Book First, then Practice?
Many people book their driver licence appointment first and then start practicing. Mostly, a very bad idea.
Many people have a good understanding of driving by the time they book their appointment, but they leave a number of factors out of contention.
Because they can drive reasonably well it does not necessarily mean that they drive using the K53 system and this does not take into account the possible bad habits they may have grown accustomed to, such as keeping their foot on the clutch pedal, keeping the clutch pedal in around corners, making wide turns, cutting corners, stopping over intersection lines, exceeding the speed limit, driving too slowly, pulling up the handbrake without the button depressed (Yes, you lose 1 Point every time your handbrake makes that grrrrrrrrrr sound), and the like.
Trying to fit everything you need to know into a short space of time is allowing yourself no room for error, and in your anxious state you will be in trying to remember a million things – it’s just not worth it. TRUST ME!! You need time for every single rule, action, physical impact and mental conditioning to become ingrained to an instinctual state. You should be driving K53 as a matter of habit.
All your questions should have been addressed to such an extent that you do not allow drivers behind you to influence your procedure (however much they “pressure” you), you shouldn’t have doubts about your driving, how you fit into the traffic, how to interpret anything or what is required of you as a driver. Your test should be a matter of a simple formality.
Then there’s the matter of parking for the Yard Test part of your test.
Keep in mind that you FIRST have to pass the Yard Test before you will even get to drive on the road, no matter how good you think you are at driving.
On the parking side, it takes many, many, many times of getting your judgement wrong till you start developing a “feeling”, also called good judgement, with respects to parking. You need to know when it feels good for you to realise that you’ve hit your marks accurately, knowing that following your parking recipe will deliver consistent results based on consistent speed and consistent steering. You need to immediately know when your positioning is “off” in order to use your judgement to correct your speed, angle, positioning, steering, braking and mastering your clutch control whilst using your handbrake throughout to prevent rolling. Only when you have this power of judgement honed to a fine art, will you know (in a very unlikely event) whether you’ll need a second attempt to achieve a successful parallel parking, for instance.
Only repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, will work – that’s how human minds and bodies work. FACT!
99% should be the measure of your progress, not the distance from your goal. Do a Mock Test if you’re not sure.
It’s NOT that difficult to get a booking anymore.
No, seriously. I can even help you with that.
I’d much rather see you succeed, than to see you make a wishful attempt and take a huge knock in confidence when you fail.
Remember, you’d want to be damn near 100% prepared to combat your nerves, which in itself, may discount your confidence by 50% or more.
Do yourself a favour. Use the energy you currently waste on impatience, apply it to enhance your performance, and stay focused on success. You’d be surprised how helpful that can be.
On the day of your test YOU are in the driver’s seat – only YOU can make it happen!
