Driving Lesson 101

" Learn how to drive and have my own car" 

" A dream will remain a dream if not pursued!"

     Owning a car is one thing I am considering but, for sure, it'll take a long time for it to happen. For your dreams to happen, you have to make sure that you are doing something. Dream big! 

   One fine day, I was web browsing and I found Asian Driving School. I got their contact numbers and got in touch with them. It was a good thing that they were informative and helpful. Without doubt, I scheduled myself for a driving class on December 7, 2013 for 10 hours. 

December 7, 2013 10 AM to 12 Noon (First Day - Orientation)

       I met up with my trainer, Aldous, near my place. We drove a brown Toyota Vios with Student Driver warning at the back of the car. We started our orientation at South Reclamation Area. 

    

First lesson is to get to know the parts of the car. The Clutch, Gas, Gears, Brake, Steering wheel, 3 Mirrors, etc. Indeed, it was a bit confusing at first because you need to adjust and, at the same time, familiarized everything. You need to be alert and cautious at all times to make sure that you won't bump anyone. During orientation, he let me drive the car from South Reclamation until North Reclamation passing by the traffic area going to SM. I was so hesitant because I am a first timer but he was so confident that I can do it. I did! Good job!

       First and foremost, I had to start the wheel. It is important to make sure the transmission gear shift is in neutral before attempting to start the car. If you are temporarily stopping or on Hazard Mode, you have to make sure that you need to step on the clutch to change to gear 1 and unlock the hand brake. If ever the engine stopped at the middle of the road because of improper clutching, just step the clutch again and re-start. He also taught me how to maneuver the wheel so I can do the U-turn and the half curve. Hopefully, I can still remember everything on our next class. 

December 14, 2013 10 AM - 12 Noon ( 2nd Day - Slope Driving ) 

        This time, I am with trainer Eric. He's quite a funny guy and never fails to make us laugh along the way. He picked us up at "The Walk" IT park. From there, he taught me how to drive a car when we are at the uphill/downhill road. It was a bit confusing since I am driving the car and, at the same time, listening to him. We started our trial and error tests at Busay. He taught me about 3 types of stop style to get car friction.

1. Basic Friction - Clutch + Foot brake
2. Standard Friction - Clutch + Hand brake
3. Advance Friction - Clutch + Foot brake + Gas

    Also, he reminded me that the hand brake will only stop the two back tires. On the other hand, the foot brake will stop all four tires altogether to make a full stop. After several practices, he let me drive from Lahug to Busay so I can practice the slope and curve driving. I had a great a time with all the new stuff I've learned and me being the driver of the car with my trainer beside me for now. Haha. 

December 15, 2013 10 AM - 12 Noon ( 3rd Day - Reverse/ Backing )

         I'm with the same trainer yesterday (Eric). This time, he taught me how to reverse the car. He let me drive from Labangon to North Reclamation. In there, he started discussing the different angles needed to reverse a car and maneuver it using the steering wheel. He said that, in order to locate the tires at the back portion, you need to find the back 's door knob (if the car has a 3rd window, the back wheels are probably located there. If you are going to turn the wheel to the left, the 2 tires from the back will also turn to the left. When maneuvering a car to reverse, make sure your gear is in reverse mode and slowly release the clutch. Just a reminder, clutching during reverse moves the car faster than moving forward. 

December 22,  2013 8 AM - 10:00 AM (4th Day - Parallel Parking)

             My trainer for today is Nick. Our lesson for today is parallel parking. As usual, I start driving from our place going to North Reclamation. However, this time we did not pass SRP. Instead, we traverse the busy street of Tres De Abril going to CDU. So, from CDU, we started looking for a place to park. Unfortunately, it was a bit hard because the street was full of parked cars. Luckily, we found one parking space good enough for a Vios Sedan. He said that in order for me to start parking, I need to stop my car beside the car parked in front of the space where I should be parking (front car). Once the spaces are clear, maneuver the steering wheel into a full turn ( left, if you are going to park on the left and right, if you will park on the right side of the road). Step on the clutch and change gear to reverse, then slowly release the clutch to move the car to the right side (we parked our car to the right). If you can see the 2 headlights of the car behind you, STOP, turn the steering wheel 2 times to the left then reverse again. Once you are at place, if you cannot see the bumper of the car in front of you, you can have your car move back a bit. 

December 28, 2013 10:00 AM - 12:00 noon (5th and Final day - Vertical Parking)

    Finally, this is my last day. My coach for today is Eric. I thought we were gonna do a certification thingy but he taught me how to do the vertical parking. He picked me up from my place then we drove to Talisay Gaisano Tabunok for the parking lesson. Before heading to our destination, he discussed the steps on how to do the vertical parking. He emphasize that, in order to get the perfect angle of vertical parking, align your front right tire to the headlight (close to the driver) of the car where you want to align with, if the car is facing to you. Once you are aligned, full turn your steering wheel to the left, change to gear 1 then move forward but checking if your quarter window or your back right tire is again aligned to the headlight (close to the driver) of the car you first aligned with while you were still on vertical position. Once you're sure that everything is aligned, full turn your steering wheel to the right, change gear to reverse then slowly remove foot from the clutch so your car will reverse to the middle of both cars beside you. He also told me that the reason why you should not park your car facing the wall is because once you reverse your car, you won't be able to anticipate other moving cars at your back, unless, you don't have any cars beside you (called blind reverse). I think I am a bit confident now but I am not yet sure if I can manage without a trainer beside me. A little scary driving alone, yknow! When we arrived at Tabunok, we drove around the parking area to check for available spaces.

After all the pain and stress i have been through, I am now officially a driver! haha. Everything paid off. 

Check: http://asiandriving.com/