Hello.

Well I have owned my MX5 since Sunday, it could have died last night.

Yesterday, at about 5.30pm as I was driving home, about 100 meter from my house a Learner appeared around the corner on the wrong side of the road, as in completly over the line.

To cut this story short, the instructer noticed me and slammed on the brakes yanking the car away from me.

This particular driver should never be allowed on the road, he claims he couldn't see a bright red car and wasn't aware that the road was two way?!?!

He even had the cheek to tell me the area was a known place for learners to practice and that I should avoid the area until after 6pm. WHOA, I live here you spoon, why don't you avoid this place.

I was stuck behind another terrible Learner driver this morning on the way to work who hadn't yet mastered the clutch. You can imagine what happened. Eventually this learner stalled at a junction and only got going just before the light was red.

I may sound like a cock for this but IMHO Learners should not be allowed to drive on the roads before 10am or after 4pm. At all.

Edited 18 October, 200718 yr by Quinny

I think your rant should be aimed at the instructor, not the learner.

If the learner was on the wrong side of the road, then that is entirely the instructors fault.

I remember when my sister learnt to drive, she had terrible problems mastering clutch control, so her instructor took her to a big empty car park and made her drive round it just practising clutch control.

If learners could only use the roads during quite times, they'd be even less prepared for everyday driving than they are now.

yeah you have a valid point, and yes its instructors fault, i remember when there wasnt many driving instructors, but now you see shit loads, coz everyone is on with it to make easy money, and with that, standards drop...

Instructors takin shit drivers through busy areas is just stupid, take them when they are ready, 100% down to the instructor...

Yeah, they need to be on the road so they can learns.

I think its annoying as well, but I'm always patient with them. Unless they are properly and fully retarded like the wife who insisted on doing 13mph on a 30mph road. If you that scared of driving and cope with processing all the things you need to while driving then shouldn't be on the road imo.

I mean if you couldn't react fast enough to fly a fighter plane you just wouldn't do it. But if its a car its okay. lol, lame.

My area is a big place for learners to drive about, mainly cause one of the streets is really quiet and long and they practice there 3 point turns there. Its funny sometimes you see like 4/5 cars horizontally across the road in both lanes, just looked comedy.

Stop being a nonce everyone had to learn once! Granted there is some magorly sh!t learner drivers out there but its like sittin on a bus with a crying baby you just have to put up with it.

And if anything happens to your car by a learner driver you know that there not gonna drive away or give false details!

Having being learner untill early this year I'm in good place to point out that i agree untill a learner can control the clutch and knows basic road use then they should not bee driving where there could be risk e.g they could stick to carparks and to areas where the are not going meet many cars once when have sorted this and they should be on all the roads ( execpt motorways) during the quite times once they have got used to town driving then they should be introduced to the rush hour this is how i learned, my first lessons where on country roads to avoid the traffic.

I passed in 3 months only having lessons in school hols and 1hr per weekend with no other driving, in just the way i discribed, been driving about 8months no with no crashes yet.

Greg

Well there's patience and there's fear, that scared me big time.

Yes it is partly the instructers fault, if he was paying attention instead of looking at his knees or whatever he was doing then he would have seen me, yet that driver not realising it was a two way road, and not seing another car, with the headlights on, coming in the other direction has really shocked me.

I will change the topic title so that it says, instructors fault too.

EDIT*

I was taken out into rush hour traffic on my first lesson to go to show the instructor where to collect me from for the next lesson.

I nearly had an accident at the junction because I stalled.

I also think Motorway driving should be taught to learner drivers, maybe a two stage driving test, perhaps making the pass pluss compulsory for example. I remember passing my test and driving on the motorway within a few hours, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, just sat in the far right lane because it was the "fast" lane.

Edited 18 October, 200718 yr by Quinny

Remember we're all learners at one point...

I also think Motorway driving should be taught to learner drivers, maybe a two stage driving test, perhaps making the pass pluss compulsory for example. I remember passing my test and driving on the motorway within a few hours, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, just sat in the far right lane because it was the "fast" lane.

Fo sho.

Although for me the worst people on the motorway are women aged 40+, the always seem to be doing 50mph in the middle lane, grrrrrrr!!

He even had the cheek to tell me the area was a known place for learners to practice and that I should avoid the area until after 6pm. WHOA, I live here you spoon, why don't you avoid this place.

The cheek..especially as you live there!!

On my way home from work, on one of the last streets before my home, there is a 90 degree turn that, thanks to the imbecile in the house there and his conifers, is totally blind.

There is, every morning, a disabled person's bus parked on said blind corner. I can appreciate that, I wouldn't want to be pushed 100yards down the road before I could go to school. Anyway, the drivers helper is always stood in view letting people know when the road is clear.

I came home to find a learner there stopped talking to his instructor about whatever. That is totally unacceptable, there was no reason why he couldn't have parked on his drive for that part of his lesson. There was no knowing whether there was oncoming traffic, and sat there waiting for my turn I saw 2 closecalls.

This is undoubtedly the Instructors fault. There was no reason why the instructor couldn't have told the poor kid that he had parked somewhere bad, and if it was the instructor that parked it there wtf? how could he justify parking just there in the most awkward place available. And now the kid, unless he has some common sense is going to think that it's ok to park there now.

They are going downhill so very fast because it is easy money as dknight said.

Edited 18 October, 200718 yr by Tubthumper

To me it sounds like you came flying home and nearly had an accident because the learner driver was on the wrong side?

What i dont understand is why you are saying the guy "forced you off the road"???

If you came home and saw a learner being a learner - why didn't you simply stop and let the instructor sort them out and wait?

Unless i'm missing something here?

Umm, yeah, the part of came flying home. If you have ever been in the car with me you will probably know that I hardly ever break the speed limit and usually that it is on a motorway.

I was crawling, there are loads of kids that play in the area, I used to play there in that area when i was young too.

What would you do if from around a blind bend another car came on the wrong side of the road and after a few seconds made no action to stop and was headed straight at you?

What would you do if from around a blind bend another car came on the wrong side of the road and after a few seconds made no action to stop and was headed straight at you?

If you came round the corner and a car was coming right at you then i'd stop - as you most likely did.

So there was no running off the road then - or kerb encounters - merely the learner was being a learner.

Nothing got damaged because of the instructor - it sounds to me like you getting out and having words has simply frustrated you/him more, probably knocked the little confidence the learner already had gained and you only got annoyed because your new car nearly got damaged.

I'm not faulting your driving - just trying to say you were being a bit hasty getting annoyed imho...

I've just got a new car and nearly punched someone in my office when they opened thier door into mine - but then contact had actually been made against my pride and joy!

When I was a learner, I was taken round quiet, easy, out of the way streets until I had the car control needed to go on busier roads. This is down to the instructor, and their ability to do their job. The instructor shouldn't be trying to say its your fault because the roads around there are always being used by learners, if anything, he should bear in mind that the roads he is using for his lesson are normal roads, and therefore he needs to take account of the fact that the general public will be using them. Where I live borders on a test route, so I often encounter learner drivers. The only ones I get annoyed with are the ones where the instructor has obviously thrown the learner 'in at the deep end' on a main road, and should instead be on a quiet corner of a residential area, learning how to steer first.

DaveG40 I don't think you are seeing the story.

The corner was a long left from my view.

The corner for the learner was after a wide hairpin left to a long right.

I could only see what he had done from when I saw him on (his) long right, but I would assume that he had taken the first corner properly but driven in a straight line towards the next and cutting across the opposite lane rather than to pull back to the left and then around the to the right.

It is a residential area so add a few houses, cars on driveways, bushes and trees in gardens and a tree on the hair pin. Hopefully you can see the scene.

The words exchanged were from the cars. The tone was relief from all three people. The learner pulled up next to me and explained he hadn't seen me.

Edited 18 October, 200718 yr by Quinny

I agree that learners need to learn and that patience from other drivers is needed. I also agree thou that learners should only be taken out during rush hour times once they are ready to do so and have mastered the clutch as the agrivation caused to regular road users off to work hardly makes for safe driving.

The instructor is entirely responsible for the actions of the learner whilst in their vehicle (thats why they are dual control) and hell the amount of money they charge they should be paying attention!!!

I think Quinny has every right to be arsey and protective of his shiny new motor and maidstone is hardly a great place for learners

At least he had the decency to say sorry properly, and not just wave an apology as he negotiates the next new car.

Some bird in a crv pulled out slap bang in front of me, i ended up sliding to halt in a t-bone position to her side. Not even a wave, just drove on.

I've been told theres a place somewhere near me where learners can be taken to learn such things like clutch control and steering! Its a huge tarmaced area like a carpark or old airstrip.

I think this is the best idea someone come up with and once they are competent at keeping the car in a straight line and starting and stopping, they should be slowly introduced to more and more traffic.

I know we were all learners at one point but there is so much traffic on the roads these days, its not really the best environment for someone whos abit unsure!

theres too many learners round my ends because its a quiet area and you nearly always have to swerve to avoid them. on the other hand, me and my friend just observe them to amuse ourselves. great fun!

i took a couple of driving lessons when i was 16 at some wild place with real roads but off the road if you get me near my dads house in torquay. had traffic lights, roundabouts etc . was where fire engine people learnt how to drive and stuff

i have a corner like this (and the blind one that Tubthumper described aswell) on the road leading to mine and i always have dicks in 4x4s & BMWs coming round on the wrong side of the road

people must just get to certain places and think "this isnt the main road, lets drive like a tool"

steve

it is now official, you are the most moaniest and depressing person i know. lol

thanks

your friend mark