Practical lessons: Stage 1

Stage 1 is when we learn the basics etc the components of a car, their functions, how to properly operate the car. There are 5 stages, stages 1-3 have 11 subjects each while stage 4 has less (mainly familiarisation with test routes) and stage 5 has 1 (evaluation kinda like a mock test). Usually people complete 1-3 subjects in one lesson but it depends on one' own pace and progress. 

Day 1

First day learning driving, naturally nervous 😁. Thankfully my friend who already started her actual driving lessons some time ago accompanied me to BBDC (thanks sok wei <3 ). I remember my first instructor wore sunglasses haha cool. He drove the car to an empty area within the circuit and talked to me about the exterior and interior parts of the car, how to open bonnet and check the engine oil level etc, how to replace tyres and also how to turn on the car's engine to name a few. He let me move the car back and forth and get a feel of how the pedals worked, then we did a few turns around the outer lane of the circuit. I was so unfamiliar back then with how to turn properly so I kept doing sharp/wide turns and I also couldn't keep the car in the lane. I tried to rigidly follow a particular way to turn but later in subsequent lessons I realised that its all about judgement and no instructor can really "teach us exactly how to turn". I was so bad at turns and keeping centre and I was also very nervous, but as someone who has "been there and done that" I must say that it's okay to be nervous and it's okay to mess up at first because when you make those mistakes, that's when you really learn.

Day 2

Met a really friendly instructor today which made the lesson enjoyable. Did left turns today. He saw that I was going at a really slow speed around the bends (like, legitimately, very, slow) and taught me to use some acceleration for the smoother bends to turn more easily. He also asked me to trust my own judgement and be more confident. "Your driving is ok, actually. You just need to be more confident." He joked about how I always cmi at two specific bends in the circuit....like my turning is ok until reach those bends then alas HAHA. He told me to ask questions & at the later parts of the lesson, thats what I did. We talked about learning the theory vs applying it in practice, and how knowing the theory doesn't mean being able to do well in practical. He said it isn't about how many practical lessons I attend but whether I improve each time. I thought that he gave me many insights and helped to calm my spirits abit! Too bad I probably won't get to meet him again because he isn't from my group (booked a last minute slot so I got allocated another group's instructor), but I gained much from his advice and guidance.

Day 3

Went onto the road today! Might sound fast but I was told that once turning and the basics is generally ok, we will go onto the public road where we learn much more than what we do in the circuit. Yeah so as a first-timer on the roads, I drove quite slowly like 30km/h (ok tbf as a first timer on the roads I'm scared ahaha) and the instructor told me to accelerate more. I also learnt how to slow down when nearing traffic lights and to prepare to stop when the signal changes. It was nerve-racking definitely and much different from driving in the circuit where everyone else is new to driving and more cautious. Didn't meet any errant/reckless drivers but was still wary and took some time to get more comfortable with a higher speed. Im probably one of those people who will never ever try to speed on the road  :>.

Day 4

Okay so although I was pretty nervous during my first few lessons, I started to look forward to lessons because I thought that if I could overcome my "fears" of making silly mistakes (I can be really clumsy and blur at times) and cultivate good habits, driving could be a really fun experience (yup, I slowly began to like driving). 

As usual I headed to BBDC, checked the app for the area and car number and went to find my instructor when the bell rang. Today's instructor was abit more xiong (like he never really scold but seems abit cold) and no nonsense. I remember he got me to stop at the side of the road multiple times to point out to me several things to take note and also testing me to see whether I knew certain things. I was like "oh no, did I do something wrong again?" Actually, a lot of the things he told me were important and some of the basics, some of which I never knew beforehand. So at the later parts of the lesson I mustered my courage (>.<) to ask him questions that came to my mind as I navigated the roads and I'm glad I did so. I was still slightly scared of him (haha bcos he strict, but to be clear he's not a bad instructor) though! I told my dad and he said "strict good ah". I mean ok its true haha, and also I learnt a lot from him.

*Lets call him the strict instructor because I got him as my instructor again in subsequent lessons

Day 5

Got a friendly instructor today. Learnt to not take too long to do safety checks when turning. "Quick glance, safe then look straight and move off" he said. Today is when I realised that the arrow on the road is quite long, like 4.5m (?). The BBDC car used by auto car learners is a Honda Jazz and the instructor told me that the car is around 4m. I doubted the arrow on the road was that long so he told me to drive to and stop on one of the arrows in the circuit, then we got out to look. Turns out the arrow is slightly longer than the car so thats how I learnt its around 4.5m :O

He also reminded me to check the mirror before stopping, because a car that is tailgating behind might crash onto me if I did so. Learnt to use intermittent braking to warn the car if it was following too closely! We did 90 degree sharp turns today, and its the first time I had to full lock the steering wheel. I realised that my car was doing a wide turn and "intruding" into the other lane so I asked "is there a way to not eat into the other lane" because it seemed like there was no way to avoid it. From the driver's point of view it feels like the car bonnet is always protruding into the other lane >.<yeah perspective... The instructor said its normal to feel that way. So he got me to try turning again and he opened the door to show me that the car remained within the lane oof so I didnt have to worry as long as I turned using the correct technique and maintained a low speed.

Day 6

My first night lesson! I guess it was pretty obvious to my instructor because I was looking around at the controls trying to turn on the headlights before exiting BBDC to go onto the road...

Today's instructor was the kind of person who is very detailed and he gave me many helpful pointers. He taught me a unique method to see if my seat is at the correct distance from the steering wheel which is something I take for granted all the time. He identified my weak points based on what he observed and addressed them accordingly which was great because this gave me something definitive to refine and work on. One of them is my tendency to drive too slow. "Slow doesn't mean safe" he said. It may sometimes be dangerous (all the bad things associated with road hogging i guess)! So yeah this was the "great awakening" *coughs* where I was determined to practice driving at the proper, higher speeds in subsequent lessons(no speeding, ofc!). Ok but fast forward to Day 11 and I still have this problem...then when I try to speed up I end up focusing too much on the speedometer.  Aiyo...Hopefully I get better at regulating my speed soon ahaha.

We mostly practiced driving while doing the relevant safety checks today! Anddd that's Stage 1 complete!