Believe it or not - I actually passed my driving test on the 1st try!
On the test day, I took 2 anti-anxiety pills and I was as cool as a cucumber.
Driving Instructor : "when you finished your test hor, don't waste time wait for results, you just go to the counter and get the next test date" - that's how confident my instructor was in me :(
After the test
To Driving Instructor : I passed!
Silence.......
To my dad and brother : I passed!
Silence........
Yep, nobody believed that I passed on the first try.
I got perfect score on the circuit but did rather badly on the road. My marks was borderline, just managed to passed.
Well, that was many, many, many years ago. Didn't really do any driving after that.
Had tried my dad's manual car. I just really cannot co-ordinate fast enough like pressing the brake or gear, clutch all at the same time - very stressful.
Then I tried my hubby's automatic car - ya, so much better, at least I can just concentrate on the driving/steering.
INCIDENTS
(1) was driving so slow that a cyclist actually passed me.
(2) was driving on the right lane and going round the bend on the bridge, suddenly nerves got to me and I slowed down. Had a whole row of cars behind me and hubby had to signal to the drivers behind to pass me.
(3) was turning from a small road to join the big main road. I slowed down and stopped and turn to look behind me to make sure that there were no oncoming cars.
Then the cars behind me started horning and I realised that I actually have my own lane and there was no need to merge. Think hubby was ready to strangle me there and then.
(4) sent hubby to the mrt and was driving home. Hmm........ how come I press the pedal down but the car still going so slow? Must tell hubby, maybe something wrong with car.
When almost home, I realised the reason why - I forgot to release the hand-brake.......duh......
CHANGING LANES
Problem A: Looking at the rear view mirror and side-mirror - can't really sense how far or how close the car behind me is.
Solution A : I sat in the passenger seat and look at the mirror and turn my head to view the car behind in order to have a sense of the distance.
Problem B : You know what the foreigners always complain about our drivers? Why the driver will not give way but instead speed up when you signal to change lanes? Well, it's true!
Whenever I signal, instead of giving way to me, I get those nincompoops speeding up instead.
Solution B : Even though I have a triangle plate (yes, I still stick it), nobody bothers to give way or be patient. So I was thinking, maybe I should put 2, yes 2 ! triangle plates.
I think this way everybody will sure give way to me or at least keep a distance from me because psychologically, they must be thinking that I must be a terrible driver if I need to put up 2 triangle signs instead of 1. And of cos, since cars are so expensive here in Singapore, nobody would want to run the risk of their precious car being accidentally bumped.
Ha, ha, a brilliant idea, no?
REVERSE PARKING
Problem : Again, judging of distance/space problem.
I blame this on the training I had in the circuit. They use poles as markers! Hello, in real life, where got poles?
How did I passed my parking test?
My instructor said, "when you see the pole in your rear-view mirror, do 1 turn, turn until you see the other (right/left) pole in your side-mirror, do another 1-2 turns on your steering wheel" (something like that).
So I did not use my own judgement but very methodically remembered the instructions on when and how many turns on the steering wheel I should do.
But now I'm in the real world, where got poles to guide me har?
Solution :
Hubby said you've got to practise and agard, agard (estimate).
Jalak, I'm not very good at agaration.
So I practised at the multi-storey carpark at the top level in the afternoon where there're less cars and usually deserted.
I don't dare to try to park next to a car, just in case I bumped into it.
So what did I do?
I brought 4 stools as markers for cars. Put one stool on top of the other (one stool, too low, cannot see) to be placed on the right and left, to be like cars on either side.
So if I reverse in and am not careful, I'll just bump into the stools.
Sometimes I'll practise with one side that is a pillar.
And yes, can park now lah though I'm not able to swerve in, in one smooth turn but will stop, judge, turn and reverse, stop, judge, turn and reverse. Hubby said this way is not very good for the tyres, will wear out fast.
I don't think I'm the only one with this kind of distance judging problem. One of my female ex-colleague have the same problem too.
And now it is scientifically proven why it's difficult for women to park.
Quote :
The real reason why women cannot reverse park is because that part of their brain is missing says Pease:
"Parallel parking is located in the right front portion of the brain which relates to visual spatial skill.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology (MRI) for scanning brains has found that 80-85 per cent of women do not have a clearly defined visual spatial area and so find it hard to accurately measure space, distance and speed."
"Depth perception is not the same as spatial visualization, but the two are closely related and you need both skills to manipulate an object in space, which is what you do when you park an automobile"
So there, I've got bad depth perception and spatial visualization.
Of cos, not all woman drivers are terok, I'm just one of those who happened to be in the "terok" camp.
Hopefully, I can go from this..........
to this!.....................
Jiayou!
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