what Transport

I never needed a licence to drive before but since my husband's accident it was now imperative that I obtain one, so I looked through the phonebook for a driving school within a reasonable distance from my home. I decided upon the easiest one which advertised thata personcould take attend their fast-track course, obtaining a driver's licence within a week. It said that it had the most up-to-date and innovative technology available. I wondered what they meant but sinceit sounded impressive I gave them a call, waited for the application forms to arrive and enrolled for the following week.

It never occurred to me that I would be attending a driving school that didn't require cars to drive! They told us they no longer needed caror accident insurance, vehicle maintenance or driving instructors because they taught their students to drive on simulated driving consoles. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to grasp the new technology, but soon discovered the consoles were exact replicas of an ordinary car except it didn't have therear of the vehicleand the scene in front of me could change as programmed on their computers. Myfearsvanished rapidly because I didn't need to be concerned about making mistakes and causing accidents in my first stages of learning and I was able to continue practising certain skills until I had mastered them. It gave me a lot of confidence from the start and I looked forward to each day's lessons.

My tutor assured us all that everyone who completed the course were far more competent at driving than those who simply rushed through practical driving lessons because the programs they used would only allow students to continue if they obtained a pass in every test after each lesson. The lessons themselves were very comprehensive - we would be 'driving' along with hazards approaching from different directions and we had to identify them as well as explain our reactions, for example, a child playing with a ball on the side of the road was a possible hazard and I explained that I would drive a lot slower so if the child ran out suddenly I could stop my vehicle in plenty of time.

I was given the practical test in a real vehicle to ensurethat I had truly incorporated all that I had learned and I passed that test easily. Since obtaining my driver's licence I am grateful for having attended a driving school that taught so much more than the those my friends told me about. This was surely a driving school with a vast technological difference!!