First Time Behind the Wheel as a Learner Drive

You have your license, access to a car, you are insured and you are keen to get started. It's time for that first trip on to the road. Despite what you may have seen in the movies, learnt during a few games of GTA or seen other people do, you will soon realise there is a lot to take in.

The first time on the road can start anywhere, but there are a few suggestions that may make life just that little bit easier, especially as I am assuming you don't have dual controls fitted to your car like a professional instructor.

Location for your First Learner Drive

Quiet roads with loops

The choice of space will either make it a stressful experience or help to build confidence, the later is the preference. Depending on your choice of car, manual vs automatic, you will need to cover accelerator, brake, clutch, steering and indication. Stopping, starting and turning.

Pick a relatively quiet road, some traffic is fine, wide enough that people can get round you with ease and possibly 3 cars wide. If traffic can get by without too much hassle you aren't going to get beeped at, avoiding stress for the driver and the coach. For those that can, try to make it a flat stretch of road. The best roads are typically the ones with the big houses on, as most people park on the drive and the road was created when space wasn't so much of a premium.

The road in question would ideally be part of a loop or in amongst a few quiet roads, this will allow you to complete a few turns without having to constantly turn in the road to come back on yourself. Blocking a road whilst you learn clutch control is no fun.

Time of Day

Whilst you will be raring to go and driving independence is no doubt your number 1 goal, do be patient. Trying to drive in Friday rush hour traffic isn't fun for anyone, impatient commuters take no prisoners and being verbally abused will only cause you stress. Sunday morning can be the perfect time, we happened to pick the day of a significant sporting event so there was virtually no one on the road.

The Spot on the Road to Start Learning to Drive

Once you have found your ideal location, stop the car at one end of a straight piece of road, pull up a small distance from the curb. Time to switch seats. Note for the coach - You now need to think about all of the things that are 2nd nature and just muscle memory. Turning the car off and on if you stall, putting your foot on the clutch when you come to a stop and don't forget the handbrake.

What Does Everything Do?

Spend a few minutes covering the basics, order of the pedals, indicators, handbrake, windscreen wipers and don't forget where's the key.

Starting the Car

How hard can it be, turn the key and off we go, right?. Some cars require your foot to be on the clutch, not in gear or foot on the brake. Make sure you are familiar with the secret combination. Start & stop the engine a few times, move things so that the secret combination needs to be addressed before the car can be started. Happy you know what needs to be done. Once your are happy it is time to move on to moving the car.

Mirrors

Driving test examiners love the mirrors, make sure you have a good look round before setting off. We will cover mirrors in more detail later.

Coaches Note - In the early lessons you will need to provide eyes and the ears for your driver as they get used to driving.

Manual Cars

My suggestion would be to learn in a manual car, even if you ultimately you want to drive an automatic. There are still a lot of manual cars in the world (rentals, friends/family cars), why limit your possibilities. There will obviously be people who can't physically drive a manual, read on if it is of interest otherwise skip on to the automatic.

The Clutch Biting Point

The clutch for those that are driving for the first time and those of us that have spent a few years behind the wheel of an automatic, this is our arch nemesis. Don't worry it will become as natural as breathing, your left foot will just know, however at first you need to tell it.

The biting point is when releasing the clutch/lift the peddle starts to take effect, the friction of the clutch is sufficient to engage the power of the engine and move the car.

Practice using the clutch only to start the car moving, feeling the biting point and the car starting to move. This tends to be a good opportunity to use the brake to stop the car. As well as remembering to put your foot fully back down on the clutch when braking. Don't forget to try it in reverse as well.

Changing Gear

The next step is to get up to a speed that warrants a gear change. This will require a minimum speed of 5 mph, the clutch needs to be pressed and then change gear continue to accelerate in gear 2. You can now either carry on or practice stopping, remembering to press in the clutch when coming to a complete stop.

Automatic Cars

With only 2 pedals there is less to worry about with an automatic, other than the temptation to use both feet at once. Just use the one foot and you should only be pressing the accelerator or the brake.

Similar to a manual car there is an automatic biting point where the speed of the engine engages the transmission/gearbox and then the car moves forward/backwards. Practice building the revs of the engine gently, engaging the gearbox and feeling how the car pulls away. This is important when you are moving away into traffic or pulling out of a junction.

The Remainder of the Lesson

The rest of lesson one can be spent getting used to pulling away, getting up to a comfortable speed, stopping and unless you are on a runway you will need to make some turns. Worth a mention about indicators as you will need to use them, see the section on indication for more details. As you get more confident with the process starting progressing around the loops that you have planned in, making turns at junctions.

Depending how you progress and how close to home you are the lesson can culminate with you driving your car home.

Ok you have been round your starter loop a few times let's try learning to drive a mini roundabout.

Learning Mini Roundabouts