Tips & News
Your First Lesson!!!!
This article explains what to expect on your first driving lesson. You have spent a lot of time researching and choosing a driving instructor. You want to get the best out of your first lesson.
Don’t expect to come back from your first lesson ready for your test. Do however expect to come back from it motivated and slightly hyper.
Things to do before your first driving lesson
- Read up on car controls, moving off and stopping and left turns.
- Make sure you know where both parts of your driving licence are. Your driving instructor will need to see both parts.
- Find comfortable shoes with a thin sole and a little grip. It will help you feel the pedals
- If you wear glasses make sure that they are clean
The start of the lesson
When your instructor arrives, he will introduce himself and ask to see your driving licence. He is checking your entitlement to drive. You can expect them to check your eyesight. They might ask you to read the number plate of a car.
When you get in the car, check the front windscreen. All official driving instructors will display a pink or green badge in the front windscreen. If you cannot see the badge, ask the driving instructor to show you it. If they cannot show you their badge, they are not a real driving instructor. You should cancel the lesson and tell the DSA.
Your instructor will probably drive you to an area where the roads are nice and quiet. It makes the first lesson a lot easier if the roads are quiet.
The lesson
You have arrived at the place where you will start to learn to drive.
Your driving instructor will ask you sit in the driver’s seat. That is all they want you to do. You are about to learn how to set the car up for your use.
The instructor will coach you how to check the doors, seat, steering wheel, seat belt and mirrors. Get into the habit of checking these every time you get into the car.
Once the car is set up for your use the driving instructor will ask you to explain what you already know about each of the car controls.
The advance driving routine
When you were learning to drive your driving instructor taught you the MSPSL driving routine. Every driving school teaches this routine to learners.
MSPSL is a good routine if applied correctly. However, most people leave the looking until the last second. They stop when they don’t need to stop and go when they should stop. The advance driver routine avoids this.
Advanced drivers use the information-position-speed-gear-acceleration routine. This is called ISPGA.
As you are driving along you should constantly be gathering information about the road. You need to be aware of everything that is around you. This includes to the sides and behind you. So don’t forget to use your mirrors.
Once you see a hazard start to select a safe position. A safe position balances the hazard with traffic flow and vision. As you get closer choose a good speed for that hazard, then select the correct gear for that speed. As you get clear of the hazard, increase your speed to the correct speed for the road.
The information phase of the routine wraps around all the other phases. You might choose third for a roundabout and then see a car approaching at speed. This will change your choice of speed and gear.