Driving instructor was really rude

[BitPutOffNow123]

I had my first driving lesson yesterday. I've never drove a car before so havnt got a clue what I'm doing. He asked me if I had any experience and I said no none at all.

It started off ok, he was showing me the gears and other stuff in his handbook and after practising the gears then we set off on the road. I was really nervous but was really trying.

I kept forgetting to put my foot down on the clutch while changing gears and he snapped at me and said crossly "your just not getting it" I said "I've never drove before, I'm a bit overwhelmed and I'm getting confused" he said "you should of done this when you were younger, itd been easier for both of us then". I said I was too scared to try when I was younger ( I'm only 29 anyway )

We went on a roundabout and he told me to break slowly, I tried but I'm new to this and breaked harshly, he loudly sucked air in between his teeth and, said hed told me to break gently told me I was too slow with my reactions. He asked me why i wasnt getting it and I said I was getting confused between the clutch and the pedals. ( he was telling me when to use the clutch break ect

I've paid for 10 hours, 2 hours each time and he took me home 30 minutes early but didnt say why and after how horrible the lesson was I didnt feel like saying I'd paid for 2 hours

Am I being sensitive or was he really rude? I want to cancel my other booked for lessons and look to go with someone else but I dont even know how to go about requesting a refund

Change. I had one guy who took me on a 69 road or whatever on my third lesson. I wasn’t a good driver and then he said to me “you need to go faster if you will be in this lane”. Firstly, you going to check if I’m comfortable going at speed, secondly you sure I knew the speed limit, thirdly why didn’t you tell me to be in the correct lane, fourthly, don’t say everything

@mewkins of course it helps you find the clutch if you familiarise yourself with the pedals and what they do. The OP wasn't having trouble finding the clutch she was forgetting to press it at all.

Oh poor you. As pps have said, the first few steos are stressful enough even with a kind instructor. Putting students at their ease is an essential part of his job, and he is clearly crap at it.

Find yourself someone who can actually do their job properly, and enjoy the road to freedom!

I'd keep with manual its such a skill to have... i know others don't seem to agree but it's worth it as you drive the car rather than the car driving you. You don't have a go-kart!. I'm bias i know but love driving and wouldn't consider only having an automatic license. That being said depends how much your into cars/driving. I'm learning to truck drive so for me i like to feel i'm in control rather than the automatic system choosing.
My instructor is great, makes the lessons fly by and is so much fun. And for my first lesson we were on an industrial estate even though i could drive a car we still weren't on the road in the truck for a while.

And yes, do look at some youtubes or something so you understand what everything does.

And after youve had a better lesson, visualise yourself driving (eg, doing the clutch mirror brake sequence or whatever) in your mind every night, it really helps kerp the learning going between lessons, which means uou get more learning in for your precious ££

It's not you op, your instructor is rubbish. My first lesson was in a quiet estate and went really well but my second was on a main road with lots of junctions, roundabouts and traffic lights, i panicked when i couldn't get going on a slight hill and the instructer was an arse about it so i changed to someone else and got on great. I passed my test first time. Complain and try and get a refund. I agree with pps automatics are brilliant especially if you don't have great co-ordination and struggle with the clutch like i did.

He was an arse. No way should you have been on a roundabout. Cancel and get your money back.

I really hope you can get a refund

Definitely change your driving instructor. He sounds awful (not just a case of him not being right for you, he sounds actively terrible and unprofessional).
I learnt to drive when I was 17, but had felt pressured to learn and was really nervous and hated it. I passed my test but then didn't drive again until I reached my late 30s when I realised I would need to completely re-learn to drive, even though I had a driving licence. The first instructor I went to I had several lessons with, but felt more and more anxious with each lesson, rather than less so. She was critical, prone to suddenly barking instructions and didn't seem calm. I blamed myself for my lack of progress and continued anxiety and thought I must just be useless at driving. I ended up bursting into tears when she had me drive down a dual carriageway that I really didn't feel ready for or competent about. I decided to look for another driving instructor and found one who was really calm, matter-of-fact, patient and clear in his instructions. He was great, he made me feel so at ease, he was much better at actually teaching, it all became clearer to me and I had complete trust in him and therefore then in myself. It was a completely different experience and so much more positive.
So all I'm saying really is - it's not you, it's him.
If you find a good instructor it might still be a steep learning curve and will probably be a bit nerve-wracking to begin with, but it won't be anything like your experience so far. A good instructor should be bolstering your confidence, not destroying it. Finding a good instructor is the challenge - personal recommendation is best, but that's not always easy to find when you're learning later than your peers. Have you got local social media / a neighbourhood group you can ask for recommendations on?
Also, just to say, the instructor who taught me also taught my husband to drive (and pass his test first time) at the age of 40 and he didn't once make either of us feel bad for not learning earlier in life - what rubbish to try and make you feel you 'should' have learnt earlier. If he's a good teacher he should be able to teach people at any age.

What the bloody hell was he thinking taking you on a roundabout on your first lesson? DH starts of with setting off & stopping, left & right turns etc in areas with no traffic before even going out onto roads.

Did he have a green badge displayed with his photo on?

yep get rid. I'd start by just saying you don't think you're well suited, but if he suggests he won't refund tell him that he committed a repudiatory breach of contract by only giving you 1.5 hours when you had paid for 2 and you consider the contract terminated - so he'd better!
He's stupid, because if you're anything like me you'll take longer than some cocky 17 year old to pass, and so he'd have been making more money teaching you to drive at a steady pace. His loss, the toss pot.

He sounds awful. Is he independent or a chain. I didn't pass my test until I was 26 by the way. My first instructor was sexually harassing me so I told my ex and we went to tell him I didn't want anymore and I reported him to the company he worked for. I think he got sacked and later, after starting his own business he got struck off for other things he had done. Sorry Ive gone off on one but my point is I would complain if you can.

Oh and when I started with my lady instructor after she couldn't believe I'd driven before because he had made me worse.

My 17 yr old has just started driving lessons. First 2 hour lesson was all in Asda car park! He's been amazing at building up confidence and skills,at the end of each lesson he asks DS what he thinks went well and what he needs to work on, then makes suggestions for the next lesson. DS comes home knackered but pleased with his progress and says 'next week we're working on...'
I would recommend you look for a new instructor, pay for a 2 hour lesson and see how you get on. Then you can decide if you want to book a block of lessons. Just be aware there's a very long waiting list right now and you might need to be in several waiting lists, this is what we did.

I drove on normal roads including roundabouts on my first lesson. I started on an industrial estate then moved off onto normal roads. My DD did too. It's not that unusual.

Sounds like a terrible instructor, ask for a change or refund. Just call up the company and tell them. Bet you are not the first to say this about him!

I had an instructor like this when I was 18. I managed to get to the point of feeling sort of comfortable driving around town, he then took me on a dual carriageway without warning and spent much of it yelling at me.

I haven’t driven a car since (I’m nearly 40).

Do yourself a favour and find a new instructor now.

If you'd learnt to drive when younger, you wouldn't be needing him now would you ?!!
What a prick. I'm surprised you're not put off !
Ring him, cancel, demand a refund and tell him why.
Disgraceful behaviour. He's supposed to be encouraging you.

He’s in the wrong job

This experience might look familiar to you !

I can't imagine that a good instructor would take some one onto the main roads whose never driven before, that's asking for people to be nervous!

I started with 1 hour lessons and at least 2 were on an industrial estate and the next was driving on to the housing estates near the industrial estate. After that it was onto the main roads with an increase to 2 hour lessons so that there was time to drive around the test routes and back home again.

Ask for a refund, if he refuses, shame on social media.

He sounds awful! I was a really terrible driver for a long time when I learnt to drive and was never snapped at by my instructor. Taking someone on a roundabout in their first lesson is absurd.

I second the comments about driving an automatic - I have recently started driving again after not had a car since passing my test 5 years ago. I find it SO much easier driving an automatic that I don't think I'd ever get a manual.

I would complain about the 30 minutes you paid for but didn't get and look to change instructor.

Like others have said, you need to find a new instructor. With the next one, just book a single lesson and see if you like each other. Then block book.

For what’s it’s worth, I also went on a roundabout in my first lesson so that in itself isn’t unusual.

One thing my instructor did suggest is doing 1.5 hour lessons as they could tell I was losing concentration after this point and if you’re feeling so overwhelmed, this might be something to consider too. Your instructor might have thought the same but communicated this badly.

Good luck with the learning.

@blairresignationjam, so funny !