Please Don't Tell Me Off, I Was Desperate!!
Right, I have a confession to make and my instructor isn't gonna like it... I've been out driving in our family car for the past 2 nights. I was only out for about half an hour last night and maybe about 10 minutes (if that) earlier but I needed to get back behind the wheel after the disaster they called my test!
Last night my hubby drove us out to Stainburn then put me in the drivers seat at a layby, which I wasn't happy about because I wanted to go somewhere quiet to get used to the car, NOT sitting on a national speed limit road, approaching a roundabout!! Me thinks he REALLY didn't think it through when he pulled up there...
I got off to a bad start when I stalled trying to get out of the layby! The pedals are totally different to what I'm used to, but I did eventually get the hang of it, kind of... We took a left at the roundabout and headed for Cockermouth then turned off for Brigham. Now bear in mind that this was around 5pm, so it was starting to get dark, I've never driven through Brigham AT ALL and I haven't driven in the dark since I first started learning, so about 10 months ago! Not a nice experience at all. I was struggling with the speed at this point because I couldn't get it to stay where I wanted it because of the hills and bends, plus the fact that I was scared of the DARK!!
Anyway, we got through Brigham without anything major happening and we headed up to Lillyhall. I reversed round a corner (kind of) though it was hard to judge it like I do in my instructor's car because the wing mirror won't move down far enough for me to see the kerb properly!
Just before I started the reverse, I spotted a learner driver and instantly recognised the car. My old instructor!! I was hoping and praying she didn't see me, which she didn't because she was too busy with her pupil, and looking back now it seems rather stupid to try and hide anyway! I'm insured, I can drive, I just haven't got the paper to prove it yet.
Anyway, we pulled onto a car park and I decided to have a go at parking in a bay. Well... You can certainly tell the difference between a small and a large car! I parked alright, down the middle of 2 spaces! I've decided to leave all manoeuvres to my instructor's car and I'll just go with the flow of traffic in hubby's car! He'll just have to change it when I pass! Either that or I'll have to jump out and let him park for me!
I even managed a little hill start! Yes, I managed to stall on that too coz I didn't have enough revs on at the time. I let him drive home because by this time it was pitch BLACK and I didn't fancy trying to navigate my way back with headlights coming at me, especially when I wasn't all that confident behind the wheel anyway!
So today both my kids were at a birthday party at the sports centre and we'd agreed that I'd drive home after we'd picked them up. I wanted to do this anyway and had decided I'd do it before that fateful day last week so it was important to me, just not in the way I'd have liked really.
Anyway, we got the party, got out and popped the L plates back on. Went in, got the kids and came back out where hubby passed me the car keys. I don't know if he actually noticed, but getting them keys in my hand put a smile on my face like you wouldn't believe! My daughter saw him give them to me and asked if I was driving home? I replied yep and they both cheered! Both were told they'd have to sit still, quiet and behave while I was driving, which, to their credit, they did! Though that could be down to the fact that they were both scoffing party bag stuff at the time!
Now on the way home, we were heading down Westfield Drive when I came to a parked car and a car coming the other way. What did I do? Yep, carried on to which my hubby asked, "Did you do that on your test?" Yes I did, and that's why I failed within the first 5 minutes of getting out of the test centre! He says he now understands WHY I failed and I really need to work on that from now on. I knew I'd done wrong as soon as I'd done it this time actually, but knowing then isn't good enough when it comes to the test, so I agree with him (for a change!).
So we get to the bottom of the hill and take a right along the speed humps which the car had no trouble with at all! Hardly felt them actually, but that's not the reason they're there so I kept my speed down to 20MPH like I usually do. I then took a left at the traffic lights because hubby decided that the front right tyre was a bit soft and needed some air (no **** Sherlock! Less than half the pressure it needs!!) so we'd nip to Morrisons on the way home.
I was feeling rather pleased with myself by now, but not too cocky to even contemplate driving onto Morrisons garage and negotiating the bollards whilst trying to get to the air pump, so we got over the roundabout and I pulled off to the left and on to the industrial estate to swap seats! I may have been enjoying myself, but I'm not that daft!
The only other thing to report is a squeak that the damn thing has developed, and "it only happened after you'd been in it last night!" Yes dear, whatever you say...
Last night my hubby drove us out to Stainburn then put me in the drivers seat at a layby, which I wasn't happy about because I wanted to go somewhere quiet to get used to the car, NOT sitting on a national speed limit road, approaching a roundabout!! Me thinks he REALLY didn't think it through when he pulled up there...
I got off to a bad start when I stalled trying to get out of the layby! The pedals are totally different to what I'm used to, but I did eventually get the hang of it, kind of... We took a left at the roundabout and headed for Cockermouth then turned off for Brigham. Now bear in mind that this was around 5pm, so it was starting to get dark, I've never driven through Brigham AT ALL and I haven't driven in the dark since I first started learning, so about 10 months ago! Not a nice experience at all. I was struggling with the speed at this point because I couldn't get it to stay where I wanted it because of the hills and bends, plus the fact that I was scared of the DARK!!
Anyway, we got through Brigham without anything major happening and we headed up to Lillyhall. I reversed round a corner (kind of) though it was hard to judge it like I do in my instructor's car because the wing mirror won't move down far enough for me to see the kerb properly!
Just before I started the reverse, I spotted a learner driver and instantly recognised the car. My old instructor!! I was hoping and praying she didn't see me, which she didn't because she was too busy with her pupil, and looking back now it seems rather stupid to try and hide anyway! I'm insured, I can drive, I just haven't got the paper to prove it yet.
Anyway, we pulled onto a car park and I decided to have a go at parking in a bay. Well... You can certainly tell the difference between a small and a large car! I parked alright, down the middle of 2 spaces! I've decided to leave all manoeuvres to my instructor's car and I'll just go with the flow of traffic in hubby's car! He'll just have to change it when I pass! Either that or I'll have to jump out and let him park for me!
I even managed a little hill start! Yes, I managed to stall on that too coz I didn't have enough revs on at the time. I let him drive home because by this time it was pitch BLACK and I didn't fancy trying to navigate my way back with headlights coming at me, especially when I wasn't all that confident behind the wheel anyway!
So today both my kids were at a birthday party at the sports centre and we'd agreed that I'd drive home after we'd picked them up. I wanted to do this anyway and had decided I'd do it before that fateful day last week so it was important to me, just not in the way I'd have liked really.
Anyway, we got the party, got out and popped the L plates back on. Went in, got the kids and came back out where hubby passed me the car keys. I don't know if he actually noticed, but getting them keys in my hand put a smile on my face like you wouldn't believe! My daughter saw him give them to me and asked if I was driving home? I replied yep and they both cheered! Both were told they'd have to sit still, quiet and behave while I was driving, which, to their credit, they did! Though that could be down to the fact that they were both scoffing party bag stuff at the time!
Now on the way home, we were heading down Westfield Drive when I came to a parked car and a car coming the other way. What did I do? Yep, carried on to which my hubby asked, "Did you do that on your test?" Yes I did, and that's why I failed within the first 5 minutes of getting out of the test centre! He says he now understands WHY I failed and I really need to work on that from now on. I knew I'd done wrong as soon as I'd done it this time actually, but knowing then isn't good enough when it comes to the test, so I agree with him (for a change!).
So we get to the bottom of the hill and take a right along the speed humps which the car had no trouble with at all! Hardly felt them actually, but that's not the reason they're there so I kept my speed down to 20MPH like I usually do. I then took a left at the traffic lights because hubby decided that the front right tyre was a bit soft and needed some air (no **** Sherlock! Less than half the pressure it needs!!) so we'd nip to Morrisons on the way home.
I was feeling rather pleased with myself by now, but not too cocky to even contemplate driving onto Morrisons garage and negotiating the bollards whilst trying to get to the air pump, so we got over the roundabout and I pulled off to the left and on to the industrial estate to swap seats! I may have been enjoying myself, but I'm not that daft!
The only other thing to report is a squeak that the damn thing has developed, and "it only happened after you'd been in it last night!" Yes dear, whatever you say...
posted by Ailsa @ 10:37 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home