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Nervous about starting driving lessons

Klopp_1996

Hi guys,

I'm a first year university student and I've been putting off driving lessons for a while now. I got my provisional when I was 17 and now I'm 19. I feel like I'm going to be a terrible driver. I've never sat in a driver's seat before. I'm afraid I won't be able to grasp when and when not to use the clutch, and when to change gears.
I'm a little bit excited about the prospect of driving, but more nervous than anything.
Anybody got any words of encouragement or advice? Did any of you feel like this before starting your driving lessons?

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Reply 1

Naveed.178

You shouldnt be nervous about anything and you've got nothing to worry about.

On your first lesson, your instructor will take you to a nearly empty big car park and teach you how to use clutch, accelerator and brakes, and how to turn. Your instructor will have his own brake pedals so if you nearly make a mistake, he will stop the car.

Reply 2

urbanlocations

Just do it!!

I was just like you... then when I got in the car I was fine...

Nothing will happen the driving instructor still has full control even though you are in the driving seat. Get it done while your young or you will get worse.

Reply 3

Kevin De Bruyne

I think a bad thing to do is to just put so much pressure on yourself and expect everything to click straight away - it's unlikely to.

..but you're not doing that, which is good :tongue:

your instructor will teach you everything, and if something goes wrong then they can take the wheel or use the pedals on their side of the car. And if your parents have a car, get some practice in with them. :borat:

Reply 4

Betelgeuse-

Original post by Klopp_1996

I have just started lessons in my 20's.. given me nightmares for years because i am learning blind in one eye...Don't think about it, put your trust in your instructor and go learn

Reply 5

It's****ingWOODY

I put off learning to drive for quite a while, mainly because I didn't see it necessary since I had friends that drove and I didn't mind using the bus also, but also because the idea of it ****ing terrified me :lol:

Once I'd gotten that first lesson out of the way though I realised I was probably gonna enjoy it and I did. It helps to have an instructor that puts you at ease, so if they don't then move onto another. You're gonna have days that you messed everything up and just wanted it to end but there's nothing to be afraid of, you're in the safe hands of a qualified instructor who has his own pedals on his side of the car.

Reply 6

cherryred90s

Original post by WoodyMKC

Did you do block lessons?

Reply 7

It's****ingWOODY

Original post by cherryred90s

Did you do block lessons?

Yup, crammed it in to 4 weeks. Passed exactly 8 weeks after my first lesson :smile:

Reply 8

cherryred90s

Original post by WoodyMKC

Yup, crammed it in to 4 weeks. Passed exactly 8 weeks after my first lesson :smile:

I'm thinking of doing a course like this. How much did it cost you? And were you confident after you passed or did you feel rushed?

Reply 9

It's****ingWOODY

Original post by cherryred90s

I'm thinking of doing a course like this. How much did it cost you? And were you confident after you passed or did you feel rushed?

It worked out £18 an hour which is very cheap, was with a very reputable driving school in my area as well. Well, I wasn't exactly confident after passing as I switched from learning in a new Corsa to driving a cranky old Peugeot which was tough and knocked my confidence to begin with :lol:

But I felt like I was a good driver when I passed.

Didn't feel rushed at all tbf, I put in the same hours as everyone else but just in a shorter time frame. I think it's actually preferrable to doing just a little each week and going rusty in between. After passing the more I drove, the more confident I became, I doubt I'd have did very well if I only drove for an hour or two a week! It's been 3 years since I passed now and I've not been involved in an accident so I can't be too bad :P

Reply 10

EmyJ14

Don't worry, I felt similar to this before I started driving lessons- I had barely had any driving experience either and was sure it would take me forever to get to grips with the gears and everything! Despite this, I've just passed my test first time :tongue:

Just remember that driving is a motor skill and it really does get easier the more you practise. Gears may seem daunting, but they become second nature soon enough! Also, people usually find it easier the younger they start learning to drive, so if you are nervous, I would suggest starting lessons as soon as you can.

Reply 11

cherryred90s

Original post by WoodyMKC

So you would recommend a semi intensive course?
Also, how much was your first car if you don't mind me asking?

Reply 12

It's****ingWOODY

Original post by cherryred90s

So you would recommend a semi intensive course?
Also, how much was your first car if you don't mind me asking?

Yeah, if you're the sort of person that prefers to just crack on and get things done then I'd highly recommend it :smile:

I'd recommend a max of 3 hours per lesson though, boredom and mental fatigue sets in beyond that and it becomed a wasted lesson. 3 hours sounds long but it was just about perfect, like just as I was getting bored my instructor would begin guiding me home haha. 2 hours goes very quickly, never did an hour lesson but I imagine it'd feel like you just got going by the time you got back :lol:

Reply 13

username2295565

Original post by Betelgeuse-

I have just started lessons in my 20's.. given me nightmares for years because i am learning blind in one eye...Don't think about it, put your trust in your instructor and go learn

How can you possibly be safe on the road with one eye?
Your insurance costs would be astronomical surely?

Reply 14

Betelgeuse-

Original post by fr0sr_

How can you possibly be safe on the road with one eye?
Your insurance costs would be astronomical surely?

They say its all good , just need to be cautious inside like 10 feet or something cos depth perception isnt there

Honestly i have no idea have never bothered to check

Reply 15

username2295565

Original post by Betelgeuse-

They say its all good , just need to be cautious inside like 10 feet or something cos depth perception isnt there

Honestly i have no idea have never bothered to check

Ahh I see, fair enough. - As long as the DVLA and all that say you're good that's all you need I guess.
Supposedly they "can't discriminate" either, so they may well provide a decent rate.

Reply 16

Betelgeuse-

Original post by fr0sr_

Ahh I see, fair enough. - As long as the DVLA and all that say you're good that's all you need I guess.
Supposedly they "can't discriminate" either, so they may well provide a decent rate.

Cant discriminate? Really? ha thats dumb - I doubt one eyed drivers are statistically more likely for higher insurance payouts but if they were, the insurance should reflect that imo

Reply 17

ikhan94

I felt like that as well but the instructors are well trained to keep you safe and away from danger, it doesnt matter when you make mistakes its natural too, im pretty sure everyone does on their first lesson

Reply 18

Angelil

It's normal to be nervous, but don't worry - you'll be fine.

I wish someone else had told me this at your age.

I didn't want to learn when I was 17 because I was too scared. Instead of reassuring me, my parents let it go, and it wasn't until I was at university that I finally decided I'd better crack on and take some lessons (I managed about 6 months' worth of lessons in total, but still at least scored my theory by the time I was 21 and finished my undergraduate degree).

Thennnnn I moved uni for postgrad and didn't get things moving again until after Term 1. Another six months of lessons, and then I failed a practical test (catastrophically). So I'm 22 by this point and still no licence.

After my master's degree I moved overseas (luckily to a country where I already spoke the language). But I moved apartment twice and changed jobs once within the first 8 months of being there, so driving was the last thing on my mind. I actually didn't start going for theory classes until 2010 and I figured this would be easy: just a matter of brushing up on the correct terminology for a few weeks, passing the theory test, taking a few weeks of practical lessons (I knew I would be rusty of course) and then I'd be on the road before I knew it.

It wasn't like that at all.

The theory test in France is completely different to in the UK and I really struggled with it (and this was nothing to do really with any language barrier - just the type of questions they ask you). It took me 9 months of preparation (I swear having a baby would have been more enjoyable :tongue:

) before I took the theory test and thankfully passed it first time. This was in July 2012. France basically shuts down in the summer and you're not allowed here to take any practical lessons until you've passed your theory - so I didn't begin practical lessons until September 2012.

Unfortunately what I didn't anticipate was that I a) would have completely forgotten how to drive [in my head I still knew how!] and b) would panic as soon as I got into the car. So at this point I'm 27 years old and completely phobic of driving. I went to every scheduled lesson (2-3 times a week) but would cry during most of them and often when I got home too. I tried changing instructors (must have gone through everyone in the whole driving school!) but it took a LONG time to get over this phobia. Changing driving schools was not really an option because there was a €100 fee for doing so and the only other driving school in the area was very inconveniently located. When I sat my first practical test in October 2013 I still wasn't 100% over it and thus had a panic attack during the test. Understandably I failed :tongue:

In France you cannot book your own test - driving schools are allocated a certain number of test slots per month and they choose which students they put forward. So first-timers are the priority, while people like me (who have failed once or more) are bottom of the pile. As a result, I didn't get another test until May 2014 and I failed it on a technicality (needed to parallel park on a busy road where the parking spaces were on a kerb of their own, so it was difficult. You are supposed to stop your manoeuvre every time someone wants to drive past you and apparently on one occasion during the manoeuvre I did not do so - although I don't recall this happening. It led to an automatic fail though :frown:

). But at least by this point my phobia was much better.

I kept bugging the driving school for another test, and they kept making promises that went unfulfilled. I got very fed up and as luckily by this point schools were not legally allowed to charge for releasing you/accepting a student that had already been through another driving school, I decided to withdraw from the driving school and enrol in a different one - this time in the south of France, where my aunt and uncle live, as the traffic is different there (roads are not as busy, hardly any mopeds compared to the Paris area etc) and there are fewer people wanting to take the test there too. I thought I'd stand a better chance of passing there, and was finally proved right in February 2015 at the age of 29 :biggrin:

The point of telling you all this is to demonstrate that it's FAR better to get this done now while you're still relatively young and not having to fit it all in around work. It's also definitely better to do it while you are still at a normal level of nervous rather than letting this develop into a baseless phobia for you, as it did with me. Get it done; you won't regret it :smile:

Reply 19

Ambitious1999

Original post by Klopp_1996

One thing don't have a drink before your lesson! Our friend had a few too many to drink the night before a 0800 lesson. He was pulled in for a random check by 'The Police' they were checking his instructors credentials.One of the officers asked the lad for a breath test and he blew 43mg (35 mg is max). He was arrested taken to 'The Police' station. He failed second test on 41mg and was put in a police cell for 5 hrs. Later charged and bailed to appear in court where he got a 16 month diving ban £400 fine and criminal record.