The few, the brave - those of us taking driving lessons right now!

I was so there back in the summer, Jewlz - keep at it, you'll be glad! 

Ugh... driving in the rainy dark, not terrific. Parallel parking and reverse around the corner were pitiful (before it was too dark), but I will get there. Fortunately my next lesson is on Saturday morning after a little lie-in, so that should be helpful, rather than always doing it after work during the week.

I had lesson 4 today.  Started off rusty but improved greatly.

It makes me nuts that the speed limits change so often.  30 mph - leave village - 40 mph - one mile later enter village 30 mph.  Since you have to have your speed down by the sign, I feel like I'm always either riding the brake or trying to jet off. 

My instructor keeps reminding me that speeding is a fail.  That and my hand over hand steering are my worst bits. 

And not being able to tell what an intersection is going to be like until you're on it.  Makes me hesitate.  He keeps saying "don't be intimidated!"  Easy for you to say!   

He is hoping that it will all just click into place for me.  I wish I could practice more than once a week.  Maybe in the lead up to the exam I should get my final lessons as back to back as possible.

Lesson 3 for me today. The three point turn.

I have to learn to drive manual--never did in the states. So, it's slow-going. The 10 hours of driving lessons I signed up for will probably not be enough.

I think by the end I was alright. But, how, HOW, how is it that I can do so many three point turns in 2 hours straight? My aggravation worked in my favor--as I was not trying as hard at the end.

And, whoah, have I realized that I was totally brainwashed by driving an automatic for 15+ years....Ugh.

I'm very glad to have people to comiserate with!

I need to buy the official manual to start studying for the theory...

Best,

Rutabega

The three-point turn is the only maneuver I have done flawlessly (and -- correct me if I'm wrong -- wouldn't it be TOTALLY illegal to turn around in the middle of the road like that in the US?).

The back-around-a-corner and parallel parking are my nemesis. Which, okay...they aren't easy. But I was an especially good backer-upper in the States, so it offends me mightily to suck this hard at it.

I tell my instructor, it's like trying to pluck a hair with tweezers staring into a mirror. You have to do everything just backwards of the way you want to do it intuitively.

Well, yay for us! It's great that so many of us are working on it. We will all get there!  I'm not having too easy of a time with the reverse around the corner. The parallel parking isn't too terrible, but I kept rushing through it last night because there was traffic waiting for me to get the hell out of the way. Instructor says not to rush, as on the test, there may be traffic there, but I have only one chance to get it right. The turn in the road was easy for me from the start, but the other two are not too great at the moment. More practice!

It makes me nuts that the speed limits change so often.  30 mph - leave village - 40 mph - one mile later enter village 30 mph.  Since you have to have your speed down by the sign, I feel like I'm always either riding the brake or trying to jet off. 

My instructor keeps reminding me that speeding is a fail.  That and my hand over hand steering are my worst bits. 

I know!  Me too!  My instructor keeps on having to inform me that not getting up to speed is a at least a minor, but hello! if I just have to slow down for another zone/roundabout/tight bend in the road really soon, why should I be speeding up only to slow down?  It just doesn't make any sense to me at all.

I've also been having a lot of trouble with parallel parking and reverse around a corner.  Parallel parking was one of things I felt like I was really good at in the US, so it's been a bit crushing to have it be such a challenge here.

I know!  Me too!  My instructor keeps on having to inform me that not getting up to speed is a at least a minor, but hello! if I just have to slow down for another zone/roundabout/tight bend in the road really soon, why should I be speeding up only to slow down?  It just doesn't make any sense to me at all.

I've also been having a lot of trouble with parallel parking and reverse around a corner.  Parallel parking was one of things I felt like I was really good at in the US, so it's been a bit crushing to have it be such a challenge here.

Yes, my instructor says that he believes hesitation is just part of being an American driver learning to drive here. There are many more stop signs and stop lights in America, so we are used to stopping at every junction, rather than just giving way when we need to, and just driving on when we don't need to. I say, better to be too cautious than too brave! But apparently we are going to start working on "making progress" this weekend. Gonna try to practice my manouevres with DH tonight, hopefully.

It does not bode well for me that I'm going into lesson 5 without having used reverse yet.     I'd actually like to focus on maneuvers for a change.

I get the feeling that anticipating the actions of others and making sure you aren't a hazard to another is more important here than the US?  Maybe that's just my impression.

My instructor tells me to look at wheels rather than turn signals.  Hurry through intersections so I don't impede the people behind me.  Get up to speed quickly to avoid holding up the flow of traffic. 

I guess I hesitated going through an intersection where the light had just turned green to amber.  My instructor pointed out the van riding my tail and said I should have cracked on.  My opinion was that the van driver shouldn't be riding my tail to begin with!!

It does not bode well for me that I'm going into lesson 5 without having used reverse yet.     I'd actually like to focus on maneuvers for a change.

I get the feeling that anticipating the actions of others and making sure you aren't a hazard to another is more important here than the US?  Maybe that's just my impression.

My instructor tells me to look at wheels rather than turn signals.  Hurry through intersections so I don't impede the people behind me.  Get up to speed quickly to avoid holding up the flow of traffic. 

I guess I hesitated going through an intersection where the light had just turned green to amber.  My instructor pointed out the van riding my tail and said I should have cracked on.  My opinion was that the van driver shouldn't be riding my tail to begin with!!

Hmmmm. No, that doesn't sound right at all. I mean, my instructor will tell me to get on with it if I pull out in front of traffic and need to speed up to avoid forcing everyone else to slow down, but otherwise, he tells me to take my time. I drive much slower than the National speed limit on certain roads because I'm not that confident yet. He doesn't tell me to speed up, really. People who are in a hurry can overtake! Also, as I said, when doing manouevres that block traffic, he still tells me to take my time because the other cars can wait. Though he said we would spend some time focusing on reducing my hesitations, so maybe you are just ahead of me. 

My instructor does say that one of the main objectives of the driving test is to be considerate of other drivers - he says if you cause any other driver to have to change speed and/or direction because of what you are doing (hesitating too much or pulling out in front too slowly, etc.), then you will be marked off, other than if traffic comes while you are doing a manouevre - though even then, you still give way if they want to go around you and can fit through.

I think why on earth should the speed limit be 60 when there aren't even any lane markings and two people can barely pass each other on the road!

You mean like this?



Or this?   




It can seem quite illogical when you can be driving along a fairly good two-lane road with a 40 or 50 mph speed limit, only to turn off onto a twisty little back lane and the first sign you see is one for 60 mph!

But it makes some sort of sense when you realize that the speed limit on those little roads is 60 not because somebody decided that it's a suitable speed (which it clearly isn't), but simply because no order for a lower speed limit has ever been made for the road in question.  Up until mid 1960's, those same roads had no absolute speed limit, just the general requirement to drive at a speed reasonable and prudent for the conditions (as existed in states like Nevada prior to the introduction of the national 55 limit in the U.S.).


A brief historical overview

A major overhaul of motor vehicle legislation took place in 1930, and it was at that time that the definition of a "built up" area was set as being any road on which there are street lights placed no more than 200 yards apart.  The speed limit in such built-up areas was set at 30 mph, with no overall speed limit elsewhere.   That's why the sign which today means "National Speed Limit" appears the way it does, because originally it meant "End of speed limit."   The definition of a built-up area and the default 30 mph limit in such areas both still exist in legislation today. 

In the years which followed, other speeds such as 40 mph zones were introduced, but these were submitted and decided on a case-by-case basis, so could only be applied if a specific application for a limit on particular stretch of road was approved.  That worked both ways, i.e. for applying a limit to a road which would otherwise have been unrestricted and for applying a 40 mph or higher limit to a road which is by definition in a built-up area and would thus be 30 mph by default. 

The introduction of the national speed limit in the 1960's (initially 70 mph, later changing to the split 60/70 limits of today) imposed the upper limit on all roads which had previously been unrestricted, but basically left everything else as it was. 

So that's why today a road can be 30 mph if built-up or 60/70 mph if not by default, except where a specific order to change the limit has been made for a particular stretch of road.  The non-default speed limits are still decided on individual merit, and in general applications only get approval if there's something more than just "60 mph would be insane on this twisty road."   There needs to be something more concrete demonstrated, e.g. "This road is outside the built-up area with street lights, but there are still lots of houses and shops with many cars turning and pedestrians about, so 60 mph is unreasonable and it should be 40."   Or "This might be a street-lit road through the middle of the city, but it's a major thoroughfare with no pedestrians about, capable of being driven safely at 40 to 50 mph, so the default 30 is unreasonably slow for a major traffic artery."

You mean like this?

A brief historical overview

There you go with that British understatement again Paul

There you go with that British understatement again Paul

Hehehe... Paul you are very informative, but it doesn't make it any easier for me to drive on those roads!

Hehehe... Paul you are very informative, but it doesn't make it any easier for me to drive on those roads!

or us avoiding you.      

Well, had a great lesson today... and I've booked my test!  17 December at 3pm. Eeeeeek!!! It's kind of scary having a date... but it's just one week before Christmas, so hopefully all that jolly good cheer will keep the examiner kind.