My 1st driving lesson was today! Please tell me it gets easier

[SundayIsCalling]

I didn't even go beyond driving in first gear

It's the bloody accelerator! I'm finding it so tricky to find the correct amount of acceleratoryness. There is a little thing that tells you on the dash board obviously but I've been not to look at that and 'listen out' for the correct sound that the level should make.

I finally managed to stop correctly by the end of the lesson. Prior to that, I was stopping with what I thought was a gentle nudge and flinging the poor driving instructor backwards

People have told me they did a few different gears and different roads on their first lesson, with no previous experience (like me).

How the hell does my DMum chat away and listen to the radio, all whilst staying focused on the roads and managing to use the accelerator correctly?

I know everything else is muscle memory and just getting the hang of it, but the acceleration part looks as if it takes immense concentration 24/7.

My only compliment from the instructor was 'I love that you ask all these questions' (he seemed genuine and not sarcastic), and 'you have very good hand control on the steering wheel'.

So can someone please clarify...

It's push down on the clutch pedal
Accelerate
Put the car into first gear
Push down the hand break
Lift foot to correct position the get car in motion
Remove said foot from clutch
Keep foot on accelerator and off you go!
Steer with wheel.

Am I right?

Well done for getting going. It gets easier. You push the clutch down to move the gear stick, so it would be clutch, gear then slowing lift clutch up while accelerating to make the car go. It starts to move once clutch hits “biting point”. You get better st working out where it is.

I usually do...

Clutch in
Put car in first gear
Accelerate and find the bite with the clutch
Check all mirrors
Handbrake off
Clutch up slowly until it's off
Off you go

I'm still learning too. It gets easier. I lost hope for a while.

It's push down on the clutch pedal
Accelerate - ????
Put the car into first gear
Push down the hand break
Lift foot to correct position the get car in motion
Remove said foot from clutch
Keep foot on accelerator and off you go!
Steer with wheel.

Why have you put accelerate up there?

Start engine.
Depress clutch (on some cars you need to do this first)
Put foot lightly on accelerator and gently release clutch until you find biting point (Where car wants to move but brake stops it)
Release hand brake and move off by gently releasing clutch and pressing on accelerator

One tip to make it much easier...

Learn automatic!

I could never get to grips with gears, clutch control or biting point. It took 20 odd lessons until I gave up, thinking I would genuinely never pass.
My instructor suggested that I attempt automatic instead and I passed with flying colours.

I do think some people just struggle with the gears more than others.

I found watching YouTube videos really useful. LDC and World Driving School I think they were.
I was you this time last year, honestly thought I would never "get it" but I passed my test last spring on the second try.

Good luck, keep at it!

I learned late in life and hated my driving lessons with a passion. I was pretty sure I was just someone who wasn’t going to be able to drive. At some point it clicks and you can change gears and accelerate instinctively. It will just fall into place, honestly. It took a good while for me but I got there eventually - and passed my test first time!

Sorry, should have
Select 1st gear in between depress clutch and using accelerator

I'm on lesson 9. I still dither and I've only done up to 3rd gear so far on rural roads. Welcome to the wonderful world of learning. Its quite terrifying!

Foof before my first lesson I was watching this bloke and a young girl do their driving lessons together That's how I knew to adjust my mirrors, adjust seat, etc

My instructor said after my 3rd lesson (not next weekend but the weekend after), I should be DRIVING BACK HOME! What on earth? There are roundabouts and all sorts on the way there/back

Paynos too

It really does get easier, I promise! When I first started driving I couldn't deal with having music on, had to concentrate so hard etc, and now I drive hundreds of miles a week and it feels totally second nature. You definitely start to get a feel for the engine and understand when to change gear without even realising you do it - for example if you stay in first for too long the car starts to sound noisy and like it's working hard, and you'll hear that reduce as you hear up. And FYI - start car, clutch down, into gear, clutch up slowly and accelerate :-) you'll be fine!

If I can learn aged 45 anyone can :)

One tip from me - don't confuse yourself by reading about what other people do when moving off from a stopped position. We all do it in slightly different ways. Concentrate on the order that your own instructor is advising.

But yes, it does get easier. And you may reach and pass your test thinking that driving is still not intuitive, you are still having to think about exactly what to do. But I promise you that, so long as you keep up the habit of driving once you have passed, it will "click". I passed my test at age 20, but I was a very occasional driver afterwards, always happy to be the passenger. Then when I was early 30s, my situation changed and I had to drive to commute to work. Driving the same route, twice a day, helped me to find my driving style and suddenly it all 'clicked' and I've been a happy and natural driver since

I started learning September 2017, in my forties, very very nervous. My first lesson we just went round an old disused airfield near here that has lots of little roads but no real traffic. I was terrified of going over 5 mph. We stayed on the airfield all the first lesson.

I really was terrified the first couple of lessons. But my instructor did a great job of gradually building my confidence.

I passed my test first time in February 2018, with only three minors. Then it took me a few months to get used to driving alone, which was quite scary. Now I drive all the time, although I still have to concentrate hard so as not to do daft things. My DH thinks I drive too fast, which is quite funny when you think how terrified I was in my first lesson of going over 5 mph!

So don't be put off after one lesson. You can do it!

Do you know what I found most baffling? It just didn't come naturally.

I was so bloody confident. I thought I would just be naturally good at it. When I first rode a pony as a little girl, it just clicked. I knew what I was doing, and I could ride competitively within the year and was cantering around within 3 hours worth of time on a pony.

I just thought I'd be better than what I am!

And as for people doing all these different gears on their first lesson... How?!!

It does get easier.
However, how quickly it gets easier varies from person to person .
Took me a solid 6 months before i passed - I found there was a long plateau stage in my driving.

As Eggys said - still not intuitive at the point I'd passed my test and didn't become so till I owned my own car, some time later.

In my first lesson I stalled the car turning right into a new road and in panic lifted both my feet off the pedals!

Sounds like you did just fine to me. There's a lot to wrap your head around in the beginning.

Since my first lesson I've driven probably a couple hundred thousand miles, including overseas and in countries where I had to drive on the right hand side of the road. Having to relearn the gears using my right hand was fun!

First lessons are not an indicator of future skill or confidence.

You couldn't have been going very fast as you would normally be out of 1st gear between 5-10mph. I'm sure you'll move up them soon enough

I put off learning because I was worried about it not coming naturally. And it didn't, I've cried, been overjoyed, wanted to give in.. but it wil get easier I promise. My instructor has taught me not to ovethink what my feet/hands or doing, just trust that you will know what you're doing. One day you'll just realise that you're doing it without thinking! I never thought I'd be able to speak whilst driving and I'd hold my breath! 😂 Don't be too hard on yourself, keep at it.

Put foot on foot brake.
Press button to turn on the engine.
Move paddle to ‘drive’
Put foot on accelerator
Go

OP stick with it! It definitely gets easier. I had to take gaps because of financial and personal issues. Just passed my test in September and it is amazing! Worth every penny and all the stress. You'll get there.

In fairness to you a riding school pony is likely to know what's expected of it when it's being ridden in a lesson and can anticipate which patterns of riding and commands are leading up to a particular outcome (like cantering). So might still respond even if your prompts aren't quite right, because it knows that after it's been asked to do xyz it will be asked to canter and then it gets to go back. And if you have good balance you'll stay on for it!

Whereas a car is only going to do what you want if you get it perfectly right every time. You can't communicate with a car the way you can with a pony, nearly right doesn't cut it, and it's not as intuitive as riding (imho). Having good balance doesn't help you out either!

I hear you op. I've actually had my automatic licence for a number of years but decided to try and learn to drive properly. I'm 2 lessons in and it's tough going - plus I've picked up some bad habits over the years. Stick at it and I hope it becomes second nature to us both.

I used to vomit I was so nervous. 2 weeks after passing my test I did a 200 mile round trip. A week after taking off R plates I started driving a 2.5 tonne vehicle. It really does get so much easier.
I’m still crap at parallel parking though. And when I’m moving lanes on a busy motorway, approaching a roundabout etc I have to ask my kids to be quiet ( or at least not be asking me questions!)
Recently I had to drive a hire car and it took me a few journeys to get the hang of the bite point and adjust to the brakes. Then I had to readjust to my old car 2 weeks later!