mikes1988 wrote:
This might provoke some dicussion... Maybe not...
Was talking to a mate a few weeks ago about how his driving/learning was coming on and he said he had practised an emergency stop and then about 5 minutes later he actually had to put what he learned into practise... Some woman ran out into the road at a pedestrian crossing... Mate slams the brakes and comes to a stop (car has ABS). Driving instructor afterwards says to him, "lucky you were concentrating there, I wouldn't have been able to stop in time." This made me think... What if a learner assumes that the instructor will intervene if anything serious happens, for example, a child running out in front of the car to get a ball...
Well I certainly keep on my toes when my students are driving. I'm sure the instructor would have intervened...we do develop exceptionally quick reactions
Perhaps it was his way of praising your friend for taking the initiative. Although I understand you said woman was 'running' towards the crossing I wonder what speed your friend was approaching crossing at, and where he was looking.
mikes1988 wrote:
I never had dual control, I learnt in my own car, so I don't know what it's like to have it, but I can see the usefulness of it, especially at the very beginning, to give you a bit more confidence, because I know that something I worried about when I started was stalling on a start, and it was something I did quite often, just for a few days, and then it stopped... I think it would have been nice to have dual control for that because I think it could have instilled a bit of confidence in myself, making me think I can do this...
I use the dual controls only when I have to. This is usually at novice stage as you say Mike, stalling. You take them off the 'nursery patch' with reasonably good clutch control but they panic in slightly busier roads, say moving off at lights or a slightly busy junction (maybe a bit hilly too). I'll give them one go..because obviously we don't want to annoy motorists behind us (but if no one is around we'll take time and do with a talk through) I will then hold my foot just above the clutch so if they bring it up too quick I will save it. Invariably because they know I'm there to rescue them they relax and do ok. I rarely need to brake; if I do and they're well into and (past) the stage where I'd expect to have to do it for them they'll invariably get a rocket (in a nice way) and it gives them a wake up call about the consequences of not paying full attention.
mikes1988 wrote:
Something else that bothered me was the fact that my mates driving instructor sits on the brakes at junctions... Now, for a new driver, yes I see the point, but you're still going to dazzle the person behind, and it's bad driving in my opinion, and it would be one of my hates, especially in a queue, when you're not at the end... Surely if the instructor feels he needs to stop the car moving, it would be more appropriate to hold the hand brake, because the car isn't going to go far if the handbrake is on. I had an incident whilst learning where I thought I had disengaged the handbrake, moved off and couldn't work out why the car was pulling so badly... Next junction I came to, whoops, that was on...
"If a wait becomes a pause use the handbrake", "use it if you need to or have time to".
mikes1988 wrote:
So the points I'd like to make are... If the car has dual control, the instructor should really be actively watching the road, not just passively. If the dual control is there he/she should be paying as much attention to the road as he would be driving the car himself... And perhaps a button on dual control cars to hold the handbrake?
If I use duals I always tell student I've used them and why. Handbrake is accessible to instructor though Mike.