Anyone else learning driving?

roomfulofstars

New Member
Oh, okay... thanks!

It's weird, coz my instructor has never told me to let go of half clutch when I'm on first gear and he's quite sharp and observing things like that.

Will double check with him when I see him next.
 


miloice

Well-Known Member
That is wrong leh. Throughout my driving, I don't even use the term half crutch.

Its just a smooth transition of the gear with good use of the crutch. Stepping on the clutch all the way gives poor control of the car. Maybe, he is trying to protect his precious car knowing most beginners are not very sensitive and gentle with the accelerate pedal. He probably doesn't want his car to go charging forward.

But, what he is teaching is clearly not right leh. All the drivers on-line cannot be wrong. Afterall, we all passed. Anyone got pinalized for stepping not half-crutching all the way on gear one raise your hands.
 

janie_wawa

New Member
hmm...when i was learning driving from the sch...my instructor did use the term half clutch leh..juz to feel the biting point...den let go once the car got steady & not jurking..
 

sgbabydoll

Active Member
Milo, I don't understand your question though I would like to give an answer hehe.

Femme, half clutch means clutch in halfway and hold it there. Clutch in all the way and release clutch are done when you have to change gear for increasing/decreasing speed.

You only apply half-clutch when in first gear or second gear. The half-clutch second gear technique will be needed when driving on the road in future. You put the car in first gear either to start, stop, or park the car, or when you are in extremely low speed.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
my question is simple,

does your instructor instruct you to :-
when in 1st gear, always half-clutch and never to let go of the crutch?

To me, half-clutch is merely ensuring smooth transition and slop balancing during initial moving off and to prevent stalling in 1st gear. I dun understand why an instructor would instruct a learning driver never to let go of the crutch on 1st gear. This is strange.
 

simpleman

Active Member
aiyo,

For normal driving NEVER half-clutch.

When they teach you half-clutch when you are beginner.. is to let you feel the clutch and know the transition from no-clutch, half-clutch to fully depressed.

don't get confusied.

Normally driving, changing from 1 to 2 to 3.. all gear changes should be done in split second.

The only time you use half-clutch when you want to go very slowly (in very tight situation) and you want to control the car without stalling.
 

simpleman

Active Member
On another note.. half-clutch can be used in drifting as well.. but that is an advance technique not for normal drivers.

Half-clutch is bad as it will wear off your clutch pretty fast.
 

rara

New Member
milo,

"But, what he is teaching is clearly not right leh."

i think there's a misunderstanding.

femme said, "It's weird, coz my instructor has never told me to let go of half clutch when I'm on first gear", which i guess she means he never specifically told her when she can let go of the clutch. but i dun think she meant that the instructor told her to hold the half-clutch position for all of gear one.

femme, i think for things like this you could probably ask him on the spot if u r unsure about how long u shud hold the half-clutch position.
 

sgbabydoll

Active Member
You can be in a complete stop and engaged in first gear with clutch depressed fully. So, you may not hold it at half-clutch when in first gear all the time.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
rara....thanks for pointing out.

I have indeed misread as "my instructor has told me never to let go of half clutch when I'm on first gear".

My eyes playing tricks with me.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
Yah doll.... we can also be engaged in gear 1 with engine off. So, letting go of the crutch is no prob.
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
Okay, need some advice again. Been trying to hunt for a new instructor but couldn't find any recommendations. The recommendations I have either speaks Mandarin or teaches at Ubi.

Meanwhile my instructor has "upgraded" to YELLING at me and telling me I should go learn auto instead. Anytime I try to feedback to him, he will just brush it off by saying he's very experienced, great track record.

So far, I tried to adapt to his rude comments and psyche myself not to feel discouraged coz I was telling myself, maybe that's just his teaching method. I can take being nagged at, but constant mean remarks and YELLING...

Honestly, do you guys think I should just bear with it until I find a new instructor or just quit first?

OT: Toast Box is not under Ya Kun, right?. It's under Bread Talk mah.
 

miloice

Well-Known Member
femme,

focus on your driving. Find a new instructor and don't bother with him anymore if u cannot tahan him.

u r the customer mah. Shop around for another instructor.
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
Thanks Milo. Guess I tried to put up with it coz I thot maybe I'll get better and he'll be happy. Sometimes I forget I am the customer coz I felt must have humble attitude to learn and listen to teacher. I guess that's still true but there's a limit lah.

I'm really trying my best and I don't think I suck to the point where I should switch to auto. I also multi-tasked (my previous worry) a lot better for the last lesson. But then (this is just one example), my engine stalled a few times - only at the last 10 min of the lesson. But he couldn't take it and exploded. Not scold. Yell. Wah lau.

Okay, so I'm still on the lookout for recommendations for English speaking instructors in the West if anyone has any to recommend me. Non-yelling and patient types please.

Thanks.
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
Hello guys, got some questions:

1. For parking, are you allowed at any point to stop the car? For e.g.: first V marking touch the pole then stop. Then proceed to reverse again until second V marking touch the pole, etc.

2. For Directional Change, how do you gauge at which point you full lock the wheel to turn into the lot? Also, what are the safety checks here if any?

My instructor at first told me to look at the kerb markings on my direct right hand side. But I think cannot, right? Coz technically speaking, this will be not safe. So how do u guys gauge?

Also, when you finish DC, do u need to turn out or just wait in the lot for further instructions?

3. U-turn: is it a MUST to make turn in First Gear?

4. Making turns: if you don't engage 2nd gear - is it a penalty?

5. Stopping: can stop nothing higher than 3rd gear, correct?

6. Is 2 visits to the Driving centre circuit enough for pte students? Coz my instructor only let me book two. And now no more slots liao. My test is coming up soon.
sad.gif
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
Sorry, add two more questions:

7. When do you drive in 3rd gear and 4th gear? Is it according to speed?

and

8. Is it okay to go down two gears, say 3rd to 1st or 4th to 2nd?

Thanks!
happy.gif
 

sunboi80

Member
hi femme

1)there is no rule saying u cannot stop, say if u feel u are gg to bang the poles already, u gotta stop no matter wat right? but i think the tester will take into acct ur confidence level as well as ur judgement.nothing wrong to stop and check, if u think cannot go in u can move out and try again. but beware there is a time limit. I think u u cannot go in after the 3rd time, u flunk already.

2)Directional change, is like parking mah except that the lot is damn big haha at least that's the case for BBDC. I dun think anyone will fail that, when i learn, i dun have any marking, my instructor just told me to use my judgements and feelings. As for the safety check, u can check the distance btween the kerb and ur wheel from the side mirror la it shld be about 50cm frm the kerb u are safe. but beware when u turn out dun turn too early u might mount the kerb, as a safety measure, try to ensure at least u are align wif the kerb then u turn out. I think for DC u auto one, once u turn in, u turn out...No worries for DC...

3)There is no need to engage 1st gear for U turn if u are not stationary but most of the time u are. if u are at the give way line, and u see no car, u may turn in 2nd gear and turn(slowly hor) .but if there's a stop line,please do stop first even if there's no car.

4)When making turns, i think it's best to engage 2nd gear, 1st gear is too slow, 3rd is too fast (for beginners and the tester might not like it).
U might want to learn to change gear while turning (1st->2nd) to show the tester u are confident if u can do it.there is no hard rule that u must be in 2nd gear while turning.

5)if traffic light suddenly changes u can stop in any gear la... even 4th. but u better pray this does not happen anyway when u approach traffic light u shld down 1 gear and prepare to stop.

6) depends on ur level. I also went there twice only, i took pte. once is 2 wks b4 my test, the other is on the test day itself b4 the test starts. it's ex to book the cct and long q somemore...if u think 2x is not enuff then u can req to book a few more sessions but frm ur case, i f u do tat, u might gotta push back ur test date. Why not just try, u might just pass haha

7)Yes 3rd and 4th gear is according to speed. U gotta have the feel. Ur instructor nv tell u to look at the tacho meter? aka rev meter. dun drag ur gears...

8)Dun "skip" gears even though u need to drop gears fast also try to act act abit...down 4th to 3 then 2. Always try to stop at gear 2 if u can... tat's my advice. if u dun do it properly the car might jerk...

Anyway my advice to u, dun panic, try to show ur tester u are confident. even when u made a mistake. some of them look at the overall. like mine, he only tick the boxes after we return to BBDC and he passed me even though i think he could fail me due to 1 incident hahaha...
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
Woah thanks sunboi for the detailed answers!

Just to confirm: for U-turn, I could turn in 2nd gear but ... is this something I could get penalized for?

Erm, and U-turn got give way line and stop line? Jialat I never noticed and my instructor also never say. I better look out for my next lesson.

For gears/ speed: My instructor never told me to look at tachometer leh. How ah. I still cannot really tell when to move to 3rd and 4th gear unless it's obvious there's a long road ahead and I can go faster. Heheh. Hmmm... any tips to gauge?

Haha I cannot postpone test liao lah. Wait until very long liao. Heheh. Try lor. What to do. I'm just a bit afraid I might not get used to the BBDC circuit and its layout.
 

rara

New Member
1. What is 'V marking'? Just curious.

2. "Also, what are the safety checks here if any?"
My instructor told me that you must show the tester that you are aware of your surroundings before doing any turns in the circuit. So before you reverse, be sure to Turn your Body to the back and also look left and right, not just the rear mirror. Before you turn into the lot, look all around again.

"My instructor at first told me to look at the kerb markings on my direct right hand side. But I think cannot, right? Coz technically speaking, this will be not safe."
He asked you to look at kerb markings not for safety. It's to help you to gauge when to turn only. Experienced drivers obviously can gauge by feel, but for us as newbies, so it is his way of helping you take reference during the test. Safety checks of cos must still be done.

3. "U-turn: is it a MUST to make turn in First Gear?"
As sunboi mentioned, you caan turn in 2nd gear without stopping if you're sure traffic is clear, there is already a car behind the yellow box you're turning into, or when the light is green for right turn. In fact when the light is green for right turn you should just go, or you will be holding up traffic behind you. Or if you die die think ust change to first gear when traffic is clear on a major road like Bt Batok Rd, the traffic might have come on by the time you try to start up from first gear and you end up waiting for 3-4min for the traffic to clear. OR you turn in time in first gear but the cars coming at 80km/h behind you have to slow down while you pick up speed. Nevertheless, turn your head to the left obviously enough before you turn to show that you have Checked that you can actually turn without stopping.

4. "Making turns: if you don't engage 2nd gear - is it a penalty?"
Haha did you have the same prob as me? I didn't have so much problem dropping from 3rd to 2nd but more of moving up from 1st to 2nd when moving off from stationary position. I couldn't multitask to switch gear WHILE turning!

But I don't think it is a MUST to turn in 2nd gear. It always depends on the situation. Like there were a few times when I had to turn right back to BBDC from Bukit Batok Rd, and the right arrow was green so you should keep going or again, you will be holding up traffic behind you or end up having the light go red in the middle of your turn.

6. I think 2 practices in the circuit is pretty standard. I also only had 2. Slots are limited and there are so many private students. Don't worry I think he will prob book you a slot for you on the day of your test too. Just remember the steps to take and what to look out for and you'll be fine. That is prob why your instructor is teaching you how to take reference cos we will not be familiar with the actual circuit itself.

7. For gear-changing, ya my instructor also didn't tell me to look at tachometer but he always said 'can you hear the engine? still dun wanna change gear?' You can listen out for dragging. I think it's much easier than trying to pay attn to the meter while having to concentrate on the road.

Haha I talk so much but I doubt I can do it now after more than a year of not touching the driver's wheel. These are what I recall as a student who, like sunboi, managed to pass despite a serious immediately failable offence due to negligence.

Good luck!
 

simpleman

Active Member
femme,

Look at the way you write.. you don't seem to be confident. Driving is about confidence and awareness of the surroundings not the technicality of second gear/first gear etc etc..

If you keep thinking of the gears, when to turn etc etc.. it is going to be a problem. You must practise enough such that such things become second nature and so that your eyes are always on the road and at the mirrors...
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
sm: aiyoh, I do feel confident lah, and my instructor says I'm good liao. But I don't feel I'm at close to 100%. There are still things I don't know so I think it's better not to take things for granted and clarify before the actual test. I don't want to kena minus marks on the actual day for things that I wasn't aware of. Not all instructors tell you the same thing so I need some feedback from other drivers too.

RaRa: thanks for your reply!
happy.gif
My instructor's car has these small V stickers on the back to help us gauge when parking. Like when the V marking touch the pole, full lock, etc...
 

sunboi80

Member
hi femme

u wun get penalise fo turning in 2nd gear la. diff situations calls for diff reaction. i.e say u approaching a junction wif green light green arrow (and can u turn), u can drop gear to 2nd and turn cos u no need to stop. but in most cases in BBDC i think often u gotta stop and check the traffic before turning. thus most of the time i think u will turn in 1st gear. it's not wrong to turn slowly in 1st gear until ur vehicle is straighten then u change gear.like wat rara mentioned "DON't DRAG GEAR!" most testers dun like it.

Ya it's quite difficult to multitask, change gear while turning, even i took a few lessons to get it right.have to check traffic, turn steering wheel and change gear haha. sometimes when i do it also got abit of jerk (release clutch too fast haha) but my instructor insist i do it... but testors wun insist la...

actually i am not sure if there's any uturn at bb with give way line. mabbe there's one, u gotta look out for it. anyway even if it's a give way line, u can stop also to check the traffic before U-turning (in 1st gear)

For beginners, it's quite difficult to "feel" when u shld change gear. cos u are so focus on the road to listen to the engine noise. usu when the engine gets abit noisy, it's time to change up a gear. when u feel that the car has no power moving fwd, it's time to change down. looking at tacho is the most basic when hte rev is 3-4k, dun let it reach the red region.. u can change already. During practice, u can look at the tacho + regconise the engine noise at near the particular change gear pt. u can ask ur instructor. Funny ur instructor shld have told u during the 1st few lessons.

BBDC max speed tat u can go is at bukit batok rd 70kmh. max gear is 4...as a rough gauge, 40-45kmh onwards u shld be at gear 4 already.

Gear 1: moving off
Gear 2: 15-20kmh
Gear 3: 20-40kmh
Gear 4: 40kmh onwards

i might be wrong, long time nv drive manual car liao haha

u shld ask ur instructor if u are unsure of anything... u paid him to ans ur qns le...make ur $$ worth...

btw wat is the rate now for driving lessons?

hope this helps all the best for ur test!
 

rara

New Member
so you mean you managed to find a new instructor after all?

but i do agree with sm. your posts all make you seem very flustered and too concerned about the nitty gritty. we need to know what to and what not to do of course, but even if the instructor don't spoonfeed us with every single detail, it's better for us to ask the instructor there and then on the spot. after all, they are the ones who know much better what the testers are looking out for.
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
RaRa: I will definitely check again with my instructor tho I find sometimes listening to other drivers also helps. But don't worry I'm not feeling flustered lah. Just that too many people have told horror stories about how testers are nitty gritty, so I don't want to lose points for silly things.

Like for instance, so many lessons liao, I didn't know that there were stop lines at Bt Batok area and my instructors (past and present) had never pointed any out. Apparently some areas do have the stop lines where there is no Stop sign. Failure to stop at these lines will kena immediate failure. So it's good to have someone tell me these things so I can go back and ask my instructor again to be sure.

Sometimes I ask coz there's some time to my next lesson and I just thot of finding out first then confirm with my instructor.

Yeah I did find a new instructor! And I feel much better.
happy.gif


sunboi: current rate is $26 per hour for non peak.
 

simpleman

Active Member
femme,

Recently I got a friend his hb passed the driving test even after knocking down a pole during parking.

Think at Bukit Batok..

So they look at other aspect as well.. if you drive confidently and look at the safety aspect.. it should be fine as long as you don't have too many mistakes and minus too many points.
 

sunboi80

Member
knock down a post also can pass wah realy close 2 eyes!! :)

i think u learnt how does a stop line look like in basic theory right???

I am not sure if the "left turn on red" is still there at bukit batok.

if it's still there rem to stop then turn hor... heard that many testees just turn nv stop, immediate failure...

26 is still reasonable le, i tot 30 liao last time i take is 22 for non peak, 24 for peak
 

simpleman

Active Member
actually for my friend's hb knocking down the pole is blessing in disguise because he was normally a very kan chiong and nervous driver. But because he knocked down the pole he thought he failed.. and that was why he drove much more confidently (not nervous) and did not make many mistake for the rest.

In the end he was shocked that he passed. He even asked the tester and the tester asked him back:

"You want to pass or fail?"

ha ha.. really classic.. this happened very recently
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
Hahaha! Got option to pass or fail one.

sunboi - haha, yeah, stop line is the white line lor. But funnily enough, I kinda forgot about this and I never really noticed it so I only stop at the Stop sign. My instructor never pointed out any stop lines to me also. So I dunno whether there really are stop lines leh. But someone recently told me have.
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
I think I also remembering reading a post in another forum... someone mount kerb twice also pass!

Then some other students... good drivers but fail due to nit picky testers.

Sigh, really heng sway man!
 

two_piece

Member
I think most impt thing is to stay calm, do NOT panic. And also must always check blind spots and show to the tester that you remember to do safety check.

No matter what must act to like u're very steady. I rem during my test, i was very nervous that i didnt even adjust my seat properly n near enough to step the clutch fully (hee paiseh i'm very short). I only realised it when i fasten my seat belt n starter to move off. I was like "jialat man". BUT i acted like nothing, just carry on, pretend to be very relaxed and enjoyed my driving. And ha ha ha.. i passed! Almost wanted to kiss the tester loh :p
 

sgbabydoll

Active Member
Hi Femme, just one comment, you should always try to stop your moving car at the 3rd or lower gear unless if it's an emergency brake or something. When you are approaching a traffic light please drop to the 3rd gear by the third arrow leading to the STOP line. At 3rd gear, you should be driving at 40km/h. If the traffic light turns amber at the third arrow, stop the car. If your car already passes the third arrow, keep on moving. This is what I remember from my driving course.
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
Ok thanks for the tips!

Actually I've been driving at 3rd gear most of the time. Didn't realize that I should have gone up to 4th, since my speed is usually b/w 50-60km/h.
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
BTW, do you guys know, for TP, does the tester ask you to do eveything in the circuit? Or he just pick and choose (if so, how many?) a number to do?
 

sunboi80

Member
50-60 can go 4th gear liao la...3rd gear can meh? tot engine will be quite noisy

u gotta do all the things in the cct... except for e brakes is optional...
 

sgbabydoll

Active Member
Femme, you should go to 4th gear when the speed of the car hits 40 km/h on the road. Third gear is for speeds between 25 km/h and 40 km/h. In the circuit, you would be using 1st and 2nd gear most of the times.

For directional change which you have asked earlier, there is a method to do it but I already forgot the steps. Sorry, can't help you there.

During the test, you will be asked to complete all the stations in the circuit. There is no fixed sequence, so just listen for instruction. Be very careful when you drive around the circuit as it is small and usually full of cars. Try to book for practice lessons in the circuit before the test. The more familiar you are with the environment the confident you will be.
 

simpleman

Active Member
What is directional turn? - you mention turning into lot.. I guess it is turning into a lot, then reversing and then changing direction?

For turning into a lot.. if there is a kerb, you have to wait till your side mirror crosses the kerb line then you turn - but I don't think u fully lock the steering wheel. just turn enough and release to straighten the car..

Anytime when you reverse you need to turn your head to look at the back and also the side mirror to watch out for blind spots.

When changing gear take note if you are going down-slope or up slope.. if down-slope you would typically change the gear fast from 2 to 3 to 4..
if up slope, then you let the engine drag a bit to gain power before you change gear
 

sunboi80

Member
sm are u asking wat is "directional" change?
it's like reverse (vertical) parking, except there is no poles and the "lot" is much bigger... u exit from the other direction which u reverse in...Hope my mem still serves me well...
 

sgbabydoll

Active Member
Now that SM has mentioned it, I remember a little more about directional change. When going into the lot, make sure you position your car slightly to the right because when you are reversing out of the lot you would need space on your left for turning right.
 

roomfulofstars

New Member
Is circuit learning different cost from normal learning? I forgot to ask. Never mind lah, maybe I just bring extra cash tomorrow lor. Heheh.
 

sadelmo

New Member
Driving is all abt safety and anticipating dangers. Dun be so slow that u road hogg also..Dun get too overconfidence too.. and always try to think of other road user.

there are some trainers or even testers who always try to find faults or reprimand u.. they are actually monitoring how u coup or how easily u get distracted.. be claim and concentrate on driving and monitoring the road condition.
 

sunboi80

Member
No worries la, there is ATM inside BBDC. i think the ESSO stn beside BBDC also have ATM...
at most owe ur instructor 1st lor... i rem cct quite ex... now i not sure abt the price...
 


roomfulofstars

New Member
Finally went first time into BBDC circuit. Like a maze man. Some questions:

-Will the tester direct you like turn left here go Number 52 (or whatever number) do parallel parking, or will he just say "go 52"? Coz I definitely won't know my way around and I only have one more hour of circuit on the actual day of my test. Will it displease the tester if I don't know my way around?

-First time I ever knock poles down when doing parallel parking. Everytime I do it usually, when I reverse into the lot, I look back to check that the middle portion between the two backseat headrests is between the pole then I stop the car. Today I did the same thing inside the BBDC circuit and both the poles banged down. Am I doing it wrong or is the parallel parking space in BBDC just smaller? Coz usually the method I use is okay leh. Any tips or thots on what I could be doing wrong?

Thanks guys!
 

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