For weeks, I struggled with the idea of having an instructor versus a friend teach me drive. I could afford the former, and I had plenty of the latter. People had mixed opinions. Some baulked at how I could even think of coughing up $400 for 6 hours of training. Some felt it is a necessary skill done best with professional help. Of course there is this hesitancy of getting into a friends car and learn driving. I don’t think I would be comfortable if someone learnt driving on my car.
I wouldn’t have thought of a driving school if I was a student. But I wouldn’t have bought a car in the first place if I was a student. If I could afford a car, I could afford driving lessons too. A little bit of market research later, I had signed up for a driving school.
I think that was a great idea. It is like being taught at home versus being taught at school. Of course I hear that great men like Tagore were home-schooled. But if Tagore were to learn driving, I’d recommend he go to a driving school too.
First, you need to be with someone who is more confident and less scared than you are. I am talking about steering something at least a few tones heavy, in the right direction, and at the right speed. You might not end up head on colliding with another car, but even a minor dent or scratch caused by a small accident is best avoided.
The best thing I liked is that my instructor had his own set of brakes. So while for the first few hours I struggled with how to and how much to move the steering, stopping my vehicle during need was one less thing to care about.
My instructor talked to me non-stop. At first it was annoying that he should ask me how cakes were made in my home when I was struggling to juggle the various components of the car- steering, indicators, mirrors, brake, and accelerator. I was holding on to the steering tight, as if I was holding on to my woman. I was confused between brakes and the gas (accelerator). Every time I saw a car behind me, I felt mentally pressurized to do something. He calmly asked me to speed up if I saw a car behind me. I have never felt more helpless.
Eventually you get the hang of it. My instructor had more confidence in me than I did on myself. He encouraged me, challenged me, even pushed me. The first friend who started to teach me drive never let me hit the gas. The second friend almost curled up in a fetal position on the right most corner of the car, holding on to the door and his dear life while I drove. Their fears are understandable. But things didn’t work out.
2 classes with the instructor and I had graduated from residential buildings to little streets. I was braking, accelerating, indicating, yielding and parallel parking. I was backing around the curb. I was changing lanes. Freeway driving hadn’t happened yet, but it will not be long, I knew.
To cut a long story short, go to a driving school if you can afford it. It is expensive, but it is better than the tension I cause myself and my friends in the process of learning to drive. See it as an investment. No amount of parking lot driving can prepare you for driving on the main streets. I strongly recommend learning from an instructor rather than be a road hazard. I’d rather lose money than lose friends.
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