ADUK Archive

Hi guys,

I'm brand new to this site and wondering if you could maybe help/make me feel a little better... I have just taken my 31st driving lesson this morning I do two a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) My instructor and I decided to work it that a Tuesday was manoeuveres and a Thursday new subjects currently on a Thursday I am on dual carriageways happily up to 70mph over taking and getting on well so on a Thursday I'm over the moon HOWEVER different story on a Tuesday for whatever reason my judgement of things seems to be WAY out e.g. when asked to pull up next to the kerb I'm miles away almost every time (fear of hitting it?) Then a few weeks ago when doing my three manoeuveres ( reverse parallel park, Turn in the road and Reverse round the corner) I had my TIR nailed my reverse parallel park down and it was only the reverse round the corner I was struggling with but on my last two Tuesdays my parallel park has gone I've tried everything and after I have full lock left I am ALWAYS way wide it's stressing me out I feel like I'm almost in reach of my test them BAM!! set back the way I'm feeling today I just don't know if I can get back in the drivers seat

*Nothing to do with instructor she's amazing - it seems to be me *

Laney1988

What are you driving? Also I find that it's easier if you can see your back corner and the ground in your nearside mirror.

I think it's really important you are looking in all the right places. It's tempting to spend too much time looking at say the nearside mirror when you should be looking backwards through the rear window, also through the nearside rear window and looking forward can be helpful as well. Also don't forget regular checks to the right of the car as well (more for safety than for positioning).

So don't stare in one place more than a few seconds - force yourself to look in the other key areas to help build up an mental picture of where your car is, where the kerb is and where other road users are. Keep moving your head.

Also keep the speed low, really low to give you more time to look and take corrective action - it's very easy to be looking around with a little too much speed and before you know it you are really wide or touching the kerb.

Hope that helps.

Slow it down. No need to rush.

Easy to say, but don't worry. It happens to us all in the learning process. You are making progress and then suddenly you hit a plateau, or are going backwards (no pun intended). Then out of the blue you are making progress again. I'll endorse the more technical advice already given but persevere and it will all come out right.

It's a Kia Rio that I am driving ... Thanks guys, just feeling pretty deflated and like I'll never get it

Laney1988 wrote:It's a Kia Rio that I am driving ... Thanks guys, just feeling pretty deflated and like I'll never get it

Hey...I'm sure you'll get it - just takes some perseverance sometimes and the very fact you are here shows you have a good attitude to learning!

Tell us how you get on in your next few lessons - don't hold back asking questions - we're here to help.

This might sound very stupid but when I was learning, and for a time thereafter, reversing manoeuvres always felt a bit 'abstract' - not sure how to explain that well but the results felt slightly disconnected from the inputs and actions, not least because it would get a bit fiddly and then a lot of the time I really would be achieving nothing.

If that strikes a chord, and maybe even if not, try and visualise it from a passerby's perspective. Where are the wheels pointing and what needs to physically happen next to make the car turn to the right place? From there you can try and produce the steering input in the car. Make any sense?

martine wrote:Laney1988 wrote:
It's a Kia Rio that I am driving ... Thanks guys, just feeling pretty deflated and like I'll never get it

You will get it.

Have you ever found that you stall the car at a particular junction, but not at others. This is something that happens to many learners. The reason is psycholocigal, they expect to stall because they've done it there before. The fact that it doesn't happen at other junctions doesn't matter, it's that junction that causes the problem and they set themselves up to fail because of the fear that they will. As others have said, perseverence is the answer. Keep it slow, very slow, and go back to taking it stage by stage, giving yourself time to make the neccessary observations, and see if there is anything that you can line up on your car with the kerb. Above all, do not rush. It is often a case of trial and error, finding out what works for you along with help from your instructor.

A few years ago I had a pupil who found RPP difficult. He had been taught different methods by different instructors, none of which really worked. I suggested that he took the manoeuvre very slowly, and with some help from me, he worked out the point at which to bring the front end back in.

Let you into a secret. Some of us, who are supposed to be advanced drivers, are quite capable of making a Grade A Class One Five Star b***s up of a reverse parallel park! Think someone ought to run a masterclass on the subject.

Trashbat - That sounds good actually so when I turn my steering wheel full lock left my wheels will be jotting out to the right? Is that right (but only in reverse?) I think I'm maybe dyslexic with direction ...

and skodatezzer that actually made me feel a lot better

skodatezzer wrote:Let you into a secret. Some of us, who are supposed to be advanced drivers, are quite capable of making a Grade A Class One Five Star b***s up of a reverse parallel park! Think someone ought to run a masterclass on the subject.

Yup!

I used to be hugely confident reversing in any situation... And then I changed my car to a longer one 2 years ago after 10 years of Ford Focus. It took me ages to sort it out.... I don't think I'm as good as I was even now...

Made a complete idiot of myself on the RoSPA test.... You'd think I hadn't got 45 years experience!

Familiarity with the vehicle and practice.

It'll come Laney1988

The best way to understand this is with a toy car that has steerable wheels. Place a ruler or straight edge parallel to the car and from your starting point turn it in a clockwise circle, then reverse it slowly in an anti clockwise circle. Notice how the car moves away from the straight edge, then imagine how the driver is seeng the movement. Which way is that"kerb" moving? where do I need to steer to bring the car back in line?

How are you at reversing in a straight line? If you are having problems, try this. Position the car parallel to the kerb about a drains width away with your wheels pointing straight ahead. Look over your left shoulder and note where you see the kerb appear to meet the bottom of the rear screen. Reverse very slowly and note if the kerb moves. Respond to any SMALL movement of the kerb by steering in the direction of the kerb movement. If the kerb continues to move in the same direction, you have not steered enough. I find that this excersise helps most pupils to straighten up as well as following the kerb when reversing back in a straight line.

THe daft thing is, I can pot an 18 seat minibus into a space 2 feet longer than it is no problem, but a Skoda Octavia Estate...... Suppose the thing is that the Octy curves away out of sight in all directions, whereas a Peugeot Boxer or Ford Trannyvan is a big, square box - and with decent-sized mirrors!

Laney1988 wrote:Hi guys,

I'm brand new to this site and wondering if you could maybe help/make me feel a little better... I have just taken my 31st driving lesson this morning I do two a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) My instructor and I decided to work it that a Tuesday was manoeuveres and a Thursday new subjects currently on a Thursday I am on dual carriageways happily up to 70mph over taking and getting on well so on a Thursday I'm over the moon HOWEVER different story on a Tuesday for whatever reason my judgement of things seems to be WAY out e.g. when asked to pull up next to the kerb I'm miles away almost every time (fear of hitting it?) Then a few weeks ago when doing my three manoeuveres ( reverse parallel park, Turn in the road and Reverse round the corner) I had my TIR nailed my reverse parallel park down and it was only the reverse round the corner I was struggling with but on my last two Tuesdays my parallel park has gone I've tried everything and after I have full lock left I am ALWAYS way wide it's stressing me out I feel like I'm almost in reach of my test them BAM!! set back the way I'm feeling today I just don't know if I can get back in the drivers seat

*Nothing to do with instructor she's amazing - it seems to be me *

Laney1988

Shall I let you in on a secret?
All of us are perfectly capable of making a mess of parking from time to time.
It'll depend on a number of factors such as mental state, physical state, vehicle driven or the lay of the land.
A friend who has been driving for 40 years was amazed the other day that I could park easily in a busy High St.
You know what? Even after all those years she hadn't learned the old trick of looking in shop windows. You'd may be surprised to know that an awful lot of people don't know that one.
Learning in any case does not hold a steady course but has ups and downs.
You'll be fine in the end.