Learning To Drive (Again)

[nanila]

More than a year after passing my theory test and getting a provisional driving licence, I've finally started having UK driving lessons.

"But you already know how to drive," you say. "You've had a US driving licence for over a decade!"

That is not the assumption that the UK Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) makes about a US driving licence. And to be honest, I am in complete agreement with them. The UK practical driving test is much, much harder than any of the US practical driving tests. To get my US licence, I had driving lessons for three weeks (totalling about 12 hours) and practised in the car twice with my father (parallel parking and three-point turns). Then I took my test and passed it.

It may be possible to do this in the UK, but I think it's pretty rare. I'm planning on having several months of driving lessons and lots of private practice with the bloke before I attempt the test. Not only am I driving on the opposite side of the road, I'm in a manual transmission (with the shifter on the other side) and the traffic control methods are completely different, from the signage to the roundabouts. I'm also having to break bad habits, like crossing over my hands on the steering wheel when I turn. This is an unconscious hangover from my first car, a Datsun 280Z that didn't have power steering and handled like a pregnant whale.

I don't particularly want to drive. In fact, one of the reasons I moved to this country in the first place was so that I didn't have to drive. Having a car is pretty pointless when you live in central London and work at an office job. But now I'm moving to the Worcestershire countryside, and sometimes a car will be the only option for getting around, so I have to do it.

A few notes from my driving lessons:

1. The Vauxhall Corsa, my driving instructor's vehicle, is an incredibly forgiving car. It takes a lot of effort to stall the thing, as its clutch point is about a mile wide. Naturally I've still managed to do it, by dint of stomping on the brakes and forgetting to engage the clutch at all.
   
   
2. Sophie, our Citroën, is a temperamental little tart. She punishes even the slightest mismatch between clutch point and gas pedal with a series of head-snapping jerks.
   
   
3. Me: *smacks right hand into door frame* Andre, my driving instructor: "Are you trying to shift on the other side of the car again?" Me: "No, of course not." Andre: *chuckle*
   
   
4. Me to Andre: "I prefer to pretend as if I haven't driven before." Andre: "Don't worry, you don't have to pretend." AHAHAHA.

Comments

[weaverbird]

*falls over laughing* Oh, to be a fly on the wall at your driving lessons. You funneh. Looking forward to more tales of your adventures. :D

Also, wow, you make great points about the differences between driving in the US and the UK. I confess I'd never really considered them; in your shoes I'd be glad of lessons, too! (Context: I *love* to drive, I've been doing it for nearly 50 years - beginning years before I was legal *g*, I've even had some racing experience, so yeah.)

[nanila]

Me, after shifting awkardly: "Whoops, bit of a kangaroo there."
Andre: "Nah, that was more of a bunny hop."

I'm hoping that learning to drive a manual transmission properly will make me feel more in control of the car, and hence enjoy driving more. It seems to happen at certain points during my lesson, when I'm relaxed, but then I'll mess something up again and get all tense. I envy you your driving pleasure!

[foxfinial]

Ha! I learnt to drive in a Vauxhall Corsa and then drove a Citroen! A Citroen Saxo in my case. Definitely a narrower, jerkier clutch-point than the Corsa, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

Good luck with it!

[nanila]

How funny! Well, I've got to learn to drive Sophie. I'll just have to try not to give us both whiplash in the process. :P

Thanks!

[pulchritude]

I can drive a manual, but yeah...the idea of having to shift gears with my left hand does my head in!

I read online that people with driving licenses in other countries have passed the test here without taking lessons...but with lots of practice. XD

Good luck!

[nanila]

I'm looking forward to becoming more comfortable with shifting with my left hand, but I think it's a way off still. I get into a rhythm for a short while and then I mess up and go all tense again.

I think lots and lots of practice will be key for me. Thanks!

[surexit]

A colleague of my dad's who'd been driving for twenty years in the States failed the UK test three times.

I hope you find this anecdata helpful and encouraging. :D:D

[nanila]

It is, thank you. I've heard stories from other people about the number of times they failed the test before they managed to pass, too, and it seems to me that not passing the first time is reasonably common, so I shall not set my expectations very high for my first attempt at it!

[surexit]

Good luck, I will keep my fingers crossed! ♥

[holdthesky]

We have a Corsa and it is incredibly forgiving, it's true. Is your instructor's car a diesel? Almost every instructor I've seen in the UK drives a diesel as it's way, way more forgiving at slow speeds. One really annoying thing is that they don't then tell you the extra things you need to do in a petrol car. I can remember stalling over and again in a petrol car until someone told me that I needed to apply a bit of accelerator befor raising the clutch on moving off in a petrol car! I used to have (half of) an old Vauxhall Cavelier from the early nineties, anything from that era is definitely a complete diva!

One funny thing about the UK is that if people know you've got a US licence and you're taking the test over here folk assume you're doing an automatic test and you seem to get serious kudos for electing to do a manual.

[nanila]

Yes, the Corsa is a diesel and Sophie is a petrol car. She's such a princess in comparison. But I'm hoping that learning to control her clutch will make it a breeze to drive the Corsa.

No one in my friend circle or at work has given me kudos for electing to do a manual test. Harrumph!

[sfred]

My dad's a driving instructor and teaches a lot of people who've already got a licence elsewhere. He says the people who find it easiest are the ones who plan to relearn from scratch rather than assuming they already know it all - so you're already getting off to a good start.
Good luck!

[nanila]

That's really good to hear. I thought it was the right way to go about it, because I feared that going into it thinking, "I can drive already," would make me do foolish and arrogant things. I'm finding it much easier pretending I haven't and then being surprised when I can do things like parallel park. Thanks!

[shirou]

I learned to drive on a car with a very finicky clutch. It was a pain, but ultimately it was worth it: in the 15 years since, I've not once met a clutch I couldn't handle. Then again, I've never had to shift on the left...

[nanila]

That's good to hear. I'm hoping that practicing with Sophie, who is much more difficult to control, will make driving the Corsa a breeze.

[lark_ascends]

Good luck!!!


(On the Aussie side of the pond, when I learnt to drive I had to have 50 hours of driving experience before I took the test to get onto my provisional license (Red P's last 1 year, in NSW you're speed limited, alcohol limited, etc., if you pass the knowledge test you go onto green P's for 2 years, higher speed limited, still alcohol limited, and then if you pass a computer test about what you do in situations, then go onto a full license). If IIRC, now it's mostly about 100 hours you need (you have to have your Ls a minimum of 6 months).)

[nanila]

I think those restrictions are eminently sensible, tbh. The estimate here is that you need 46 hours of driving lessons plus at least 20 hours of private practice to pass your practical test. I don't know if my experience will balance out that way - I think it'll probably be more skewed toward private practice - but I know I'm becoming a better driver for all the extra training.