Driving Lessons

Holy Cow, tell me the photo is not a real thing?

Nope, it's real. We have one North of where I live!

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We live in Swindon. Tom drives over it everyday.

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eee!!!! eeee!!!! eeee!!!! {sound of Nan hyperventilating} Dear Lord, what were they thinking???

Ok, so I learned how to reverse into a bay today. (More or less.) And I only missed one roundabout turn, and kinda didn't do very well on one "crossing a dual carriageway". And I do hand-over-hand on the wheel, which apparently is bad. And I should not look over my shoulder, I should rely on the mirrors. Forgetting fifty years of driving one way is tougher than I thought!  So, a couple more months and maybe I'll be able to take the driving test. The theory and hazards test is this Friday.

Sigh. All this so I can go home maybe once or twice to visit and be able to rent a car! 

You never know when else it might come in useful Nan! Good luck! 

Yeah, that's the theory I'm going on... might actually need to be able to do it here someday. (If I end up living in the country or something and the Daughter gets sick. Etc.) At least I wasn't so tense that I left fingerprints in the wheel this time!

I think it would help if 1) I could hear him better and 2) I could decipher his accent more quickly. It takes me a few seconds to figure out what he's just said, sometimes. Which has tended to be just a few seconds too late! Oh well.

Holy Cow, tell me the photo is not a real thing?

Holy smokes! Here I thought Inshes roundabout was nasty......spiraling lanes....so messed up


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There's a similar one right next to Heathrow airport, cleverly placed to catch people just as they climb into a rental car and drive in the UK for the first time.  Diabolical!

There's a similar one right next to Heathrow airport, cleverly placed to catch people just as they climb into a rental car and drive in the UK for the first time.  Diabolical!

I went around that a few times my first trip here. Brutal!

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i ran into that "magic roundabout" first time I was here back in 2000, I was like, WTF really?? noodled on the layout for 2 seconds, waited for a break in traffic and just gunned it across 

I am so hoping I can get my license soon. So that I don't have to drive here anymore. 

My lesson today was postponed from 2pm to 3:30. Which will mean I'm driving when the bus lanes start hours of operation and during the beginning of the "rush hour". 

I think in a couple of weeks I'm going to double up on the lessons - two a week instead of one -  now that I'm not petrified to get in the car and drive it anymore. The only way I'm going to manage the test is by lots of practice. I did great on the paper/video tests, so I obviously know "the rules" - it's just a matter of getting used to being on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. And the roundabout connected to the roundabout that's connected to the roundabout!

Just back. I was so proud of myself. I parallel parked no problem, just zipped into the spot fine. I have ~NEVER~ been able to parallel park. Except that it was 'all wrong' because I didn't look back enough once I had gotten well underway. And then I got so rattled I blew through a mini-roundabout, and went on the pavement (which didn't appear to be pavement) on a left turn. And I automatically do hand-over-hand when doing a hard steer around a corner. I am never going to get a license at this rate. I'm awful at this new stuff.      I just want to be able to drive in the USA so I can go home to visit.     Will try again in a couple of days.

Just back. I was so proud of myself. I parallel parked no problem, just zipped into the spot fine. I have ~NEVER~ been able to parallel park. Except that it was 'all wrong' because I didn't look back enough once I had gotten well underway. And then I got so rattled I blew through a mini-roundabout, and went on the pavement (which didn't appear to be pavement) on a left turn. And I automatically do hand-over-hand when doing a hard steer around a corner. I am never going to get a license at this rate. I'm awful at this new stuff.      I just want to be able to drive in the USA so I can go home to visit.     Will try again in a couple of days.

You are doing so well, Nan. Don't be hard on yourself!   

Just back. I was so proud of myself. I parallel parked no problem, just zipped into the spot fine. I have ~NEVER~ been able to parallel park. Except that it was 'all wrong' because I didn't look back enough once I had gotten well underway. And then I got so rattled I blew through a mini-roundabout, and went on the pavement (which didn't appear to be pavement) on a left turn. And I automatically do hand-over-hand when doing a hard steer around a corner. I am never going to get a license at this rate. I'm awful at this new stuff.      I just want to be able to drive in the USA so I can go home to visit.     Will try again in a couple of days.

Don’t give up Nan! It IS tough to learn to drive a totally different way, but you’ve come so far!


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Holy Cow, tell me the photo is not a real thing?

There are others.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/magic-roundabout