[vipulG]

Last week I was with my cousin who just completed ‘Driver’s training’ in Mumbai and got a license. After experiencing his driving, I asked only one question ‘who taught you to drive?

And then next couple of days I was training him all over again.

This prompted me to think on what should be the ideal ‘Driver’s Training Step by Step (rather session by session) Courseware’; Right from opening the car door (driver’s side) for the first time till confidently driving in crowded city street and highways and of course not to forget ‘Ghat’ driving.

Any inputs, suggestions?

for example:

I remember when I was learning driving my instructor told me that the best way to learn driving is practice following a very slow moving vehicle or bullock cart!

[ghostrider4385]

hey vipulG,The best way to learn, from personal experience, is to observe how other people drive. when they change gears, how they navigate through traffic, how they hold the steering wheel, when and how to apply the brake and accel, etc. I learned by watching my family members and drivers drive. But then the the other side of it could be that if u observe bad drivers you mind get all their bad habits!There are these lil articles i had compiled in a manual I had hosted on tbhp... you can get the link from the post called "A Manual On Extreme Driving" in the "A collection of the best threads" forum (a BIG thank you to GTO again ). Now here, what you would find useful are the articles on how to hold the steering wheel properly, how to use the gears properly, how to apply the brakes and accel. right, somewhere in the middle of the manual. It is best when incorporated in the early stages of learning how to drive, as later on, it becomes harder to break those nasty old habits! Hope you find it informative!godspeed.

[msprabhakar]

Hey Vipul,
After you learn the 'A-B-C's of driving, I suggest that you practise, at your own pace, the following:
1. Up and down a steep slope, in forward gear, then in reverse gear;
2. Experience how 1st and 2nd gear 'engine braking' works in steep slopes;
3. Learn to make a perfect '8';
4. Choose a parking slot and reverse *exactly* into the middle of the slot *without* turning back. That is, using your rear-view mirror and both wing mirrors *only*. When you master this technique, your peripheral vision automatically gets honed and you will have fewer dents/ scratches/ accidents on account of you;
5. Repeat #4 at night, in a dimly lit street;
6. Repeat #4 & #5 on a steep slope;
7. Learn 'tight' parallel (kerb-side) and angular parking to perfection, once again, using only your wing and rear-view mirrors;
8. Learn to drive in *any* traffic situation *without* honking;
9. Take your car through very crowded, very narrow market places without honking;
10. Finally, never be afraid of getting a few minor scratches and dents - consider the cost of repair as your learning cost. The more deeply you feel hurt when your car gets 'hurt', the better driver you'll turn out to be!

[vipulG]

Thanks, let them coming , I am taking notes,

[yogi1771]

Originally Posted by ghostrider4385

hey vipulG,The best way to learn, from personal experience, is to observe how other people drive. when they change gears, how they navigate through traffic, how they hold the steering wheel, when and how to apply the brake and accel, etc. I learned by watching my family members and drivers drive. But then the the other side of it could be that if u observe bad drivers you mind get all their bad habits!There are these lil articles i had compiled in a manual I had hosted on tbhp... you can get the link from the post called "A Manual On Extreme Driving" in the "A collection of the best threads" forum (a BIG thank you to GTO again ). Now here, what you would find useful are the articles on how to hold the steering wheel properly, how to use the gears properly, how to apply the brakes and accel. right, somewhere in the middle of the manual. It is best when incorporated in the early stages of learning how to drive, as later on, it becomes harder to break those nasty old habits! Hope you find it informative!godspeed.

hi ghostrider the post doesnt show up when u search for it

[yogi1771]

sorry ghostrider my mistake didnt search properly downloaded the file very well presented thanks a lot

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by msprabhakar

4. Choose a parking slot and reverse *exactly* into the middle of the slot *without* turning back. That is, using your rear-view mirror and both wing mirrors *only*. When you master this technique, your peripheral vision automatically gets honed and you will have fewer dents/ scratches/ accidents on account of you;

This tip worked for me well. My house is in a narrow 9 ft dead end uneven street that has only 3 houses & the last is mine ( i park the car in a different place).

I suffered a lot while taking it to the front of my house first time (still I could not succeed in taking it through the nose, I get only the reverse).

I followed the tip & practiced it fine. Last evening I tried taking it reverse by putting my head out of the front side window, Wow, I could not believe it, I was able to move very fastly with good control.

These sort of tips will really help one to improve the driving skills. I request each of every member of this forum to share such things that needs to be practiced to improve the driving skills for the benefit of the newbies (in driving not to the forums )

[WishboneAsh]

Hi All,
Its been a long long time since i started driving the 4 wheelers and i remember less of how i did that. Its time now to give the wifey a few driving lessons. I initially sent her off to a driving school and she
graduated with flying colours (i.e a license the first shot). Impressed, i handed the keys to my corsa and we set off on a round at the local grounds with a 4 year old in the backseat. 2 circles later, the 4 year old had a bruise on his forehead and my nerves completely shot. She said her ONLY problem was that she forgets to engage the clutch when shifting gears, otherwise she claimed she was good with 8/10, other than the fact that i was yelling all the time.

So before giving out the next class (this sunday) i wanted to seek advice from you all on how to be a good driving tutor and what to teach in the beginning.

Essentially here is what i thought new drivers should learn first
*) Clutch Control - how best to teach this?
*) Steering control
*) Braking.
*) Guaging the car
what else? Any tips on how to teach someone to drive?

[autozealot]

Hello WishboneAsh,

Firstly I feel, you should've done some research about the driving school before you sent her there. This would have enabled you to gain information about the so called graduates passing out with flying colors (in your case sadly red, due to the bruise caused to the child).

Its been observed that for 8-10 sessions, the students do not even have an idea as to what a clutch is, and how is it operated. The teachers are to be blamed for this. Why dont they let the learner operate the clutch after a maximum of 4-5 sessions of teaching. Make this point clear with the tutor, this time.

I would suggest that you send your wife to a well reputed motor trainning school(so wot if shes got a pukka licence). With a family member teaching there is often lack of seriousness. Had it been in Mumbai, W.I.A.A. would be the best bet.

Goodluck!

az

[burjiis]

Hi Wishboneash,
Firstly, welcome to the forum.
Now as regards to teaching your wife, the most important thing is not to yell as you did so. Just let her drive. Tell her that she has to mantain safe distance from the front car. Do not allow her to cut lanes EVER. Teach her about steady driving, like driving at 45 - 50 in 5th gear without pressing the clutch. Try and get her to follow a cyclist at safe distance in a particular gear for sometime without knocking the vehicle.
Slow & steady driving is the most difficult to master.

Steering Control :

Take her on winding road and make her drive on the left most lane, near the shoulder. Ask her to keep a foot distance from the shoulder, no more, no less. Teach her to keep one eye on the shoulded lane always. Will help her in night driving as well and will teach her to avoid taking the glare of oncoming traffic.

Clutch Control:

If she can follow a biker in first gear for some time without knocking, half the battle is one. Most new drivers I have noticed who have not graduated from Fiat/Amby days release the clutch very quickly while changing gears thus giving a jerk. Make sure she counts 5..4..3..2 while releasing the clutch, 5 correspoding to start of release and 2 corresponding to complete release. This count changes based on the gear she is changing from
1st to 2nd --5..4..3..2
2nd to 3rd --5..4..3
3rd to 4th --5..4
4th to 5th --5
Set the interval between these counts based on your vehicle's clutch setting and response.

Braking:

If she ever brakes without looking at the rear view mirror, remind her of it. That is the most important aspect of breaking for a learner. Then as she gets more experience you can teach her the benifits of breaking using the gears, and pumping brakes.

Guaging the Car:

While turning the car, left right or U turn, always turn the steering wheel after the driver has crossed the corner object from where you are turning. The main rule while driving is "When you are not sure, you just dont do it". Guaging the car will only come from experience of driving it, so let her drive most of the time. If she stalls in the middle of the road, dont push her into starting quickly like everyone else outside, just be relaxed and help her get out of the situation by re-iterating the rules discussed. Emphasize on SLOW. Change gear SLOWLY, release clutch SLOWLY, but drive STEADILY along with the traffic. Show her that if one drives slower than the traffic, how the cars around cut you left right and center and scare the hell out of you which makes you drive only slower. But if you are up with their speed, traffic around you suddenly feels normal.

If you will be patient, she will drive very well and LOVE you more for it too. I believe women are steady drivers and they generally always get a better Fuel Efficiency than their male counterparts.

Cheers!!!
Burjis

[deepakhon]

Apart from all these, reversing and parking are two other things that need to be stressed upon. Many make mistakes while reversing.

[Zappo]

whoa burjis buddy! that was awesome... i liked that reversing counting wala funda and of course that emphasis on SLOW-SLOW-STEADY boy. u definitely are patient teacher if you really manage to do all that.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by autozealot

With a family member teaching there is often lack of seriousness.

I agree, besides, there is a lot of yelling. I did not learn with my father until i did it myself alone one day.

also, don't assume any knowledge on her part. She may not know what does clutch do, why we need to upshift/downshift gears (teach some physics ), what is knocking, what is a blind zone, what do others expect from a car driver (a pedestrian/biker gives all the responsiblity of saving his/her life to the drivers), what are the dangers invloved in breaking signals (and not gauging other drivers breaking signals/rules). basically a lot of theoritical knowledge is required for a new driver.

and please ! spare your 4 year old from having adventures like this.....

PS: if you can afford to, gift her a TBHP ID.

[burjiis]

Thanks Zappo for the compliments. Truthfully speaking I could be patient with all this if I am not teaching someone on my car. Frankly I strongly believe that 1 car- 1driver all the way, till he sells it, so I don't allow anyone including my wife to drive my car - SELFISH to a certain extent I might say.

So in this case I am actually preaching Wishbone something which I myself cannot do. An expensive suggestion Wishbone: Get your wife a second hand car. Let it be a real dirt cheap one as old as you can get. She will be more comfortable, you will be more comfortable, and then finally when she does drive a modern vehicle she will learn to respect the modern technology and not take them for granted. This applies to almost anyone in any sphere, I am glad that I have driven fiats and Ambies and it is because of that, that I respect and enjoy my Baleno.

Regards,
Burjis

[naveendhyani]

Originally Posted by burjiis

1st to 2nd --5..4..3..2
2nd to 3rd --5..4..3
3rd to 4th --5..4
4th to 5th --5

gr8 techniques. even though i have been driving or over 10 years now i wasn't aware of these.

driving fast is a GAME, driving steady is the REALITY. its more like riding a bicycle. every1 learns and then keeps riding. but the competetion is who can ride the slowest (which in our case is the steadiest).

control is the key word. for a couple of hours just let her practice to launch a car in 1st gear and stop it. the starting guys can take the car to 2000 RPM before starting to release the clutch ever so slowly. one who masters this is more than half the driver.

steering has 2 b corrected in minute movements until goin in a turn. most of the new drivers overdo or underdo this.

on the accelerator most starters have a problem controlling their feet since they hang their toe in the air to give the minimum pressure on the throttle. this generated pain in the ankles and takes the pleasure away from driving. have them put half their foot on the pedal and rest the other half on the wheel bump right next to it. this way the right end of ur foot gets support and the left half pressess the accelerator making the drive comfortable.

BTW guys our BURJIS is actually a GURUJIs. if he shows ur his xcel sheet he has maintained for his BALENO (which he was kind enough to share with me) every1 here might go nuts. he's a perfectionist and i expect only best opinions and suggestions from him.

JAI BURUJIS!!!