The top priority for today’s learner driver should not be to pass the driving test, but to initially adopt the life skills philosophy.

Are you sure that passing the Driving Test is the main objective? Not so!

Your primary goal should be to acquire the necessary skills that will keep you, your passengers, and all other road users safe. This makes sense, but is not taken into account by a very large proportion of irish Learner Drivers, with the result that we have an appalling accident history here that impacts the entire community.

The first and possibly the most important step for the new driver is to sign up with a professional driving school who will lay the groundwork for basic and advanced skills and ensure safety is a priority. The lack of basic skills among the motoring population is widespread and stems from several inherent failings that the government is only now beginning to address.

Fortunately, our membership in the European Club is forcing the various agencies that are involved throughout the automotive world to take action and implement the various Directives in a structured time scale.

Tea irish driving test It only started in 1966, more than thirty years after the UK introduced Life’s Most Dreaded Events!

Most recent EU changes have generally come into force here three or four years later than in the UK. These would include the driver’s knowledge test, revised test score sheet, provisional license reviews, and mechanical checks on the road test.

The aspects still to be developed will be Compulsory Registration for Motorcycles and Automobiles and the long-awaited Examination and Registration of Driving Instructors. One of the reasons for our low standards on the roads, particularly within the young driving community, is that the standards of driving instructors are not subject to scrutiny. It is quite common to see instructors giving classes in a student car with no visible L plates. This shows a complete disregard for the basic rule of law and by extension the caliber of instruction has to be mediocre at best.

What can you expect from your first lesson with a Professional Instructor? Will it be taken to a city center? Will they take you on a high-speed road? Will you be driving down the road in just five minutes? Absolutely not!

What will happen is a concentrated session covering many diverse topics related to the operation of the car and all of its equipment and a look at the current driving scene that the new driver is entering for the first time. There will be an investigation of all the basic mechanics that are the responsibility of the Driver, and that are now part of the Driving Test, and a brief discussion of the current Driving Test requirements.

Once this is done, the basics cabin drill it will be examined along with all instrumentation and secondary controls. Following this section, there will be a brief discussion on the use of the gearbox and then on the most mystical piece of equipment in automobiles… the clutch. (That is, of course, assuming we’re driving a car with a manual gearbox, with its accompanying Stick Shift.)

It surprises most beginners that it is the clutch that moves the car and not the accelerator pedal. In fact, since you’ll be on a flat stretch of road for the first few tries, it’s interesting to show that the car moves with your foot away from the accelerator pedal.

This is the point where we are learning the first real driving skill; to understand the term “bite point” and how to recognize it.

In the early stages, a complete mastery of being able to get the clutch to the “bite point” and keeping it stable is the key to driving smoothly in every different situation. No amount of gas pedal use will move the car unless the clutch is at bite point first. Once the car starts to move and is building up a bit of momentum, then the clutch can be smoothly fully released and the accelerator pedal comes into play.

This is followed by a brief demonstration of the clutch control technique by the Instructor followed by the Student.

The safe walk away sequence comes next, followed by Real Thing, but of course there’s no use getting going if you don’t know how to stop safely, which will also be demonstrated. You are now on the move practicing starts and stops and the adrenaline is finally pumping after all the theory!

Guess what? It will do the whole procedure in reverse in a few minutes. Yes, that is correct…Reversing! Reversing is such an integral part of everyday driving that it’s something that can’t be left for later. If it’s postponed, fear of failure is likely to set in and that’s not the point of driving lessons.

So there you have it, in (almost) graphical detail, the first steps in your driving career. If you are going to make steady progress, then you must be prepared to do a lot of homework between your lessons, with a pad and pen, as well as reading the Notes your Instructor will have given you.

There’s a lot more where this came from, so take the time to look at all the available resources and you should be well on your way to the basic stage of learning after three or four weeks. The driving test is not a consideration at this stage and will only be addressed when you have an adequate level of skill developed over several months.