Practical lessons: Revision
Day 25
Had a fruitful lesson with the same female instructor from previous lessons. Off tangent here but the sole of my shoe came off as I was walking to BBDC with SW (it's super worn out from me wearing it for a long time oops) but thankfully it was functional enough for me to drive and later go to the mall to get a new pair of shoes heh. I started off with some circuit practice before going out to the main road. She commented that my lane change had improved from the last time she met me but I needed to accelerate more. Also made some careless mistakes on the road, like doing narrow divider u-turn onto the first instead of second lane... The instructor just told me "never mind let's try it again". Abit disappointed because u-turns are something that I've been wanting to master well :[ But I got a nod of approval from her on another different u-turn hurrah haha. We talked about different things (mostly about driving) along the way, like red light sensors etc. I also learnt today that she drives a weekend car and interesting car facts like how cars in the past only had rear view mirrors but no side mirror :0
I have had the privilege to be taught by very dedicated instructors at BBDC so far for all my lessons but I'm especially grateful to be taught by this instructor. Its not just because she is friendly and made lessons enjoyable, but most of all gave me invaluable advice that would serve me well not just for my test but in the future when I have to drive alone and often goes the extra mile to help me with my doubts. Like today, she stayed back after lesson ended to answer my questions and go through the mistakes I made in my evaluation (5.01). She didn't have to because it's her break but still stayed behind to help me. She even offered to give me her number so that I can let her know when are my next lessons and she can then try to take me for those lessons or ask certain older experienced colleagues (from the same group) to take me so that there is some consistency and I can better prepare for my test. I can't thank her enough! Genuinely hope she gets to meet good learner drivers who are willing to learn for her future lessons just like how she sincerely gives her best effort to teach learners like me despite all the silly mistakes we make 🥲🙏🏻
Day 26
Was a little dejected & disappointed today because I made some really serious mistakes and I felt like my driving today was pretty bad. Nevertheless, there's something to take away and i guess that's the positive for today's lesson! Circuit courses was done quite ok but I messed up on the road. Remember I mentioned I made serious mistakes? Things like failing to stop at the stop line in the circuit (I almost always remember to stop but..), almost turning onto the lane meant for opposite traffic at a non-signalised junction (the instructor was like "where are you going" and I quickly corrected it)because I failed to properly observe where I was going, missing a right turn because I couldn't change lanes in time. I call those mistakes serious because they would get me an immediate failure in the driving test. I never made those mistakes in the past, so I was kind of shocked at how badly I was driving today.
But as someone who has always given advice to others to stay calm and continue to drive safely even after making mistakes (if you keep thinking about what you've done and how you've messed up, you're not focusing on what's happening at the present), I did just that. Everything went fine except lane changing which is something that I really want to master but can't seem to get the hang of it. Being too hesitant during a lane change is one of my biggest weaknesses.
"Revision lessons is when you build your confidence. You have to try, only then you'll know how it's like." was one piece of advice my instructor had for me. He seemed quite frustrated with my performance at the start of lesson but was overall friendly and gave me useful feedback on my driving, including how I could have reacted differently in some situations encountered earlier. 🙏🏻Ah well, onto the next lesson!
Day 27
Felt like I definitely did better this lesson. The instructor was late today because he got mixed up and thought he was supposed to meet me at the MRT station (some BBDC groups start lessons at the station but my group always report to BBDC directly) but eventually we managed to find each other inside BBDC 😅He gave me directions on the main road and instructed me where to go and what to do in circuit but other than that, he didn't say much. Hopefully it means I drove fine :)🤔 Lane change was ok today partly because there weren't many cars when I was changing lanes, but I feel like my mirror checks can be better, still a bit hesitant for sure. I expected traffic to be slightly heavier because my lesson is close to 5pm but it wasn't too bad. Honestly nothing much to comment on for this lesson but I think I drove ok today so yay
*Special shout out to my instructor for being so nice to drop me off at the bus stop outside BBDC (instead of the usual circuit area) when he knew I was going to take the bus afterwards
Day 28
Got a try-sell slot like many of my previous lessons, so didn't get to meet familiar instructors from my group but today's instructor was quite nice and friendly. He asked me what are my weak areas and I said circuit I felt is ok but road driving needed improvement, especially for lane changing. So he decided to let me practice that (by asking me to make right turns so I have to lane change right and back to the left after). Turns out I really needed this practice...because I made a couple of mistakes. Failed to change lanes back to the left in good time after a right turn because I thought I was at a bend but the instructor said "this is a mild bend you can see the exit " so I could do so. I got an opportunity to correct this thankfully and lane changed at a mild bend at another occasion. He noted that I was often afraid to change lanes because of other cars, which is indeed true... Also he asked why I didn't accelerate and go at one of the u-turns as he saw that there was a gap/opportunity to do so but I decided to wait for the cars and so I missed the chance. Well I'd rather wait longer and give way then take the risk and get into the path of oncoming cars, but I can see why it can sometimes be a problem because at that u-turn etc, there's little opportunity to turn out and missing a safe gap to do so means a lot of waiting🥲
But other than that, the instructor agreed that my circuit was okay, just that I wasn't that good in lane changing. Fortunately, it rained after my lesson (and heavily some more) and not during the lesson. I thought it would rain while I'm driving because I saw the dark clouds as I was walking to BBDC for my lesson after lunch. Also saw many test cars today...
Pretty random but got to be amazed at the level of skill of the driving instructors ahaha, today's instructor took over the wheel to drive back to the allocated area at the end of lesson and there was a car moving out of the parallel parking lot in front of us but he didn't want to wait, so he took a quick shortcut through the crank course.... i didn't know one could drive so fast yet still turn so accurately, that amount of skill//judgement😳
Day 29(&30)
Realised I forgot to write for these 2 days HAHA but I put them together because they were two consecutive lessons in a day (which is not what I planned for but I shall not go into the details)! I did get to discover some of my weaknesses which I never realised existed before and learnt some useful tips so that I don't mess up during the test.
Day 31
The number of revision lessons I took is actually A LOT because most don't do more than 30 lessons and 3A learners usually take an average of around 25 lessons (some do 17 idk how HAHA) but is okay I will take it as extra practice to get more feedback :) Met a really friendly and outgoing instructor from my group today and we had some thought provoking convos while driving 🤔etc special circumstances where I can turn to the right lane in the circuit and he explained everything to me patiently when I didn't understand what he said, thank you sir 🙌🏻 Somehow after one week I will always feel like I forgot how to drive but everything comes back naturally when I'm driving. Probably my last official class 3A lesson today before the test but I will be back!👀
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