The Student Room Group

I am bad at driving

I passed my driving test 6 days ago with 3 minors and really good feedback from the examiner, but I feel as though I shouldn’t really have passed. The test was an incredibly easy route - I only had to drive through the outskirts of town and along a big stretch that was all straight and just 20mph. It was also a quiet time of day so I didn’t have to deal with any traffic or pedestrians. My manoeuvre was a parallel park which I practised loads with my instructor right before the lesson so I’m not sure how it would have gone had it been a reverse or forward bay, as I am not so great at them. Sometimes I get them just right but I also can sometimes just completely get the angle off and have no idea why. The day after my test I went for a drive with my friend and was so so bad at following the satnav, even on simple things like just going off on the wrong exit at the roundabout. In fairness to me I didn’t know where this place we were going to was, so I forgive myself for being in the wrong lane a few times as my town is veryyyy busy and very confusing. But I think it’s bad that I would just miss turns and stupid stuff like that. Tomorrow I’m driving myself to school alone for the first time and I’m so so nervous. The lane leading up to the car park is a two way road but only has space for one car, so it’s basically just a matter of luck that you don’t run into another car. If I did I’m not sure what I’d do as a lot of the time there isn’t even enough room to pull over. Also the actual car park is really tight and doesn’t really have enough spaces, plus it’s a student only car park and other people in my year literally just stand there watching you and it’s so intimidating. I’m going to leave about half an hour earlier than I normally do so that hopefully there will be more good spaces when I get there and I will beat the super heavy traffic but I’m still super nervous. If it’s a perfect journey and I really concentrate I’ll be fine, but I’m not confident I’d know what to do if anything out of the ordinary happened on the road and I had to work out some way around it, as I’ve always just had a parent or instructor tell me what to do in those situations. All my friends who have passed seem to know so much more about the road and it just makes me think I really shouldn’t have passed, but obviously there’s nothing I can do about it now as I can’t just request a retest or something lol. Idk is this a normal feeling when you first drive alone or should I just wait a little longer and make my parents keep coming with me? (Baring in mind when my parents have sat in the car with me everyday this week they’ve given me no instructions but it’s still a safety blanket type thing and also nothing weird has happened on any of my journeys to school this week)
Reply 1
You are bound to be laying eggs on your first trip out, everyone does when they are first let loose on the streets.

Make it easy on yourself. Go out at a very quiet time again and get your confidence back. Keep your journeys short and put some P plates on. Not everyone will give you more time and patience but a lot will. Just keep driving and remind yourself that more than 50% driving can't drive (or shouldn't even be on the road) anyway.

Keep stopping and tell yourself you are doing ok. Find big landmarks on your journeys so you remember where you need to turn to get home. It doesn't matter what other drivers do as long as you control your car, take your time and build up your experience to tackle the full on nightmare of rush (four) hours and manic bad tempered drivers. If you don't want to do it you don't have to. If all else fails and it seems too overwhelming park up, lock the car up and get the bus back. Then when you feel ready you can go back and get your car with a friend to help. There are always lots of options to help reassure yourself.

If the examiner didn't feel safe they wouldn't have passed you, believe in yourself.
dont say that im prob worstest
Passing your test means you are a beginner driver who is just about competent to be in a car without an instructor. It's not meant to mean you are an experienced driver at the same level as people who have been driving for many years.

It's a good thing that you are aware of this. There are a lot of incompetent new drivers out there who think that having passed their test means they're Lewis Hamilton, and a huge proportion of them end up having an accident in their first year with a license.
Original post by Hippoface123
I passed my driving test 6 days ago with 3 minors and really good feedback from the examiner, but I feel as though I shouldn’t really have passed. The test was an incredibly easy route - I only had to drive through the outskirts of town and along a big stretch that was all straight and just 20mph. It was also a quiet time of day so I didn’t have to deal with any traffic or pedestrians. My manoeuvre was a parallel park which I practised loads with my instructor right before the lesson so I’m not sure how it would have gone had it been a reverse or forward bay, as I am not so great at them. Sometimes I get them just right but I also can sometimes just completely get the angle off and have no idea why. The day after my test I went for a drive with my friend and was so so bad at following the satnav, even on simple things like just going off on the wrong exit at the roundabout. In fairness to me I didn’t know where this place we were going to was, so I forgive myself for being in the wrong lane a few times as my town is veryyyy busy and very confusing. But I think it’s bad that I would just miss turns and stupid stuff like that. Tomorrow I’m driving myself to school alone for the first time and I’m so so nervous. The lane leading up to the car park is a two way road but only has space for one car, so it’s basically just a matter of luck that you don’t run into another car. If I did I’m not sure what I’d do as a lot of the time there isn’t even enough room to pull over. Also the actual car park is really tight and doesn’t really have enough spaces, plus it’s a student only car park and other people in my year literally just stand there watching you and it’s so intimidating. I’m going to leave about half an hour earlier than I normally do so that hopefully there will be more good spaces when I get there and I will beat the super heavy traffic but I’m still super nervous. If it’s a perfect journey and I really concentrate I’ll be fine, but I’m not confident I’d know what to do if anything out of the ordinary happened on the road and I had to work out some way around it, as I’ve always just had a parent or instructor tell me what to do in those situations. All my friends who have passed seem to know so much more about the road and it just makes me think I really shouldn’t have passed, but obviously there’s nothing I can do about it now as I can’t just request a retest or something lol. Idk is this a normal feeling when you first drive alone or should I just wait a little longer and make my parents keep coming with me? (Baring in mind when my parents have sat in the car with me everyday this week they’ve given me no instructions but it’s still a safety blanket type thing and also nothing weird has happened on any of my journeys to school this week)


Imposter syndrome is normal. Most people get that.
I also admire the humility; you admit that you have passed a test, but you're not a master of the skill.

I would recommend certain driving courses with driving schools that are for people who passed their driving test.
The Pass Plus Scheme is a common one for people who want more experience, and it often helps with your first insurance premiums (if you haven't got your own car yet): https://www.gov.uk/pass-plus
Otherwise, you can go and look up various advanced driving courses through a quick google search e.g. https://www.bsm.co.uk/advanced-driving-courses, https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/advanced-driving-courses/, https://www.iamroadsmart.com/courses

Failing all the above, you can ask your driving instructor to do more lessons with you so you can get more experience. Say that you want to go on unfamiliar roads to see how well you drive in unfamiliar territory.

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