Matthew's big day

Matthew's test was scheduled at 9.37am; a nice time, I think, after rush hour, but before Inverness' traffic really gets going. So we could afford to have a relaxed start to the day, with tea, bacon sandwiches and (not so relaxed) The William Tell Overture (The theme from The Lone Ranger) to liven us up.
There have been all sorts of roadworks and changes to the road system in the area around Inverness test centre recently, so we wanted a relaxed drive around the area before the test. With fifteen minutes to go it was time to turn the car round in the road and head towards the test centre. Matt seemed fine, but I was the one getting nervous, and this wasn't helped by the amount of traffic delaying his turn in the road.
"What time is my test?" asked Matthew, at 9.30am, as we approached the test centre.
"We've got plenty of time." I reassured, but anxiously aware that we only had a few minutes to spare. 

With every test I always get a little...... not nervous, but concerned. I only bring a pupil to test if I am confident that they are fine driving on their own. They don't have to be perfect (like Sarah last month), but they have to make me feel relaxed and confident in their ability. Matthew certainly drove like that. I had no doubts at all about his ability to drive but...... It is a test. And you never know what someone will do in test conditions.

For those of you who might not know, I'll explain the procedure: Matthew meets the examiner, who checks both parts of his licence and asks Matthew to sign a declaration that the car is insured and that he has lived in the UK for 6 out of the previous 12 months. The examiner then asks Matthew if he would like me to sit in on the test (he did). We walk out to the car park and the examiner checks his eyesight by asking him to read a number plate from 25 - 30m (the requirement is 20m). Then we approach the car and the examiner asks him two 'show me/tell me' questions. An incorrect answer incurs a 'driving fault' (Matthew answered both of his correctly). You will pass your test if you make 15 or fewer driving faults and no serious (or dangerous) faults. A dangerous fault is one that involves actual danger to anyone (including you and the examiner) or to any property. A serious fault is one that could potentially have been dangerous. A driving fault is one that, at the time, was not considered potentially dangerous, but making the same driving fault throughout your test could become a serious fault. Once we are all sat in the car, the examiner explains that the test will last approximately 45 minutes and that he is to follow the road ahead unless road markings or signs indicate otherwise. If the examiner wants you to turn left or right he will ask you in good time. For me, sitting in the back, I have to keep quiet and can have no influence. Sometimes the examiner might include me in the conversation, but, as a rule, I have to sit tight and shut up.

The examiner decided to get the reversing manoeuvre out the way and asked Matthew to pull out to the left or the right, straighten up, then reverse back into a bay. He is looking for control, accuracy and effective observation. This had been Matthew's least favourite manoeuvre, but he executed it perfectly.

He drove off and I began to relax. Really nice driving. Good approach to junctions and hazards. Over halfway through the test and absolutely nothing he could be faulted for; slightly over-cautious in a couple of meeting situations, but I would far rather he was cautious than take chances. We then came to a reasonably straight 30mph road with a bin lorry emptying the bins up ahead. Just beyond was a parked van on the other side of the road. If he acted quickly, he could comfortably overtake the bin lorry and safely return to his side of the road before the van became a problem. He hesitated and held back, just a fraction. The opportunity was then lost as the bin lorry neared the van and we had to wait until another gap appeared when the bin lorry had passed the white van. Hmmm. The examiner did not register anything on his sheet, but he might wait until later. It was certainly nothing serious though. 

Matthew continued to drive very nicely, dealing with some tough situations. The examiner asked him to pull over, then explained that the next section would be when he wanted Matthew to drive independently. For this part, they can either ask you to follow road signs (for example, 'follow road signs to Fort William'), or they can give you a series of directions (as opposed to step by step directions). He gave Matthew a combination of both. "I would like you to turn right at the end of the road, turn left at the next two roundabouts, then follow signs to Aberdeen." He then asked Matthew to repeat the instruction. There was a few minutes between the two roundabouts and, approaching the second, I thought his indicator was a touch early. Although there was no road between us and the roundabout, indicate too early and it could look as though you are parking. For the first time, I noticed the examiner put something on his marking sheet. Even though I thought the signal was only slightly early, I still worried that the examiner might have viewed it as serious. Ridiculous, because I knew it wasn't potentially dangerous, but I still worried.

I guess it was partly because there was definitely slightly more pressure on Matthew and me than usual. There is pressure on every test, if only because no-one wants to spend another £62 on a second attempt, but failing your test is NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. You have waited at least 17 years to get your licence. so it really is no big deal if you have to wait another few weeks (Ten working days is the minimum, but, in practice, it can be a lot more before you get another attempt). With Matthew, he was flying back to England the next day and, although his driving was easily good enough to pass wherever he chose to take his test, we really had been building up to this moment. And I know that his parents (my brother, Chris, and his wife, Sondra) would not have given it a thought if he doesn't pass but.......... I guess that, whenever someone doesn't pass, I always wonder if I have missed something in their instruction.

So now we were following signs to Aberdeen, through the busy Raigmore Interchange, and heading east on the A96. The examiner then asked him to follow signs to Culloden and Balloch. This took him right on a roundabout and into a slightly unusual road. Unusual in that it had regular streetlights, but was in fact a 60mph road. As he came off the roundabout he seemed to be slow getting the car going. With slight alarm I realised that he presumed that the street lighting mean that it was a 30mph speed limit. I could do nothing. I sat there, siliently urging him to look ahead where, in the distance, I knew there would be a reminder speed sign. fortunately he saw it, checked his mirrors to make sure that no-one was about to overtake, and put his foot down to get it up towards the speed limit. Eek. How would the examiner view that? Any vehicle behind would have expected him to accelerate towards 60mph after the roundabout, and may have been tempted to overtake when he was slow to do so. But, he had seen the first reminder sign and, importantly, had checked his mirrors before accelerating. I thought it could be viewed as a driving fault, but surely nothing serious?

Not far from the test centre now, but the bin lorry and the failure to see the national speed limit sign were heavy on my mind. As far as I was concerned, they were not serious, but I was not the one examining Matthew. Back at the test centre, he pulled carefully into a bay and the examiner asked him to switch off the engine. He looked down at his sheet and said "I'm pleased to tell you, Matthew, that you have passed." After the formalities of handing over the provisional licence and the paperwork, he quickly explained that he had recorded just two driving faults; one for hesitation at the bin lorry, and the other for indicating too early for the roundabout. He was obviously happy with the way Matthew realised that he was initially too slow, and corrected it, after the Culloden roundabout.

Matthew was delighted. It had been a very competent drive and to pass, first time, with just two driver errors is an excellent result. But it was well deserved. He had driven in every area I cover, from Elgin in the east, right up to Ullapool in the north-west, all of which provided different challenges. Jane rewarded him by taking him to sunny Findhorn for a walk on the beach and lunch outside the pub, overlooking Findhorn Bay, while I continued with quest to bring all my pupils to Matthew's standard.

It never rains......

Loopallu has been and gone, more of my lessons include the use of headlights and X Factor and  Strictly... are beginning to dominate the television schedules. These are the modern indicators of Autumn; it would be impossible to tell from the weather because it is just as wet and windy as the Summer.
I feel sorry for the tourists this year - they have not seen the Highlands at its finest. In Ullapool this morning the weather was atrocious and tourists sat huddled in hotels and cafes wondering why they decided to come here in the first place. It is bin day in Ullapool and the empty wheelie-bins being blown over only added to the miserable scene. But never mind the tourists, I have my pupils to think about.
Unusually, I only have one pupil on test today (lots of pupils waiting for tests though). If you read my previous post, you may remember that I tempted fate by saying I was 99.9999% sure he would pass. As his test began the weather was worsening. It was bad enough in the relative shelter of Ullapool, but, as they drove out to Ardmair bay, the mass of rain in the wind made for awful driving conditions. So, extra credit to Alexander O'Neil (no, not that one - much to my wife's disappointment) for passing with 3 driving faults. And extra relief for me because I was beginning to regret my last post.
Not much else to report at the moment. I had a quick check on my stats for this blog and for my 'professional' website. I have bored you with this before, but it is sometimes puzzling what search terms people use to find my sites. After mentioning Jedward in a previous post I received dozens of hits from people searching for talentless twosome. Inshes roundabout always generates lots of views, it is obviously of concern to Inverness drivers (and not just learners). Someone had come to my blog after searching for 'L1pps on plenty of fish' ????? No, I have no idea what they were really after. Someone from Russia decided my blog was THE place to read about 'розовая машина' (I wish I knew). And, most bizarrely, yesterday someone clicked on this blog after Googling 'dogging grantown tonight'. I'm not sure whether I am relieved or disappointed that I was 29th in the list of results. But dogging in Grantown? Haven't they seen the weather out there?!

Is the grass greener on the other side?

Taking your driving test is not the most stressful thing in the world you can do, but try telling that to someone about to take their test. I have known pupils shaking uncontrollably because they were so nervous. It is not life or death. Sure, it costs another £62 if it doesn't go to plan, but that is nothing compared to what you will be spending on driving over the next fifty/sixty/seventy years - It's less than it costs me to fill up my fuel tank. As I suggested a few weeks ago, the nerves I believe are largely to do with what you believe others will think of you.
A few months ago I received an email from someone who was looking for an 'intensive course'. I am always a bit wary when someone asks about this. Sometimes there can be good reason, but often, if they have waited 17 years to be able to drive, why not be patient and wait another few months. Anyway, this one was different. She had taken her test (and failed) three times, in Glasgow. I did not investigate too thoroughly, but she decided that maybe a change of location was the answer. I was still wary. I have previously written about Inverness instructors taking their pupils to test in Gairloch (or Ullapool or Kingussie) because they have a higher pass rate and, supposedly, are easier. I also remember, when I was on a pink badge (a trainee instructor), another instructor advising me to take my Part 3 exam in Aberdeen, or Glasgow, because the examiners were more lenient than in Inverness (I didn't take her advice). So, my initial reaction was 'if you are not good enough to pass in Glasgow (where she lives), how will she cope with day-to-day driving once she manages to pass her test in somewhere she believed might be easier?'
Over a few emails she explained what had happened in her tests and I began to think that her driving sounded close to test standard. I explained that I mainly cover three separate test areas (Elgin, Inverness and Ullapool), briefly gave her a description of each, but explained that Elgin and Inverness would have more chance of an earlier test. To her credit, she chose Elgin.
I enjoy teaching in all three areas but, if I was pushed to say which was the hardest, I would say Elgin. Sure, Inverness is bigger, has dual-carriageways and some (slightly) weird roundabouts, but Elgin is much more concentrated. The Inverness - Aberdeen route (A96) flows through Elgin, with no obvious alternative. This means all the small roundabouts on the A96 are quite fast-flowing and, therefore, quite daunting to the novice driver. And some of them are so closely spaced that, as soon as you leave one, you have to prepare for the next.
When I met Hazel last week I quizzed her on her driving. We didn't have much time so I wanted to concentrate on her weaknesses. She suggested that 'meeting traffic' (dealing with oncoming traffic in narrow situations) was her biggest weakness. "Manoeuvres ok?" "Yes." "How about roundabouts?" "They're fine, there's quite a lot in Glasgow."
Ok, Glasgow does have a lot of roundabouts, but it had not prepared her for Elgin, and it soon became clear that, to my eyes, they were her biggest weakness. The secret is, like any junction, to give yourself plenty of time to prepare. You don't want to be still braking firmly as you are looking for the gaps in the traffic, you want to be ready to accelerate into those gaps. The slower you go, the more time you will have to see those gaps, but the slower you go, the bigger the gap you will need - quite a balance.
In her 'mini-intensive course' we covered everything, but really focused on meeting situations and roundabouts. Then, at 12.30 on Tuesday, I picked her up for a final hour before her test. The weather was not kind - it was lashing it down. While weather reports suggested England and Wales were suffering tropical temperatures, Elgin was suffering tropical rain. In addition, I don't think I have ever seen the town so busy with traffic. Not the ideal conditions to soothe pre-test nerves.
With 15 minutes before the 1.33pm test time, I had a gentle 5 minute drive back to the test centre planned. "When we get to the roundabout, turn left." I asked. She checked her mirrors, indicated left, brought her speed down, selected 2nd gear, saw the gap and accelerated...... straight across the roundabout!!! Gulp!
Having to think very quickly about an alternative route, I suggested she took a left turn up ahead. Traffic going in the other direction was at a standstill, so I didn't want to bring her back to that. She turned left only to face a temporary sign 'Road closed ahead'. Big gulp!! We were now a good 5 - 10 minutes from the test centre and less than ten minutes to go. Not only that, but my mind was racing, trying to think of the quickest route back to the test centre. I decided I didn't want Hazel sitting at the wheel in all that traffic, getting increasingly nervous as the clock counted down to 1.33pm. I asked her to pull over and, in what I hoped was a calm voice, suggested that we swap seats so that I could get her through the traffic to the test centre.
While trying to bring an air of calm, I thought I had better ask her what happened at the roundabout, why did she signal left, but not turn?
"I don't know. I think my brain just fused."
It wouldn't have been productive to have analysed the fault so close to her test, so I just reassured her and suggested that it was not something she ought to do in future.
We got to the test centre with about a minute to spare. The rain was getting heavier and the exit to the test centre car park was surrounded by inconveniently parked vehicles. I have to have complete faith in Hazel and trust that I don't need to give her any last-minute warnings about such things. So I simply ask her to drive as she normally does and she will be fine.
She meets the examiner and off she goes. I am the most nervous about a test as I have been in years. It is nothing to do with the badly parked vehicles, nothing to do with the dreadful weather conditions, nothing to do with the slightly frantic last few minutes, and nothing to do with her little faux pas at the roundabout. I am nervous because, after her initial attempts in her home city, she has arranged time away from home, paid to stay in a hotel in Elgin (plus the money she is paying me), and has put her trust in me to polish up her driving and help her pass her test - and this is my one shot at it. I can't imagine her wanting to come back to Elgin/Inverness/Ullapool (all at least three hours from south Glasgow) and do it all again if she is not successful.
It is over 50 minutes before I finally see her drive back into the car park, the rain not relenting at all. I wait outside, standing beneath a porch for shelter. The examiner looks at me and beckons me over. Oh dear, not usually a good sign. The rain is hammering down, so I am pleased I have a 5-door, so I can get into the back seat (rather than stand out in the rain). He is silent while he tots up her driving faults (five), then turns to her and tells her that she has passed. I love that moment. You will rarely see any greater expression of happiness. When the examiner tells a pupil that they have passed, they don't just smile, their whole face beams, their eyes widen and it is impossible to look more happy.
I drove Hazel to the train station and she tried to give me £10 too much. I told her it wasn't necessary and that she should put it towards her first tank of fuel. She replied "No, I shall put it towards some Champagne!" A much better idea, I thought.

Driving on to my next lesson, I had my wrist mildly slapped. Hazel had turned the headlights off after her test and I had driven off without putting them back on. It certainly wasn't dark, but, if I had realised, I would have put my lights on. Anyway, an oncoming car flashed me and I presumed they were suggesting I should put my lights on. But of all the cars that could have flashed me, it had to be an Audi driver. Aargh! The shame of having my driving corrected by an Audi driver! I wonder how they would have alerted the RED driving instructor, a few miles later in Nairn, that they really shouldn't be using their mobile phone while driving - not a good advertisement or a good example.

Panic on the streets of Ullapool

Test day in Ullapool again. Only three pupils on test today, two first-timers and one having his second attempt. Unusually, for Ullapool, all three of my pupils have the luxury of a lesson before their test; usually here, my pupils meet me at the 'test centre' while we wait for the previous pupil to complete their test, then they may get 5 – 10 minutes practice before their test time.

Phil had the 8.40am test and this was his second attempt. He had been very keen to get a lot of hours in before this attempt and it paid off as he passed easily, with 5 minor (sorry, 'driving') faults (we are not supposed to refer to them as 'minor' faults).

Sadly, my next pupil (on her first attempt) wasn't so successful, not giving adequate clearance to parked cars and failing to cancel a left indicator.

On the day before each test I send a text message reminding my pupil to bring BOTH parts of their licence with them. Then, when I meet them before the test, the first thing I do is to ask them if they have their licence. My 3.27pm test pupil was no different. She had previously been having lessons with another instructor in Inverness before moving to Ullapool and BSM Inverness had been very kind in recommending me to her. This was her first attempt.

When I first met Judith she seemed a nice driver, but her confidence did not match her ability. When I questioned her about it she said that sometimes in her lessons she would do something and her previous instructor would say “THAT would fail you” and, eventually, it knocked what confidence she had. I prefer a different method of instruction: If a pupil makes a mistake, that mistake should be analysed and the possible consequences discussed. Those consequences do not include 'That would cost you your test.'

She is from the Netherlands and we had a funny moment a few weeks ago. A nice sunny day in Ullapool and the harbour area was full of tourists. She was about to turn right into a road and did not anticipate the group of tourists walking out into the road she was about to enter. It was safe for her to enter the road, but she began to accelerate before she fully appreciated the situation. I braked for her as the pedestrians continued crossing the road and, when it was safe, she drove on. But she was muttering and her face was scarlet.

“Were you right to do what you did?” I asked.

“Oh, it's not that,” she replied, “I know I was in the wrong, but it was what they said.”

“I didn't catch what they said.”

“No... it was in Dutch.”

They had said something like “That girl needs her lessons”, nothing offensive, but I would have been very tempted to have driven around and said something in Dutch back to them... My pupil is obviously more mature than I am.

We had a nice hour's lesson beforehand and arrived for the test with a few minutes to spare. Being the last test of the day, the examiner was obviously keen to get going as he was already walking over towards us. “Just drive as you have been doing and you'll be fine.” I assured my pupil. “Geoff (the examiner) is already here, so take your licence and say 'hello' to him”. She grabbed her bag and looked for her licence. “#@%£!!!” (Dutch expletive). She looked in another section of her bag. “F@(&!!!” (Anglo-Saxon expletive). She looked at me. “I haven't got my licence.”

Silence.......

“Oh!......Oh!...... I know what I've done. I've left it in the café where I was having lunch. My friends should still be there.” I got out the car, explained the situation to Geoff and asked if I could have two minutes (a bit optimistic). “Hurry up.” He said (but in a nice way).

Leaving Judith with Geoff, I got in my car and dashed to The Ceilidh Place (keeping within the speed limits, of course!). If this had been a film, The Race by Yello would have been the soundtrack. I reversed into the tightest of gaps, found her friends and they rummaged through a rucksack to (eventually) find her licence. It had started to rain, so, by the time I got back to them, Geoff and my pupil were looking quite soggy. She looked at me as though I had rescued her from a fire-breathing dragon and she was on her way.

Not the best way to start a test – I shouldn't think it did much for her nerves – but she later said that the examiner had been really nice and had completely relaxed her whilst they waited for me. Anyway, she passed, with six driving faults and gave me a big hug as a thank you for my dash to get her licence.

It felt a bit strange only having three tests, but, with seven other hours of lessons, I'm not complaining.

So, very well done to Phil and Judith on their success today. And thank you to Geoff for not being a jobsworth and giving Judith and I a bit of extra time to sort ourselves out. In future I won't just ask my pupils if they have their licence, I will get them to hand it over to me. It could have easily been a much more costly lesson.