Graduating from driving school to the road
Despite being diligently trained, the first time on the road can be pretty nerve-wrecking. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA
What you need to know:
The first time you get on the road by yourself can be exciting yet frightening that mistakes are inevitable. Granted, your driving instructor has given you all it takes to drive, but theory is different from practicality. That aside, with no extra pedals or anyone to look out for you, road activities can get overwhelming. Therefore, there are a few things to master as you head out there.
“Driver under instructions,” is one of the statements that are always written on vehicles used by driving instructors in driving schools. Compared to other vehicles, these cars, mostly salon in nature, usually drive at slow speed even when they are on fast moving traffic roads or lanes.
One of the moments that prospective motorists probably look forward to is getting on the road. Many have taken to driving schools to help them achieve this.
While there, one is assigned an instructor to take them through the theory and practical learning processes from start to end; when you go out on your own.
Leonard Mukiibi is one of the motorists who learnt driving through driving school. He says in driving school, controlling the car is sometimes under the help of the instructor because the car has four pedals; the brake and accelerator pedals for the driver and the accelerator and bake pedals for the instructor. “The first time I got on the road by myself was at night; past 10pm. The car appeared to be so big and long. What I did was to be slow and did not give in to pressures from other motorists. However, my major problem was on-coming traffic drivers who flashed full lights at me making it hard to see beyond them,” Mukiibi recalls.
With that, he slowed down causing other motorists to hoot at him excessively until he reached home. Having successfully gone through that night, it was easier for him to drive to work the next morning.
The memory of going out on her own is one thing that tested Anita Ninsiima’s confidence. She says that getting behind a steering wheel without an instructor determines whether you go back home alive or drive into a garage with an excessively scratched and dented car.
“On my first day, I was aware that there would be motorists who would bully me. However, even when I was hooted at for being slow, I chose to keep calm. What gave me the confidence was that I knew I was doing the right thing,” Ninsiima recalls.
How to do it
Ahmed Kyeyune, a driving instructor, says that coping with driving on your own is simply putting into practice what you learned in a driving school.
The first thing to mentally adjust to is that your car has three or two pedals compared to those in driving school that have four pads; on the driver’s and instructor’s side.
He explains that the sole reason for the four pedals is that the instructor can easily get things in control in case the learner makes a mistake.
Kyeyune also advises new drivers to use the driving mirrors at all times. That aside, when turning, one should start getting off the road or leaving the lane, at least 10 metres before reaching their turning point.
Regarding lane switching, Kyeyune says that the driver ought to look through the right side and driving mirror and make sure that you have enough space to join the desired lane.
“If you are driving on a road with several lanes, ensure that you are driving in the middle of your lane. However, if your car is being divided by the white or yellow line, you are driving in two lanes and you risk being knocked by other motorists because they would not be sure of the lane in which you are driving,” Kyeyune adds.
