Driving Videos

It's really frustrating to have my provisional licence and not be able to drive. The licence isn't valid for another 9 days (it feels like YEARS!!!).



So to try and occupy myself until then, I've been watching videos about how to drive, on this website. The videos are unbelievably boring. It's just a man driving a car and telling you how to do everything...



I watched about 15 video clips of him doing stuff like parrallel parking, reversing into a minor road on the left...etc. He keeps on saying 'prepare the car as you would do normally....', but he never once explains how to do that.



What does he mean by preparing the car? Is that just making sure it is switched on, and that you're tuned to the right radio station?!



Anyway, it was getting a bit boring, and I was about to forget about it and move on, but then I saw that the next video was the emergency stopping one.



On my 13th birthday, I'd been beggin my Dad to let me drive the car for ages, so he finally let me have a go (on private land, obviously. My Dad is a very upstanding member of the community. He wouldn't unleash someone like me on the general public. And he wouldn't break the law either.)



I was just driving around in circles, not doing anything too fancy. i was having a great time, but Dad kept telling me to go faster coz he said he was getting bored.



Eventually, he must have got a bit fed up with it, because he told me to try an emergency brake. He said all I had to do was stop the car as quickly as possible.



So, I started driving the car, just in a straight line, but getting faster and faster (and a bigger and bigger adrenaline rush) and then he shouted "STOP!!!!", so I slammed on the brake pedal, and yanked on the hand break as well, and I left some long skid marks on the field. It was really exciting.



Which meant I had high hopes for the next video.



So I clicked on the link, and watched the clip.



The man was pulled over at the side of the road, and then a deep scary voice said, "I'm going to ask you to do an emergency stop. I want you to start the car in the normal way [see? There is is again! The 'normal way'.] and when I say stop, I want you to stop the car as quickly as possible, while maintaining full control of the vehicle".



Maintaining full control of the vehicle.

There goes any chance of having a bit of fun....



Anyway, the car pulled away, and started driving down the road.

I was getting a bit excited, because, you know.... I was anticipating it.... I was waiting for the deep scary voice to shout, and the car to suddenly stop.



After what seemed like ages, the deep scary voice calmly said, "Stop," in the least sudden way I've ever heard anybody ever say it.

And then the person who was driving kept both hands on the steering wheel (apparently that was to 'maintain total control' but it would have stopped faster if he'd used the handbrake as well) and he put his foot on the brake.



That was IT.



I know some people who normally brake the car like that. Even when it's not an emergency. It's slightly less comfortable than braking smoothly, but it's not very exciting.





What a let down.





Still, it's gonna be wicked when I can drive.



I already have L plates.





Maybe I'll go and stick them in the car now. Just so that they are ready.







I'd better not. My Dad still hasn't given me any indication as to whether he is putting me on the insurance.





I told him that if I accidently crash it, it would give him an opportunity to get a better car (our current car is pretty shabby to be honest. And covered in dog hairs).

But he told me that he has only insured it against theft and 3rd party damage.



I don't blame him. It would probably be cheaper to scrap our car and get a new one than it would be to make a claim on the insurance.