I'm in the exact same situation as you EXCEPT, I took a couple of driving lessons before my second test (tomorrow). I should tell you how it went after that, but the lessons went into detail about what to expect, in case you're in a time crunch. I thought I could wing it, but there are definitely tips and tricks. A lesson or two wouldn't hurt. Trust me, I've been driving in the states for almost 20 years, and the Qatari Driving Test is the first one I've failed.
For those of you who recently took the driving test, correct me if I'm wrong:
1) You will be asked to do the L-turn up and down a ramp.
TIP TO PASS: go halfway up the ramp, stop, then continue up to the end until you are sitting at the center of the ramp (pole should be ahead of you). Then turn your steering wheel half-a-turn to the right, and use your right-hand rear-view mirror to go down. Adjust as needed, but you want to be more to the right. At the third-to-last pole, stop, turn your steering wheel all the way to the right, and proceed slowly down until you are pretty much perpendicular to the ramp. Keep looking through the right-rear-view mirror. Then stop again and rotate your steering wheel twice to the left and proceed straight back out in reverse, the way you came.
2) Then you'll be asked to park into a parking lot type of space. As you approach the space, keep about 1/2 a meter between you and the poles on the left of you. Then turn right into the space. Parking should be easy. Coming out is similar to the L-reverse. You turn your steering wheel 1/2 a turn to the right, use your right rear-view mirror to reverse slowly, adjusting as needed, but stay mostly towards the right. Then stop at the last pole, and turn your steering wheel completely to the right. Using the right rear view mirror, reverse slowly until you are perpendicular to the parking spot. Then turn your wheel twice to the left, and reverse straight back.
3) Then you'll be asked to drive around outside with an officer/instructor, which should be easy. The only new thing I learned about parking outside at a curb was this 3-step process. After parking, 1) Put up the hand brake, 2) put the car in Park, 3) put the warning signals on. I'm not sure why that is except that at this point, you may have to get out of the car and switch with another student. Hence the warning lights. I think.
I'm in the exact same situation as you EXCEPT, I took a couple of driving lessons before my second test (tomorrow). I should tell you how it went after that, but the lessons went into detail about what to expect, in case you're in a time crunch. I thought I could wing it, but there are definitely tips and tricks. A lesson or two wouldn't hurt. Trust me, I've been driving in the states for almost 20 years, and the Qatari Driving Test is the first one I've failed.
For those of you who recently took the driving test, correct me if I'm wrong:
1) You will be asked to do the L-turn up and down a ramp.
TIP TO PASS: go halfway up the ramp, stop, then continue up to the end until you are sitting at the center of the ramp (pole should be ahead of you). Then turn your steering wheel half-a-turn to the right, and use your right-hand rear-view mirror to go down. Adjust as needed, but you want to be more to the right. At the third-to-last pole, stop, turn your steering wheel all the way to the right, and proceed slowly down until you are pretty much perpendicular to the ramp. Keep looking through the right-rear-view mirror. Then stop again and rotate your steering wheel twice to the left and proceed straight back out in reverse, the way you came.
2) Then you'll be asked to park into a parking lot type of space. As you approach the space, keep about 1/2 a meter between you and the poles on the left of you. Then turn right into the space. Parking should be easy. Coming out is similar to the L-reverse. You turn your steering wheel 1/2 a turn to the right, use your right rear-view mirror to reverse slowly, adjusting as needed, but stay mostly towards the right. Then stop at the last pole, and turn your steering wheel completely to the right. Using the right rear view mirror, reverse slowly until you are perpendicular to the parking spot. Then turn your wheel twice to the left, and reverse straight back.
3) Then you'll be asked to drive around outside with an officer/instructor, which should be easy. The only new thing I learned about parking outside at a curb was this 3-step process. After parking, 1) Put up the hand brake, 2) put the car in Park, 3) put the warning signals on. I'm not sure why that is except that at this point, you may have to get out of the car and switch with another student. Hence the warning lights. I think.
Anyhow, good luck!
Sofia