Practical lessons: Stage 3

For Stage 3 we learn how to drive in the circuit and here I really get the chance to familiarise myself with the layout, numbers and the various parts of the circuit. Parking is also learnt here (thats the one thing I'm pretty scared of because there's little room for error with the narrow parking space)! Also, driving in the circuit can be tricky because its easy to be careless and turn from the wrong lane or turn right from a left only lane etc, which is why everytime I'm in the circuit, I try to remind myself to be alert! 

Day 14

Okay so compared to driving on the public roads, driving in the circuit is more monotonous, dry and "boring" haha. Today's instructor was the same female instructor from a previous lesson and I know she's quite friendly and approachable so I was looking forward to the lesson... Drove around the circuit and she gave instructions on where to turn...at which number. Got many tips on how to do a quick lane change and sharp turns in the circuit (its quite different from driving outside because on the public roads the lanes are wider, and we don't do sharp turning that often). There were a few people doing the TP test in the circuit and I remember we were waiting for one person to park. Was pretty nerve-racking because he turned too early and his car's rear wheel was almost certainly going to hit the kerb, he tried to do corrections but from there everything went wrong....in the end my instructor got me to turn left and move off.

Because there were many cars in the circuit, she said "ok we'll do reversing first". Went to an area clear of cars and she taught me to reverse till my car was aligned with the pole. After I tried it myself and managed to do it successfully, we went to the directional change section where she parked the car into the lot and got me to do corrections (like moving the car nearer to the left or right kerb). We tried the s-course and crank course and she guided me along (somehow manage to clear them without striking the kerb). The instructor asked me which course was easier for me and I replied "crank course" because its really just 90 degree turns...compared to s course, it certainly has less sighting points to remember!

Day 15

Got quite a nice and friendly instructor from my group today. It was raining quite heavily before my lesson but thankfully the rain was almost gone by the time I started lesson. We did s-course, crank course and a little of directional change today. Tbh, out of all the lessons I've had so far, this was the one where I performed most terribly lol, can't count how many times I mounted the kerb and sometimes at the most unimaginable spots. My instructor was pretty understanding and he kept getting me to try and guided me along the way. :( feel bad because he taught well and tried his best but I just couldn't get some of the turning points especially for s-course and so it was literally like trial and error 😔 At least I know s-course is something I will need more practice on haha

So, after many embarrassing fails and reversing and repeated attempts, I managed to clear the s-course and crank course eventually...though I would say I'm certainly not yet confident that I can do it well yet so definitely gonna practice this again during my revision lessons. The bright side of this lesson was my instructor who was really patient with me despite my mistakes :) 👍🏻which made the mistakes feel less painful 😅

Day 16

I messed up the s-course in the previous lesson, so I was determined to "redeem" myself today haha. Instructor was the same from Day 14, I expected it because the car number was the same and so it was likely to be her. I said I had difficulty with the s-course and I think she has heard that many times because she immediately nodded and said "yup its one of the harder courses". We headed to the s-course at the start of the lesson, and I attempted it again with her giving tips on turning and reminding me to keep close to the right when turning left and keep close to the left when turning right. Managed to do it myself successfully afterwards so we went on to directional change. After practicing DC several times, instructor decided to let me try out parallel parking. Oh and she said the tester likes to make us do quick lane changes and other maneuvres where they can test our ability to control the car in a tight space and observation skills....because its easy to turn too early or late or fail to notice other drivers (during lane change) in the circuit where there is limited space to steer the car. So its something I have to take note of (definitely wouldn't want to mess up because of these mistakes during the test).

Parallel parking went ok...didn't hit any kerbs except for once where I didnt pay enough attention and hit the kerb at the back of the car while reversing straight backwards. Turning points are all fixed so if I can keep at a slow speed, and remember the steps well, then I'm good to go. Next lesson I'm supposedly going to learn parallel parking officially and how to do corrections if the car is in the wrong position so there's that! 

Day 17

Same friendly instructor from Day 13. Didn't recognise him at first but think he recognised me from a lesson two weeks ago because he asked if we met before and seemed to remember me, I only realised it was him after I saw the name tag 😅 Officially learnt parallel parking (PP) today and the instructor demonstrated how to do it first by taking over the wheel before letting me attempt it with some guidance. There's specific steps to remember so as long as we follow them, PP is quite manageable (as compared to vertical parking where more of our own judgement is needed). Overall, he said my PP was ok, just needed to work on positioning the car straight in the lot and keep speed slow when turning the steering wheel.

Instructor knew I wanted to practice more on s-course so he demonstrated how to do it first then let me try on my own. He said that I can either do it "by feeling" or by using the sighting points illustrated in the handbook. Tried to do the former and no kerbs mounted so hurrah...but the key is to be consistent aka able to clear the course successfully and repeatedly when I do it by feeling, if not I should try using the sighting points. 

Had a bit of a chat when we were waiting for other cars to finish their manoeuvre for parallel parking...He said he decided to be a driving instructor so he could impart driving skills and techniques to others. Despite his high level of skill and knowledge (like when he drives in the s-course etc, he makes it look so easy...might be experience? I have seen other instructors drive but this is just different), he's always willing to teach and accommodating when I make mistakes. It's always a pleasure to learn from him!

Day 18

Familiar car number, and yup it is the strict instructor.  Today's lesson is focused on the circuit slope (a pretty steep slope where the car will definitely slide back immediately the moment there is no brake applied) and vertical parking. Today's instructor was the one who taught me the technique to move off upslope from stationery position too during my previous lesson in stage 2 where I drove on slopes outside BBDC. But because the BBDC circuit slope is steep, the handbrake must be applied unlike on the slopes outside BBDC which are quite gentle so simply stepping on the accelerator is sufficient to ensure the car doesn't roll back. He explained what to do, then let me try going up the slope, stopping and moving off upslope and back downslope a few times before we went on to vertical parking(VP).

To be honest VP wasn't as hard as I thought it would be (the lot is much narrower than the DC lot so the allowed margin of error is smaller aka its easier to hit the kerb when turning too early or late). Was taught me the basic steps, followed by how to do corrections if I realised my car was going to hit the kerb due to turning too early or late or too slow....which was really useful because the next few times I attempted VP my car was positioned wrongly so I had to adjust so that the car would fit nicely in the lot. I was able to apply the techniques and do adjustments on my own when I attempted VP in subsequent lessons! After he was satisfied with my VP (phew finally....a lot of times he would nitpick, rightfully, about my execution of the VP manouvre etc how I didn't do corrections quickly enough so in my mind I was determined to do it successfully), he got me to do the crank and s-course once each before the lesson ended. The same person who kept mounting the kerb at the start finally could progress through without any problems :D

Day 19

Was abit nervous today because I would be doing the ramp course for this lesson (where we have to accelerate up a mini platform, kind of like mounting a kerb on purpose, but we can't hit the pole which will be placed in front of the car). There are other segments of the ramp course but going up the ramp and reversing up the ramp are the hardest. I suppose it trains judgement and control... I really didn't want to hit the pole even on my first try so I took a long time to accelerate up and I was holding the accelerator and increasing pressure bit by bit, when the car eventually did move forward I braked too early and it went back down nOOO. That was when my instructor told me to daringly step hard on the accelerator then brake when the car has really gone up. Turns out that was the best advice, completed ramp course successfully. The harder part of today's lesson content, done..!

Went through the other circuit courses (which I have already done in previous lessons) for revision and practice. Next we went on to emergency brake-basically its just braking firmly when the instructor gives the signal (slamming the dashboard) and its used in an emergency situation where we have to stop immediately to avoid an accident. When I first tried it, I felt the car anti-lock braking system (ABS) LOL, the engine was vibrating and I was confused at first until the instructor told me it was the ABS being activated to avoid locking up the wheels. He said its natural, I was relieved because I thought I hit the brakes too hard. For emergency brake there is nothing much to remember, the only way anyone can mess up is to ....not be alert and hence react too slowly when given the signal to stop. That was me, once. Instructor was like "ah like that fail already" :"( After that I didn't dare to let my guard down, I was especially ready to brake whenever the circuit road behind and in front of me was clear (the tester will ensure that no cars are near so that it's safe, and we don't need to do any checks before braking because we just want to avoid hitting whatever caused us to suddenly brake in the first place), and the instructor gave me a nod of approval for being alert 😁

Day 20

..And also the last lesson of stage 3! Reviewed all the circuit courses -VP, PP, ramp, s-course, crank course, DC, e-brake. I almost messed up the e-brake because it was nearing the end of the lesson, the instructor was talking to me and I let myself get distracted by the conversation and BAMM!! He hit the dashboard and I hit the brakes as quickly as I could, heaving a sigh of relief when he said "good". I think a driver in the opposite lane noticed that I was doing the e-brake and looked over haha (quite rare to see someone doing the e-brake). 

Was slightly disappointed because I thought I could go out to the public roads (to learn how to do the 3-point turn) after being "stuck" in the circuit for quite some time but the instructor decided that we would stay in the circuit. Next lesson then! :)

Also today I saw someone mount the kerb while turning out from a VP lot and I casually mentioned that I almost did the same thing because I turned too early. The instructor just smiled and said "at least now you know". Quite a friendly person, a nice mentor, the mood was mostly light except one time where I exceeded the time limit for VP and he wasn't exactly mad but maybe disappointed(?) After all today is meant to be a review aka an assessment of my stage 3 topics....But he passed my stage 3 because eventually I could do all the courses by myself without any significant errors!