[clevermax]

I feel that the teaching standards of driving schools in Bangalore now are way below the ones in my place, where I learnt driving about 11 years back. They just need money.

My wife recently learnt driving in a driving school in Blr, and after 10 days of classes, they didn't teach even some of the essentials. She didn't know how to do a half clutching to keep the vehicle stopped on a slope without applying break, how to downshift properly, parking etc.

In Cochin, there are driving schools where they first put you in a simulator, and there you can gain basic steering control, confidence etc, Then you can hit the road and learn quickly and more effectively. I wonder any driving school in Bangalore has simulators.

[srikat]

Only Maruti Driving School. Count on us. as far as I know.

[choombak]

Got to know from this site, that the clutch must be always totally up or totally down, and any intermetidate position held for long will wear out the clutch plate (see myth #2). This also means that the "half-clutch" method being taught is not really correct.

Will any auto-guru comment on this? Thanks.

-choombak

[stanza6]

Originally Posted by clevermax

I feel that the teaching standards of driving schools in Bangalore now are way below the ones in my place, where I learnt driving about 11 years back. They just need money.

My wife recently learnt driving in a driving school in Blr, and after 10 days of classes, they didn't teach even some of the essentials. She didn't know how to do a half clutching to keep the vehicle stopped on a slope without applying break, how to downshift properly, parking etc.

In Cochin, there are driving schools where they first put you in a simulator, and there you can gain basic steering control, confidence etc, Then you can hit the road and learn quickly and more effectively. I wonder any driving school in Bangalore has simulators.

This is a place where they are now introducing the concept you are talking about. LexDrive: Learn to Master Your Driving

[searchingheaven]

Well, the title of the thread might be very strange, but the question i have is bugging me for a long time now. Read on:

My younger brother will turn 18 in 2 months and he has been pestering me to teach him to drive. Initially, i asked mom/dad to enroll him in a driving school so that i am relieved of my headache. But then, a thought came to my mind, why not teach him personally?

Plan

• Start with a simulator first. I use a Logitech G27(Link to Wheel) wheel with City Car Driving(Link to Simulator). Overall the experience is good enough. Get him acquainted with basics like clutch control, startup without stalling, safety, traffic rules, accelerator control etc. Sample Video:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm8Iy8aQmzY

• Graduate to a real car(Ford Ecosport TDCi) after he is good enough on the simulator.
• Start practicing on a ground 10 minutes from my house. The ground in question is barren, flat, has no crowd at all, and includes some hilly sections at one corner.
• Buy cones for training use and maneuvers.
• Start with basic driving. Get the following maneuvers done: Reverse parking, Parallel Parking, Hill descent and ascent, corner reverse, emergency stop, slalom etc.
• Go on the road only when he is confident enough.

Pros:

1. Own car, so no worries about incidents.
2. Better communication leads to better clearing of doubts. If my brother asks me the same thing 10 times, i don't have a problem. But the instructor will.

Cons:

No additional wheel, brake to control stop in an emergency. But as i see it, the whole ground is empty and has a boundary. Not even a cow roams here. So the handbrake, if at all needed should be enough. At the most, i am looking at some repair costs.


I need your views on whether this is a safe/good/outrageous/dangerous thing to do. Please be blunt in your replies.. No offence taken

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by searchingheaven

...

Your plan sounds good in general, and is well thought out. I don't have any experience of a driving sim, so I won't comment on that.

A couple of points:
1. I might suggest starting him off on a naturally aspirated petrol, if you have access to one. Reason? Diesels have more forgiving torque, and he shouldn't unknowingly get used to it, and end up not learning finer clutch control. The EcoSport TDCi is very tractable and friendly due to its driveable torque - while this is of benefit to an owner, it might be less useful for a driver.
2. Your plan heavily focuses on the mechanics of driving (ABC, steering, etc.). While this is essential and correct, your brother also needs to learn the 'dynamics' of driving on the road. For this, ask him to observe how you drive on the road, what causes you to slow down/speed up (i.e. defensive driving). This will prepare him for the time when he leaves the ground and hits the tarmac.
3. I somehow feel it would be better to practice the slalom and other such avoidance manoeuvres at the ground after he's had some time on the road. Reason? What he learns on the ground shouldn't be too theoretical/lab-controlled. For the most part, these manoeuvres are for the highway/open road, so there's no harm deferring it slightly.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes. It'll be nice to have pictures of how you set up the cones for training.

[chandrda]

I still believe the old school of teaching to drive is the best, its my personal opinion. Youngster pick up on driving better than 20/30s something. Since they have less fear and natural reflexes for the age, teaching them driving directly is easier than teaching on a simulation or teaching wifey

If you are in Bangalore, there are plenty of grounds and empty roads early morning on the weekends.

1. First step is to make sure hand brake is engaged, put the car in neutral, start the car, right leg on the brakes, press clutch, slot to first gear, disengage the hand brake and then bring it back to neutral. Repeat this several times to make sure the learner knows exactly where each control is and should not look at the gear lever or clutch pedal before engaging.
2. Second step is to try moving the car on first gear slow and stead in a ground/road/hump/inclination etc. Your hand being on the handbrake. This is to teach the learner how to use the clutch to move the car in different situation.
3. Third step is to learn to engage the second gear and try to move the car continuously for few hundred meters.
4. Fourth Step is steering control on 3 & 4 the gear.
5. Reversing the car.

Not sure after the first 2 steps your younger brother will ask you to teach anymore as kids are amazingly skilled these days.

If you don't want to go through these pain and also save your clutch, put him on a driving course and then graduate slowly to your Ecosports

Regards

[tharian]

Observation is one of the best teacher when it comes to learning to drive.
Before you start of with anything at all, I would suggest taking him for a drive, ask him to observe, give him pointers. Do this a few times and then find out what he has learnt and start off from there.
You will need loads of patience and also forsee incidents, so be prepared for that.
I've sat with my sister years back on public roads with a L sticker on the windshield , hand on the hand brake and a prayer on my lips.

[noopster]

Interesting thread. Just a caveat before you start anything: please ensure that your brother is in possession of a valid learner's license, wears his seat belt and follows all the laws of the road when you are teaching him driving. Lessons learned early are learned best!

I taught my wife to drive in Bangalore around 2003-04. But before I trusted her with my "first wife", an Accent GLS, she did a learning course with a local driving school that taught her the basics and ensured that she got a DL. Of course in India that doesn't mean a thing so we had to pretty much reinvent the wheel, but at least she had some confidence going in!

Some tips that may be useful:

• You may want to do what I did: send your brother to a driving school and get him started on basics with a "beater" car rather than expose your precious EcoSport to the vagaries of a new driver!
• Find a stretch of empty road where you can focus on things like parallel parking, perfect clutch disengagement, starting on a slope etc. From my experience what works best is semi-private areas like parking lots or driveways in an apartment complex, half-finished roads in IT parks etc.
• Make sure you choose an hour where children are not likely to be playing: early morning is best, or mid-afternoons.
• Also avoid rush hours when regular office-goers are most likely to be zipping in and out; a lot of these guys are late and trust me, they wait for nobody!
• Focus on driving slow not fast. I have observed that the best control comes from driving slowly (think slow cycling). Having said that, please impress the importance of appropriate speed to a learner. Quite often they end up hogging the fast lane doing 30 which is very annoying to all concerned and increases the risk of an accident.
• Teach defensive driving. That right-of-way must be yielded and not demanded. That a 10 kmph reduction in speed reduces the risk of accidents by 25% (or whatever the actually number is; google it!) This is not something that driving schools focus on. Stop for pedestrians, be considerate to cyclists, that sort of thing.
• For God's sake, use the horn only in an emergency. Driving schools have this philosophy that the horn is there to be used, so have seen newbie drivers grab it like it's going out of fashion.
• From a new driver's point of view, judging the length of the bonnet and the safe distance on the opposite (left) side are the most difficult to acquire. Focus on this since it may avoid a lot of heartbreak later (swiping the left side against the wall when getting in or out of tight spots etc.)
• Be firm and unrelenting when it comes to sticking to laws of the road and correct driving practices. Newbie drivers tend to use shortcuts, like cutting across to the wrong side to avoid taking a U-turn or riding the clutch, and if not nipped in the bud, these become lifelong bad habits.
• Note that the last mentioned can and will strain your relationship with the newbie driver (I say this from experience ) but in the long run it's totally worth it!

All the best to you and your brother!

[Arch-Angel]

I'd like to add my two cents. The simulator can teach him about the steering and ABC pedal control but ask him to observe you when you drive on roads. The next important things are do's and don'ts in a car:

Do's:

1. Always check if your handbrake in engaged.
2. Adjust the mirrors to the driver's preference.
3. Always wear seatbelts.
4. Learn the controls of the car. lamps/dim-dip/indicator/wiper to begin with.

Don'ts:

1. Never start the car without checking if the car is in neutral by using the gear knob. I check it by moving it side to side gently.
2. Never release the handbrake early on an incline without being ready with the gear.
3. Never ride the clutch. Consider it an enemy and do not press it unless you have to ala only to shift gears.

Teach him to understand the behaviour of the car when he drives. The krr meshing sound if he presses the clutch and releases it before shifting and trying to slot it into gear, too high a gear at low speed causing the engine to lug. Tell him the pratices you follow when driving and then eventually bring him over to your car wherein he can appreciate the driving dynamics. Do not compromise on teaching him how to change lanes, parallel parking and reversing. IF the car doesnt have sensors, he'll get used to reversing with the mirrors which is good. Teach him to drive on ramps or roads with elevation, curb side parking to prevent the car from rolling down etc.


It would be best if you start of with a naturally aspirated petrol first so that he learns how to get the car out of neutral without stalling while learning delicate footwork and also, steering the car properly.

[ani_meher]

Does your brother know how to ride motorcycles? If yes, then it will be almost natural to drive a car. Else working up the ABC will be quite frustrating, especially if the car is new.

I learned driving on my own car in 4 sessions flat, and didn't need any more help from advisor. Some can't learn even after 1-2 months' training! It differs from person to person. Haven't tried the sim training, but I can tell the reversing sense sure gets polished by car games!

I will suggest you to enrol him into a training school. It costs hardly 2-3k, and it is a good insurance against any damage a new driver can do.

[sreedotk]

I would also add that get some reading material either from our Indian RTO's or even refer international rules. The first thing i like to drill into people who want to learn to drive is that " being allowed to drive is a privilege not a right".

I find that while lots of Indians can drive, a few of them are un aware of road signage and what it means. They do know how to over take but are unaware or ignore the pitfalls of overtaking on the wrong-side. and many more such knucklehead-ness

Some links which may help

http://rto.kar.nic.in/ (Check under signs and questionnaires)

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/pu...s/dsd_a112.pdf

Also add to your tasks list - Get your brother to pass the learners written test and get a learners permit.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by searchingheaven

• Start with a simulator first. I use a Logitech G27(Link to Wheel) wheel with City Car Driving(Link to Simulator). Overall the experience is good enough. Get him acquainted with basics like clutch control, startup without stalling, safety, traffic rules, accelerator control etc.
• Graduate to a real car(Ford Ecosport TDCi) after he is good enough on the simulator.
• Start practicing on a ground 10 minutes from my house. The ground in question is barren, flat, has no crowd at all, and includes some hilly sections at one corner.
• Buy cones for training use and maneuvers.
• Start with basic driving. Get the following maneuvers done: Reverse parking, Parallel Parking, Hill descent and ascent, corner reverse, emergency stop, slalom etc.
• Go on the road only when he is confident enough.

Please also ask him to search & read up relevant threads on Team-BHP. We have innumerable articles & discussions about driving best practices, keeping Indian conditions in mind. Some samples:

1

2

3

4

Lots more info available; the time spent reading will be well spent

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by noopster

[*]Note that the last mentioned can and will strain your relationship with the newbie driver (I say this from experience ) but in the long run it's totally worth it![/list]All the best to you and your brother!

My wife knows I love my Nano fiercely. She would think twice before she was careless with the car. So if she wants to drive the Nano, it will be as I wish, or else she can get her an Accord and I would be happy to drive it as per my wish.

[createrkid]

Well, there is absolutely no need of enrolling your brother into a driving school since I'm 18 myself and my dad taught me how to drive when I was 16. He taught me on the Getz which we still have and I was taught on a barren dusty ground behind my house. I learnt the basics quite quickly since I've been observing my dad for years. If your brother is naturally a keen observer then it wouldn't take much time. I got my learners recently and have started to drive on roads all thanks to my dad. A friend of mine who enrolled himself into a driving school paid 6 thousand bucks for the entire course which I proudly saved. But personally it's best to be taught by someone you can always answer your questions.