robs did I not tell you about my planned trip to Perth, Sydney and Melbourne next year :D
+1 Not to sound fatuous, but - be open to criticism and suggestions, and just...do it, watch, and learn. Apparently there's good evidence to suggest that it takes about 100K miles to become a reasonably-aware driver... :-0
eek I doubt many people have that much experience. Even my dad, he had a good ten year gap without owning a car/driving so I recken he has only knocked up just over 100k. I've probably got about 1000 miles experience behind me, not a lot really is it. I know I am still learning, the big thing I need to do is learn to deal with traffic - on my own. I have the right attitude, I know full well how dangerious a motor vehicle can be, it is the phyiscal experience I need now. Pass plus will help a lot with that.
ok, maybe, but NEVER become complacent... YOU need ALL the experniece. As some one said , go and find some quiet roads on sunday morning.......and just get use to driving around quietly on your own. I don't want to be unkind.....or dampen your joy.....but i m astonished you are telling us you need physical experince having just go through. What id have thought you woiuld be looking for is to increase your road sense skills.....or perhapts thats what you meant? Might I also suggest (i hope not untactfully) you look towards the advnced motoring course, maybe in a year or sos time. I "participated "in it 3/4 years ago, with deep regret i didn't get it ....but it gave me a lot of useful imformation . Some of the course I have to say I didn't agre with at all (prob why i didn't get it) but there was some pretty useful stuff too. It ain't easy though.
I meant road skills. I can drive a car blind folded (on an empty field!). But obviously in the past I have always asked other peoples opinion or listened to comments, I've always had that re-assurance that I was right. When I am on my own that changes. Driving a car is easy, its dealing with traffic and road conditions that is the great skill and I don 't think we ever stop learning that. Advanced driving is something I am half thinking about, but there is also my Cisco course (next year) etc to pay for. Pass Plus for now is a good way to improve on my skills, will do this in a few weeks time once my own motor is sorted. I've been discussing this with my dad, he needs a car for his business, so if I crashed my Fiesta Ghia we would be out of a job, so I am going to buy a second car, I will have the second car, but if the Ghia is a better one if either us need to make a long journey we will use that. I will be insured on the new car under my own policy, where as the Fiesta Ghia will be insured under my dad. I am now nervious about my first time alone, but I am just going to go to the end of the road, turn round and drive back again just to know how it feels.
Don't get freaked out. Chances of anything bad happening are tiny. Get in the car, go for a spin, ENJOY it :Lplates:
My exact experience also, and I didn't take the test for the same reason BUT yes it's definately worth going along to, having a few lessons and if you get along with the methods and some of the info better than I did (and a few other full time drivers who happened to be on the course with me) then it's worth doing the exam - you'll feel good and should have cheaper insurance too! As for your first drive, don't worry, it's VERY weird but good fun. My first drive out was to pick my new (old) car up, my Dad drove in front of me and pulled me into a few laybys along the way to make sure I could signal, steer and brake a car I'd never seen before properly - that was a good experience.
Yes, I'd have loved to have got it. The Gods just weren't with me on the day. I had a bit of toothache on the day......I was trying to fit the test in with (then) self employmnt duites........and it all went belly up. I actaully don't think I was too far off the standard required if it hadn't been for the fact I wasn't feeling very well. Cest la vie I guess.
Indeed, not to worry though, if you've taken the bits you agree with and found helpful/useful then applied them to your driving having thrown the rest you disagree with in the bin as I have, then it was still a worthwhile experience
Yeah, true enough. I cetainly don't have the resources (or time) to go tramping up and down motorways (for practice/tuition) now.
I did mine in an auto which made life much easier (there's no difference in the qualification between manual and auto on the advanced test). It took me about six months of driving a manual again to get myself sorted out without brake/gear overlap, using rev-matched downshifts, etc. I might shortly start looking at RoSPA as the next step.
Yes I think it might. Not to sound too sour about it.... I had the escort at that time.....a (rare) 75 which got the turbo diesel. The only snag was the turbo was a little unprectable in when it was going to puff. This got me into all manner of trouble at the time. My present transit connect would be far better.
I understand what you mean david - some cars are hard to drive smoothly. Various faults with my second car (galant GDI) meant it was very hard to drive smoothly, with enormous amounts of driveline shunt. I was planning to go in for rospa, but I found I just couldn't drive that car smoothly enough to actually get anywhere on such a course. Now I've got the Accord I will start to consider it again. That said, at the point that I was doing my IAM stuff, the auto box in the galant wasn't ideal as the fluid was getting pretty old and it was horribly jerky on downhill, off-throttle 3-2 downshifts (my observer thought I'd kicked the brake!). A year or so later with good fluid plus improving my knowledge of the auto to be able to rev-match downshifts when controlling it manually, I could do it much smoother.
hmmm....... Interesting you have had a similar experince. Sounds very similar actually.......in pitb value anyway. As an aside, I (co) drove my Dads subarus forester auto back from Norfolk ..... The auto, was ok, you couldn't fault it (mostly!) for smoothness but it was VERY sensitive. I saw the tacho needle swing past 6000 rpm a coupe of times and I wasn't doing anything at all mad. My dad actually talked to the garage about it; they just "don't worry about it....let it get on with it". The car has a whopping high top (5th?); about 26mph/1000rpm......so your cruising winding a/b roads at +-2000 rpm......feed in a bit of gas for the corner......and kicks straight out of that. Smooth it maybe but theres always a bit of reaction......frustrating when your trying to drive ,as you say, smoothly.
Congratulations AT! I think you're just a couple of years younger than me? I too found fully comp to only be a few quid more. Enjoy
I've found it depends on the car but the sort of car I am looking at the excess is not much more than the car is worth anyway . Seen a Seat Ibiza with FSH I might go and see tomrorow. Its the P reg polo clone, my main concern is it dosn'tr have an airbag but on a car like that I doubt that will make much difference anyway.
