OT I need a whinge...

You will be fine. I soooooooooo know how you feel as I had loads of days like this in the run up to my test a few weeks ago. I kept stalling in H's car and people would honk and swear at me. We had huge rows and I would start bawling my eyes out. I felt like I was getting nowhere fast.

Just take things at your own speed. Don't give up - it might be a good idea to go out again tonight and get it over and done with - you will be brilliant and feel a lot more positive about next time.

And if I can pass first time, you can. Don't listen to your H2B. I didn't want to learn to drive either but I needed to for better job prospects and because H was having to do all the driving. And there was the pressure from the MIL. But its the best thing I ever did - I went shopping on my own out of town on Friday and I felt so free!!!!!

On a side note - I went on a motorway on Sat on the way up to Pitlochry, And absolutely shat myself doing 85 mph to get past a lorry! But afterwards I felt like I had to acheived so much. You'll get there you really will!!!!

Have a ?

I can remember my worst lesson like it was yeaterday and it was 8 years ago, I was braking wrong, putting the car in the wrong gear, getting really frustrated with myself etc etc.

I didn't pass the 1st time because I went up on a kerb reversing round a corner but I didn pass the 2nd time, I was calm and collected and I was prepared for what was to come.

I know it's no consolation hearing that if you don't pass the first time that you can always try again but it's true!, don't put so much pressure on yourself, it's not the only opportuity you are going to have of sitting the test...my mum tried to make me feel better after failing by telling me that it took my nan 9 times before she passed ?

Try taking resuce remedy on "lessons" with your h2b, then you will know if it will work for the real thing ?

Firstly?

1. The country roads - Is it a national speed limit (white circle with a black diagonal line)? Then I was always told an average on those roads should be 40 so dont feel as if you should be going faster. If you need to take your time then do it!

2. Parallel parking - YAY! I still cant do that after 5 years!

3. Hitting accelerator instead of brake - This can still happen to an experienced driver (yes I have done it!) but your reaction to it was spot on and that will be noticed.

4. Crap days - As I say, 5 years on and that still happens!!

5. OH - I'm sure he is not putting pressure on you on purpose but that's not really fair.

6. "I dont expect you to pass first time" - He's only trying to help but yes that is a bit of a daft thing to say so? to him. AND, how does he know you wont pass first time?!

7. Is there anyone else who can take you out in the car as I would strongly advise against going out with OH. I know from experience that it will not help with your confidence or your relationship!!

If you dont feel ready for your test then just try to think of it as a pre test (trying not to sound like your OH here!!) If you dont pass then it will take the edge off the next one as you will know what to expect. I should know, after the third test I was on first name terms with the examiner?.

Sarah xx

Cheers

no theres no one else... i did ask a friend but she didnt really seem that committed to helping me and no one in family drives.....

i'm driving an automatic car, I dont have to worry about half the sh!t i had to when originally learning manual, I never stall, I dont freak out at junctions, I dont have to change gear - cept I sometimes do when going down hills - but im coming home with almost 10+ faults, from driving at 32mph instead of 30 to hesitating on round abouts coz no other ***ker indicates to tell me where they are going.....

its rubbish! still i feel a bit better having gotten it off my chest.

ta.

Unfortunately there will always be w*nkers on the road it's just learning to spot them before they strike!!

Please try not to stress about it coz it only makes it worse (easier said than done i know)

I hated my driving lessons, so much so, that i was physically sick before every lesson, and shaking and everything! I had good lessons and bad lessons and honestly thought i would never pass! The lesson before my test was horrendous and i convinced myself i'd never pass but i did eventually (third time)

Regarding manoeveres, i could not for the life of me reverse around a corner or parallel park! I still can't reverse around a corner to this day and i passed my test three years ago!

Learning to drive is so stressful and makes you feel like poo, but believe me, it will be so worth it, and you will be so independant afterwards!

I'm sorry that you don't feel very supported by your OH at the moment, maybe he's feeling under pressure too???

Maybe you shouldn't go out driving tonight and just have a break from it and relax? I know my H2B teaching me to drive Just didn't work, we just ended up arguing and then me crying all the way home, it was just a nightmare! After this hapening a couple of times, we decided not to go out in the car again and i stuck to lessons with a professional instructor!

I'm sorry i can't give you much advice, just try to relax, and whatever will be will be!

Teehee, I've got my test in the next two to three weeks and I'm making more mistakes now than ever. My h2b and driving instructor both say it's because I'm doing everything completely on my own now they're not telling me what to do and so that's why it feels like I'm doing it all wrong because I'm not realising how much I am doing right. Could that be the case?

Also, within a certain time period you can reschedule your test to give you more time. Is that an option? It might be worth asking your instructor what he thinks.

I'll go out - if only to get my mother some food. Shes useless. Shes been ill but hasnt asked for anything since we did a shop on friday. I've just called her and shes got no food but mash potatoe! The cats are better fed than her. So i'm popping round to the garage to get her some milk and a microwave meal etc..... this is one thing I am dreading about passing my test. I offered to do the shopping coz I dont want my sick mother to get worse but how long will it be before shes taking advantage of the fact I can drive??

I already forsee my mother living with us in 20 years time..... thats not going to go down well.....

oh what a crappy day!

sadly, no. I'm not quite at that stage and even today I told him off for telling me how to steer into my parallel park coz I 'wont learn otherwise' However, when he tells me to do it, its perfect. When I do it myself it's cack. He instructs me in a lot of ways, including 'Turn left at the lights' and i'll go 'what? you mean over the bridge towards the......' and he'll go yup! But I wont be able to ask my examiner that will i???

You can ask your examiner for clarification, i did anyway! Also for example, if he asks you turn right and you turn left instead, as long as you have indicated left and looked in your mirrors etc, the examiner can't mark that as a fail or a minor as far as i'm aware!

Lol well thats good to know coz I still get my lefts and rights muddled up!!

Try not to stress too much. I love driving now but it took me two years and five tests (and two theory) to pass.

My secret was having a bath with rose essential oil before the test and bach rescue remedy.

I kept getting my rights and lefts mixed up and the instructor suggested I paintd the nails on each hand a different colour as they were always visable.I painted the right ones red and the left ones blue which as I did cross country riding at the time where the red flags were on the right helped.

I got lost on my driving test, turned the wrong way, got stuck behind a Tractor on a dual carriageway and was too scared to overtake. Suprisingly, I still managed to pass first time with 15 minors, including 4 for controlling the vehicle (so should have failed, but Sssssh!)

You'll be OK, You're bound to be nervous at this point, and don't worry if you don't pass first time. Not many people do!

Nona, I eventually passed on my fifth attempt (two years ago), and only at the point where I thought, "well I'm not going to pass so I might as well just use this one as experience...".

Also, I don't know my left from my right, so on my last test I explained this to the examiner at the beginning. He was fine with it and gave me extra notice and repeated his instructions twice so that it gave me thinking space to work out whether I needed to go right or left!

On my last test I also made what could potentially have been an automatic failure size mistake, but because I realised this in time and took evasive action, explaining to the examiner what I was doing, he didn't even mark me down for a minor.

Basically, examiners are more human that you give them credit for.

I talk constantly when I'm driving ABOUT my driving, my instructor then sees my thought processes. However I can be too honest and admit my mistakes when hes not noticed.

and I swear. Like a sailor. No holding back with me. Every bad word you can think of gets shouted and screamed out to the interior of my little corsa. My instructor laughs then ticks me off at road rage so hes gets shouted at for accusing me of road rage when its ME rage.

I've just been driving with OH. It went ok though I almost caused a mini pile up coming off a dual carraigeway coz I didnt know what lane to be in. I didnt look in my mirrors as much as I would be on a lesson and I did country roads at 50mph. I also drove to McDonalds where I had a rather delish chicken ceasar salad!! I did however have to get out of the car at the drive through as I was too far away to reach. Arse.

OH has promised to take me out every night now, even if its only for half an hour.

cheers for your posts girls, whinge is officially over.

Hi, i know you've said whinge is over but just thought i add a couple of things! Like someone else said, dont worry too much about making mistakes - as long as you know how to deal with the mistake and correct it, you shouldn't get marked down for it. In my test (3rd one, which i passed) i made mistakes and stalled the car a couple of times but cos i followed the right procedure about putting handbrake on/restarting car etc.. and moving off properly, it didnt get marked down as a fault. Also if there are one or two things in particular that you struggle with, can you have extra lessons where you're instructor just focuses on those things? I used to have real difficulty with roundabouts, couldn't for the life of me get the hang of them at all. So my instructor spent a couple of lessons where all we did was go rounds islands - no other manouveures (sp?) or anything, just roundabouts. That really helped.

In my 3rd test i pulled out of the first road and immediately ended up following an army tank, then about 10 mins later ended up behind a funeral car! I think i only had to do a 3 point turn and a reverse/parrallel park and that was it. When the examiner started directing me back to the driving test centre after about 15-20 mins, having done no emergency stop, no reverse round a corner and what seemed like not much driving, i was convinced i must've really mucked up for him to be taking me back so quick and nearly fainted from shock when we parked up and he said i passed!

Good luck ? All this stress will be so worth it when you do pass. Like many others have said, it gives you so much freedom and independence & really is one of the best things i've ever done x

Cheers MrsC2b..... yeah we have lessons where all Ive done is drive backwards - literally, around a park near my house, have done the roundabouts - my lessons are 2 hrs long btw so its pretty intense and ive done 2 hrs worth of parallell parking lolol Coz they are 2 hr long sessions I dont get the chance to do another 2 during the same week his diary is always chocka

....my next lesson is the 24th...so ive got to get a whole load of driving in between then.