How old were you when you learnt to drive

[newtimesagain]

Im 37 and never drove in my life i know its not to late.
But im so nervous as i no nothing about driving not even started a car.
I want to learn in an automatic only.

What age were you?
Did it take you years or months?

I want to drive so i can buy a bambi camper van (my dream)and piss off when i want.

A 1.5 hour lesson a week.
Passed 1st time after 8 months.

I’m from indonesia and i learn to drive at 14 back home 🤣 its crazy. I got my license at 17 but before then i already drive since i was 14years old without license. Crazy

34 when I started, nearly 35. It took a year and four months in the end but we were in the middle of moving countries! Every time I was back in the U.K. I'd book some lessons. Took me 4 goes to pass

17. Driving lessons as soon as I had my 17th birthday. Old banger car as soon as I passed my test. I think I had about 20 lessons. 2 x blocks of 10.

Do it, it took me six months, l love it, best thing I ever did, it gave me so much independence. X

I was 17, passed first time after about six lessons. But I was also doing a lot of driving in my parents’ car in between with one of them supervising.

41 .3 years ago

I was 40 years old and pregnant. I passed first time although I’d had lessons on and off from the age of about 28. I’ve been driving for 1.5 years now.

I actually learnt how to drive a manual car aged 11😂 left hand drive and no power steering either!

Visited my home country every year in the summer holiday for 6 weeks and every morning my grandad would take me out on our land and teach me. Country was pretty lax back then and most kids in the village knew how to drive by 13.

Offical lessons on my 17th birthday and passed a month or 2 later.

You can do it!

I was 42, had never driven before, passed first time, manual (not automatic)

I took a 2 month intensive course (schedule below), it helped my aging brain to have more than one lesson per week

I was 38 and had ten lessons, I passed with one minor.

I'd been riding motorbikes since my teens, which helped. The most difficult thing to master was changing gear and parallel parking.

17 - took a few months

20 - a few months

Crack on with it

14. My da taught me on country lanes.

I'm 60 now. Driving is as natural as breathing to me.

12 for a tractor and motorbike
13 kart race cars

Had my first lesson day after I was 17. Passed my test 3 months later.

I was 43... Best and worst thing I ever did. Lmao 🤣🤣🤣 Had 60 to 70 lessons and never thought I pass. But I did first time too 🤗🤗🤗

Passed when I was 23 (paid for my own lessons at uni). Took me 6 times though!

17. Had the lessons for my 17th birthday and passed my test 4 months later. Wasn't nervous. Loved the freedom it gave me.

10 - automatics
12- manuals
all private roads/off road obviously!
Lessons & parent practice at 17 passed test first time

I'm surprised there aren't more people on the thread who learnt to drive at earlier ages.

Good luck OP driving is such a useful skill (& fun!) you won't regret the effort you put in.

First lesson at 16.5 (I'm in Australia and that was the earliest you could hold a learner licence in my state back then). You had to have your learners for 6 months minimum before taking the test which I did, passing a few days after turning 17. It was a regional town, so not very challenging in terms of traffic. I think it would be harder when older.

I got my manual licence so I had options when it came to which cars I could drive. Manual cars are becoming rarer so I wouldn't bother getting your manual licence if it feels too hard. A PP mentioned the fun and skill of driving is in using the gears, but I'm guessing if you haven't learnt to drive until now, you're not doing it for those reasons but rather to get from A to B.

13 but spent summers at grandparents farm in US

Yes!! Do it! Can you get lessons? It's best to have someone help you.

Let me tell you my story and hopefully it will inspire you. So I'm from the country where everyone learns to drive as a child and legally at 15-16. We had to do a school before taking the test. My parents said they didn't have the money. They had the money for both of my siblings that are 1.5 years older and younger than me. They also gave them cars. I tried to get my sister to teach me but she literally screamed the whole time so I pulled over and got out. The older I got the more pressured I felt because my area wasn't walkable or bikable at all. And I got more scared of driving as time went by too. Finally I got the nerve up myself to learn and practice with a friend in a parking lot. I was in my 20's, and for where I lived it made me a weirdo, it was really embarrassing. I got really good at it though! So a few years later I left my hometown for good to escape abuse, was a single mother, couldn't afford childcare so got a job driving a school bus! I was able to bring my DD along. Those big yellow ones! They are 40ft long! (in the US) They put me through a school and there was a really difficult written test. It's the same test as driving an 18-wheeler. My teacher was awesome. The first thing I learned was backing into a parking space. It was terrifying. The whole thing was gut wrenchingly scary. But I did it and I became really good at it. I failed the written test a few times but ultimately got my commercial drivers license which is such a big brag for a woman living in a patriarchy. I had to move a lot because my abuser was always looking for me so I had to leave that job. It wasn't long before constantly moving wore me down so I decided to start living in a van. That was awesome! We mainly lived on a little island and I managed an ice cream shop on the beach, and I could have my DD with me there too. I did travel all over the US though. I decided to move to something bigger and more homey so I started looking for a bus to buy! I found a city bus with huge windows, two doors, two skylights, and one of those destination signs you can flip through. It already had the seats removed. This was 2020 just before the pandemic when vanlife & buslife became popular so I got the bus for a steal. It's 32ft long and 8ft wide. I spent the pandemic building it out. I gave myself everything I always wanted, even childish things like a ceiling painted like the sky with clouds and those glow star stickers. I have a faux marble countertop, big kitchen, bathroom, shower, a room for my daughter, two office areas, a huge bed, etc etc. It's ultimate freedom!! I'm going to travel in it while I save $ to buy a farm in Italy (where my family (the non-abusive side) is originally from!) and I'm looking into having my bus shipped over there. None of this could have happened if I hadn't overcome my fears and did the big scary things. Once you do it, it's not scary anymore. It's SO powerful. I feel like if I could do it anyone can. Something small like a Bambi is like driving a car so you won't have any troubles. Just use your mirrors! Biggest tip, don't forget- use your mirrors! Or get side and backup cameras lol. I am cheering you on! Be brave and do all the things you've been daydreaming about. 💜🚌💜🚐💜💪🏼💜🚎

Oh and it only takes days-weeks to learn depending if you go to a school or whatever. It's a very small hill to climb in all reality. The mental part is the big hill so hopefully everyone here can give you some ooomph :)

I think I was 32 when I passed. It took me about six months to get good enough to pass my test. I failed three times but I kept taking tests away from home because I could get a test faster. I passed the first time I tried in my own city.

I'm really glad I learnt in a manual. I loathe driving autos now. It freaks my left hand and leg out too much!