Hello folks! I would like to recommend
Mr Loh Lian Choon, Ubi CDC PDI!
His contact number is 9617 0741. He only entertains calls, and does not reply messages, so do call him if you want to contact him.
Some facts about him, which you would be able to see in other parts of this thread:
- Cost: $63 per 1.5 hr on weekday. $69 per 1.5 hr on weekends and PH. After 5pm, it's additional $3.
- Pick-up points: NEX, Eunos, and idk where else.
- Timings: As early as 6.30am, till 7pm.
- Language: Chinese speaking. Knows a little bit of English, but mainly for driving purposes only (e.g. S-course, brake, and zig-zag, which refers to crank course).
- Driving centre: Ubi CDC
- Car type: Class 3A, Auto
- Others: Teaches people with physical handicaps, and works with hospitals to assess stroke-recovered/recovering patients' ability to continue driving.
Before I move on to my opinions of Mr Loh, I would like to say that I knew very little about driving, and consider myself below average when it comes to psycho-motor skills and spatial awareness in a vehicle. Here are my opinions of my experience with Mr Loh:
- Pros
- Structured lessons
- First lesson will be at an empty car park space near Stadium, where I learned the basics, including steering techniques. He made me turn left and right in the carpark to get a sense of how much I had to turn the steering wheel to make the car turn the way I wanted it to.
- Second lesson was like a familiarisation drive on the road (yes, second lesson and I was already on the road). Aim is to get used to the car's accelerator and brakes, etc.
- Third/Fourth lesson onwards was the start of driving routes. He lets you drive through all 11/12 testing routes, for 3 times each, to familiarise yourself with them. IMO, it was quite unnecessary to go through each route 3 times, but considering that I was poor in driving, I took it as remedial lessons for me. This boosted my confidence during the test because I pretty much knew all the testable roads by Ubi TP.
- Last 7-8 lessons were circuits. He has a map of the circuit that is neatly drawn. My circuit experience started off very unnervingly, but it got much better by the third time. By the 6/7 time, I could do everything myself already, and Mr Loh would make me go through the circuit like a mock test. While I struck the kerb only once during my lessons, during the actual test, I unknowingly struck the kerb (10 demerit points). But I still passed
, which kind of shows that I completed most of the stations with flying colours!
- Resourceful
- He has a map of the circuit and a copy of the TP scoring system (which is obtainable online la haha).
- He DIY-ed some props to simulate a mock up of the circuit parking lots, for both vertical and parallel parking. He even went to the detail of making a yellow strip that you see for parallel parking in the circuit.
- Detailed
- He explains everything in a step-by-step manner. Especially for parallel parking, he would repeat the steps and ask me to jot them down and memorise.
- Attentive
- He constantly has his eyes on the road and is focused on your learning throughout the lesson. He had only once taken a 3 minute break in all of my lessons with him. And even if he is looking at his phone (to read, but not reply, messages), he will make it a habit to look at the road every few seconds.
- Dual-focus: Student to be a competent driver, and be able to pass the driving test
- I am unconfident when changing lanes, tending to let cars go pass me before I change into the lane. However, Mr Loh would advise me how to change lane like a boss (e.g. when to slow down, when to start accelerating, and which mirrors to look at). While TP won't give you brownie points for being able to change lanes like a boss, but Mr Loh wants his students to be able to do so, so that they won't be bullied when they eventually get their license!
- Of course, Mr Loh's primary goal is to help his students pass. From his lessons, I am confident to say that if you go through the whole "package of lessons", I think it's quite difficult to fail. I am below average, so a took more lessons compared to his average student, but it is worth it at the end of the day.
- Cons
- Can be quite fierce (but funny) at times
- When I made stupid mistakes (turn steering wheel too much, move too close to another lane when doing a right-turn), he would nag and scold me. My take is that he has my best interest at heart, so I took his "scoldings" with a pinch of salt, and concentrated on correcting my mistakes. In away, his "scoldings" made me more aware of my mistakes and I gradually developed the mindset to keep reminding myself to not commit those simple mistakes.
- After scolding me, he will diffuse the tension and crack jokes. So he kind of feels bad for scolding you ya? Understand that he is not against you, but against the way you drive! It is all for the student's own good at the end of the day.
- Those poor in multi-tasking beware..
- As Mr Loh teaches mainly verbally, it can be difficult to process what he is saying while driving. I note that this could apply differently to different people. If you are an auditory-kinesthetic learner, I think Mr Loh's still would suit you fine. I need visual + audio to learn better, so I had to ask him to recap what he said when we stopped at the traffic light or at the end of the lesson, and he will take out his notebook to draw the situation and explain thoroughly.
- If I recall correctly, the only times where there were visuals were lessons 1-3 (mainly about signs and lanes), and the lessons before circuit.
- Packed schedule
- Due to his packed schedule, it can be difficult to book slots with him. Once you are satisfied with him, I suggest that you book slots in advance, even up to a month in advance.
- His weekends are almost always packed. So if you want weekend slots, you might have to book way in advance.
Also sharing some resources that I found helpful. (Sorry, I can't post links, so do add "https://" and "www." in front of those links posted below):
- Ubi CDC driving routes (google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=19bx_fGRfNfXexsCQwNGF3rdfsEzBvgG7) on Google Maps. I used this to revise and remember the routes, to recall which parts of the routes do I need to pay additional attention to.
- Videos by Victor on YouTube (youtube.com/channel/UCkcM1_vfFOlvJELOUBYUDLg). Honestly, I think this guy is another key contributor for me to have passed, especially for the circuit stations. His videos are quite comprehensive, and I suggest that you take a look at them!
- Mr Loh's parallel parking instructions in a document (
docs.google.com/document/d/1BRL7cAfuOXztY3fjiVFArihnFMGEhzAF92ndncUt0LI
). I don't have a very good memory, so after writing down the instructions on paper and pen during one of his lessons, I put them nicely into a document and printed it out for my easy reference. This helped me to remember the steps well! This is definitely applicable to Mr Loh's car, as all the pictures were taken while in his car.
Once again, Mr Loh's contact number is 9617 0741. He only bothers with calls, and does not reply to messages, so please call him if you are interested.
All the best for your driving lessons and test!
P.S. I wrote this WOT late at night, so pardon me if I don't make sense at some points.