On Sep 30, 2011, at 10:56 PM, Cotty wrote:
On 30/9/11, John Francis, discombobulated, unleashed:
I was going to send him a Christmas card, but I wasn't sure if
the joke still worked.
Never heard of that one! Having said that, I grew up in the USA so
that's not surprising. My first driver's license was in 1976 in
California.
What a coincidence!
(For the non-UK/non-OZ/non-SG residents; back when I took my test
in the UK learners had to display what was known as an L-plate; a
red letter "L" on a white background.
Thus, when you passed your driving test, you qualified for "No
'L'".
I was under a certain amount of pressure to pass my test; I had
opted to take the test in my mother's car, rather than in the
driving school car - the dual controls in their Vauxhall Viva
made the footwell a bit cramped for my feet. But my mother had
to get back to work (teaching) before the test would be
completed. She got a ride back to the school with one of her
colleagues, but getting back to pick me up would have been harder
to arrange. Fortunately I passed, and so I was able to drive the
ten miles from the test location to her school.
Stef had all his lessons with an instructor. I've never even been
a passenger with him yet!
I've been teaching performance driving, on the racetrack, for a bit
over 20 years. That involves riding in cars, driven at speed,
usually by people who have an inaccurately high estimation of their
abilities as a driver. Those, of course, are often the ones driving
cars with upwards of 300 or 400 horsepower. Teaching on the track,
however, is like lounging poolside with a good book and a cold drink
compared to teaching people to drive on the street. Stress levels
are compounded when the student is one's romantic partner, or a
member of the immediate family. In short, Cotty, having a trained
professional, who is not related to Stef, teach him to drive, rather
than taking on the task yourself, may be one of the smartest
decisions you have made, and undoubtably worth every penny.
When I taught my ex-wife to drive (after several people had given up
in years previous) she would often practice as we carpooled to work.
I did not have her practice on Hwy 17, a four lane road that tourists
white knuckle at the 50 MPH speedlimit, and commuters draft at 65.
Instead, we took a more sedate, scenic road. Bear Creek. I've
attempted to include a couple of links to goole maps in street view.
If they don't work, type in an address somewhere between 21000 and
24000 Bear Creek Road, click on street view and look around. the two
listed are:
20952 Bear Creek Road, Los Gatos, CA
21360 Bear Creek Road, Los Gatos, CA
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=20952+Bear+Creek+Road,+Los+Gatos,+CA&hl=en&ll=37.168158,-122.016625&spn=0.0076,0.00795&sll=37.168186,-122.016600&sspn=0.006295,0.006295&layer=c&cbp=13,45.44,,0,17.7&cbll=37.168158,-122.016625&hnear=20952+Bear+Creek+Rd,+Los+Gatos,+California+95033&t=h&z=17&vpsrc=0&panoid=EdPGYFnzzKU38Dr43KtCig
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=21360+Bear+Creek+Road,+Los+Gatos,+CA&hl=en&ll=37.167456,-122.034202&spn=0.007601,0.00795&sll=37.166096,-122.030457&sspn=0.007601,0.00795&vpsrc=0&hnear=21360+Bear+Creek+Rd,+Los+Gatos,+California+95033&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.167419,-122.034085&panoid=bKLrQeYrGV95cHFGOi7dmg&cbp=13,165.26,,0,2.69
When looking at them, keep in mind that almost the entirety of
Melissa's experience on that road, was riding with me, after nearly a
decade of road racing experience, driving my MGB. And also keep in
mind that commuters, on these roads, are very good at pulling off for
faster drivers. This, it seems, gave her a somewhat skewed
calibration for what a reasonable speed to drive the road was. Now
remember that I was on the outside, riding with a very new driver, in
a beat up Toyota Corolla.
