Hints for your first lesson
Your First Lesson
Your first lesson will often be in the evening when the roads are quieter. You will be picked up and taken to a quiet location to start your lesson. I will ask you about your driving history, why you want to learn and what you are expecting during this time, you are welcome to ask any questions as well. Your first lesson will be very different to your normal lessons, there will be lots of talking and very little driving. I need to make sure you know what is expected of you and also what you can expect of me. You will be shown the major controls of the car, and how to operate them safely. A lot of what we all take for granted you may not have done before, such as adjusting the seat and mirrors, so you will be talked through this and shown how to do it, within a couple of lessons you will be doing it like you have been doing it for years. We will also talk through a lot of the legal side of driving and learning to drive. You are welcome to ask questions at anytime, maybe make a list so that you don't forget anything.
Adjusting the Seat
When adjusting the seat it is very important to set it correctly so that you can reach the controls correctly, get a good view of the road and be comfortable, important as you will be sat there for one and a half hours at a time. This guide tells you how to do this and where the levers are, but you will not be doing this alone so you don't need to learn everything on this page, I will help you until you are able to do this without help, but reading this page will help you with this.
Height
To adjust the height there is a lever on the side of the seat next to the door, use your right hand to adjust this lever. To use this lever to adjust the height, pump it up to come up, and pump
downwards to lower the seat. You should aim to be looking out of the middle of the window, this should give you a good view over the top of the steering wheel and of the road all the way across
the window, as well as the mirrors.
Seat Position
Next you need to make sure that you are sat the correct distance from the pedals so that you can operate them correctly and are sat comfortably. If you reach down under the front of the seat there is a
bar that you pull up, this allows the road to slide forward and backwards. Adjust the seat so that your left knee is slightly bent when the clutch is fully depressed.
Backrest
The lever to adjust the backrest isn't the easiest to find until you are used to it. Using your right hand find the bottom of the back rest and the lever is situated between this and the seat belt
anchorage. When you pull this lever the backrest will move towards you, place your left hand on the steering wheel and lean back until your elbow is just bent. Check that you can see all of the
dashboard clearly through the steering wheel, if not use the lever under the steering wheel to adjust the position of the steering wheel.
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Head Restraint
This is often referred to as a head rest, but it is not to rest your head on, it is to restrain your head in case of an accident. This should be adjusted so that the middle of the head restraint
is in line with your eyes. The adjustment is only up and down, they do nor tip forward or back. There is a little lug on one of the legs of the head restraint, push this in to move it up or down.
Seat Belt
The seat belt is one of the most important parts of the car, it has made the modern car as safe as it is today, without this being fastened correctly none of the other safety features of the car, including the airbags will not operate. Once the seat belt is fastened, make sure that it is not twisted, then adjust the height of the top of the belt to make it more comfortable. To do this squeeze the two parts together and slide it up or down as required. If it is too high it will dig in to your neck, if it is too low it will dig in to your shoulder.
Setting Mirrors
When setting the drivers side mirror you should aim it outwards so that the rear door handle is just visible in the bottom left hand corner of the mirror. The up and down should have the horizon approximately halfway up the mirror, so you can see half sky and half ground.
When setting the passengers side mirror it should be set the same as the drivers side mirror, but with the rear door handle in the bottom right hand corner.
When setting the interior rear view mirror make sure that you do do touch the glass while adjusting the mirror. Set the mirror so that the rear window is in the middle of the mirror.
Contact Dave Upcott - Instructor
Areas covered: Plympton, Plymstock and Plymouth
Phone: 0791 9800 791
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