Learning to drive in Wellington

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Buttonmash

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#60728 1-May-2010 11:49

Any suggestions where would be a good place to sit and go over the basics with someone?

My wife is just learning to drive so needs to sit practicing going from neutral to first, easing on the power and off the clutch and back again for a while. She's paranoid about holding people up and wants a wide quiet street to do it on, or an empty carpark but damned if I can think of any.

sbiddle

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#325543 1-May-2010 11:53

Buttonmash: Any suggestions where would be a good place to sit and go over the basics with someone?

My wife is just learning to drive so needs to sit practicing going from neutral to first, easing on the power and off the clutch and back again for a while. She's paranoid about holding people up and wants a wide quiet street to do it on, or an empty carpark but damned if I can think of any.

The riverbank carpark in Lower Hutt is a popular place on a Sunday..

rscole86

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#325545 1-May-2010 12:03

Where do live?

Dressmart in Tawa, Bunnings in Porirua, Catchpool Valley in Wainuiomata (forest park, 2-3km road). Any supermarket carpark that closes early. Whitireia carparks in Porirua, or the Mega Centre in Porirua.

Buttonmash

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#325555 1-May-2010 12:54

Karori. I had thought maybe the new wide streets in Grenada North.

Thanks for the suggestions!

BrentR

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#325558 1-May-2010 13:00

I learnt on South Karori Road and Hazelwood Ave.

I used Hazelwood Ave to practice hill starts and got the whole clutch/accelerator balancing down pat that way. South Karori Road is fairly quiet most of the time also

ligerzero

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#325856 2-May-2010 19:51

BrentR: I learnt on South Karori Road and Hazelwood Ave.

I used Hazelwood Ave to practice hill starts and got the whole clutch/accelerator balancing down pat that way. South Karori Road is fairly quiet most of the time also

concur with this. i live by emily way, and its really quiet around here. nice long corners too down at South Karori rd. :D

nakedmolerat

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#326202 3-May-2010 21:44

Go to lyall bay / kilbirnie area, on the weekend morning. You have 2-3 hours before it got really busy over there.

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allstarnz

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#326336 4-May-2010 11:06

if you're in northern Wellington, the Kennel Club in Porirua or the back of the Porirua hospital grounds, lots of roads that are hardly used these days.

patatrat

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#326348 4-May-2010 11:20

Buttonmash: Karori. I had thought maybe the new wide streets in Grenada North.

Grenada North is good, but there are often big trucks driving around there which may or may not freak her out.

I have used Churton park in the past. Not too much traffic, stop signs and give way signs, and a good mix of flat and hill areas if you need to try the old hill starts out.

Wide roads, 50k zones.

vinnieg

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#326374 4-May-2010 11:53

patatrat:
Buttonmash: Karori. I had thought maybe the new wide streets in Grenada North.

Grenada North is good, but there are often big trucks driving around there which may or may not freak her out.

I have used Churton park in the past. Not too much traffic, stop signs and give way signs, and a good mix of flat and hill areas if you need to try the old hill starts out.

Wide roads, 50k zones.

Yeah I used Grenada North as well, just be careful of the many skip bins, haha used to scare the crap out of my parents driving round there

Also the new part above the Churton park offramp on the Grenada side, where the new sub developments are, they aren't really used that much at the moment and have stop signs, give way etc

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.