(no subject)

[cassaclyzm]

My drivin' self has been unleashed upon the world. I went driving with mum the very day I got my permit - or, rather, went stalling. The family car is a standard, see, bottom-of-the-line with no power steering, no nothin'. So that was an adventure and a half. I think I'll have better luck next time, now that I've sat in the driver's seat, tried it out, and subsequently had a better idea of what to watch for while mum was behind the wheel, herself.

Today I drove with my actual driving instructor. The upside is that I've now actually experienced some, like, roads. Somewhat. The downside is that they do all instruction on automatics. So, okay, this is sort of good, because I don't have to learn how to shift AND drive at the same time. Therefore I can concentrate on things like hand-over-hand steering, at which I apparently sort of suck. But it would be nice to not have to learn to drive a standard after the fact, or seperately at the same time. Or something.

Anyway, I didn't hit anything, and sucked significantly less by the end of the lesson (I think), so there is Yay and Woot to be had.

Comments

[kitmouse.livejournal.com]

When I learned to drive stick, my mom took me to this huge empty parking lot (without speedbumps) and made me close my eyes. I had to start, shift to second, stop. Start, shift to second, stop. Start, shift to second, stop. Over and over and over and over...with my eyes closed. The point of it was to hear and feel when the engine needed to change gears, and not rely on the revs or the 'dummy light' or speed or anything. Just hear and feel when to change the gears.

It works REALLY well--I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've stalled my car, and I've been driving stick for 12 years (I've had Bella for a bit more than 9). Bella's clutch was 131,628 miles old when it was replaced (clutches generally last in the 70-90k range).

Find a big open space, and try it! Obviously you need another driver in the car with you with their eyes open, but try it! It works!

[cassaclyzm.livejournal.com]

Heh, that's a really good idea. Of course, our car has no dummy lights, no nothin', so I'll pretty much have to learn by sound anyway. *laughs* But it sounds like a really neat idea. It would also help me to be more comfortable about the position of the pedals, which I'm still a little skittish about.

[risenphoenix.livejournal.com]

Driving stick isn't all that hard, but it does take a little getting used to.

The trick is to make sure that you're shifting at the right time, is all. Or, to be more correct, the trick is to make sure you know HOW to shift. It's not clutch-in, move the stick, clutch-out. It's all about knowing what your car can and cannot do. It's hard to explain.

If you can wait until I get up to Saint John next (god willing, it will be soon), I can teach you how to drive a stick.

Oh, and what driving course are you taking? Young Drivers? Triple C? I took Triple C, and they really taught me everything I needed to know, but...

[cassaclyzm.livejournal.com]

I'm taking Young Drivers, and my instructor actually wishes that they could offer instruction on a standard. I could have them instruct me in my own car, but I'd have to buy the lessons separately.

I plan on bugging mum to take me out more often. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.

[lizsybarite.livejournal.com]

It does rather suck to have to learn on a stick whilst simultaneously learning How Not To Die Horridly Behind the Wheel, but you will live to prefer standard, I guarantee.

[cassaclyzm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm thinking so. I get the impression that I'll appreciate having that control over the gear shifting, even though I'll be driving in a city for the most part.

[riverrocks.livejournal.com]

I actually did better learning to drive an automatic first, then learning the shift/clutch balance stuff second. That way I could practice the basics of learning how to pay attention to the road and watch for other drivers and lights and such. Once I had that down solid, adding the shift/clutch skill set was much easier. ymmv

[cassaclyzm.livejournal.com]

That's probably what I'll wind up doing, too. I could hardly believe how easy it was to forget to do things like "look well ahead in my lane" and "check my rear-view mirror before stopping". I had myself convinced that it would be rudimentary, I think. *laughs*

[riverrocks.livejournal.com]

Driving is like cooking. There's this cultural assumption that everyone past a certain age will 1) know how, 2) be good at it and 3) enjoy it. The truth is that they're both a complex set of skill sets that take a while to really master, and some people just never get past the basics. It took me years to understand the mechanics of parallel parking.