Learner Drivers - a bit of patience please?

my dad took me out on the freeway in ottawa my second time in a car. (first time was in an empty carpark)

talk about steep learning curve!

mind you, that was in an auto. I sucked at driving a manual when we got back to australia, its a hard concept for some to get first up.

CoffinRX2 said :

If your son cannot even take off normally without stalling the car on a vacant road, let alone a busy one, then he is a liablity on our roads.

Gee, I hope you have NEVER, EVER, stalled a vehicle…..Wow, after driving since I was 12…(yes I grew up in the country), I still have stalled a vehicle…recently. And I never said the road was ‘busy’…how do you know…unless you were there?

anonymoose said :

Inconsiderate drivers on the road? I’d better tell the Internet about this!

Seriously though, what sort of comments do you want? Yes there are thoughtless drivers out there but that’s never going to be resolved so he’ll just have to get used to them. It’s a learning experience!

And yet you felt the need to reply to my post? Mmmmm, were you driving a white sedan on Langdon Avenue over the speed limit on Sunday arvo???

Captain RAAF said :

I blame YOU!

Firstly, stop teachong your kid bad driving habits, like pulling out of a driveway and stalling. Get him proper lessons or if you must drive him around, take hime somewhere where he won’t get in peoples way and then hand the car over to him. Not once did I have an L plate on my car except the few lessons I had. Learners, they’re a bloody embuggerance and stop good drivers from getting to important places, like centrelink and Floriade.

You want little johnny to be a good driver he better learn fast that it’s every man for himself out there and L platers, if they can’t pony up with the big boys, will be rightfully devoured.

o noes, i almost detect traces of sarcasm with the possible traces of nuts. what is the internet coming to?

farnarkler said :

The best place for learners, in the beginning, is in areas where houses are being built. They can learn all the basics before being taken out into main roads (quiet ones at first or on weekends). I had lessons and the instructor took me out into rush hour traffic ie thrown into the deep end……in a Camira of all things.

Yes we were all learners once so a bit of patience is due however there are times and places where learners really shouldn’t be. The licensed driver beside the learner should have a good think about where and when they take the learner out.

Well said. It’s not very fair to the L-Plater to throw them in too deep. Of course, d*head drivers don’t help.

anonymoose said :

Seriously though, what sort of comments do you want?

Did the OP say they were after comments?

I can’t believe someone hasn’t made a crack about getting in the car to drive 500m to the shops!

Trust me it ain’t the first time your kids going to have to deal with pressure, seems like a good lesson to me! (Kudos on the kid stalling, ALL people should be forced to learn in a manual car, automatics seem to breed shit drivers in my opinion)

Golden-Alpine said :

I have to say I think it is madness that all we have to do is pass a theory test to get behind the wheel of a car.

I believe there needs to be a lot more practical experience before kids are let loose onto the roads.

It is a catch 22. How do you get them PRACTICAL experience without letting them on the roads?

H1NG0 said :

Wow, people bagging L platers. Nice work.

Let me know when you try to do something for the first time so I can tell you how shit you are at doing it.

+1 Wearing an L plate sure makes it easy to spot someone who in all likelihood isn’t a great driver (yet). If I’m behind an L -later I give them room knowing that they may stall, turn without indicating etc. That’s the whole point of having an L plate, to warn other road users your just coming to grips with it all. In my experience, the worst drivers are P-platers with hot cars who’s actual driving skills don’t match their own self-belief. Worse still, the tradesmen who driver from job to job not giving a stuff about road rules. I know who I’d rather share the road with.

Idiot drivers are nothing new. The idiocy of other drivers quadruples when they see L plate drivers who take unnecessary risks to get around them, but they’re the same people who teach their kids to drive.

You should be thankful you don’t have to comply with the ridiculous restrictions in place in NSW which create significant danger for all road users and a generation of inexperienced drivers who can’t drive.

Wow, people bagging L platers. Nice work.

Let me know when you try to do something for the first time so I can tell you how shit you are at doing it.

Golden-Alpine said :

I would recommend getting a book called Drive To Survive by Frank Gardner, I found it really good when I was learning to drive.

I can second that – I was bought a copy when I was a new driver and I am pretty sure that some of the common sense ideas it contains have helped me survive over the years. Frank’s dead now (God rest him) and it may be an old book, but it’s still worth reading.

Golden-Alpine said :

I have to say I think it is madness that all we have to do is pass a theory test to get behind the wheel of a car.

I believe there needs to be a lot more practical experience before kids are let loose onto the roads.

I like the lesson program to get your learners for motorbikes and I think this type of program should be implemented for cars. 2 full days learning about cars, how they operate, how you operate, how to get in and out safely, how to adjust seat, mirrors etc. They should then be taught how to drive on a closed circuit like Sutton Driving Centre or even EPIC.

Thanks for the tip. I will get the book. And I totally agree with your comment. And to add further, once they get their P’s the power to weight ration should be limited.

I have to say I think it is madness that all we have to do is pass a theory test to get behind the wheel of a car.

I believe there needs to be a lot more practical experience before kids are let loose onto the roads.

I like the lesson program to get your learners for motorbikes and I think this type of program should be implemented for cars. 2 full days learning about cars, how they operate, how you operate, how to get in and out safely, how to adjust seat, mirrors etc. They should then be taught how to drive on a closed circuit like Sutton Driving Centre or even EPIC.

To be honest I don’t think the learner should be allowed on the road until they can confidently drive without stalling 95% of the time and drive to the speed limits (or within road conditions such as rain).

By throwing learners into the deep end makes this already stressful experience so much more stressful for the learner, parent and others.

We don’t see pilots pass a theory test and then the keys to a boeing 747. They have simulators and so much more practical experience before they can take control.

How can we ask our kids to take driving so serious when we don’t. It is time we get serious and implement a better training programme.

Yes all existing drivers should show patience with learners as we all were learners once.

To Kuku good luck in your training, I would recommend getting a book called Drive To Survive by Frank Gardner, I found it really good when I was learning to drive.

creative_canberran said :

Though nothing justifies the stupid behaviour of those two drivers, I would also say that many L-platers out there should rethink what they’re doing. Too many of them I’ve seen on the roads are displaying very basic difficulties like staying in the lane (both on a straight and on roundabouts), driving at the speed limit (doing 60 in an 80 zone the whole way) and using signals.
I think more L-platers should go somewhere quiet and get the basics right first. A place like Royalla down south is ideal; quiet, plenty of different road conditions, situations to practice and speed zones. Drive the learner down there then let them take over. Let them get the basic road craft right so that when they get onto the busier roads, they’re more prepared.

An L-plater doing 60 in a 90 zone on Parkes Way and straying from his lane has no business being on a main road yet.

+1. Our local car park gets a lot of driving attention! But wouldn’t it be great if we could book a time at, say Sutton Driver Training when they start learning. We just seem to throw them into the deep end.

Captain RAAF said :

I blame YOU!

Firstly, stop teachong your kid bad driving habits, like pulling out of a driveway and stalling. Get him proper lessons or if you must drive him around, take hime somewhere where he won’t get in peoples way and then hand the car over to him. Not once did I have an L plate on my car except the few lessons I had. Learners, they’re a bloody embuggerance and stop good drivers from getting to important places, like centrelink and Floriade.

You want little johnny to be a good driver he better learn fast that it’s every man for himself out there and L platers, if they can’t pony up with the big boys, will be rightfully devoured.

He’s baaaaaccckkkkk!!!! 🙂

The best place for learners, in the beginning, is in areas where houses are being built. They can learn all the basics before being taken out into main roads (quiet ones at first or on weekends). I had lessons and the instructor took me out into rush hour traffic ie thrown into the deep end……in a Camira of all things.

Yes we were all learners once so a bit of patience is due however there are times and places where learners really shouldn’t be. The licensed driver beside the learner should have a good think about where and when they take the learner out.

Captain RAAF said :

Get him proper lessons or if you must drive him around, take hime somewhere where he won’t get in peoples way and then hand the car over to him. Not once did I have an L plate on my car except the few lessons I had. Learners, they’re a bloody embuggerance and stop good drivers from getting to important places, like centrelink and Floriade

Be thankful then you’re not across the border in NSW where they are meant to get 150 hours driving prctise before going for their Ps. But at least then they’ve had soem practise before they get out there on their own.

While I think monstering L-plate drivers is pretty poor, aggressive and indicative of someone with a short memory who does not remember their own learning-to-drive experiences, I do agree with creative_canberran. Start off the lessons in a quiet place (though these are much harder to find now than they were when I learnt to drive, when shops actually shut for most of the weekend) and let them hit the road when they have the fundamentals right.

Also, speaking of L-plate drivers, while new drivers need to learn how to drive on country roads, it probably isn’t a good idea to let them do it on a long weekend on the road down to the coast, like the one I saw a few years ago holding up a long stream of holiday traffic.

Though nothing justifies the stupid behaviour of those two drivers, I would also say that many L-platers out there should rethink what they’re doing. Too many of them I’ve seen on the roads are displaying very basic difficulties like staying in the lane (both on a straight and on roundabouts), driving at the speed limit (doing 60 in an 80 zone the whole way) and using signals.
I think more L-platers should go somewhere quiet and get the basics right first. A place like Royalla down south is ideal; quiet, plenty of different road conditions, situations to practice and speed zones. Drive the learner down there then let them take over. Let them get the basic road craft right so that when they get onto the busier roads, they’re more prepared.

An L-plater doing 60 in a 90 zone on Parkes Way and straying from his lane has no business being on a main road yet.

If your son cannot even take off normally without stalling the car on a vacant road, let alone a busy one, then he is a liablity on our roads.

KUKU- agreed.

We are the most impatient drivers I’ve observed in any Australian city.

I blame YOU!

Firstly, stop teachong your kid bad driving habits, like pulling out of a driveway and stalling. Get him proper lessons or if you must drive him around, take hime somewhere where he won’t get in peoples way and then hand the car over to him. Not once did I have an L plate on my car except the few lessons I had. Learners, they’re a bloody embuggerance and stop good drivers from getting to important places, like centrelink and Floriade.

You want little johnny to be a good driver he better learn fast that it’s every man for himself out there and L platers, if they can’t pony up with the big boys, will be rightfully devoured.

My eldest has now got P plates but while teaching them to drive, we were also surrounded my morons. Welcome to the world of L plate driving. It sucks.

Inconsiderate drivers on the road? I’d better tell the Internet about this!

Seriously though, what sort of comments do you want? Yes there are thoughtless drivers out there but that’s never going to be resolved so he’ll just have to get used to them. It’s a learning experience!

“With older drivers like that, no wonder so many P platers think they are invincible.”

Spot on.

Get to the shops and pull them on about it. Most bogans crap themselves when not wrapped in a few hundred kg of metal