I passed my driving test in 2020 and boy...what a ride it's been!!
In total, I have had eight driving instructors. That's probably more than wat the average learner driver have whilst learning to drive. But sometimes, it takes some people just a little bit longer to grasp that steering wheel.
Instructor 1
The first time I attempted to learn to drive was in Bradford. I had moved there to study for my Postgrad degree in Psychology. I had heard from people that London was a hard city to learn in. So I thought I would take advantage of the situation and learn to drive while I was in Bradford. However, I was studying, not earning and most of my savings were going on paying for my teeth. So, had to pull out of driving.
Instructor 2
Some years later, I attempted again. This time I was back in London. As much as I liked the instructor (probably would have been my favourite instructor), he kept forgetting when he booked lessons with me. So, off I went to Instructor 3.
Instructor 3
Instructor 3 was on power trip. He was a few years younger than me but probably though he needed to assert himself. On our last lesson, he kept yelling at me, mocking me, saying that I had wasted my money on the driving lessons. He told me thousands of students passed with him and his way was the only. That was it. I hate him and I did not want to be one of his 'success stories'.
Instructor 4
Instructor 3 put me off driving for several years. But I always wanted to drive. I wanted to be that independent woman who could drive. I wanted to be that girl who drove to work, went on city breaks via car, enjoyed a cheeky drive thru meals.....So, a couple of years before my provisional expired, I contacted Instructor 4. And I also threw in the towel in manual driving...
Instructor 4 was the guy I passed with. In all honesty, he wasn't the best. He would spend most of the lesson speaking on the phone. But I didn't want to have any more instructors so spent longer than I should have just to get it done!!
Instructor 5
I was seeing someone round about the time of Instructor 4. He told me I should look for a different instructor. So, I did. Instructor 5 was just a teeny bit better than Instructor 3. He kept calling me an 'amateur driver' (which I was) and kept laughing whenever I used my signals. He was out and I returned back to Instructor 4. Instructor 4 has no idea!!
Instructor 6
I came across Instructor 6 on YouTube. He posted lots of videos of driving tests (without sound) all in my area. I studied all of his videos. I commented on all the videos. I became a nerd at this point. I was determined to just pass already. Instructor 6 contacted me after I had gone through pretty much all of his videos, commenting on everything. He offered to give me a mock test and he would give me feedback. This was the best thing I ever did before my test!
Instructor 7
After passing my practical driving test, I was still very nervous on the road even though I had bought my car within a week of passing and got plenty of practice. Fast-forward to some months after I passed, I got a job that involved driving. This was a job I had applied to before but didn't get cause I couldn't drive at that time. So as pleased as I was to get the job, I knew I needed some top up lessons.
Before I had passed, I made some friends with YouTube driving instructors. I contacted one of them and she referred a friend of hers who was local to me. However, this instructor often cancelled and then she told me there was some family problems. She said we could reschedule classes but she never did respond to me. So, I was ghosted by Instructor 7....!!
Instructor 8
Instructor 8 was my final driving instructor. I booked some lessons with him. We mainly did the motorway together; that's been my only experience of the motorway to date. This was supposed to be Pass Plus but I have a feeling he wasn't feeling confident enough for me to have a certificate. But that was okay, I just needed to get some confidence and he helped me with that.
And now to present day...I have only had one accident, which is more than what I would have liked. I now know to be super vigilant about checking my blind spot before changing lanes. More than the instructors, YouTube videos helped me pass. And more than anything my job helped me improve as a driver. So to all the newbie nervous drivers out there, if I can do it, so can you. You got this......!!
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