What you need to know about reality
As a driving instructor, giving individuals driving lessons to prepare for their driving license test, I have experienced many strange situations.
I only allow a learner to drive on a public road when I am confident the person will go without frustrating other drivers. Then a weird thing happens. Suddenly the learner is stressed like never before and strikes a blank. The learner forgets how to move off! All previous training disappears like mist in the morning sun.
That creates anxious moments, especially in the middle of a crossing with four lanes in each direction. Why can’t the learner not remember how to move off after we did it twenty times perfectly half an hour ago?
Other times the learner would ask if it is safe to go when we want to turn right with oncoming traffic racing at us.
Are the learners stupid, or what?
When a person is calm, and in a safe environment, with ample time to spare, it is easy to remain calm and in command. When you are not so calm and peaceful, too many things happen in too short a time, and it is not safe. Everything changes. Suddenly you cannot distinguish between the left and right foot. You do not ask if it is safe to move into oncoming traffic, but in reality, you do not know how to stop. The next best thing to do is to keep on moving. You have lost control!
Why is it so that a person loses control when stress sets in?
A while back, I gave a driving lesson. The learner seemed efficient enough, and I considered doing the final preparation for the driving license test. Then the worst thing possibly happened.
The learner drove into a tree! Not any tree. No, one standing next to the parking area with an enormous amount of space.
How was that possible? And yet, it happened.
I asked the learner if he could not see he was going to bump into the tree. His answer was yes, he could see that, but he thought he might miss the tree. The learner was clearly not ready for the driving license test.
Often, we think we know it all. Then reality strikes, and we find out we do not.
Stress can turn the most capable person into the worst idiot in seconds. That is a reality!
When you are about to do something, you are not familiar with or are not used to, realise the danger of stress and its effect on you. Focus on what you do, and when you experience a panic attack, stop safely and give yourself time to recover.
Rather be safe than sorry.
It would be better for the learner to avoid the tree by steering clear than to take the chance hoping things would work out.
Murphy is not fiction but reality. Why does everything go wrong when you expect it the least? Because your mind is on something else when it happens, or you think you are smarter than you are.
While driving, always realises you do not want to impress anybody. You will impress everybody automatically when you drive safely. Therefore, always keep safety in mind.
The final word
The Avant Garde Driving School team wishes you luck and encourages you to drive safely. We look forward to meeting you to prepare you for the K53 Driving License Test. Book your first driving lesson now!
Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the steering wheel. Stay safe!
