My driving is beyond awful

We don't drive sensibly, we drive slowly...

So I already have a car, a little Renault Clio, but my driving is awful. I really can't understand it because I passed my test first time, only a couple minors, yet i'm scared to go out driving on the roads because i'm always in awkward situations. I can't stop stalling at traffic lights, roundabouts freak me out, I nearly always run people over at crossings, I can't do my gears. Oh lord. I need to stay calm and collective haha. Oh, and my parking is terrible. So embarrassing. Help!

You must be a girl then.

I think you can only have a P sticker up until a year after you've passed. I passed last October in 2010, so that's just over a year.

Oh, it's 15 where I live--but I started hitting the road illegally with my father at 13.

New Zealand? I'm guessing it was somewhere fairly remote if you took the wheel at 13!

To answer your initial question - to my knowledge driving illegally underage in the UK is very rare - certainly it's not the done thing as it might be in other countries. Perhaps out in really rural areas such as the Highlands it goes on - but certainly the vast majority of youngsters in the UK wait until they get their provisional license before driving on the road!

In all seriousness - and categorically not directing this at the OP or anyone, for that matter - the fact that people are otherwise completely legal to drive yet their skills are so lacking is incredibly worrying.

The system is evidently seriously failing us all if people can pass their tests and yet still be atrocious when it comes to actually driving.

yet ADIs will tell you it;s perfectly fine and that anyone who attempts to develop their driving skills is an anal -retentive curtain twitching neighbourhood watcher who drives arounf like Starsky and Hutch ...

No, the Advanced Drivers assume that mantle because of their holier-than-thou belief in their (non-existent) superpowers.

No ADI would tell you any such thing! You'd need to be a complete moron, steeped in Neighbourhood Watch superiority, to think otherwise.

Is it safe to say that many teens don't drive illegally in the UK because they don't have to?--as in you have a strong public transportation system so you don't need to take your parents' car to go to the movies.

No, the Advanced Drivers assume that mantle because of their holier-than-thou belief in their (non-existent) superpowers.

No ADI would tell you any such thing! <snip>
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<snip>To be honest, I consider myself to be pretty lucky in the UK having been able to learn at 17 - the majority of European nations set the driving age at 18, and I'm fairly confident that in the next 10-15 years we're going to raise our age to standardise with them.

I guess so - I haven't spoken for really remote areas (e.g. The Highlands) because it may well go on there, but in general our roads are pretty well-policed and fairly crowded, and a 15 year old at the wheel of a car with no license/insurance is something which would be looked upon extremely seriously by the police, the courts and the general public.

To be honest, people breaking the rules are more likely to be doing it for a laugh rather than as an actual method of transport. I had assumed you meant people learning illegally and underage whilst sat next to a parent (still something which would be extremely rare, but I guess it could happen) - but I see you actually mean underage drivers doing it as a way of getting from A to B on a regular basis. Again, apart from the most remote of areas, I really cannot comprehend that would ever happen in the UK - our roads are too well-policed and the penalties would be severe (both for the driver and the owner of the vehicle).

It's relatively easy in this country to get hold of a small motorscooter once you're 16, so I guess that satisfies those people who need the independence of a motor vehicle. To be honest, I consider myself to be pretty lucky in the UK having been able to learn at 17 - the majority of European nations set the driving age at 18, and I'm fairly confident that in the next 10-15 years we're going to raise our age to standardise with them.

Yet this is what you (DOAADI) repeatedly do with your inaccurate and defamatory statements about Advanced Driving, .

Scrap what I was saying before, nearly crashed in rush hour. My gear box got stuck twice, stalled numerous times approaching roundabouts and junctions, mounted the curb, couldn't park. I'm a nervous wreck!

So I already have a car, a little Renault Clio, but my driving is awful. I really can't understand it because I passed my test first time, only a couple minors, yet i'm scared to go out driving on the roads because i'm always in awkward situations. I can't stop stalling at traffic lights, roundabouts freak me out, I nearly always run people over at crossings, I can't do my gears. Oh lord. I need to stay calm and collective haha. Oh, and my parking is terrible. So embarrassing. Help!

Yes I suppose women are worse drivers than men. So scared about going out in my car though, I feel like a hermit hanging about in the house.

I don't agree with this, i'm a girl, and my driving is pretty good, i also try to be as careful as possible. my uncle, drives crazily, he never signals, he doesn't respect the speeding limits etc. so its not about being a girl or a guy, is about some people shouldn't simply drive.