The Driving Test is surrounded by Myth and Mystery and not a little confusion! It needn't be this way if the candidate ignores all the horror stories from friends, workmates and relatives and approaches the task with a clear plan of action and a determined mind.
Enter the Planning Department Chief stage left (or stage right if you are in one of those strange countries where Drivers drive on the wrong side of the road! only kidding!) This individual is usually known by the pseudonym... Instructor.
There is a lot of work to be done in the planning of your assault...for that's what it is ...a military campaign not a high school picnic and with you in the Driving Seat! No hand holding allowed! And you are the Commander in Chief and the Examiner or Tester takes a back seat during the battle. Look on him or her as your assistant not the Dictator. See where we are heading here? Does it sound like you are about to become a control freak? Yes Absolutely! There is only one person in the car who matters and that is the person in the Driving Seat...Guess where this phrase emanated?
Does the Examiner steer the car or change gear or accelerate smoothly away from the Traffic Lights or give way to a poor unfortunate who is trying in vain to ease out into traffic that just won't take any notice? No of course not... it's You and You alone, so why get into a twist? You are the Driver and probably the Owner of the car as well...you are in the driving seat so why be shaking in your shoes when all this person beside you is doing is taking a few notes and checking your progress? Your participation in the exercise is by far the more important.
What we are saying here is plain and simple ...get a grip and take control and with your plan of action already well worked out in advance with your Instructor (where did he spring from?) and plenty of practise and that is Plenty with a capital P, success in the battle is assured. When does the planning meeting take place? Well not one week from your Driving Test that's for sure! Four weeks is cool; Six weeks even better; after all, you do have to work, eat and sleep unlike the Giant Panda that Eats, Shoots and Leaves! Did you know that there is an uncanny similarity between a Giant Panda and a successful Driving Test Candidate? No? Well there is believe me! The Giant Panda actually eats for 16 hours a day and the Driving Test candidate who wants to be successful...well you do don't you? needs to be pursuing a similar path of determination with their Driving Lessons and their Homework! OUCH! No one ever said anything about homework
Passing the Driving Test first time is a result of hard work, persistence and planning otherwise known as hwpp not http which is some kind of Internet thingy! You can improve your chances by a zillion per cent by trying to attract the attention of said Chief Planner who, as you might expect, is expert at Planning! You don't get to be a Chief Planner overnight ... promotion comes, sometimes rather slowly after a lifetime in the ranks and a million motor Miles or Kilometres if you are one of the unfortunates who drive on the wrong ... sorry just getting my spoke in (again!)
Surely the Planning Office Junior (or even Mom or Pop...ouch don't go there... they wouldn't pass today's test even in a Supermarket car park!)) would be somewhat less expensive to hire as a mentor than the Department Chief? Well yes you have a point there, but since he or she hasn't clocked up much in the way of Celtic Tiger Miles already, this is not a good choice. Go for the expert, pay your fees gladly (but probably painfully) and know that you will be getting the best training, the best advice and equally importantly the latest up to the minute insider tips, techniques hotspot highlights!
Today's Driving Instructor who takes the job seriously is out and about every day looking for clues like Colombo used to, but with a nose for forensics like CSI in 2006, that can be pieced together and moulded into a comprehensive solution that will ensure success for the Driving Test candidate. In other words he or she is the short circuit route to the success that you are looking for that you cannot possibly attain on your own. Just like Colombo or the crew at CSI they didn't get to the top of the tree status by watching T.V or flicking through the Sunday papers, enjoyable though, that can be at times. They gained their expertise and nose for a problem and its solution by hard graft behind the steering wheel night and day; day and night; in all weathers and in all conditions and naturally in a large variety of vehicles.
Any Learner Driver who is serious about passing the Driving Test just doesn't go out and buy a car and hope for the best. It won't work and it never has! Utilising the skills of an Instructor is the way to succeed on your Driving Test and to set the foundation for a lifelong career of safe driving behind the wheel.
Robin Piggott is a Driving Instructor in Ireland who brings four decades of experience to his Astral Driving School based in Limerick. His newly refurbed web site can be found at http://www.astraldrivingschool.ie Here you can find a treasure trove of everything for the Learner Driver and also pages for the visitor who is contemplating Touring Ireland by Car.
For a free seven part e mail mini course on "Passing the Driving Test First Time" stack the cards in your favour and visit [http://www.astraldrivingschool.ie/home]
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