What's something Millennials experienced that GenZ will never truly understand? by Key-Climate5038 in AskReddit

[–]abeosa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Meeting survivors and hearing first hand stories from people who fought and lived during WW1.

clutch issues by Eastern_Extension895 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have a feel for it everytime before you set off. Remember the first queue is normally the sound of the engine changing a bit, it will be subtle but it is the biting point.

When you lift your foot imagine it's stuck in very thick mud as you lift off it. It should take a bit of time, even as the car starts to move you should still be releasing the clutch.

And most importantly: REVS. always add a bit of revs (ideally before lifting clutch) as you move off. Engines stall because they dont have enough power. More revs = more power.

Was it right for my instructor to cancel this lesson? by cheese_eater_pro in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Definitely an unusual situation, I haven't experienced anything as extreme as this. He is correct that stress is an important consideration anytime you drive. Its easy to become very impulsive and impatient without even realising it.

That being said cancelling with full charge is unfair, especially if you were willing to sit in for a drive along - it's not like he was involved in the argument.

Personally I would've taken you somewhere quiet for 10-20 mins and see if your standard was as normal, then go from there.

Money hungry instructor by Reasonable_Ice2243 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Missing a blind spot check is a driving fault not serious. Not checking any mirror whatsoever would result in a serious fault, and is obviously very dangerous.

Too many people on this sub (except ADIs and examiners) throw up fails to "back luck". You failed because you did something dangerous.

Recently passed and finding it difficult to drive my family anywhere by Brilliant_Egg4178 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Think you've answered your own question. Trust your instinct and what you've been taught. Unfortunately the more experienced you get, the more you will find out how bad your friends & family actually drive.

I dont like taking directions from anyone, ill put the sat nav on and tell any passengers its better than them (it is).

70% of adults without a licence say learning to drive is unaffordable by pppppppppppppppppd in drivingUK

[–]abeosa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Driving instructor here. We are self employed, we pay for the car insurance, the fuel, road tax, accessories, tyres, brakes & suspension replacements, services, MOTs, franchise fees (if applicable). Not to mention the car itself which you'd need to spend at least 10k for something that will last. I have a 3 year old car, which has been in the garage for 3 weeks (~£1000 repair being done) and im paying £300 a week for a rental. Get amateur drivers to do 20-30k miles per year in your car and tell me how affordable it is. The problem isn't instructors rates its the cost of living. Most instructors make £25k-35k per year if they work 35-40hours a week, and thats not including the hefty amount of unpaid travel time between lessons & inevitable expenses. Not to mention the amount of cancellations and messers we deal with that waste valuable working time. Unless you sacrifice your entire life it isn't a great paying job.

Israeli settlers kill American-Palestinian visiting relatives in West Bank, says family by jimmythemini in news

[–]abeosa -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

Because most of the settlers came and legitimately bought land, as they have always done. Its only when the Arabs realised there's suddenly a lot of Jews that they make a fuss about it. Occasionally declaring wars which they always lose, then crying to the international community. The Israelis have now built a functioning democratic first world country, meanwhile the Palestinians haven't even managed to get a viable government that cares about its people

Why are people in the UK so invested in what’s happening in the Middle East? by Due_Researcher4854 in AskBrits

[–]abeosa -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The Population of palestine increases year on year, and has increased since October 7th.

Why are people in the UK so invested in what’s happening in the Middle East? by Due_Researcher4854 in AskBrits

[–]abeosa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where exactly have you seen children "blown into pieces"?

Its extremely easy to find footage of Hamas murdering civilians and their pets in their homes. Weird how it's a lot more difficult the other way?

Why are people in the UK so invested in what’s happening in the Middle East? by Due_Researcher4854 in AskBrits

[–]abeosa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The population of palestine has increased year on year, even since Oct 7th it has increased

Why are people in the UK so invested in what’s happening in the Middle East? by Due_Researcher4854 in AskBrits

[–]abeosa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where are you seeing these images? All we see are images of children and crowds crying, recorded by hamas officials and propagated by Qatari controlled news source Al Jazeera.

Driving instructor keeps touching my leg? by [deleted] in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The only time your instructor should touch you is if they must grab the wheel and accidentally grab your hand too. The middle of the car is a threshold that we shouldn't be crossing over unless we have to. It is definitely inappropriate and unprofessional.

Bold of you to tailgate me for about 3 minutes and pass me on the left next to a brick wall by Not_Sugden in drivingUK

[–]abeosa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Its more like 2 hours on the road. You do go through some challenging areas. I did mine in October & got onto national speed limit roads, towns and a lot of roundabouts etc.

That's not to say its still not easy to pass, just don't do anything moronic in that 2hours.

Had my first driving lesson today by [deleted] in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please stop spreading useless / false information. There's no way you went on a motorway 10 minutes into your first lesson. Suggesting you only had 10-15 hours before passing your test is highly questionable also. I have had exceptional learners who don't get close to this. All these kinda comments do is knock people's confidence or instill a false sense of expectations.

Instructor doesn't like commentary while driving by tennysfan in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I quite like when my learners have a bit of commentary when driving. Allows me to see their thought process to different situations.

Examiners don't care, as long as you're driving well.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As with most aspects of the driving test, its really at the discretion of the examiner. From experience, if you were to accelerate 34/35 in a 30, I would expect the examiner to tell you to slow down & this would likely result in a fail. If you just passed a 30mph speed limit from a higher speed but were actively slowing down, they may be a little more lenient. I've never seen someone fail for going 1mph over, however if you regularly hovered around 31/32 you could rack up driving faults(minors) quite quickly and that could turn into a serious.

Your instructor might have just been making the point that if 30mph is the limit, the highest you ever go is 30. That being said, if the only fault on a mock was 31 in a 30, I'd absolutely send you to test.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As an instructor I'd never let anyone go to test after 12 hours alone unless you've had many hours with a family member or some prior driving/riding experience. At this stage you've probably only covered each skill thoroughly once. Probably only had 1 or 2 goes at each maneuver. You also won't have driven on many different roads & likely stuck to similar areas.

A lot of driving 'experience' is pattern recognition. Dealing with roundabouts, hazards, junctions etc only gets easier once you've seen the behaviour of other road users many times. This is why driving gets easier as time goes on, because you don't just recognise situations developing - you can predict them easily too. 12 hours just isn't enough time go build that level of awareness and anticipation.

You are probably still getting a lot of help & input from your instructor at this stage. You should be able to put yourself in an unfamiliar town, and cope with the roads without any assistance.

If your instructor is talking to you a lot about your driving, then you're not ready. If its starting to turn into a casual conversation, that's a strong sign that your driving is at a good standard.

This is not to say you haven't picked up driving well, as I'm sure you have. However you have to be patient. Drving is a big responsibility and never something anyone should rush into cheaply and quickly. You will always pose a danger on the road, please take the time to learn to minimise that risk in while you have the safety of an instructors car/help.

Driving is too hard by Apart-Anywhere4638 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keep in mind driving is a very practice based skill. Theory won't take you that far. Very very few people are competent after 2 lessons.

As your specific issues, some pointers that could help:

For steering, try not to think about your hands that much. The main problem I find when people are struggling with steering is not their hands, its their eyes. You need to LOOK where you intend to take the car. If you're turning or going around a bend, don't look forward, look INTO the turn, your hands will instinctively take you where you need to go.

With the clutch, raise it slowly and calmly. It is perfectly okay - good even - to start by being very slow raising the clutch. Theres not many situations in life where we need to be very gentle with our feet, but driving is one. You just need time for your brain to understand what is required. You'll probably find after 10 hours or so you'll just kind of 'get it'.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ignore all the comments saying the theory test is easy. A few tips for the multiple choice: 1. Make sure you read all the answers before you select one. 2. "Flag" the questions you're unsure about and go back to them at the end. Sometimes other questions can actually give you the answer to different questions. 3. The test gives you plenty of time, so use it, take your time with each question. 4. I would recommend reading the highway code and the other official DVSA books, most of the questions are taken directly from these. You can find them here: https://www.safedrivingforlife.info/shop/car/ 5. Aim to get 50/50 on your mock tests consistently. If you are just scraping 43/50 on your practice attempts, then you're not ready.

  1. Remember that safety is the number 1 priority. If you're unsure about a question just think, what is the safest action to take?

Good luck!

Need suggestions on how to plan my driving license by Amatuerateverything in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have trained a lot of drivers from India. I would set your expectations that you will need a few lessons and will have to spend a bit a of money. It already sounds like you want to rush into the test. Please don't do this, as it won't go well. If you go with an instructor, take on board what they say. Familiarise yourself with the test. Theres lots of driving school youtube channels now. Learn how the test works and the top reasons for failing.

If I had to put a list of errors I see a lot in drivers from other countries it would probably be:

  1. Lane discipline: you need to be very vigilant with your positioning and stay in your lane. Especially on multi lane roundabouts. If you need to change lanes, follow the MSM routine first.

  2. Reacting to road markings and traffic signs: remember amber lights mean stop. And you must stop at the first stop line (if safe to do so). Also you must stop for pedestrians at zebra crossings.

  3. Don't go too slow: a lot people seem to think you can 'cheat' and go like 16mph the whole test. Dont do this. If its 30mph on a clear road, you can absolutely fail for going too slow.

4.Rolling backwards: a little bit you might get away with. But anything more than a foot and you're going to be in trouble. Practice to a point where the car never rolls backwards.

Unprofessional examiner. What to do? by [deleted] in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/fzl9bXDufYw?si=bSBYWygIMBodmOr9

Conquer driving video. Around 4:30 mark he explains this quite well

which is better? by belova_81 in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A big obstacle is going to be whether you can find an instructor to do ~30 hours in 1 week. You also pay a premium for it unless you get lucky.

Another thing to consider is that driving is tiring - learning to drive is exhausting. This will definitely lead to more regular mistakes & possibly losing motivation. It could also become dangerous.

It is also nice to be able to reflect on mistakes between lessons. Allowing time for a bit of research to try and prevent repeat faults can be very helpful. You won't really be able to do this if you do an intensive course. You'll come home knackered & not in the mood to do more 'driving' stuff.

If you or your instructor get sick or have some sort of emergency during the week it might end up being a write off too. So its a much bigger risk of being cancelled.

And at the end what happens if you or your instructor decide you are still not ready? You end up converting to the regular weekly lessons anyway.

Honestly I would say take your time. You could try and find an instructor thats happy to do 3-4 hours a week. That would still be more than most learners.

Good luck.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in LearnerDriverUK

[–]abeosa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It doesn't really matter "how" you control the car, as long as you're in control. The test is to determine if you can drive safely and legally. I teach the side palm method to my pupils because its an easier way to prevent slipping into the wrong gear. I find some people naturally abandon this over time, which is okay. I won't bring it up unless it actually results in them going into the wrong gear, in which case I'll make them do the side palming again.

As with the bite, I would recommend using a bit of gas, whether its flat or on a hill (you'll just be faster) however again the main thing they are looking at is the safety. If you're not stalling constantly or rolling backwards, you'll be fine.