Bukit Batok Driving School – Part 3

Posted On June 20, 2019

Now that we are done with Stage 1, we will advance to Stage 2 Practical Lessons. Here what to expect, well read on.

Again here is a snap of my practical lessons, in case you stumbled upon my website and have not read my previous blogs, check it out here.

Stage 2 involves on driving on the roads, learning to switch lanes etc.

Lesson 8 (2.01, 2.02) is on observance of traffic rules and pedestrians on zebra crossing. To simply put, what ever that is learnt during the Basic Theory Lesson you would be applying it here. Tip: Always be alert. Slow down near traffic lights, zebra crossing or if you are unsure, only when you are confident that there is no one crossing / it is still green light, pick up speed.

Lesson 9 (2.03, 2.04) is on left turns and lane change. It was Chinese New Year Eve, this instructor was sleepy and for a good 5 minutes I didn’t hear his voice telling me where to go. I circled around BBDC and realised I’m wasting time, so I decided to ask him – “where should I go?”. After his quick naps, he taught me how to do a lane change. Well it was a fast lesson (I spent 20 minutes on lane change and the rest of the lesson circling around BBDC). He guided me through the lesson, so it seemed easy. Even though he advanced me to the next lesson, I knew I wasn’t comfortable with lane change. Tip : If you want to learn the basics of lane change, pick a timing where there are no cars morning 9.30am till 12pm or evening 3pm till 530pm. After you’ve learnt the basic, challenge yourself to do the U-Turn classes during the peak periods to gain confidence.

Lesson 10 (2.04) lane change (again!). Here I met an interesting instructor from my group. This uncle has almost 30 years of experience at BBDC and likes to point out the smallest mistakes – how you hold steering wheel, placement of feet, where you look at when driving. At first I was discouraged, as he said I should not even have passed stage 1 evaluation. But I took into consideration his feedback, I didn’t realise how he would turn out to be a very useful instructor, till I went to Stage 3.Tip : Rely more on the side mirror for lane change instead of the rear mirror, if a car is far behind, check there is enough space in the front, pick up speed and change lane.

Lesson 11 (2.05) is on Right Turn is interesting, the maneuver is slightly different from a left turn.

Lesson 12 (2.06) which is on U-turn can be either a bliss or hell to you. To me it was hell, since I couldn’t get the lane change. In order to do U-Turn you need to change lanes and some can be a short lane change so you must get into the lane swiftly otherwise you risk missing the U-turn. For me it started raining heavily and I could not gauge the speed well, I couldn’t stop in time. Thankfully, the instructor braked harder. Tip: If you really can’t lane change, instructors and testers understand and drive SLOW in the rain.

Lesson 13 (2.07,2.08) is on driving on slopes and reacting to road hazards. Nothing much to take note of for these topics. As you drive around Choa Chu Kang, the instructors would highlight relevant pointers to take note for the test.

Lesson 14 (2.09) is on Lane Change in heavy traffic. Well if you choose a time slot that has little traffic, it doesn’t really help. I remember it was a little easier to do lane change this time round, but many vehicles didn’t give way which is frustrating. Tip: Understand when a car is giving way and not based on the distance. If you don’t miss the chance, you might not get another. I too have given way to other learners during my lessons, but some don’t realise it so I speed up and continue driving.

Lesson 15 (2.10, 2.11) is on overtaking, and being overtaken and Stage 2 Evaluation. Here the instructor will teach you kick down. It was a thrilling lesson for me although I only overtook a bus. I could not over take another learner car because the traffic light turned red and I was scared even though my instructor said I could go faster. Thankfully, I was surprised to hear that I cleared my Stage 2 evaluation! Blessed. Tip : Follow your instructor’s instructions!

With that, we head to Stage 3 – learning more about the Circuit drills. You will be reminded by your instructors to complete a driving simulator and Final Theory Test, throughout stage 2.

Tip: Clear the Driving Simulator which is a 50 minutes lesson with 2-3 students early of Stage 2 as well as the Final Theory Evaluation, since you need to wait about 1.5 weeks after the evaluation to do the Final Theory Test . I cleared my Final Theory Evaluation by lesson 10 and booked my Final Theory Test in Mid February.

Take a look at my first post on the Theory Lessons here.