After several months of wait, I finally had my first driving lesson in the UK!
Due to the current backlog of driving lessons since COVID, it is really hard to secure a driving instructor. Fortunately, I started my search early and just managed to start my lessons in time.
So, what happens in the first driving lesson? I will share my experience with you and what it feels like. Please note that I am just a beginner in driving and this article is by no means an educational article to teach you how to drive!
Table of Contents
Before My First Driving Lesson
To secure my position in the waiting list, I paid a deposit into my instructor’s bank account a few months ahead.
The wait was tremendously painful as I started worrying if my deposits will end up in nothing.
Theory Test
To make myself more ready before I take the lesson, and to ease up a bit of pressure during the endless wait, I took my theory test in last December. This is not a necessary step as most people find it easier as they start their lessons and learn the road. But I just find doing it earlier take one barrier out of the way quicker.
Regularly Contacting Instructor
To make sure that I am still in the waiting list, I contacted my driving instructor twice, once after the theory test (which I quickly realised that I still needed to wait for 2 more months), and once when I started wondering if this was a scam or not as I waited for 3 more months.
It turns out that it isn’t a scam! I’m so excited to be finally onboard and starting with the entire driving journey. I find it really helpful to regularly contact my instructor, as this gives me an update of how long I am expecting to wait depending on the previous student’s exam dates, and help me plan my schedules better.
Researching for What to Expect
Just like what you are doing now, I was really nervous for my first lesson and did a lot of research on what it’s going to be like, and this helped with easing my nerves.
During My First Driving Lesson
Introductions
My instructor drove straight to my home’s front door to pick me up. After a brief self-introduction, he started asking me for my previous driving experience, which included cycling and being a passenger. This allows him to know the right pace and what to expect.
During this short journey, my instructor tried to gauge my expectations. He first asked me what I expected to learn in this very first lesson. It was lucky that I did my homework and had a very basic understanding of what the first lesson is going to be like. I told him I expected to learn the controls of the car, and how to brake properly.
Then, my instructor asked the learning style that I preferred. As opposed to merely spoon-feeding, he gave me the option of having more independence in driving. However, as a complete beginner in driving, I chose the option of him talking through me every single step without doubt.
Learning the Basic Controls
He then drove me to a quiet carpark nearby. I felt relieved for the fact that there was only one other car here, and that was a car with an L plate too.
We started off with exchanging our seats, and he taught me to operate the car from a state which it was being switched off.
First, it was about the basics of the basics: adjusting the seat position to make sure that I was sitting comfortably, and that I could place my hands on the steering wheel effortlessly.
Then, he started introducing me the controls of the car. As I was learning to drive an automatic car, this process was probably simpler than those driving manual. What I had to do was just:
- Press the start button
- Press the brake with my right foot (to prevent the car from rolling front when I move the gear)
- Move the gear from P (Parking mode) to D (Drive mode)
- Press down the additional P button behind the gear to turn it off
- Release the brake and the car starts moving
Woohoo! Though it’s just a speed of 3 miles per hour (which is literally like a turtle), I’m driving the first time in my life finally!
As this is a safe carpark, I pressed down the accelerator pedal slightly with my right foot and went up to 11 mph. It feels like flying at first, which made me decided to slow down by releasing the pedal gradually just to make sure that I don’t hit anything.
Steering
As I learnt how to start a car, we then came onto the most difficult part of this lesson – steering.
I had a bit of nightmare about this, as I went to a theme park many years ago when I was like 8, then I steered a boat to the middle of the water bay, and when time was up, I couldn’t manage to steer the boat back to the start point and stayed in the middle of nowhere while I kept circling in the same spot.
As you can imagine, those staff thought I was unwilling to finish the game initially but then soon realised that I couldn’t get back. Before they sent out another boat to save me, I managed to steer back by circling myself many times and moving the boat slightly towards the start point after each full circle…
Fortunately, this time I had a professional coach with me to prevent this tragedy from happening again.
My instructor taught me the basic concept of steering, and I just summarise here for easy reference:
- While steering, only use one hand to turn the wheel instead of both hands, another hand is there to maintain control
- After steering to one side for a turn, it is essential to straighten the wheels by steering to the opposite side in the same degree to make sure that the car keeps straight after turning
- There is a delay in actually seeing the car finish the turning versus the timing of straightening, you need to straighten it when the car is still turning (which is still weird to me after that lesson)
- For sharp corners (say an L shape), only start turning when we are parallel to the corner, then do a sharp turn by quickly moving the steer by one revolution (the term used for a 360 degree turn), then quickly straightening it back to position
- Straighten the wheel anyway after the turn even if you see another car coming on the other side of the road, as you may hit the curb if you don’t
These are all valuable experience on steering I gained after driving around the carpark for more than 5 times in my first lesson. I’m sure your experience may be different from mine, particularly as we are driving different models, but this is just to let you have a feel of what your first driving lesson is like.
MSPSL
If you’ve already taken your theory, you may find this mnemonic MSPSL extremely familiar. My instructor taught me this right after I gained quite a bit of experience on steering.
M – Mirror
I adjusted the central mirror and side mirror to make sure that I can see the back and the side with minimal obstructions. Also, I looked at the front and side windows, and moved my body slightly to get a different angle and minimise blind spots caused before I start off.
When driving, mirroring is also important particularly when I need to turn. My instructor tested me which mirror I should look at whenever we are making turns, and this is what I remember by now:
Turn left – Left/central mirror
Turn right – Right/central mirror
And as my instructor emphasised, I am trying to look out for any hazards that may cause me to slow down or stop, such as pedestrians, animals, cyclists, cars, buses and lorries.
S – Signalling
To make sure that other road users know what I’m planning to do, it is essential to signal whether I am turning right or left at the right timing.
In my instructor’s car, I simply push the left handle down to signal left, and lift it up when signalling right. The signal automatically cancels when I straighten the wheel (which is a problem as I keep turning left and right to micro-adjust my position as a newbie…)
The signalling handle is quite delicate, as if I use a grip action with two fingers to try to change from left to neutral, it automatically goes up to show right signally. So my instructor told me to use one finger to slightly lift it instead and let the handle goes its own way up when I triggered it by minimum force.
As a beginner, it is tempting to not give any signal at all, or give signal for every turn. I had to rely entirely on my instructor for when to signal and when not to, for example, when it is the only way I can go, I don’t have to signal.
This is definitely one area that I aim to improve next lesson.
P – Positioning
Before making a turn, we need to position the car so that it is ready to make an easy turn while signalling to other road users our intention. For example, if I am turning right to a side road but I am on the left side of the main road, I will need to move the car slightly right and stop, then turn when traffic allows.
However, this is just a theoretical knowledge I learnt, as I struggled to do the basic positioning, which is to keep left…
My instructor trained me this by asking me to imagine that the carpark was full of cars on the parking bay, and my goal is to avoid all the parking bays while keeping left to ensure that other cars can move on the right side in the opposite direction.
This is just HARD…
S – Speed
This refers to the need of slowing down before making a turn, but as a beginner like me, I worry more about not being able to speed up as I kept the speed at 3 mph on my first lesson most of the time without using accelerator at all…
L – Look
Before turning, do a final check to make sure you won’t hit or block anyone. Look at the side that you are turning.
After My First Driving Lesson
To avoid the things learnt slipping my mind, I wrote this article as soon as possible after my first lesson, which act as a reflective journal to understand mistakes that I made and things that I aim to improve.
Similarly, my instructor also asked me to give 3 things that I would like to work on most, and aim to correct them by next lesson.
To enhance my understanding, I also tried to ask my dad – an driver with over 40 years of experience for things that I don’t understand. But apparently, the issues that new drivers face is just unimaginable in old drivers like him and my dad never give me useful advice (e.g. when I ask how much should I steer to make a sharp turn, he answers me use your instinct). So be careful when you decide to do this, as experience of driving doesn’t always translate into expertise in teaching.
Wrap Up
Completing the first driving lesson is a huge milestone for me. Just as expected, I drove in a quiet carpark and learnt the controls, brake, accelerator and steering all in one go. At this very time point, I find steering the most difficult, but many more experienced drivers told me that it would soon become natural after some practice.
What is your experience with your first driving lesson? Comment below and let me know!
