Soldato
Over too quickly?
Feel anxious about learning to drive.
- Thread starter willhub
- Start date
Over too quickly?
Overthinking can be a problem, it does seem like an impossible number of variables.
Staying relaxed is important, when you do make mistakes try not to get too upset with yourself. I can definitely relate to HecFam worrying about impacting other drivers on the road when the reality is in most circumstances people hardly notice or are pretty accepting.
Similarly agree with people suggesting automatics are a good option. I passed in a manual but while having lessons I tried the instructors other car out of curiousity and found it much easier. If I were to buy a car it'd be an auto.
I'd also recommend doing an intensive course, I did 30hrs over a ~week. Was pretty tiring but much easier to build and maintain confidence. This I learnt from skiing, that I made poor progress skiing intermittently in Scotland despite accumulating more days over a winter vs having a week somewhere in the Alps.
Staying relaxed is important, when you do make mistakes try not to get too upset with yourself. I can definitely relate to HecFam worrying about impacting other drivers on the road when the reality is in most circumstances people hardly notice or are pretty accepting.
Similarly agree with people suggesting automatics are a good option. I passed in a manual but while having lessons I tried the instructors other car out of curiousity and found it much easier. If I were to buy a car it'd be an auto.
I'd also recommend doing an intensive course, I did 30hrs over a ~week. Was pretty tiring but much easier to build and maintain confidence. This I learnt from skiing, that I made poor progress skiing intermittently in Scotland despite accumulating more days over a winter vs having a week somewhere in the Alps.
Soldato
You're not very good at it?
Soldato
As for the OP. I learnt to drive later in life at 23 (well had lessons at 17, then broke my wrist before my test and never took it back up)
Prior to that i had no need to so never particularly bothered. I was probably more conscious than most 17yr olds but it's easy enough and you'll have plenty of road experience from biking and understanding right of way/signs etc.
Prior to that i had no need to so never particularly bothered. I was probably more conscious than most 17yr olds but it's easy enough and you'll have plenty of road experience from biking and understanding right of way/signs etc.
Soldato
Everyone thinks they're better than they are.
you've got to turn her on, check out her airbags, get her into the right gear, press gently on her clutch, give it some poke and accelerate, if you're lucky she might even let you fiddle with her exhaust
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If you're really worried you could do a course and take your test somewhere easy. Not all driving tests are created equally. I had to pass for work in London on extremely busy and stressful roads, dual carriageways that might as well be motorways, seems Media city up north could be very busy too, you could take the test in a rural or quieter area for a much easier time of it. Though like another London poster I barely drive here due to traffic.
It would be good if I could learn to drive a car on a race track, then learn how to use roads once I've mastered the art of driving a car. However I don't feel I'm terrible at using roads I'm certainly as proficient as most drivers I feel in terms of using roads following rules etc...
You wouldn't really master the art of driving a car for public roads on a race track to be honest. You'd still need to learn parking manoveurs, clutch control, hill starts etc which are arguably more important than learning how to take corners and drive in a straight line.
Learning how to 'drive' a car is easy, I had that down in the first few lessons. Parking, road awareness and all the other stuff that comes with it is where the other 60 odd lessons went.
The only way you'll get over anxiety of driving is by getting behind the wheel and doing lessons.
I did exactly this, purely because it was a much quicker option! I went to Clacton on Sea in Essex. Did three days tuition (6 hours a day) and took my test on the fourth day. I was too impatient to do weekly lessons.
You wouldn't really master the art of driving a car for public roads on a race track to be honest. You'd still need to learn parking manoveurs, clutch control, hill starts etc which are arguably more important than learning how to take corners and drive in a straight line.
Learning how to 'drive' a car is easy, I had that down in the first few lessons. Parking, road awareness and all the other stuff that comes with it is where the other 60 odd lessons went.
The only way you'll get over anxiety of driving is by getting behind the wheel and doing lessons.
You can get "over the hill" learning how to handle a car away from other drivers though - I think it is harder these days as most roads are busy, lots of parking on the road and places like trading estates are in use 24x7 instead of mostly deserted after 5-6pm.
When it comes to steering, etc. definitely the problem is over thinking it.
I would say you're definitely over-thinking it!
Your worry about not being able to manoeuvre around tight corners are exactly what you get taught on lessons.
If we're being completely honest, some people have the knack for just knowing the width of their cars, whilst others who have been driving for decades will still clip a wingmirror in a gap that you could fit a tank down. Part of that just comes with experience but is something you'll gain over time.
Book yourself a couple of lessons and see how you get on.
Your worry about not being able to manoeuvre around tight corners are exactly what you get taught on lessons.
If we're being completely honest, some people have the knack for just knowing the width of their cars, whilst others who have been driving for decades will still clip a wingmirror in a gap that you could fit a tank down. Part of that just comes with experience but is something you'll gain over time.
Book yourself a couple of lessons and see how you get on.
Soldato
There are two parts to driving, physical and mental
Physical is now much easier, auto (if you want) are far better now, cars have reversing cameras, parking sensors, power steering etc. better steering, better brakes etc
Then mental, the act of deciding to take an action, knowing the laws etc
People tend to fixate on the physical part as making a good driver, its really the opposite when talking about driving on the road. Modern cars are really very capable,
The good thing is that for most the physical thing you get over quickly, once you teach the muscle memory then you don't think about how to change gear, you just do it, same for the vast majority of common things you will do in a car
The mental thing is where its at, thats what for road driving makes the difference between a good and a bad driver. Even good ones will make mistakes occasionally, deciding to go at the wrong time, maybe braking a little late etc
If your unsure make sure you get an instructor with dual controls, he cant steer (easily) but hes got the most important thing covered, the brake that should relieve most concern on doing something silly.
Physical is now much easier, auto (if you want) are far better now, cars have reversing cameras, parking sensors, power steering etc. better steering, better brakes etc
Then mental, the act of deciding to take an action, knowing the laws etc
People tend to fixate on the physical part as making a good driver, its really the opposite when talking about driving on the road. Modern cars are really very capable,
The good thing is that for most the physical thing you get over quickly, once you teach the muscle memory then you don't think about how to change gear, you just do it, same for the vast majority of common things you will do in a car
The mental thing is where its at, thats what for road driving makes the difference between a good and a bad driver. Even good ones will make mistakes occasionally, deciding to go at the wrong time, maybe braking a little late etc
If your unsure make sure you get an instructor with dual controls, he cant steer (easily) but hes got the most important thing covered, the brake that should relieve most concern on doing something silly.
I wish I'd done that in hindsight, you got it all out of the way with in a week, less stress, less time to forget stuff between lessons. Test centre where I took mine is two streets away from a triple lane roundabout network leading to a major A road, no wonder I failed a couple of times, absolutely brutal right hand turn from the test centre too on a four way junction on a road with barely chance to sneak across.
After failing I looked into the test centres and couldn't believe how quiet and relatively easy some test centre routes were, and I'm not even in central London. Got it the third time though from that same centre though had to take a beta blockers before the test. That's another thing to consider temporarily, there's good reason they're a banned performance drug in shooting events at the Olympics, they definitely keep you steady. Though never used then again after passing.
There is quite a barrier in this respect between the difference between looking and actually breaking down mentally (discriminating) what you are observing - some of which only ever comes with experience any way.
What really helped me with my observation was looking at the markings in the middle of the road and thinking about what they were actually telling me i.e. broken versus solid, longer or shorter lines when indicating a hazard, etc. which helped me to then actually look at signs for the information on them I needed rather than just looking at them for the sake of it, etc. I still sometimes start paying extra attention to the lines in the middle of the road when tired or otherwise distracted and having a hard time focusing on driving.
You need to make a decision and stick with it on the road, it's people being hesitant and changing their minds which are dangerous. If you are predictable and people can clearly see what you're doing they will give room, even if it is a bad move.
Don't e.g. pick a wrong lane at a junction and then immediately correct it, stay in the lane and go round again or pull off and turn round. Even if you make a mistake on the test they won't fail you as long as you correct it safely (short of doing something actually illegal, hitting something or something actually dangerous).
Don't e.g. pick a wrong lane at a junction and then immediately correct it, stay in the lane and go round again or pull off and turn round. Even if you make a mistake on the test they won't fail you as long as you correct it safely (short of doing something actually illegal, hitting something or something actually dangerous).
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Not last night they didn't
had someone enter the roundabout from the exit I'd just passed and despite I was indicating to move over to the left lane to take the next exit moved up and sat on my left level with the back of my vehicle