I had a pupil fail her test this morning – it wasn’t pretty: 2 serious and 16 driver faults (that is definitely the most I’ve ever had). She missed mirror checks around 10 times! She also told me she knew she’d failed because she felt the car labouring a bit up a hill, tried to change it to 2nd, got 4th, and stalled. Aaargh!
But the funny part was what she told me in the pre-test lesson. I’d suggested that she go out in her own car to practice driving in Nottingham City Centre following her last full lesson on Wednesday. This was because she’d said she was nervous about that area.
Today’s conversation went like this:
Me: Did you go out in your own car after our last lesson?
She: Yes, we went to Loughborough.
Me: Loughborough? That’s useful. You said you were worried about Nottingham City Centre.
She: Well, my mum doesn’t know how to drive in Nottingham City Centre. We’d get lost.
Me: [head in hands] How can you get lost when you’re inside something? All you have to do is find a road you recognise and you’re not lost any more. The thing is you said you were worried about the City Centre.
She: Well, we did Loughborough City Centre.
Me: No you didn’t! You drove down to Loughborough Uni and back on the A60, didn’t you?
She: [grins] Well, yes.
Me: You didn’t go anywhere near the Centre, did you?
She: [grins] No.
It’s more or less a straight drive down to Lougborough Uni, round a roundabout, and straight back – along a quiet road at that time of night. And Loughborough is not a “city” by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it anywhere near where the test is likely to be conducted (though that is not particularly relevant). Nottingham City Centre, on the other hand, is a tricky one-way system with lanes branching off left, right, and centre – and very busy most of the time. And it is on the test routes.
By her own admission, she was nervous and stalled going up a hill when she “dropped” it from 3rd to 4th instead of 2nd. After that, she said she knew she’d failed and went to pieces.
She’s actually a good driver. I could have killed her, but nerves can really screw some people up.