Double Decker Driving School

Episode 2 (1x2)

Air date: Mar 26, 2015

This time, single mum Claire Carter is approaching the end of the course. She nearly quit after an eventful first week, which involved a close call on a zebra crossing and near head-on collision. Claire’s pressing on, determined to show her teenage children that anything is possible. But if she is to be granted her all-important driving test she has to prove she can control not only her ten-tonne vehicle, but her nerves as well. As Claire prepares herself for a progress check, training officer Phil Soper says: “Claire is a nervous person. My plan is to put her under pressure today so when she does get to test it flows quite nicely.” But Claire is piling the pressure on herself. She says: “Passing the test would mean everything to me personally because it’s a challenge. I could finish decorating my house, save to take my kids on holiday. To fail now, I’d be absolutely devastated.” Meanwhile, for fellow trainee Manuel Daniel becoming a bus driver would make him a hero in his household - as his seven-year-old son loves buses. Manuel says: “He loves the bus routes - he knows 59, route 133, 58, 468, sometimes he teaches me the bus route. When I get the job and come back home and tell them, ‘Look Gabriel, from now on your daddy is a bus driver.’ I believe the first thing he will say is, ‘Dad, let me come with you!’” More importantly qualifying would allow Manuel to rent a flat for his family, giving his son his own room. However, he is struggling - while his driving gives instructors serious cause for concern, he also needs to pass crucial written exams to achieve his son’s dream. Senior training supervisor Maxine Deslandes says to him after one failed exam: “I will grant you another test… If you fail it the outcome could be the manager decides to terminate your training, so what you need to put in your mind is this is it.”