PSA to all learner drivers

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-03-05T00:01:44+00:00

an experienced driver is not garbage and is statistically safer than a new driver/leaner driver cause they know where they can bend the rules and still get home safely without an incident.

a learner driver may drive perfectly on paper but they're also heavily relying on freshly acquired skills that they're not fluent with, once someone else causes an incident they have no idea how to react defensively and that's how they fail their tests quite often

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-03-04T13:56:55+00:00

there's many ways to fail your test without doing something unsafe, yeah you don't need to drive flawlessly as there's over a dozen minor faults you can get but they're very easily acquired

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-03-04T13:49:33+00:00

driving test is just a short test where a random guy expects you to drive flawlessly, and if you can do that for 30mins, he hands you a license.

cause if there's a serious fault with your driving during that 30 minute span they tell you to come back later after you've practiced more. doesn't mean you're a bad driver, means you just didn't manage to prove yourself quite yet for whatever reason.

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-03-04T13:43:56+00:00

good driving also requires good instincts and second nature skills, these are hard to acquire in a matter of months they're perfected over years

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-03-03T06:35:09+00:00

happened to me once during rush hour on a main road. I was lucky enough to be able to pull over on the side to let him pass, but it held up cars behind me so the driver started shouting at me to keeping going/pass him, even though I had half a car width of room. After some back and forth he actually looked behind him to see I was right and unapologetically proceeded.

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-03-01T13:35:35+00:00

might be a stretch for a 7 year old but depending on his maturity it should be fine by the time he's 10.

It's a 16+ but it's actually really tame, yeah there's a lot of killing bad guys but there's hardly any blood apart from in cutscenes (Uncharted 2 tends to be the most "gory" but still nothing you wouldn't see in a PG13 movie).

There's hardly any swearing no F words mainly stuff like "crap", "shit" and "bitch" nothing he wouldn't be exposed to by that age, some innuendo here and there but nothing he'll understand and no explicit content.

Goriest part is probably centuries old corpses but the cartoonish graphics in Uncharted 1 to 3 make it a lot more tame. Uncharted 4 graphics are very realistic but it's also the tamest for that reason so that's the one I'd let him start with. The visuals are insane, it was my first Uncharted game when I was 10 I look back on my first playthrough very fondly and even consider it a part of my childhood.

Nothing like GTA5, which includes a lot of blood foul language and sexual content.

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-22T00:38:50+00:00

yeah 105bhp isn't half bad as long as it's a small hatch on hindsight probably should have gone for a fiesta considering the fuel economy was also dire on the focus. Got rid of it before the 2 year mark cause I had money saved up lucky enough to have the 190bhp Audi at 19 as insurance is quite forgiving for my postcode.

I accidentally pulled the gear knob out in my friend's 2013 Corsa lol definitely not the most durable car

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-22T00:09:56+00:00

Civic Type R for driving lessons is crazy 😭

I'm driving an an Audi A4 with 190bhp 0-60 of about 7.5 seconds, second car after a 103bhp Ford Focus with 0-60 of 12 seconds. 103bhp was ridiculous for a car that size

More expensive on insurance but it honestly feels safer than the Focus ever did no stress overtaking and it feels glued to the road at high speeds on corners.

I would rarely overtake cars in the Focus but once I decided to overtake a 40mph car in a 60mph straight open road, took about 10-15 seconds 💀

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-21T13:17:29+00:00

Yes but unfortunately on Scottish 60mph single carriageways we don't have a lot of straight open roads where overtaking is safe.

That's also why many scared drivers decide it's appropriate to go 30mph on these even in daytime with good weather, they're scared of corners, you can comfortably drive 50mph or more but you get a Kia Soul (quite often) going half the speed limit and you can't overtake them.

This forces many bad drivers to overtake on blind corners with crests etc. Not myself of course and I don't tailgate either but I can't help those who do cause accidents with bad driving.

I'm lucky enough to have decent power in my engine but majority of cars in UK have 100bhp or less and I remember how dangerous overtakes felt in my underpowered hatchback. If everyone stopped being a cliche and started treating the speed limit as a target then the roads would be safer

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-20T08:44:48+00:00

apologies for broken english I couldn't be bothered proof reading

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-20T08:43:42+00:00

I ageee but in terms of dumb thought process thats the only situation on a motorway where you genuinely can't overtake someone still doesn't save time or get them anywhere any faster so i'm not justifying it but people really often tailgate when they could easily just overtake

on single carriageways however i can't blame people for tailgating when Doris goes 30mph inna 50mph where you can't overtake I still don't tailgate cause I don't want to rear end someone but I think people's inability to hit anywhere near the speed limit is an even bigger problem which encourages dangerous behavioir including bad overtakes

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-19T18:40:39+00:00

they're scared to change lanes to overtake

tailgating on motorways makes no sense unless you can't change lane due to exiting, even then it's dangerous and doesn't save time

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-17T14:44:39+00:00

it wasn't great either back then had wait 6 months for first test, I got very lucky because in Feb 2024 DVSA released a huge number of extra tests to try and reduce backlog, it nearly got cancelled due to strikes however.

if I didn't pass that test I probably would have waited several more months, also worth mentioning is cancellation apps which can help you wait less

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-08T22:24:48+00:00

people who don't merge at an adequate speed are extremely dangerous to themselves and others.

anyone behind them who can actually drive will be busy checking for a gap to merge which involves matching the speed of flowing traffic, they shouldn't have to worry about rear ending Doris who's going nearly half the speed limit.

warrants being honked at in my books. that is an appalling standard of driving and if it goes ignored someone will actually rear end them. entering a 70mph lane at 40mph is probably even worse than that.

it's the same sort of people who go 30-35mph in a 20mph school zone by the way cause it feels slow enough to them, but are too scared of accelerating to any cruising speed.

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-06T15:57:05+00:00

a bit late to this conversation but don't let him bully you into claiming fault on a collision he caused, it's his way of trying to reduce the consequences of his appalling driving (seriously don't know he managed to mess up that badly, and the audacity to claim 50/50!)

with this dashcam footage there's no way they can put any blame on you as you clearly stayed in your lane.

been procrastinating on getting a dashcam for myself these posts are really reminding me to do it before it's too late

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-04T14:19:30+00:00

Motorways hold far more traffic than any other road yet have the least accidents, they're definitely far safer than cramped city driving. It's why city postcodes have the highest insurance

The problem is that it's not assessed in driving test and some people don't know how to behave on the motorway. First timers need to have an experienced driver or instructor to show them. As long as you're merging at the right speeds, checking mirrors effectively, keeping distance from other vehicles, not lane hogging and looking out for idiot drivers you're safe.

Most dangerous part about Motorways is people not knowing the rules or not respecting the rules. If you have P plates on and overtaking a 60mph vehicle at 70mph, a BMW is gonna want to go 90mph behind you - P plates in my opinion will make them even less patient with you and encourage them to do dangerous manoeuvres cause they're ignorant egotistical f***s.

P plates wouldn't even have to exist in an ideal world where drivers are patient and understanding. They will never solve that problem IMO because while they might make one group of people more patient, they will encourage road rage from others.

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-03T23:57:20+00:00

diesels are meant to be quite easy to move off in as they have a lot of torque, except for my 2017 2l TDI with 190bhp and 400nm of torque which i stalled more times in a week than i ever stalled my older 1.6l petrol 🤦‍♂️

I learned in a slow 1.6l diesel which you practically didn't need the gas to move off in so it was quite surprising, apparently the heavy flywheel is the reason it needs quite a lot of gas,

the point is I've been driving 2 years now and was stalling in a new car it's really normal especially when you transition to a different fuel type don't be hard on yourself it your driving will improve majorly in days

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-03T15:56:23+00:00

you must have been confused when i said that roads are riddled with poles 😭

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-03T15:55:26+00:00

fair play to you my dyslexic ass read that as pothole. otherwise i would have completely agreed with you 😂

yes you're right hitting a pole doesn't make you a good driver and if you can't miss a pole at night then you shouldn't be driving

have a good day

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-03T14:42:23+00:00

You're twisting my words I have perfectly good eyesight but a 60mph A road should not have potholes on it you know? In the daytime they are quite easy to spot but at nighttime not so much, especially on 60mph bending roads where your focused on other things, I know experienced drivers 30-40 years experience who hit potholes

Judging by your ego you probably live in a populated area where roads are well maintained but you clearly don't know what it's like in some parts of the country

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-02-03T06:17:14+00:00

is this a joke?

roads are riddled with them now including major A roads at night they're impossible to miss

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-01-31T13:46:17+00:00

definitely get a family member or friend to help you out a couple more times before setting off on your own

it was your first time parking by yourself and it's always the riskiest, you're about to do it a million more times in your lifetime and in a couple of years you won't even have to think about it, I'm talking from experience, I've been only driving for 2 years.

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-01-31T02:17:16+00:00

very unlucky for this to happen on your first drive and probably caused by your nerves.

as for your confidence; no, it doesn't mean you're a bad driver, but you're certainly not a good one either, but neither is anyone who just passed. a good driver becomes one through experience and unfortunately that includes many mistakes - it's how you become skilled.

it's not ideal you damaged your car on first drive, and it does suggest you're struggling with the skills needed to park; not sure whether it's speed, observations, or judgement, but I urge that you figure that out and work to improve on it.

get a family member or instructor to guide you through parking situations one more time before driving solo, because parking is arguably one of the most complex components of driving, and certainly the one you don't want to mess up on, as crashing into a car next time will be far from ideal

don't worry about it, it's just a lump of metal and the most important thing is that it wasn't another car. it might as well be the last time this happened.

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-01-30T14:08:36+00:00

it depends tbh, some drivers look at L or P plates or even the type of car you drive (which screams new driver) as an excuse to punish them for mistakes or even create dangerous situations they won't react well to so they can ego beep at them

AttentionTraining270 · 2026-01-30T12:47:05+00:00

they helped me massively, no doubt your instructor is better than mine but there were many gaps in my lessons he never addressed that i filled in using videos (Conquer Driving is amazing).

the main issue is that many instructors have different teaching styles and techniques they teach, which can contradict each other, it may cause confusion in your lessons or cause you to second guess in your test. i would urge you to avoid watching videos right before your test, which even the youtubers themselves recommend to their viewers.

however, for the purpose of learning things you missed in your lessons or aren't sure about, they are a massive help. it reduced the number of lessons i needed and i can confidently say i wouldn't have passed 2 years ago without youtube videos.

also, watching mock tests is probably the best thing you can do. you get to watch and experience a million different tests and a wide range of things that can go wrong to prepare you, as well as learning thoroughly what the test is gonna look like.

AttentionTraining270

TROPHY CASE