Blog Posts

In this modern world, having technology at our fingertips can lead many people to view instant responses as a necessity, or even feel anxious about keeping in contact while driving.
MYTHS
   →  Handsfree is fine for everyone
   →  I’m a good driver I will manage
   →  If I don’t get caught…

FACTS
   →  Learners and drivers under 25 years cannot use hands free
   →  Using a mobile is just as dangerous as drink driving and multiplies your chance of crashing by 4
   →  Getting caught is the least of your worries causing an accident is far worse damage to vehicles, property and lives far outweigh that.
   →  The average phone glance is 2 seconds and in a 50km zone this is the same as driving 28 metres with your eyes shut
Don’t forget, while driving: 
   →  There is a $1000 fine and 4 demerit points for touching your phone.
   →  It is illegal to hold your phone, including when you are stopped at traffic lights.
   →  Learners, P1 and drivers under 25 cannot use a phone in any way and passengers of these drivers are prohibited from using loudspeaker.
Leave your phone alone while driving. If you think they can’t wait for a reply, they won’t handle never getting one.
Comment below how you think we can get through to drivers.
#leaveyourphonealone #drivesafe #goldcoast #donttextanddrive #besafe #nophones

Our cars can be our pride and joy. But did you know that your steering wheel has up to 4-times as many germs on it than a public toilet seat? Just imagine for a moment, all those things you touch, before and after you use your car each and every day. It's enough to make your skin crawl, right?
We should always be mindful of what germs we are transferring from surface to surface, but now that Coronavirus Covid-19 is here, its even more important than ever.

When we go shopping, for example, we touch trolleys, products, shelves, cash and other germ-infested surfaces. We could hold these germs on our hands for close to 4 hours and Covid 19 lasts on surfaces like stainless steel for up to 72 hours. When we touch these surfaces, we can potentially be transferring the germs/virus onto everything else we touch, including our car.

Here are some simple steps you can take, to help you keep you car clean and safe from Coronavirus Covid-19 germs, which you may have picked up along the way...

Tip 1: Wipe All SurfacesWith an antibacterial wipe or spray/cloth, wipe over all surfaces of the car, which may have been or could be touched by yourself or someone else. 
This includes (but not limited to): Dashboard, all buttons and aircon vents, all console areas, gear shift, hand brake, indicators, wipers, steering wheel, mirrors and side mirror adjustment, seat adjustment, seat belt, door handles (inside and out), visors and keys.
**For maximum benefit, this should be done before AND after using the car.


Tip 2: Hand SanitiserAfter wiping surfaces, finish off by applying hand sanitiser to ensure all germs remaining on your hands are gone.
Try to avoid touching your face while driving, as it could spread germs back onto the wheel again. 

**For maximum benefit, this should be done before AND after using the car.


Tip 3: Disinfectant SpraySpray Glen20 or similar antibacterial/disinfectant spray throughout the car when you leave. This allows for any remaining airborne germs to die off whilst the car sits empty.


Tip 4: Wear Gloves
Now I know, you're going to feel awfully silly doing this but it's not a bad idea...
You may want to keep a pair of driving gloves in the car for this purpose, or use disposable rubber gloves. It'll feel weird to drive with them on at first, but its a good alternative if you don't have any hand sanitiser.


Extra Tips:
We all know the basic rules of washing your hands thoroughly, coughing/sneezing into your elbow, don't touch your face, don't shake hands, social distancing etc. But here are some extra things you can do to ensure you slow down or even stop, the spread of Coronavirus...

Be sure to wipe over your phone as much as possible, as they are in our hands ALOT. No point sanitising your hands if your phones are carrying the germs.
Carry a zip lock bag with you, so if you're transacting with money, get the cashier to put the change into the bag for you. Once home, empty the money out onto a surface and spray/clean each individual piece thoroughly. Once dry, you can then put into your wallet. Money can be a huge carrier of all germs, not just Coronavirus.
Open public doors with paper towel, tissue, cloth or gloves, wherever possible. And keep your door handles at home clean too.
If eating out, wipe over cutlery with antibacterial wipes. 
All-in-all, we just have to do the best we can to keep from spreading this virus. A little bit of precaution now, can hopefully see the end of the Coronavirus, quicker than we expected.
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At Ezyway, we are taking strict precautionary measures to ensure we keep ourselves AND our cars as sanitary as possible. The health and safety of our instructors AND our students is our utmost priority in these uncertain times. Coronavirus Covid-19 has become a world-wide concern which our team are taking seriously. We would all like this to be over as quick as possible, and in order to do so, we ALL must heed to the advice being given by the government and follow the strict guidelines put in place.
In saying that, we are continuing our lessons as normal - until such time as we need to or are told to stop. 
(Government advice permitting.)

But please, we do ask that you inform us if you are feeling ill in any way, as we can postpone your lessons until you're feeling well again. As we will extend the same courtesy to you. It's always best to be safe than sorry

Rules and regulations are changing every day and we will do our best to keep a finger on the pulse, as we urge you to do the same.

Click this link to view the latest Coronavirus Covid-19 updates
https://www.health.qld.gov.au

Our aim is to keep the calm, by following procedures, in order to keep everyone safe. We are not doing so, in order to create more hysteria.

If we all take the necessary precautions, be smart about our hygiene and pay attention to the warning signs, then we may be able to ride this out with as little upset as possible. 

We really do appreciate your co-operation throughout this trying time. Thank you for sticking by us and supporting us as we continue to provide you with the best service we can offer. Let’s not allow the fear to win.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns about continuing lessons. 

0424 250 404
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Instagram: www.instagram.com/ezyway_driving_school
Contact Us: https://ezywaygoldcoast.com.au/Contact

 The day has finally arrived. Tomorrow, is the day of my Driving Test. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time now, but for some reason, I have this uncontrollable, gut wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach. Why am I so nervous? I’ve had a whole year to practice, this should be easy.
I found it really hard to get to sleep, as I was imagining all the potentially bad situations, I could find myself in. Then all the “What If’s” started to emerge…

What if…I fail? What if…I cause an accident? What if…an ambulance comes up behind me? What if…someone runs a red light? What if…I run the red light? What if…I don’t do my parallel park right? What if…the examiner isn’t nice to me? What if…they take me somewhere I don’t know? What if…I don’t understand where they want me to go? What if…I turn left instead of right?
What if… What if… What if….

Next thing I knew, I am jolted awake by my Mum yelling at me “GET UP, YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR YOUR TEST!!” Realising that my instructor would be here any minute to collect me for the test, I’ve jumped out of bed and quickly got ready. No time for breakfast, no time to shower, just put some clothes and shoes on and run out of the house.

I’m a complete frazzled mess and my instructor looks at me in horror and says “You ok?” 

“To be honest, I’m freaking out.” I said.  “I’m pretty sure I’m going to fail. I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten breakfast. I have this awful feeling deep in my stomach that I can’t shake off. I don’t think I can do this.”
“You’ll be right mate, let’s drive.” Said my Instructor, seeming to not care.

I’ve turned up for my test, heart beating wildly, palms sweaty, and of course…I’m hungry. Brain fog seems to have set in and I’ve forgotten EVERYTHING I know about driving, having made a whole bunch of mistakes just on the drive here to the test centre. I don’t think this is going to go well at all.
Sure enough, my driving test starts off badly. And seems to be getting worse and worse as I drive. I’m panicking. “What if I have to do a parallel park, not sure I’m ready for that today. Oh no, I forgot to do a shoulder check for that bike lane. I wonder if the examiner is going to fail me for that? He isn’t very chatty, maybe he hates me. Maybe I smell? I didn’t get to shower and maybe he can tell? Am I overthinking this? Hey, stop overthinking this…just drive. Oh no, He’s writing something on the sheet. What’s he writing? I wonder if I could read what he’s saying…oh damn, the light changed green while I was trying to read the test sheet. I wonder if that will fail me. What’s the speed here? Am I speeding? I better slow down just in case. Wait, what if I go too slow? Will he fail me for that?

We pull up outside the test centre, finally it’s all over. My examiner looks at me with a look of disbelief, shakes his head and silently hands me my test sheet and just as I had expected….it says I….

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP...My alarm clock starts buzzing in my ear.

I wake up yelling, sit upright, tears streaming down my face, my heart pounding through my chest, my sheets are completely soaked with sweat…
“Oh, thank goodness, it was just a bad dream” I said, sinking back down into the bed.

But it was so real! It was awful, I was so unprepared and massively stressed out. Nothing I did was right. Everything I was worried about, happened! What if this happens on the real test day? What if I fail for real? I only have a few days to go before the actual test, what can I do to get better prepared?

I called my driving instructor for advice. I told her about my awful dream and how real it was and I’m now fearing that it’ll all come true on test day. She was able to calm me down and remind me of all the good lessons we have had.

“You’ve come such a long way since the day we first met, do you remember that day? You were all over the road and almost hitting gutters.” She laughed.
“But then you got the hang of it. You learned how far to steer the wheel, how hard or soft to press the pedals and eventually also learned how to look around and do shoulder checks without veering off across the road. You then gained the confidence with your driving and off you went, we haven’t looked back since. We have never had an accident, your able to control your speed now and even successful avoid incidences from other road users. You’re ready for this. And if you weren’t ready, I wouldn’t allow you to sit your test.”

“I know all this, but what if I get so nervous on the day that I forget everything and it all goes really bad?” I asked.

“I understand completely, your anxiety of the test day can be very overwhelming” my instructor said, compassionately.“Remember I sent you our guided Hypnosis recording with the test day package you purchased? Well, that can help you erase any fear and anxiety you have about your driving test. If you listen to it at bedtime, every night, it will retrain your brain and make you think more positively and feel more confident, calm and relaxed about test day. Promise me, you’ll listen to it?”
  
“Yes, I promise. Thank you” I said.
I’ve been listening to that Hypnosis recording now, every night at bedtime and sure enough, my anxiety levels have decreased and I’m starting to look forward to my test day. I’m not nervous because deep down I know, I am a good driver, I’ve done all the training required and I have the ability to overcome any obstacle they may throw at me.

I went to bed early last night, I’ve woken up fresh and well rested, I’ve showered and I’ve eaten a hearty breakfast. I have time to spare before my instructor comes to pick me up, so I sit quietly for few minutes, taking some deep breaths and reminding myself that all will be fine.
Our drive this morning was perfect and when I get to the test centre, I notice I’m surprisingly calm. I trust my instructor when she says “YOU GOT THIS” because I really feel like I do.

I’m on the test now and everything’s going well. My driving is smooth and not rushed, my manoeuvres were completed perfectly and I’ve kept my speed under control. I’m actually starting to enjoy the drive. I’m calm and relaxed and it’s definitely not the same as I imagined it would be, or even what it was like in awful dream.

We arrive safely back at the test centre, park the car and find out I passed with flying colours! I can’t believe it. I did it. I passed my test. Wow, I can’t wait to tell everybody.
There were squeals of delight, happy tears and cheers as I hugged my instructor and thanked her for her guidance. “I couldn’t have done it without you, thank you”
“It was all you, seriously, I just gave you the tools to use to help you get over the line and to remind you of your capabilities. I’m so proud of you. Now let’s go inside and get you that licence!” She said, with a big grin from ear to ear.
I’m so glad that I spoke to my instructor about my dream and that she gave me that Hypnosis to listen to. I’m sure that if I didn’t, my test day experience would have been a whole lot worse. It’s amazing how I almost let my negative thoughts ruin my chances of passing.
I have my licence now and I’m free to go where I please, whenever I please. And I do so, confidently. I’ve never known much about Hypnosis before now but I can surely recommend it to anyone who is in need of a little positive reinforcement.