Muslim women can take a chaperone on their driving test. (Learning to Drive)

Name: lellagrace

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Product:	Learning to Drive
Date:	28/09/06 (268 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Teach children to drive at an early age

Disadvantages: The cost involved

LEARNING TO DRIVE – age 5!

I wanted to drive since I was about five years old when my brother and I set off in my grandad’s car on our own!!! We didn’t get very far, but nevertheless I cannot imagine what my grandad thought as he walked up his driveway to see us slowly moving towards him!!! Fortunately the driveway was private and quite long, but after that he decided to show us how to drive properly and we had our own “private” lessons on his land. The first thing he taught us was how to stop and use the brakes! But these were valuable lessons, we learnt to handle this dangerous machinery sensibly and with caution.

AGE 17

At last I reached the legal age to acquire my licence and applied for this so I could use it on my 17th birthday. Of course, by then I was able to handle a car as I had been driving around grandad’s farmland for several years, so I suppose I was a little over confident and couldn’t wait to get out onto the roads.

CITY CENTRE

My father volunteered to teach me to drive, just as he had done with my older siblings and also some family friends’ children. I was a bit of a know-it-all at age 17 (weren’t we all!) and a few days after I could drive legally he took me into the city centre one teatime. Whoa!!!!!!!!!! There right in front of me was a bus!!! What should I do!!!???? My father told me “you are driving, not me” and that was it, I had get out of the way or be splattered by a double decker. I have never been afraid to drive in heavy traffic since and think this was a valuable test for me.

LESSONS

I drove everywhere I could in the first few months, but then decided I really should take professional lessons just to get rid of any bad habits I had picked up. So I booked a course of five with a reputable driving school and took my test with them. I can’t really say I learnt much, except what is required on the test itself, but I did learn to drive as a “learner” driver. There is a difference!

TEST

On the morning of my test I was really nervous during the lesson I had prior to the test itself, but I also noticed the gears seemed to be sticking and mentioned it to the instructor. He told me it was probably just me being nervous and not letting in the clutch far enough. We proceeded to the test centre and when they called out our names, Miss……, two of us stood up! They then checked the addresses and it was obvious they had double booked us, so I couldn’t take my test that day.

My instructor drove me home, (I was a nervous wreck by then) and he realised that I was right, the gears were sticking, so I was thankful my test had actually been cancelled as I would probably have failed.

SECOND ATTEMPT

As my test had been cancelled through no fault of my own, I was given another date the following week. This was in December. I awoke (if indeed I had ever slept!) at 6 am, looked out and the ground was deep in snow!!! Oh No!!! Another cancellation.

THIRD TIME LUCKY?

I eventually got round to taking my test on the third appointment. By this time I was just so eager to get it over and done with that I made a mess of everything and failed!

EXPERIENCE

I did pass my test the second time I took it, with no cancellations for the appointment this time and what a relief! At last I could drive on my own! But isn’t it weird when you first take the car out by yourself! Oh I can still remember how nervous I was, despite having driven on my own many times on the farmland, but this was different, this was in traffic!!!

MOVING ON

Out of all the things I have done in my life, learning to drive must be one of the best. I am so grateful to my father for teaching me this valuable skill and he would be so proud that I am now a confident driver after all these years. What is more though is that two of our friends who he taught to drive have now got their own driving schools, a real testament to my father I feel.

LESSONS/TESTS TODAY

I do feel that if I were to take my test nowadays I would probably make a lot of mistakes. The advice by another review on here to read the Highway Code is sensible and I intend to do just that. I think everyone should do this.

I also think it would be a good idea to give school children driving lessons, on private land of course. They would get the feel of handling a car and could be taught how dangerous speed can be. This just might prevent some of these boy racers stealing cars and racing around in them if they had been allowed to drive at a young age.

Reducing the legal age to learn to drive could also be a good idea. Perhaps make it so youngsters get their provisional licences at age 16, but they have to be accompanied and cannot take a test until they have reach the age of 17.

Young drivers probably do have a lot more accidents than other groups, but surely this is due to inexperience?

HAVE PATIENCE

One thing that really annoys me with learner drivers is the impatience of other road users with them. We have all had to learn ourselves so if the learner in front of you at the traffic lights stalls the engine, then don’t toot your horn at them, be patient. How do you know they are not on their actual test? Your impatience might fluster someone who is otherwise a very competent driver. I could rant on this some more, but suffice it to say remember you were once a learner.

MUSLIM WOMEN DRIVERS

One last point before I end this review, concerns muslim women learning to drive.

I read a report only this week about muslim women being allowed to have a chaperone sitting in with them when they take their test. This was being questioned as discriminatory, as it seems it is only publicised in areas where there are large muslim populations and not all women are aware that they can take someone with them on their test. What about those women who are really nervous and need a friend to help calm them, or women who may have been abused who are afraid of being alone with a man? Surely the chaperone service should be available for everyone?

Another controversial point in the same article was that some instructors are refusing to teach muslim women who wear the traditional outfits where only their eyes are showing. The instructors claim the headwear obstructs the vision of the women. As someone who has had one or two near misses with women drivers wearing these outfits, when it has been obvious they have not seen me until the last minute, I am inclined to agree. I understand this clothing is worn for modesty reasons, surely they don’t need to wear it in the privacy of their own car, especially if it is hazardous.

The other point mentioned was that women taking a driving test must remove this clothing from their faces to prove they are the people pictured on their driving licences. I agree with this ruling. The rest of us have to be identified and if this was not required what is to stop anyone turning up in a face mask or balaclava for their test?

The article claimed that some muslim women had been getting their friends to take their tests for them. I am not sure I believe this – what happened if they failed, but they already had a full licence? Would their consciences let them continue driving?

But lastly, who would be daft enough to take a test for someone else anyway? Isn’t it nerve wracking enough when you have to take it for yourself!!!

Summary: We were all learners at some time