Another pointless thread

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/game-controller-kinect-playstation-move-wii,news-10434.html

I wonder what the future might bring...

I've learned to drive in a VW punto and later luckely in a golf TDI.
The Golf was fun but the punto was so slow...

I've hardly seen any Corsa used for driving lessons here, it's mostly Peugot 206 (or was) and VW.

A kissing game controller!!!

Is that the only way to get games nerds a girl friend?

My son's been learning to drive in a new Astra...

...he hates it, the steering is slow, it wallows on corners and has all the power of a hair dryer!

I'll stick with my Fiat, it's a basic box with no power anything, but it handles and,as you say DM, rewards carefull smooth driving.

It's a Fiat Punto Stefan. maybe you mean a Polo?

Here they all learn to drive in Beemers and Audis with the occasional Passat.

I "learnt" to drive in a Metro turbo. One lesson and the test.

Horrid little car.

I learnt in a Mini. The day before my test someone else wrote it off. The instructor managed to get a brand new one for me to take my test in. It had no driving school stickers on it - just L plates. I was sure the examiner thought I was a spoiled brat who had been given a new Mini. Added to that the damn thing would not go into first gear so I had to drive off in 2nd.
After fifteen minutes I was back at the test centre, convinced I had failed. But I passed! My instructor hadn't even had time to order his cuppa when I walked in with my pass certificate .

All those hours driving with my dad and big brothers paid off.

Learnt in a string of early 80s cars, my driving instructor changed his car more often than I liked.

Still, taking a driving test in a Talbot Samba sport that was nimble and very fast was, I'm convinced, what helped me pass.

Got on the scales this morning..

.. the diet starts tomorrow..

It's actually not possible to park by driving in forwards. The back wheels can't get close to the kerb.

So, I presume that most of the folk you know don't have cars.

Or not for long.

G

I'm inclined to agree. Modern vehicles are increasingly isolating the driver from the fundamental mechanical systems of the car. Older cars force you to have a proper understanding of the physics involved and the function of the individual controls and how they relate to each other. Driving a modern car having learnt these basics then means that the electronic aids truly add a greater margin of safety, rather being something you rely on.

My first lesson was on a "Link Trainer" at BSM in Liverpool - then 1 hour in Sefton Park and 2 hours on a private track owned by the school going in and out of cones,learning the pedals etc.
All early lessons done in 105E Ford Anglia but the week before the test I was transferred to Cortina MkI - passed first time.

Lots of practice with Pa in his 2 door Ford Consul Classic helped - as did his words of wisdom which kept me alive a couple of times !

My first car was the Ford Prefect and as HG says - you "learned to drive" properly.No rant HG just common bl**dy sense !!!!!!!

Tony - 1 speeding ticket at 18 - clean since

The Link Trainer has a special place in my mind. It was the origin of flight simulation company Link Miles where I spent the best years of my working life.

I'm not sure if I'm going against the thread rules by making a point here(!) but we let people use bicycles on the road with no training whatsoever and we let people drive cars with no understanding of the mechanics or physics involved.

Compare that to flying where you have to sit exams on the rules of the air, meteorology, aircraft mechanics, etc. By the time you get a private licence you are far better educated than any car driver. And if you want to fly a bigger, more powerful plane you need even more training. And you have to keep being tested every few years!

I think it's the main reason I love flying. Yes, people still make mistakes, but if somebody does something stupid or annoying it is much easier to do something about it!

That's different to here Gareth - they used to teach it like that but have gone back to gear changing because it is more fuel efficient, and if you time it right at traffic lights you do not need to come to a complete stop and can continue easily since you are in the right gear, also more fuel efficient.

They are changing the rules for learning to drive here later this year.
At the moment you have to be 18 to learn, and can only go with a qualified instructor. because of this learners are also allowed on motorways for instance. Once you pass your test and have your licence you can drive unaccompanied.

From later this year you can start learning, with a qualified instructor at 16 and a half, provided you have passed your theory. You can then take your test at 17 and drive for a year under supervision of someone who has held a licence for more than (I think) 3 years. All this in an attempt to reduce the number of young drivers involved in accidents.

and another example of "if it's not shown, it's not happening". Turn you brain off, you don't have to watch what's going on - they're not slowing down, or the lights would be showing... stupid, stupid.
And it doesn't work on ice, either.

Bret

It took me so long to learn to drive that in the beginning I was taught to exploit 'engine braking', then by the end was told not to do this for the reasons already mentioned and I suppose it's better to cause wear to brake pads than your gearbox...

In practice, when I can see I am going to have to stop at a light etc, I tickle the brake pedal when slowing down, to make the brake lights come on, and then just ease off the gas and change down through the gears as my speed changes. I get a smug sense of self satisfaction when the lights change before I actually stop...