Vladimir
I got a driving licence in 1980 and haven't had a car since. In 2007 I finally began to think of buying car. On the Internet I learned about the driving center providing a course for people who had a driving licence but hadn`t had any driving practice for a long time. The center`s director opened the first organizational meeting by saying - "Well, I am off balance today".
He told us that we would take a complementary theoretical course and then - practical driving lessons with instructors held near the underground stations which were convenient for the students. The first thing I understood when I began to work with the instructors is that they were not professional and didn`t know training methods.
I used to drive a Zhiguli whose gearbox was different - it had only 4 gears, and the 3rd gear was in the place of the modern 5th. So, I totally lost many skills and was a great trouble for my instructor, who didn`t know how to explain the driving techniques to me and correct my mistakes. Finally he stopped coming to our lessons. When it happened for the third time I had to call the director and tell him that his instructors were "off balance" too. He appointed a new instructor.
The new instructor came to the classes in time but my skills led him to a deadlock too. When I pressed hard on the clutch pedal or pull sharply at the gear shift, instead of explaining a mistake to me, he confined himself to the word "Moron!" "Vladimir, you must change your attitude!" - was his conclusion.
However, even he didn`t know how to change it. Once, on the busy Moscow highway, when I couldn`t manage the gearbox again, he threw up his arms and exclaimed: "God, give me strength to love this person!" I took around 20 lesson with him but I still didn`t restore my skills - we had no motordrome at our disposal and we had to train in busy city streets, which was very stressful. In a year I bought a car.
Once, when leaving my dacha I used a reverse gear and lost control of the car. I pressed the gas pedal too hard and simultaneously loosened the clutch pedal abruptly. The car sprang forward like an unbroken mustang, and hit against the gate column with its front left part. I shared my problems with my friends and one of them advised me to take a course at the Shturman Center.
I got very lucky this time. Now I was trained by real professionals and had a systematic course. On the motordrome we began to train the driving techniques going from easy things to more difficult ones. My instructor showed excellent knowledge of mechanics, psychology, physiology of a person while driving, and driving art philosophy in adverse city conditions. At every lesson, besides mastering another driving technique, I rather learned about a set of problems connected with applying this technique in real environment.
The instructors at Shturman undoubtedly have a vast experience of training even dummies and can pass their knowledge and skillset on to their students very fast and effectively. I began to drive quite steadily. I know that you must gain driving experience for years. But when my training came to an end, I heard very important words about myself: " You don`t cause accidents. It`s a pleasure to drive with you ". So, Shturman makes competent drivers even out of "morons", and I am very thankful for it!