Tips on being a confident driver

[karmakemmie]

Hello,

I passed my test about 7 years ago and my DP made me drive straight away which was probably the best idea but because I was so nervous but I decided that I didn't actually need to drive. I didn't at the time as public transport is good here and then I started a job that was walking distance. However I know this was a mistake!
We are moving to a semi rural area and I have started refresher lessons again in order to build up confidence. They're going alright but knowing I have a lesson tomorrow is making me nervous which isn't great. So I'm after tips to build my confidence and help me become a less nervous annoying and more confident driver, please.
Thanks.

I think building up gradually is good, eg start with a very straightforward drive on roads you know well and do that a few times just to get used to driving on your own. The more drives you manage successfully, the more confident you will get.

Practice, practice, practice. Take every opportunity to drive, every day if possible. You'll soon have your elbow resting on the edge of the window, radio at top volume and hooting at people!

Practice, practice and practice some more.
And remember that every driver out there has at some point been a beginner. Almost nobody is a very good driver from day 1.
Confidence is gradually build by experience.

Really work on your observation.

When you observe well you have more time to react/are more in control, therefore less likely to get surprised therefore less likely to experience adverse events which understandably make people nervous.

Reg Local teaches Advanced Driving and has lots of videos on YouTube, some on observation. Take a look.

Second the recommendation for Rev Local on YouTube, he’s excellent.

That should be Reg Local, he’s not clergy

Ha ha! Maybe a sermon from the Rev will help before I drive Thanks for the tips. It all makes total sense. I need to start driving by myself. Grab the car by the wheels!
Thanks all.

If you’re moving semi rural you might have problems with narrow roads or high hedges. Whenever I drive in Devon I seem to meet MASSIVE milk lorries around blind corners!
So practise travelling at a speed you know you have full control over, use your horn if you like and practise steering in reverse as you often have to drive quickly backwards to a passing place. *
I’m sure your instructor will give you some help if you specifically ask for scenarios like that.

• I did that on a single width farm track once. It took me 5 attempts in a hire car, and I usually drive on the other side of the road. My excuse to the opposite driver? “Hey, I’m-a Italian, I don’t-a do reverse!”

Another strong recommendation for Reg Local on YouTube and his book 'Advanced & Performance Driving' (Paperback and Kindle on Amazon). Despite the title, there are lots of useful nuggets of information in the book, and links to the related videos on YouTube. The videos on Observation and Cornering are likely to be particularly useful - I say that as most of us drive too fast into corners on rural roads and don't make enough use of the clues that hedge lines and telegraph poles give, and don't look far enough down the road when making observations.

Even better than the YouTube was a day of 1:1 coaching with 'Reg' (his nom de plume) - a relative bargain if you are anywhere near his base location in the North-West of England.

Unfortunately I'm moving to the South East so I couldn't be further from Reg if I tried! Oh well. I'll have to make do with his videos. There are so many YouTube videos to choose from it's great to have a 'go to' one.
Thanks

@H8H8H8

Really work on your observation.

When you observe well you have more time to react/are more in control, therefore less likely to get surprised therefore less likely to experience adverse events which understandably make people nervous.

Reg Local teaches Advanced Driving and has lots of videos on YouTube, some on observation. Take a look.

This. And to increase my observation and awareness I focus on driving as smoothly as possible. To do that I have to read the road, observe speed limits, notice what’s going on around me. Knowing that I’m driving proactively increases my confidence. I enjoy driving and friends and family tell me I’m a confident driver and it’s comfortable being a passenger.

Just drive.

Lots and lots of driving. Driving every.damned.day.

You won't notice, but it will with time snd lots of driving, become routine.

Good luck.

Watching with interest. I made great progress with my driving in the last year thanks to some great advice from MNers. One of the things was observation- to concentrate on seeing everything and trust that you will instinctively react to what you see, the thing is to make sure you see it in the first place. Another was building up gradually so you only push yourself a tiny bit each time and retrain your brain not to feel anxious every time you get in the car. If you haven’t driven for a while even just going and sitting in the car with a cup of tea is worthwhile.

Is it the actual mechanics of driving you're worried about or finding your way round? When my children started driving a few years ago, what got them most nervous was being worried about the route. We are also in a rural area in the south east.

They tend to use the satnav for unfamiliar journeys. Personally I don't like the satnav but if I am going anywhere unfamiliar that I'm worried about, especially if I'm going to be driving at night, I look at Google maps in detail and work out the route in advance, paying particular attention to anything that looks like it could be a bit tricky.

I have two key pieces of advice. First, don't be bullied by aggressive tailgaters into driving faster than you are comfortable with, especially on country roads. Second, don't panic if you get lost, or think you have gone wrong. Stop when you can do so safely, check your position on phone and carry on, turn around if necessary.

Good luck.

First, don't be bullied by aggressive tailgaters into driving faster than you are comfortable with, especially on country roads.

Yy. Someone in a previous thread was told by her instructor, ‘don’t let the car behind drive your car for you.’

The more you drive, the more you develop muscle memory which means you free up brain space to be more observant. When you first start, you are busy thinking about everything. Oh, and remind yourself frequently that you have as much right to be on the roads as anyone else.

Is it the actual mechanics of driving you're worried about or finding your way round?
I have driven on faster roads with my instructor and he's doesn't really instil me with confidence. He picks at the little things I do which do need saying but it all adds up and makes me feel I've got a lot to learn. I did try and change but instructors are really scarce here also I know that I'll be stopping with him soon anyway. I also need to do more driving alone and just build up as pp suggested.
I have two key pieces of advice. First, don't be bullied by aggressive tailgaters into driving faster than you are comfortable with, especially on country roads.
Definitely this! I've been overtaken by other drivers on 20mph roads and I've been doing 20mph! I think the learner car is a like a flag to some drivers and that makes me nervous. But you're all right. They were once learners too and I have much right to use the road.
Thanks for the heads up about those country lanes. I will be driving on them and so need to start recognising potential hazards.

And observation observation observation and Planning in advance. My instructor says this too. He's not too bad really.
I know I'll get there.
I appreciate all your responses.