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Old 28th August 2019, 23:35   #46
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Re: How does one teach a newbie to drive / ride safe?

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Originally Posted by LeoChakraborthy View Post
Personally, my Dad ensured that I observed how he was driving, be it a 4 or 2 wheeler and I listened to everything he had say about the various maneuvers he was doing with his vehicle.
YEP, same case here and here's what my dad taught me :

1) Going around the neighborhood road in 3 circles in reverse, slow, with me using the left hand on the passenger headrest and looking back. Driving straight was a piece of cake after.

2) Emphasis on reverse parallel parking only, even if I could go head on, soon enough I knew just how much gap was left to the inch.

3) To not check the vehicles too often on the rear and instead protect myself from those at front.. "the rear will take care of itself most times as long as speed is normal"

My driving trainer taught me :

1) To understand the bite of the clutch to the millimeter and to consider the clutch as the most important part of the vehicle.

2) To not let oncoming vehicles bother me too much as long as I'm on the right lane, to flash and take precautionary measures only when needed.

3) No hesitation when stomping on the brakes, this teaches a lot about the brakes themselves and doing them at emergency maneuvers. Of course when doing so, equal emphasis on the RVM and what's coming behind.

I think these 6 rules are pretty much the golden rules for any newbie, I'm fortunate to have picked em up from the right people before even touching the wheel.
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Old 8th May 2020, 10:38   #47
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Re: How does one teach a newbie to drive / ride safe?

Way back in 1995, right after my class 10 board exams, my parents fixed up a local taxi driver to teach me to drive. Used to wake up at 5:30 in the morning as the guy had to report by 7 am.
Needless to say, my training was more instinctive than structured. I picked up very poor road manners and barely knew driving etiquettes. I called the accelerator 'race', half clutching was 'holding' and learned hand signals for turns without any reference to using indicators.
But, I learned the basics very well. How to feel the engine feedback, proper gearing, keeping engine at right rpm and an instinctive sense of what is going wrong under the bonnet.
We had a Mark IV Ambassador, and I was a half trained mechanic as well!!
City dashes were NFS for me in the initial days, but longer drives taught me relaxed driving to ensure longevity behind the wheels.

I have never dared to try teach driving to anyone, even for my wife we got a professional training service.
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Old 27th May 2020, 17:26   #48
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Re: How does one teach a newbie to drive / ride safe?

My father passed away long back when i was 14 years old. To take my mind off things, my uncle started giving me driving lessons in open spaces. He was an experienced mountain driver, and I learnt a lot from him. Despite what I was going through, the thrill of driving that Omni for a few hours everyday, has been one of the happiest memories of my life, and I have cherished being behind a wheel ever since.
I recently started teaching my wife how to drive, but sadly, I don't have half the patience of my uncle!
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Old 23rd October 2020, 00:24   #49
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Re: How does one teach a newbie to drive / ride safe?

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Originally Posted by Vitruvius View Post
My father passed away long back when i was 14 years old. To take my mind off things, my uncle started giving me driving lessons in open spaces. He was an experienced mountain driver, and I learnt a lot from him. Despite what I was going through, the thrill of driving that Omni for a few hours everyday, has been one of the happiest memories of my life, and I have cherished being behind a wheel ever since.
I recently started teaching my wife how to drive, but sadly, I don't have half the patience of my uncle!
Its good you learned from your uncle. To learn how to drive One day I stole my Uncle's Wagon R and took it for a spin on roads of Aligarh in morning. Drove it as much as I can from Agra road to AMU circle, stalled engine numerous times and I guess I destroyed his car's clutch.
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Old 23rd October 2020, 17:09   #50
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Re: How does one teach a newbie to drive / ride safe?

Few random pointers from my side.

1) Never to rush into things and be in a hurry to do things. One needs to be calm and patient while driving. Many rash driving related accidents are a result of being impatient, wanting to overtake a vehicle dangerously etc for example.

2) Give more importance to human life than to vehicles.

3) If you can't see the road ahead do not use the accelerator pedal. So for eg on a blind curve lifting off the pedal (would mean slowing down) will help to take the curve safely etc.

4) Stop at a safe distance while halting in traffic. We can stop just before we stop seeing the bumper of the vehicle in front while coming to a stop at a red light etc.
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Old 23rd February 2021, 19:32   #51
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Newbie driving tips - LTD safely!

Woke up last weekend with a loud thud. Wagon R which was parked outside my neighbours’ home had taken off the pavement entering the kids play area and rammed into one of the merry-go-rounds (luckily there were no kids playing).

Shockingly it was a newbie attempting to learn from his uncle's car (who was seated beside him), tried to reverse the car but slotted it in first gear and slammed the accelerator. Completely lost control with his uncle left helpless not knowing what had happened. None of them were buckled up either but fortunately there were no injuries.

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I always encourage my friends and family to enrol in a learning school when asked to help them learn driving in their car. Some listen but most (out of ego and pride) skip going to a learning school and attempt to learn on their own, or from their friends. What’s more shocking is this dude who was involved in the accident had a valid driving licence and apparently have driven on Chennai roads before – no wonder the high number of road accidents seen in India.

Would like to get your suggestions on driving tips and safe learning environment for newbies.
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Old 1st March 2021, 11:21   #52
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Re: How does one teach a newbie to drive / ride safe?

Apart from the many useful tips mentioned here I would like to put here one very important point and that is to not panic ! Learning to drive on our roads can be a harrowing experience with most people having no patience at all.

In such situations people will keep honking or try and cut in front dangerously or just try antics which the newbie is not at all prepared for and the first thing to do in such situations is not panic. Take stock of your situation and then react appropriately. Maybe you are hogging the fast lane or turning the steering too much. You can always correct it while reacting in a calm state of mind. Panic will tend to prompt sharp responses which can result in making the situation worse or even cause accidents.

Just my 2 cents.
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Old 2nd March 2021, 08:07   #53
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Re: How does one teach a newbie to drive / ride safe?

Great thread!
Hope someone can point me to videos in Hindi or Kannada that explain how to drive a two wheeler, the road rules, and the reasoning behind the rules. This is for our maid. In an other thread, I had posted about how I (and my wife) on a walk found her making a blind turn from the wrong side into the path of an oncoming truck. I have been trying to find some youtube videos to help her get acquainted with the rules. She is not keen on bribing the RTO (she has already done that to get the scooter registered on her name) and I too want her to get her license after she satisfactorily passes all tests without any shortcuts. Once I send her the videos, my wife will start pestering her again to get her license.
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Old 10th January 2023, 12:06   #54
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Re: How does one teach a newbie to drive / ride safe?

Loads of patience and loads of trust. Being a bhpain we are very possessive about our cars and the very idea of someone else ( Even your wife ) driving it sends shivers.

Over christmas holidays gave time to assist my wife to drive. The very basic thing i taught her was to drive as straight as possible and not cut lanes like a 2 wheeler. I did this in 4 steps

1) Initially i was a co-passenger in front seat giving all the instructions
2) Co-passenger in front seat with minimal instructions
3) Co-passenger in rear seat with minimal / no instructions
4) Followed car in 2-wheeler with wife on phone in case i need to communicate something.

Also giving way to others since you are slow is something i am trying to instill in her.

The only thing remaining is parking! This is a skill she has to practice to be able to take the car out alone. And i want to ensure she parks properly everytime she does.
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