The blog has been quiet of late for a number of reasons. One of those reasons has been the summer (stretching onto Autumn, more about that later) of me learning to drive. I've alluded to it in
various tweets and also my first (and currently only)
iphone app review post where I looked at some apps to help with the theory test. Well I managed to pass the theory back in June, put in my practical test straight away and failed at my first attempt in August. Not to be beaten, I put in for it again and passed the second time round at the end of September, and there was much rejoicing.
This weekend I am heading back to Shropshire to take the final steps and secure my first car - a pretty cool red Fiesta (low mileage, good condition *thumbs up*) and the realisation that being able to drive really is a gamechanger.
A fair time ago I blogged about my inability to drive and therefore reliance on public transport was
a good thing but screw that! For the most part I will be kissing goodbye to public transport and I can't wait. I am proud to think that the monthly tickets for the train AND bus services I use to commute to work will be my last. My commute at the moment consists of a 20minute walk to the train station, a short train ride to Stourbridge Junction - a short hop to Stourbridge Town and there I'm presented with two options. If the timing is good, I can get on one bus for a 45 min journey which will take me directly into the estate where my workplace is based. Alternatively, I can take a shorter bus ride and that will leave me with a further 15 minutes walk to the estate.
That journey totals about an hour and a half - some people think I'm crazy to do it but I haven't got too much of a choice especially with my job prospects being pretty awful. But with the car, I reckon the commute should drop to about 30-40 minutes, we will see what the rush hour traffic will be like, but it means that I can leave the house later and be back sooner = more time to do the things I want to and/or enjoy, not to mention more time for the blog and a hopeful return to the reviews etc. It also means some extra time in bed which will do me a world of good - I get by on 6 hours sleep but it always takes me til mid morning to truly "wake up" and I do often feel stretched (if that makes sense). A car also means that journeys back to Shropshire to see friends and family won't be a chore and take up half a day - The drive is just over an hour for the family which is a lot better than the 3+ hours going via Birmingham on the train.
I was disappointed not to pass on my first attempt - I really lucked out with the instructor I decided on - Mike who drove a Mini One converted to run on LPG. Mike could only be described as a proper geezer, but a very good instructor with his rhymes to remember the rules of the road and practical guidance for reversing into a parking bay (you won't have the luxury of all that space in a supermarket car park...). I was ready and perfectly capable to pass that first time. I was truly gutted and I think Mike was as well - and not just because it would have been an extra tick in the "win" column. I had an hour before the test and he said to me "if you drive like that on your test, you will pass no problem". A measly 40mins later and I had racked up the 2 Seriouses which would deny me my full driving licence. For the curious, I foolishly pulled up and stopped alongside a car when I was instructed to stop behind the car and subsequently held up the traffic behind me. I got the other serious by not signalling on a roundabout. Coming up to the roundabout, I was instructed "take the 2nd exit" i.e. go straight on, and I didn't put the car into gear whilst slowing for the roundabout, so I was out of gear when taking the roundabout, and in my panic I took the third exit and neglected to signal that I was going to go right on approach.
cue me putting on a light show for the car behind as I wrestled to great frsutation to cancel the indicator
Like a lot of others, I found the driving test a stressful experience and I probably needed to sit one test just to be put into the situation. Also its sickening and a little scary when I hear people speculate that examiners have to fail a number of people to hit quotas and keep revenue coming into the DSA. The first time pass rates for a lot of test centres don't go much higher than 40%. Failing is one thing but what is more gutting is the waiting period for the practical test. For me it was 7-8 weeks, so the fact I had just failed and I would have to wait that long just to have another go was crushing. Compound that with the fact that Mike had relocated during our lessons and was slowing moving his clientele to in and around Gloucester, meant that I could not continue having lessons with him.
I had to find a new instructor which came in the form of Phillip and his Mini Clubman. It had all the electronic assists and gizmos, a card for the ignition as opposed to the traditional key, an engine that can be turned off if you were waiting at the traffic lights, gradient awareness that would continue to engage the brake to help with hill starts and my bane, that damn indicator arm. When indicating, the arm would return to its central position, rather than stay in the up/down position and this would mean that rather than returning the arm to the central position to cancel the indication, you would have to push the arm in the opposite direction and that would often mean the opposite indicator would come on - cue me putting on a light show for the car behind as I wrestled to great frustation to cancel the indicator.
Phillip, my new instructor had very much a hands off approach. Normally I would be pretty pissed off at this - I would always be questioning my actions to Mike, I needed to confirm whether I should have been in a different gear for a turn etc and that process was nowhere near as effective with Phillip. Fortunately I felt that I was at a level good enough to pass already and it was just a case of keeping up the practice until my next attempt. Phillip's quieter approach, often just giving out directions may have proved to be good preparation to what it would be like on the test.
Expect part 2 in a couple of days, complete with pics of my new motor, no doubt. I'm heading home this weekend to sort out the road tax which of course can't be done without sorting the insurance first. Also, the insurance can't be sorted unless the specific car is confirmed before taking out the policy. Who thought buying a car could prove so difficult? Well, at least the insurance has been sorted, the road tax will be sorted Saturday morning and I should be driving in my new (to me, at least) car soon after. With any luck, I'll be able to catch the formula 1 this weekend as well, go Button!
