Another eventful lesson (From Salisbury Journal)

Another eventful lesson

9:57am Friday 11th February 2011 in Learning To Drive By Corey Ross

I’LL say one thing for my driving lessons, they are never dull.

You’d think by this stage there would be nothing new to report, but somehow something eventful always happens.

If I’m not trying to crash on a roundabout, I’m having a hairy moment with an ambulance but I’m glad to say this week’s eventful incident was nothing to do with my driving mistakes.

This week’s lesson included an appearance by an elderly woman with a crutch who approached the car after I’d finished performing my “reverse around the corner” insisted I roll down my window and proceeded to tell me all about a housing problem she was having.

I tried to explain to her that I was nothing to do with the council or any sort of housing provider and couldn’t help her as I was actually in the middle of a driving lesson, in a clearly-marked instructor’s car.

But she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

A look of horror crossed Colin’s face as she waved her crutch wildly in the air and shouted that no-one cared. For a few horrible seconds, we thought she was going to bring the crutch crashing down on the windscreen. Luckily, she didn’t and we escaped unscathed.

I’d love to say she clearly recognised me as a reporter for the Journal and had to interrupt my driving lesson because she needed my journalistic skills, but actually I think she was just one of those “colourful characters” you do see around the place.

I also had my first experience of the new part of the driving test, the independent driving section.

This is something which didn’t exist the last time I took my test and I have to admit it has worried me, simply because I didn’t know what to expect. During the test, you have to do ten minutes of independent driving, which I know might not sound hard but it’s another thing to think about when you’re already under pressure.

Colin gave me a series of directions which I had to repeat back to him and remember.

My memory’s not brilliant and I was very nervous but I managed to follow his directions without any major problems so fingers crossed it’ll be the same story when I take my test.

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