[NPV]

Probably one of the rare cases - I went to a driving school to learn driving in a maruti omni.

I also underwent a proper 15-20 minute driving test with the inspector sitting on the rear seat.
Had an almost repeat experience few years later for my US drivers license as well. Of course it was much more better organized in much better conditions.
In fact I took a computerized test for my learners license in Bangalore and ditto for the one in the US as well!

[Samurai]

I assume we are talking about car driving. My family never had a car, so I went to a driving school to learn car driving, this was in 1992. The driving school belonged to a relative, but I didn't tell him I am attending the classes there. I was taught in a Premier Padmini, and in the typical Indian way. At the DL road test, the inspector asks me to park between two cars (parallel parking), something I was never taught. So I failed the test. It was like a sad joke. And I was pretty pissed at failing the road test due to driving school's incomplete training. Then I approached my relative...

He: Hey, what are you doing here?
Me: I failed the driving test.
He: Ha, ha... tried to do it on your own?
Me: No, I went via driving school.
He: Really, which driving school?
Me: Your driving school, I was not trained in parking between cars. So I failed.
He: What? Why didn't you tell me?
Me: I wanted to pass by my own merit.
He: Silly boy, there is nothing like that. The inspectors have to fail some of the candidates who attend, even from driving schools. Otherwise it won't look good. So we tell them in advance whom to pass and fail. If I had known about your attempt, I would have put in a word. Alright, the second time I'll take care.

The second time, I took the test in an ambassador, a car I had never driven. This time the inspector asked me drive in a straight line, and then stop in the center of the road. I passed. It was still a joke.

After getting the DL, I didn't drive any car for a year until I went to US. Then I read the NJ drivers' manual. Passed the computerised LL test in one attempt. Took 10 classes, and learned to drive the proper way. My driving instructor told me it was a good thing I didn't get any bad driving habits from India, unlike his other Indian students who had driven in India.

A month later I passed a tough road test in 1st attempt.

Another funny incidence from that time. When I applied for the LL at New Jersey DMV, I asked the big black lady at the counter:

Me: I do have a DL from India. Can I get a waiver on the road test?
She: From India? No way honey, we know how they issue driver's license in India. We do have lots of Indians in NJ.

[Octane_Power]

I learned driving through plain observation, thanks to my dad. Used to observe when he lifted his foot off the accelerator, when he pressed the clutch etc. How to move the car up a hill from standstill and many many other major and minor things.

As far as obtaining the driving license is concerned, I had done the entire procedure from filling the first form to giving the customary stupid Multiple choice question test on my own, no agents involved anywhere.

Let me share an incidence which occurred during the question and answer test. All the candidates are assembled in a room where questions are asked using a projector and each one having access to their set of buttons marked A, B, C, D to select the correct option. The questions were darn simple like a picture of no parking sign is shown and asked what does this mean and such lame questions, nothing related to driving, only general road signs/signal and stuff. Now, instead of letting the candidates answer on their own the examiner conducted the test like this:

*insert some lame question here of your choice*
Examiner: Ok, so understood the question? Ok, so what is the answer?
Chorus: A! (assume the correct answer is A, and throw in some random B's and C's from some of the Einsteins present in the room)
Examiner: Correct! So press A!

I was just shocked to have experienced that, and that too in a city like Mumbai. And guess the best part. 4-5 candidates failed such a test too!!!

On the day of my driving test I and my dad just took the car along, we knew we would need a two-wheeler as well but thought of getting some jugaad arranged there. We asked a few people if they would lend their bike for just a few minutes, but obviously no one would. So, my dad approached one of the motor training school guy and asked if he can lend his "Activa" (which they use for their students' test) for my test. He agreed to do so at a cost of Rs.50.

The inspector asked me to first take a round on the activa then asked me to take a longer round in my car, and seeing hundreds of motor-training school morons(no hard-feelings for anyone,please don't mind) throughout the day he was impressed with the way in which I started rolling the car, completed the turn and how I stopped it. Entire thing didn't take more than 5-6 minutes. At the end we shook hands and he gave a pat on my back.

One more thing which I learned that day was how the driving tests are conducted in our country. Before my turn, I was standing alongside the inspector and observing the motor training schools' students give their driving test. I remember this one guy distinctly, who stalled the car 7-8 times before successfully getting it in motion and was handling the steering wheel very clumsily which resulted him in almost banging into a group of 5-6 people and running over 2 of them if they had not moved out of his way. I'm quite sure even he must have got his license cuz after the incidence I heard the agent tell the inspector "kar dena, samajh lenge"

-Bhargav

[Auswechseln]

Four Wheeler:

I learnt driving by observing my dad, uncle and various other drivers. It was in our Maruti Omni.

For the driving test I took our car to the test range. The official there told me to drive it in the form of an '8' forwards and in reverse. After completing this he asked me some 'Viva' questions. Questions were like:

1) How are the roads are demarcated when there is no divider ?
2) Who gets preference for going first in a narrow ghat road ? (Driver going up/Down) ?

After this he approved it and sent me to the RTO to submit the documents. I got the DL a month later.

Two Wheeler

Two-wheeler riding comes naturally to a lot of people, since they ride bicycles from a young age. This was the case with me as well.

This was before I got my four-wheeler DL. We did not have a motorcycle with gear and I took my friend's bike. It did not have the RVM attached, as people these days remove the mirror as it 'disrupts' the look of the bike. I failed and was told to come back a week later.

This time I had attached the mirrors and passed the test.

This was around five years ago. My brother had gone to get his DL done this year. He was sent away five times (for the LL). I had taught him to drive and he is a confident driver.

The reason: Form was not filled correctly. Then he went through a driving school and the process (getting the DL) got over in a month.

Me: I wanted to pass by my own merit.
He: Silly boy, there is nothing like that. The inspectors have to fail some of the candidates who attend, even from driving schools. Otherwise it won't look good. So we tell them in advance whom to pass and fail. If I had known about your attempt, I would have put in a word. Alright, the second time I'll take care.

This is the reason some people feel discouraged and approach a driving school. Now I know there IS a nexus between these guys. I wonder what won't look good ?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Auswechseln

This is the reason some people feel discouraged and approach a driving school. Now I know there IS a nexus between these guys. I wonder what won't look good ?

If they pass every candidate from the driving school it will look fishy. So they fail a few bakras, and then pass them in the second attempt.

[ghodlur]

I learnt driving from a driving school. It was one of those many schools which had mushroomed overnight at my place. The fees were cheap and I enrolled just for the fun of it. But learning driving did make me serious about driving on the roads where people spilled more on the streets than the cars.

The driving licence test was a big joke. All the attendees were huddled in one car and one person was randomly chose from the lot and checked for driving. Based on that person's performance the rest of the group would get licence. It was a simple roundabout and as my luck expected I was chosen amongst my group. To my horror my driving instructor sat besides me and instructed as to when I should put on the indicators, when I should smile at the Driving Inspector and all. Finally I passed and with me the group.

But the actual learning started later when I used to take my friend's car on the busy streets. The only defence I had was the horn. It was a Maruti 800 that made me a man from the boy as far as the driving was concerned. Even today when I see a driving school car on the roads, I feel sympathetic towards them and give them the required way to move ahead.

[aargee]

Uncle sent me to driving school; was taught on 2...JEEP (@Samurai San, pls make a note) and Amby with floor gear on the very very famous MC Road in KL with a turn appearing for every Km & the longest stretch with mild curve is probably 1.5 Km. And one of the jeep [smaller one] had 3 gears & another lever for 4 wheel drive option & the other Jeep was MM540 for sure.

After 1 week's class I gave up & almost decided not to attend the classes anymore & was yelling at my Uncle to have put me through such difficult time. Reason was simple, I couldn't keep the Jeep straight, couldn't negotiate turns (recall what Donny Astricky says in the movie Gone in Sixty seconds to his student) & most importantly couldn't cross beyond 35 Kmph.

Then it took a great ordeal & recall the very famous game (during 1996) Test Drive by Accolade to make up my mind to return to driving class the next day. But things took a turn when I was given Amby on 6th or 7th class when the instructor warned me to drive slow!! That is when I noticed I was clocking over 80 Kmph

From that day, I have a very special place in my heart with a great respect for the Jeeps without which I'm sure I could've underestimated driving. Needless to say, the RTO inspector asked me to drop him from the testing ground to RTO out of all the 10+ candidates who appeared that day for the test.

[sumeethaldankar]

I had taken my driving lessons from Bhavi motors mumbai. I trained for a month in a Premier Padmini for a month in the school's vehicle and once i got my license i used to practice with a friend.During the driving test the other candidates were asked to do simply drive in the first 2 gears for a while and were allowed to pass.
My turn was the last in the car.

Since all the other candidates were driving forward for some time we had reached a bit far from the RTO office.When my turn came i was asked to do a U-turn which also included a reverse as the road had come to a dead end and also was asked to traverse through all the 4 gears of the car which i managed effortlessly since the road was empty.

A little bit off-topic

My instuctor during my training had told me that the first gear should only be used to move the car and one should get on to second immediatley after the car starts to move.

I used this practice for many years of my driving.( i learned way back in 1996).It's the reason i would always find that i was the slowest off the stop light and all other
kinds of vehicles including rickshaws , mopeds etc would get away from me fast.Thankfully i did not spoil the clutch of the cars i drove during those newbie years.

I someone how managed to overcome this habit , considering i now drive a civic which has poor low end torque and upshift once the vehicle has gathered decent speed atleast around 10-15 kmph.

[abirnale]

I never really had opportunity to "ride" a bike or "drive" a car before I owned one on crowded public roads. In India, I took lessons from a driving school - for car as well as bike. Yes, bike too. Once i got my LL for bike, I bought a bike and started using it in the layout I lived in south bangalore 13 years ago. I passed the DL in first attempt and took bike on road all by myself with my better half riding pillion. Oh, she had license of gearless scooter 2 years before I got mine!

In next 2 months I completed car driving lessons and it was about starting the car, stopping the car, indicators, red light and appropriate gear changes. That's all about it. First attempt, I cleared my test - it was 1-8 minutes of driving in jayanagar RTO area on the real roads. One full round and thats it. No surprises, I made it. The driving improved over the years through experience, some common sense and a lot of reading on internet!

When I moved to USA, it was all different experience. I took the drug and alcohol test by myself. Had done good study so cleared it easily. The same was case with online test - score 17 out of 20 and made it to behind the wheel test! by now I had read a lot of driver's manuals, youtube videos and stories from other friends about their experiences. I was confident that I will make it in first attempt. But then that was to be proved wrong. And Maryland DMV in Baltimore, I had an inspector whose instructions were difficult to understand. Aa a new-comer indian in USA, I had that confusion in pronunciations and failed to follow all his one instructions. That gave me 16 points and immediately failed! Actually they had three tests -
- Backing up straight for 100 meters
- Parallel Parking in 180 seconds
- K turn

I did all of them well but at the end after K turn I should wait for his next instructions. But in excitement, I drove straight out of K turn track. And thats it. The next time I went for driving test - feet on the ground, brain in check, did everything exactly as I was asked. And got my license

Long story short, India DL was peace of cake while USA DL was testing all my skills - rules understanding, driving sense and actual practicals. Since then, a lot is learnt over through practice and reading. Thanks to TBHP and Youtube that only added more knowledge to my kitty. Till date I have driven about 50K Miles in USA and over 100K Kms in India. And I am still learning

[lalittalwar]

I started to learn driving a couple of times.

1. First time (1998) - my dad took me out on our M800. First day, after driving jerkily for a few kilometres, I accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brakes at a turn, and the car went over a kerb. two days later, dad sold the M800 and we got an esteem. that was the end of my first try at learning to drive.

2. Second time (2000) - I tried learning from a friend on his M800, but the fear of banging his car also made me uncomfortable. So, that attempt also failed.

3. Third time (2000) - went to a driving school. learned to drive from an instructor. If I look back, IMO, the driving school was not really up to the mark. they have their own set of pedals and interfere on most times by holding the steering. not very confidence inspiring and did not really make me learn. nevertheless, it helped me get a license as the driving school gave me certificate, and based on the certificate, I could get a waiver on the driving test. but, I still hadn't learned to drive yet.

4. Fourth Time (2005) - During my summer training, I was in Delhi, and my uncle gave me an old M800 to drive around. I was too shy to tell him that I am not an accomplished driver yet, so took the car and drove around in Delhi. I stalled on red lights and had jerky gear shifts, but this was the real driving experience and I learned to drive, although, not yet accomplished.

5. Fifth time (2006) - My first job posted me for my rural stint in Haryana, and after travelling in buses and autos, and once on the roof of a bus from Jhajjar to Rohtak (a long story, will narrate it some other time), I decided it was enough and got an old Zen from an aunt who was travelling abroad for 6 months. this was when I really learned to drive. drove through the town traffic in smaller towns like Rohtak, Hisar, Bhiwani etc. Big cities like Gurgaon, Delhi and Chandigarh, Highways NH-10 and NH-1, and the best of all, the back roads in Haryana. In 5 months of my rural stint, I must have notched up atleast 10k KM.

[Dry Ice]

I learnt driving through a driving school. The same school took care of the license. Although I did appear for the written as well as driving test, I am not sure if their result was of any significance to issue a DL.

The written test was an objective type and had questions on the markings/symbols first, and then scenarios one might face while driving. The questions were easy enough.

The driving test was just driving in a straight line, reverse, 3-point turn and parallel park.

Now that I think about it, the process is there which can ensure only good and able drivers make it to our streets. But the rampant corruption has made a mockery of this process. If only there was more stringent enforcement!

[ajaypjayaraj]

I just saw the choice which says I have read the proper manual before appearing for the LL test. Of course I have thoroughly gone through the rules and signals and stuff in the manual before the test. But missed out to check that choice before submitting my vote.
I know I can't add it now but is there any way to correct the poll?

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I was taught in a Premier Padmini, and in the typical Indian way.

You really made me nostalgic buddy, I too learnt my driving with help of my Paa on our Premier Padmini and you also will agree that having learnt the driving on this car it appears easier for us to drive today's cars. The actual steering control and the hand-lever gear coordination was a lesson for us.

After attaining legal driving age in 2004, I was advised by Paa to go in for formal training just to brush up and fine tune my driving skills. So, I drove the Maruti 800 and the instructor thought I am a Newbie but soon he realized that I can give him a lesson or two in proper controlling of the car in traffic jams and speed control.

Finally, after 15 days of re-training on the Maruti 800, I was given the learner's license by motor training school issued by RTO and then I was given the permanent license without a driving test.

OT: I feel comfortable to drive my Esteem but driving my City Ivtec gives me headache often.

Thanks

[arnabchak]

I first took the wheels of my trusted Premier Padmini when I was 12 years old. Our dependable mechanic, Bhikhu Bhai gave me the wheels and I slowly look my baby steps towards the passion that I have now!!

Formally, learnt driving on a 118 NE at 15 from Navchetan Driving school, Anand. Upbringing was in a small yet advanced town in Gujarat-Anand so learning driving age didnt matter.

But drove cautiously under adult supervision till I legally got my license at 18.

[Samba]

Dad taught me driving in our Premier Padmini back in 1994. I was 9 years old then. But he used to teach me in a private area which was used for Ambassador testing inside HM factory. No pedestrians or any one was allowed over there. So hitting any person were out of question, if i hit something like the compound wall or tree we will damage our car itself. But luckily all were safe. Padmini didn't had a floor ship gear so from the side he could always reach the pedals whenever he wanted. I used to see through the steering wheel as my height at that time was not enough to look over the steering wheel with the legs reaching the pedals. I was comfortable driving from 10 years age but was never allowed in public roads. So had to wait till 18 to get my driving license.

The reason for teaching me was once i saw my dad left the car key inserted being the car inside our garage. I thought of giving a try and i put on the ignition key. Car was on gear and it straight away came out of the garage. I was scared and turned of the key. Luckily it did not hit anything. Dad decided half knowledge can be disastrous, so let him teach the basics so i do not repeat such mistake again.

I gave the test in our Fiat Uno. As i had no agent or driving school to back me up. The inspector tried his best to fail me but he had a hard luck and had to pass me. For others it was just go ahead and stop. For me it was driving straight then reversing back in a straight line. Reversing the car between two tree with a nearly same same gap. For the two wheeler he asked me to take a full circle in a narrow space without putting my legs down and without stalling the bike. All these were followed by some tricky question's. The last one was like in case of an emergency will i break the signal or not! I replied no i wont instead, i will request the traffic cop over there to hold up the other side of the traffic and let me go. He smiled and approved me.(Blabbering in a sarcastic way 'paka chale'. Translation will be- Over matured in regards to age.)

It seems many Bhpian's learned to drive in a Premier Padmini..!