In part 16 I wrote this, “I can drive. I really can”. In the lesson after that one, I proved to myself that actually, I couldn’t drive. It was rubbish again. I won’t list the full litany of mistakes, but let’s just say that it sucked. I was over it by the following Thursday morning though, and with my nephew due to visit a few days after the lesson (i.e. for all of last week), I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
At the start of this week I drove to the station to collect my nephew, and drove home with him in the car. That was freaky, seeing someone in the rear view mirror for the first time – every time I checked all I could see was his head, a fresh and startling reminder of his presence.
Then I had a lesson on the Wednesday, and it went really well overall. There was a minor incident where I basically went through an amber light, then decided to stop, then decided it was too late, and then pulled away, but hey, who doesn’t do that.
The highlight of the week in terms of the car though, was driving back from Chester zoo (A roads only of course). It should be a 2 hour drive, but the traffic was heavy for quite some time after leaving the zoo, so it took more like 2 hours 30 minutes. That’s the longest I’ve driven in one go, even the lessons are only 2 hours, so it was a good test, and other than some roundabouts I probably took too quickly, it was a safe drive all the way.
My nephew managed to sleep for most of it, so it can’t have been that scary.
And so today is Tuesday, and tomorrow is Wednesday the 14th August. Which means tomorrow is my driving test.
One more hour with the instructor, before the lesson, and then 40 minutes of pure terror, followed by either cheering or sobbing.
Whatever happens, it’s been an interesting journey to get to this point. I’m sure I’ll post an update to Facebook or Twitter when I find out the result of the test. See you all on the other side.
Sending you the best of luck, I’m sure you won’t need it, but it’s everyone else on the road that can screw it up for you!
You didn’t say what time your test is, but I’m sure you’ll announce the result soon enough. You’re brave to say anything about it in advance though, only my closest family knew when I took my test for fear of failure!
I hit the kerb within the first 5 minutes of my test and was convinced I’d failed, from that point on all my nerves were gone and I drove without any cares because I knew what the result was. Fortunately for me it wasn’t the kerb that I’d hit but a drain cover, but in my mind full of adrenaline and nerves I didn’t realise that. When we got back and the examiner told me I’d passed, my jaw hit the floor and I was speechless.
The thing is though, the best part about a driving test is that if you do fail it, you can just take it again. So really, apart from the cost there’s no pressure.