I started driving one month ago after avoiding it for years, so let’s see what lessons I’ve learned after 4 weeks on the road in Birmingham, and how quickly the stereotypical opinions have taken to sink in.
1) Cars only stall on busy junctions.
2) There is a fault with all the indicator lights on taxis.
3) It’s sometimes possible to have no idea what gear you’re actually in, or whether you’re in one at all.
4) Some people actually are patient and kind to new drivers.
5) Some people are not. Most of these seem to drive large white vans.
6) Cyclists should be exterminated.
7) You can successfully get a car through a gap that seems to be half the car’s width.
8 ) Driving at 30mph in built-up areas sometimes seems quite fast.
9) Driving at 30mph in built-up areas when you’ve just been doing 70mph on the motorway feels like a slow-motion replay.
10) Your clutch will tell you when you’re abusing it through both sound and smell.
11) Chris Rea’s biggest hit was inspired by the Wolverhampton ring-road.
12) Driving instructors have some strange ideas about how you should turn the wheel.
13) Signs warning of motorway exits well in advance are invisible to some drivers.
14) Spaghetti Junction is nowhere near as complicated as it should be.
15) The lane markings on roundabouts are just there as a joke.
