or evenings, quiet and decent enough roads. Seat time is what she needs rather than instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ds2000 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Practice practice practice and keep your mouth shut mostly, encourage her and don't lecture. My Dad was a police advanced pursuit driver and ex police motorcyclist, he was a ruddy nightmare to learn with. Mum is just mum and was very easy going (actually fell asleep once on an empty road) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumping350 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 i was always taught to nail the clutch control can get out of any problem then...empty car park and plenty of stop - starts before you hit the open road...sorry i meant... Stop..Handbrake...Mirrors..take off handbrake ...Start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I taught my brother when my parents were busy, practice clutch control, throttle bite etc, one trick is being able to make the car move at the absolute slowest speed possible in a car park, if thats all good i'd look at some basic routes, you don't want to be completly isoloated with no traffic as when a car appears it can be a sudden jolt to deal with. but you don't want to be doing aberdeen at rush hour either. when you are driving give you instructions well in advanced, my dad was terrible, he used to give you the direction once you were on a 3 lane roundabout, then you'd always be in the wrong lane as he'd always want to go the other way. make sure you both understand what each other means when you say "next left" according to my mum thats 2 lefts away not 1. major arguments when the driver is stressed. my parents used to get me to drive every where, errands pick ups etc, practice is the key. getting your driving licence doesn't mean your a good driver, it just means your safe to be out with out an instructor/experienced driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grantmitchell Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Practice..... Get her to drive to the supermarket in the evening. Maybe use one a bit further away. Just think about the routes, if they are tricky then avoid them. Get up to Altens or round the industrial bits of Dyce at the weekend or evenings, quiet and decent enough roads. Seat time is what she needs rather than instruction. I would agree with Stew, its more about sitting there and letting her drive and get her confidence up rather than "teaching her", and again as Stew says roads round dyce or Altens (but stay away from Cove, dont want you running in to me ) are a good place to try in the evening or weekends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubber Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Thanks for the advice guys. She has been through a couple of instructors and seems to have problems with all of them I think seat time will cure a lot of her fears - she just needs to get used to the feel of driving. I take you point about not lecturing - I'll try to keep my mouth shut!!! Thanks, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff-r Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Make sure the car has airbags, I've just realised if anyone ever asked me to teach them to drive, I don't think I could. Now I know why my old man left it to my mum to take me out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.