Congratulations and thats a good choice if you can avoid needing a car.
I have two failed attempts, really need to try again because in 7/2017 I have no idea where my jobs will be or the commute will be like. What do you think made you pass this time? Any tips for making it more mustachian learning?
Not gonna lie, it was not mustachian at all. Over the past six months I have had 96 hours of lessons with a professional instructor - approx two two-hour lessons a week. No private practice. If it were up to me, I probably wouldn't have bothered learning again. The amount of money I spent on my first set of lessons and failed tests and the amount of money I spent on those 96 hours makes me die a little inside. But my grandmother is weirdly fixated on her grandchildren passing her driving test, so she basically wrote a blank cheque and said let me know whenever you need more money for lessons. So she paid every penny. I only started again to make an old woman happy and to be honest when I started I couldn't imagine passing.
But what was different this time?
First, my instructor this time was much more professional. I realise that now. My first instructor would arrive late every time (just five to ten minutes, but still...), chat all the time, put the radio on, get me to stop so he could run to the shop, fill up with petrol during my lessons... I was seventeen and didn't have a clue, so I didn't question it, but now I wonder if he was even watching me driving. My new instructor has been fantastic. Totally focused on the lesson, always on time. We only started chatting at all about six weeks ago, when we started just practicing everything rather than learning new stuff, and even then any time something came up (like a roundabout) she'd stop and focus on the job in hand. I also had a female instructor this time. I don't know if it made a difference but it might be worth a try, especially if you're a woman.
Second, I took LOADS of lessons. Practice does make perfect. I'll be honest, having basically a blank cheque helped a lot because it took the financial pressure off. If I had been paying for and budgeting for my own lessons I would have been tempted to skimp.
Third, I was much more confident when it came to asking questions and making sure I understood everything. It came to be that I'd say "So... what if..." and my instructor would say "Is this another difficult question? OK, go ahead." But I asked all the stupid questions, all the complicated questions, all the hypothetical questions. And I wasn't afraid to say I didn't understand.
Fourth, I kept my lessons a total secret from everyone except my grandmother, my husband and my instructor. I didn't even tell my parents. (Note to self: ring mother ASAP and tell her you passed your driving test...) No pressure to hurry up and take the test and no pressure to pass the test. Keeping the secret was a bit stressful sometimes, and I did wonder if it was a bit stupid, but it helped me feel better about my test.
Fifth, I really did not book the test until I felt ready to be driving independently on all sorts of roads. Whatever your instructor says, if you don't feel ready then you're not ready.
Sixth, I kinda got lucky on my test. Yes, I probably could have passed if I'd had a different route (and I did have to parallel park!) but I didn't have to join a dual carriageway on a slip road or change to the right lane on a dual carriageway, both of which I find stressful. I can do them, but the nerves might have made me do something stupid or just stress me out generally for the test. I also had a female examiner which I think helped because it felt more like my instructor than a male examiner would have done, and she was really smiley and friendly-sounding! I don't think the route or examiner were game-changing, but they made me feel better which made me drive better.
Seventh, I made driving a priority for the month before the test. I'm freelance so I can shuffle things around but if something clashed with a driving lesson then I changed the thing so I could still have the lesson, and I spent a lot of time going over the show-me-tell-me questions and some of the theory stuff again until I felt confident.
Eighth, I realised that I
was prepared and that I
could drive. What I needed to work on was my nerves. So I had three mock tests with my instructor. The first one I was shaking and cried afterwards. But I still "passed"! The second and third were better, even though I "failed" them (few minors but one serious on each, due to random stupidity). And when we did the mock tests, we did EVERYTHING. Starting from a road next to the test centre, reading the numberplate, the questions, explaining the test, writing down the faults... So it really felt like the test. I also worked on breathing exercises by myself and imagined the test, imagined myself driving calmly and happily, imagined myself not getting stressed out by minor problems, imagined myself greeting the examiner with a smile and being happy to have the opportunity to show them how well I can drive... I also ingrained in my mind through repetition that I should just do exactly what I normally do, exactly as I would do anything during a lesson.
Ninth, denial. I denied in my head that it was the real driving test. My instructor and I called it the "driving check" because it sounds less intimidating. As I sat in the waiting room I said in my head loudly and firmly, "How nice of my instructor to arrange this mock check with one of her colleagues before I book my real driving test in the future." I pretended during the test that the examiner was one of my instructor's friends who wanted to check on her instructing, not my driving. I totally faked ease and confidence with the examiner, greeting her with a big smile and a handshake. (Except when I couldn't start the car because the steering lock was on and I freaked out, but the examiner was super duper nice about it and reminded me...) I chatted with the examiner about how many people spell our respective names wrong and how nice the weather was, just as if we were taking a nice motoring excursion. (But I frequently broke off in mid sentence to do something like turn right and then started up again when I'd finished it.)
Tenth, information. I read EVERYTHING I could find about what the test would be like and what the examiners would be looking for. The best thing was that I found a guidance leaflet for training examiners on the DVLA website, which explained every aspect of the test from the examiner's point of view. It really humanised them and gave me a bit of perspective that stopped me catastrophising everything. It also encouraged me to drive normally instead of being on special behaviour.
So that might be slightly more intense than you were expecting, but I started and just couldn't stop! Three main lessons:
1. Work on your driving until you and your instructor both feel confident about your driving ability. Book your test because YOU feel ready.
2. Work on your nerves and doom-thinking.
3. Remember that the driving test is a check that you're competent enough to be on the roads alone, not a measure of your worth as a person.