"Don't panic! It's only a different car"

A lot of learner drivers have panic attacks at just the thought of driving a different car than the one they're used to - even if it's the same model. It's understandable really, and it's just a matter of them gaining confidence and experience.

I recently had a pupil who was a bit like this. Although she was a perfectly safe and competent driver, she was also a wee bit on the nervy side. So when, on the day of her driving test I had to have an emergency transfer (a substitute vehicle in layman terms) as my own car was off the road, I thought it best not to mention it unless she did. And luckily, when I picked her up for her last lesson before we went to the test centre she didn't say a word.

When she got back to the test centre, I climbed into the back of the car and the examiner told her that she had passed. I congratulated her and said that I was even more proud of her because she had done it in a different car. She looked at me with a little smile and said, "No Caroline, you got this car in October." I gave her a little smile back and replied, "Nope, I got it this morning in a transfer - mine's off the road." At this point, the examiner joined in. "Is your car the same colour as this one by any chance?" "Pretty similar," I said. He suddenly burst into laughter saying, "Typical Learners."

He then went on to explain that in the test centre car park there were three different coloured AA Driving School cars sitting together and that none of the pupils knew which one was theirs. In the end, to solve the problem, they clicked their keys to see which one worked which car. He was still chuckling to himself as he walked away.

Caroline Alison, AA Driving Instructor