I'll freely admit it was a stupid mistake to have kept driving that night, and it certainly taught me a lot about my limits. I don't drive tired now.
I'm trying to not be a dipshit, but some of my habits are taking a bit longer to get out of than ideal. My gear changes are not 'boyracer' they are energy conserving
Some compulsory things to be covered in a test if there was ever to be a practical re-introduced.
Hill starts. I know for a fact most learners can't do hill starts to save themselves. Go find a small quiet street and practise until you can do it properly. Once you think you can do it, keep practising because you still can't do it.
Checking at intersections. For the love of god double check. if it means stopping at a give way and holding up traffic briefly so you don't flatten a person, do it. most people are fairly tolerant of a learner being over cautious at intersections.
Paying attention at crossings. Small children move fast, and are unpredictable. You will also feel somewhat guilty when you squish one through inattention.
One thing i speak from experience, needs to be drilled in to all new drivers heads. You will screw it up. Its not a matter of if, its a matter of when. The skills you are learning now, or in some cases bad habits, will set you up for your future. It is simply idiotic to assume you can drive because you now have a little piece of paper or plastic. My biggest mistake? I went from playing in a race car, to driving an over powered, modified vehicle thinking i was bullet proof. I made some very silly errors, that had they happened on busy roads, could have turned out a lot worse than they actually did. I'm not perfect, but I'm a lot more careful than i was.
