Angus wrote:My daughter is 17 and has started driving lessons. Once she's had a few lessons and is reasonably confident, my wife and I will take her out for extra practice.
Beyond driving from a to b, what should we be concentrating on, and what "advanced" features should we not pass on (yet)?
I spent many years as an examiner. On the whole, candidates who had extra practice were considerably
better than those who only had lessons with an ADI. This is not meant to knock instructors.
On a driving test, the difference was most marked when an unusual event occurred. The lesson-only
candidate often struggled to cope, but the extra-practice candidate could draw upon their greater
experience. I would suggest, therefore, that she does as much driving with you as possible. Try not to
change the style that her ADI is teaching her; simply be a facilitator of extra practice.
More specifically, manoeuvring has historically been a weak spot for many candidates, so it would do
no harm at to cover this aspect thoroughly. Examiners expect good all round observation throughout
manoeuvres.
Depending upon where you are, it may not be possible for the ADI to reach certain types of road during
a normal lesson, so that would be a good topic to cover during practice sessions.
If you are going to take her on twisty roads, avoid exaggerated positioning. Stick to the advice in DSA's
manual - well to the left for right hand bends, and no wider than a normal position for left hand bends.
Regards,
Russ