Today has been the toughest driving day by far because I had to zig-zag through cones. Not only that, I took over the car somewhere around Union Vale and Castor Road and drove down to town near the bus terminal. It was around 10:15 by then, and I actually got stuck in traffic. Here I was doing clutch control and I might have really gotten the hang of it (clutch control in traffic that is). It’s not as tough as people say it is. I don’t even have a problem literally stopping the car and then re-accelerating then doing the clutch-control ordeal.
Anyway, I drove myself to Roche Caiman’s Stad Linite and the cone route was basically this: reverse on the side of the cones up until the beginning of the line-up. This also requires a lot of mirror-usage. Then, zigzag through so that requires a lot of steering wheel turning, as well as clutch control.
I asked Mr. R if he has any tips on cones success and he told me that it’s all about clutch-control. Honestly, I really doubt it in a way. I think it has a lot to do with steering as well, especially right timing. Let me show you how I managed to successfully tackle this obstacle. I basically had to start right from the beginning of the first cone and then start turning the steering wheel so it starts right at the beginning of the second cone and so on.
I really had to stay close to the cones because if I accidentally drove too far (this is where clutch control comes in because you have to manage both timing and speed), I would miss the next cone and have to drive through the one that came after that.
According to my instructor I’ll be dealing with cones all week. I almost feel like my legs and arms need to rest a bit. I’m convinced that my instructor is a little sexist. What he expects from his male students is different from his expectations of his female students. But honestly, I don’t blame him. I firmly believe there’s a difference between women and men when it comes to driving.
I noticed that male drivers are more aggressive, even with their cars. This really explains why most car ads on the classifieds will tell you that the car for sale was owned by a “single women driver”. It really explains a lot. Women are generally more gentle with cars. Apart from my big mistake earlier when I almost zoomed into potential traffic on my way back to town and got scolded (as usual) by what’s his name.
