Taking long to learn forcing

So I’ve been learning to drive since October now ( about 8 months) and I’m not very good at it, when I first started I was only doing lessons with my instructor one a week 2 hours lessons and I could barely drive then, in March I got a car and I have significantly improved but I’m still not great, I also started 1 lesson every 2 weeks due to affordability as I’m now paying for my car too. I’ve had over 40 hours with my instructor btw and also many hours of home practice too. I feel like it’s taking way too long to learn to drive I’m very bad at roundabouts and I freak out a lot and stalk so much I also drove on the curb today when turning the corner which knocked down my confidence a lot and I’ve only been on a dual carriageway once (which was with my instructor) he also hasn’t taught me reverse parking/normal parking or reverse round the corner or parallel parking but I learnt this at home. Before getting my car and started learning with my dad I could barely even drive tbh I figured out my instructor basically only teaches me how to drive in a straight line and it’s too late to change instructors now as my test is in august and I need to be able to drive for my uni course, is this normal to take this long? Does anyone have any tips bc I just feel like I’m dumb tbh bc so many of my class mates already know how to drive and I just get scared and can’t do anything (edit: I meant to say “driving” in my title not forcing lmao)

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Original post by fareeda234

So I’ve been learning to drive since October now ( about 8 months) and I’m not very good at it, when I first started I was only doing lessons with my instructor one a week 2 hours lessons and I could barely drive then, in March I got a car and I have significantly improved but I’m still not great, I also started 1 lesson every 2 weeks due to affordability as I’m now paying for my car too. I’ve had over 40 hours with my instructor btw and also many hours of home practice too. I feel like it’s taking way too long to learn to drive I’m very bad at roundabouts and I freak out a lot and stalk so much I also drove on the curb today when turning the corner which knocked down my confidence a lot and I’ve only been on a dual carriageway once (which was with my instructor) he also hasn’t taught me reverse parking/normal parking or reverse round the corner or parallel parking but I learnt this at home. Before getting my car and started learning with my dad I could barely even drive tbh I figured out my instructor basically only teaches me how to drive in a straight line and it’s too late to change instructors now as my test is in august and I need to be able to drive for my uni course, is this normal to take this long? Does anyone have any tips bc I just feel like I’m dumb tbh bc so many of my class mates already know how to drive and I just get scared and can’t do anything (edit: I meant to say “driving” in my title not forcing lmao)

Some people learn to drive in 10 lessons, some take a lot longer (years). It depends on the individual and the individual learning style.

If I had to say, I would say driving is about: 40% experience (and knowing what to do), 30% skills, and 30% confidence. Your confidence is a big determiner of how you can fare. If you're too nervous then it can work against you. When driving, you need to remain emotionally calm; people can falter when they can't concentrate.

Do your manoeuvres slowly if you need to; going slower can mean you be more aware of your surroundings and taking more care.

Your examiner only cares whether you can drive safely, not whether you're a master of driving (we're not expected to be F1 or stunt drivers any time soon). Focus on safety and you will be a lot further along than you would have been.

You should go in with the mindset that driving should be second nature; the more "detatched" you are to the car, the more unnatural it will feel.

Make looking at the mirrors very obvious (move your head and not just your eyes). Examiners can miss this unintentionally because it wasn't made obvious. The rear view mirror being the most important of course.

Focus on the road most of the time, but do occasionally glance at mirrors and the speed dial. The situation dictates what you should do.

Gaps to move in with the flow of traffic depends on how fast the traffic is moving. My rule of thumb is for any urban street is that there should be enough time for you to walk across the street and back to be enough for you to move out of the junction. For roundabouts, it's if the incoming car has not passed the previous junction on the roundabout (for large roundabouts). Again, the situation dictates how much time you should allow before you move in with the flow of traffic.

There are usually 5 main ways of stalling:

•

Clutch lifted up too early

•

Clutch not down when going at less than 5 miles per hour

•

Handbrake is on

•

Clutch and accelrator coordination is off

•

Not enough acceleration

Clutch control will solve most of the stalling. I would practice meeting braking point as often as possible; you would need to intuitively feel when the car is close to braking point.
Handbrake being on is not being aware enough. Practice the routine of checking everything before moving off.

If you don't pass the test before the time you go off to uni, it's not the end of the world. You can always do the test during the first semester or when you come back for the holidays. Remain calm and prepare for the test properly; too much anxiety can work against you (as previously mentioned).
If you aren't ready for the test, the instructor (despite what you think of him) won't suggest you to take the test. Even if you fail the test, you can put it down for experience, so you won't be as nervous the second time round (it's said that the better drivers pass the second time round).

Finally, good luck.

Reply 2

Muttley79

20

Original post by fareeda234

... I need to be able to drive for my uni course, is this normal to take this long? Does anyone have any tips bc I just feel like I’m dumb tbh bc so many of my class mates already know how to drive and I just get scared and can’t do anything (edit: I meant to say “driving” in my title not forcing lmao)

What degree requires you to be able to drive?

Taking long to learn forcing

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