Stage 4: Test routes and Stage 5: Evaluation

Stage 4 has only two lessons, and is where we get to drive on the public road and cover some of the possible test routes (tester will pick the test route but he/she can change the route halfway). Here is where instructors will tell us what are the important things to take note of at certain roads or junctions, so that we can be mentally prepared in case we are asked to drive at those places during the test. Unlike Stage 3 where we are mostly driving only in the circuit, during stage 4 we can do both public road driving and circuit driving so we do come back to the circuit during lessons to revise parking etc.

Day 21

Was looking forward to the lesson because finally.I.can.drive.outside. Today's instructor was the same female instructor from previous lessons. Fortunately, despite not driving on the public road for quite some time, my "road sense" didn't vanish and it didn't take long for me to get comfortable with the driving. I made sure to do my safety checks (want it to become a habit, almost like muscle memory so that I don't forget). By now, I was already quite familiar with my instructor so I was quite relaxed throughout and we talked a lot in the car about driving in general, road rules, what are the tricky situations at certain areas etc. I realised I talked much more than I usually do probably because of familiarity, usually I'm quiet during lessons unless the instructor asks me something or initiates a conversation. I think I drove ok...though there are definitely areas for improvement. Definitely could be better. My turning was too wide once for a right turn at junction and I was a bit hesitant to lane change to the right because there were fast moving cars behind. The instructor made me do quite a lot of right turns so I had to lane change a lot, sometimes in heavy traffic. She kept saying "be bold, accelerate!!" which forced me to really accelerate fast and is just what I needed lol because I was really quite hesitant at times. Got some useful tips, such as being observant and looking out for road works signs so that I can prepare myself and won't have to lane change last minute.

We went back to the circuit and revised vertical parking, parallel parking (PP) ramp, directional change, slope and the crank course. Generally I could remember what to do for each station and execution was fine but I got confused momentarily between the two parkings and reversed into the PP lot too late. I immediately realised it when I checked my mirrors and so I did it all over again, this time successfully. Thankfully I could recall the steps immediately after I realised my mistake. 

Day 22

Got a very friendly and humourous instructor with a fun personality today. He was really nice from the start, also told me that at that time there was the motorcycle traffic police test ongoing. I also saw the instructor from Day 13 and 17, both him and this instructor usually teach motorcycle riding but today both of them were teaching auto car driving. He was talking throughout the whole journey and he kept laughing, I also ended up laughing with him LOL the atmosphere during lesson became quite lighthearted and all the stress that I could possibly feel just went away. It was a morning lesson and fortunately I didn't feel sleepy at the wheel despite not really having a good sleep. We set off immediately onto the main road. I think he's quite different from other instructors in the sense that he was always reminding me what to do the whole time I'm driving and emphasising the basics, where to look, how soon to slow down, how much to turn my steering wheel etc. Other instructors usually don't say much unless they have something essential to point out. But tbh I'm glad he was being so thorough and concientious (he kept asking me whether everything was good to ensure I understood), I can tell he has substantial experience and just wants his students to build good habits so that they can drive safely and confidently. He said something to the effect of "You need to make the tester feel safe. Build that trust, and everything will go well." Also told me not to worry about other drivers honking at me while waiting for an opportunity to turn out at a junction etc because "if its not safe, its not safe".

He emphasised a lot on anticipating situations and braking early well in advance, so that the tester knows that I will be able to slow down in time and he or she won't feel the need to reach for his or her brakes. When I practiced that and slowed down early, he said "good, see i'm not even reaching for my brakes". Did several u-turns and experienced a unique scenario where the first lane was obstructed so I had to turn into the second lane instead. Also did a tricky right turn at junction where the instructor pointed out that I had to delay my turn and turn more sharply to avoid hitting the kerb on my right.

After finishing the training route on the main road, we went to circuit and he asked which course I was weaker at. I mentioned that my parking sometimes needed corrections and admitted I was pressured by the time limit and that I feared I would exceed it when doing corrections. He said the time is more than enough and I don't need to worry, just remember to do corrections early and remarked that the "tester doesn't have OCD" haha so my car doesn't need to be perfectly straight, it just needs to be able to enter the parking lot. Got a lot of useful advice from him, there were several times I had to clarify something with him because what he said contrasted with what other instructors told me but he managed to clarify my doubts. Quite a productive lesson 👍

Day 23

Today's lesson is an evaluation/mock test🙏🏻The instructor let me practice in the circuit, after which he told me to park the car at the parking lots in front of the main building and said that he would simulate how the real test is like (we'll move off from the same area too during the actual test). Started off with emergency brake where I almost failed to brake in time...then I  did parking and the other circuit courses without any major faults thankfully. After circuit we turned out at number 50 to the main road. I always say my speed cmi, too slow so I tried to correct that and I think I did improve(?) because I didn't get ticks** for "speed too slow". 

**the instructor had this checklist which is used during the actual driving test as well, when a mistake is made the instructor will tick a box and it could carry a demerit point or it could be a free count (give chance, no demerit point), 18 demerit points or less is needed to pass

I think I was a tiny bit nervous but I didn't make any major mistakes on the main roads. I did feel like my lane change was a little rushed and I was also unsure when to make the lane change when there were cars around. There was once I needed to make a right turn so I signalled to lane change to the right but there was a car behind me also signalling to lane change to the right. It seemed like the driver was waiting for me to change lanes first but I thought I should wait because it could be unsafe if we changed lanes at the same time (what if the driver wanted to overtake my car?). In the end the driver saw I was waiting and made the lane change first, I waited for that car to pass me before doing the lane change.

I also almost missed a left turn because I thought the junction was further up ahead but actually it was nearer and I quickly slowed down to make the turn upon realising it. Should have been more observant as it could have been dangerous if there was a vehicle following close behind :(

Other than those two instances, it was ok. After finishing the route we went back to BBDC and the instructor gave me some feedback. He said I needed to check my rear view mirror before turning, changing lanes and moving off/stopping as I was relying too much on my side mirror, especially for lane changing. Also talked me through some of the areas where I needed improvement. Total demerit point damage is 10 so I passed (that's the positive) but almost all the mistakes were related to safety which I felt were avoidable if I paid more attention to my safety checks so what's left is to work on correcting them in subsequent lessons.

Well so today's my last official lesson (cleared all the subjects) which means I don't need to book anymore lessons but I can do so for revision (and I definitely will)!