Just had my first driving lesson and I loved it!

[Welikebeingcosy]

Mid thirties, I've put it off for so long, but life forced me to need a license!

I never realised how much I'd love it. I'd driven once in an automatic abroad with a friend teaching me, with big wide roads and I thought our smaller roads would make it uncomfortable, but I can't believe how addictive it feels!

Anyway, just wanted to share my good feelings with someone!

That's fantastic! It must have been quite scary taking the plunge but clearly worth it, well done 😊

Congratulations!

Enjoy the feeling now! I used to love driving but now I really see it as a chore but every now and then with the right music and a clear road on a sunny day I remember how liberating it is. 😊

Thank you! I think financially it was quite scary, but now I've started I can really see that it is worth the money! I was also worried about being sat in traffic, but we went to a quieter area.

Oh no I want to stay liberated forever! 🤣 I was even thinking I wonder how long until I can do a hgv license and be on the road all day 🤣 must've been the adrenaline 🤣

Congratulations! You’re doing a brilliant thing and will wonder how you ever managed without driving. Wishing you a successful and fun journey to a full driving licence 🫶.

Awwww thank you! Yes I'm already thinking that....I've always been encouraged by others to do it and they said it's so important, but always been able to get around on public transport easily. However, recently I've needed to as my daughter with ASD is getting bigger and struggles now on buses and waiting for one.

Driving is great. The feeling of the freedom of having a car is second to none. There is so much negativity about it (on MN especially) but driving opens up women's lives and makes them so much easier.

I didn’t pass until I was 30 which make me appreciate the freedom so much! Good luck OP! You will love being on the open road.

Hiya everyone. Little update. I think I'm on about hour 20 now of driving since I started this thread.

Everything is going really well still, but I'm struggling with the dual carriageways and keeping to a speed high enough. I keep slowing down subconsciously! Also when I look in the mirrors to overtake or get on from the slip road, I feel like it all just looks like a big blur of cars to me and I can't quite see in my brain what the picture is, to know what's in which lane and how far behind me cars are in that moment. My instructor is making me do the dual carriageway every single lesson now, to get me better at it. At first I literally was shaking saying no I don't want to speed up, but I think I've done it four times now and don't feel like I'm about to spontaneously combust, but there is a part of me which is relieved once we get off it and can slow down.

This sounds just like me when I first started driving. Motorways and tunnels scared me so much but I don't even notice them now. Can't wait for you to update us that you've passed your test.

Omg this is so inspiring @Welikebeingcosy. I’ve just moved rurally and need a license now and I’ve no idea where to start. Do you take your theory test first, before you start lessons? And do you just call a driving instructor and book some lessons? (I’ve never even turned a car on before).

That’s great to hear. I’m a driving instructor and lesson 1 is always a good one, as people’s expectations are usually very low!

Re dual carriageways and eventually motorways, motorways are the safest roads to be on. They carry 20% of all traffic yet have only 5% of road fatalities. Reason being everyone is going in the same direction and it’s regimented. So whilst you might feel stressed or unsafe the stats say otherwise. Hoping that helps.

I used to feel like this but when I travel on the motorway now people undercut a lot. It makes me feel insecure as I can’t rely on people moving across lanes the right way. Luckily it’s not often. I’ve been driving since 1990!!
Good luck op. Your feelings are quite standard. It’s good to have some trepidation.

@Welikebeingcosy
Well done 👏
Keep it up, being able to drive opens up a whole new world of freedoms!
Totally understand about duel carriageways, they're scary but keep at it, even now I hate motorways or duel carriageways and only use them if I have to.
TOP TIP (told to me by an advanced driving instructor)
When you have your driving test and you're checking your mirrors, move your head not just your eyes so the examiner can see that you're checking your mirrors. They're not looking for someone who can drive with the experience of Lewis Hamilton, theyre looking for safety.
Good luck, update when you pass your test!

Best thing you’ll ever do for your independence. Good luck with your driving test let us know how you get on

Heya! So I haven't done my theory yet, as busy single mum life means I haven't made much mental space for it yet. I think you have to take it within two years of your practical test. So basically you can't book the test until you've done the theory, so you can start lessons and then do your theory whenever, whilst learning. I'm hoping to do mine within the next month or so.

I just found my instructor through a recommendation from someone who is also learning, but the local Facebook might be a good place to ask for a recommendation. I just texted the instructor and he slotted me in. He works for a company, so if I didn't have his number from a friend I would have called the company instead.

@2025Bump @UncertainPerson @bozzabollix @landlordhell @DonewhatIcando @Empress13

Thanks you guys, it's lovely to hear such encouragement!

Thanks for this thread OP, I’m in my 40s and still can’t drive. I couldn’t afford it when I was younger and now I can but I feel I’ve missed the boat and am terrified.
I really need it though, the buses are so unreliable and infrequent round here and it would make my life 100 times easier.
The hazard awareness test seems superhard though and I struggle to understand how you are meant to drive while looking at the road, watching for hazards, reading signs, controlling the car etc. all at once!

Oh I know I felt like that too in my first batch of lessons. But now I see it like layers. Your brain builds the foundation for one of those skills and the instructor is doing all the mental work telling you what you're looking out for etc....eventually one layer sticks and your brain can add the next layer into it, without the instructor telling you. For example. In the beginning, he was telling me everything, every gear, every pause, every hazard, and constantly reminding me of where on the road to look. Now he's just having to tell me things like remembering to lower the gears at turnings, occasionally pull adjust myself in a lane with parked cars, and any new types of road situations which come up.

@SpikeGilesSandwich plus you can do all that riding a bike can't you whilst you're also exercising at the same time?! Don't put it off, I regret putting it off and it feels so much better knowing I won't have to rely on countryside public transport.

Good!

It is freeing 🚗

I’ve been driving for 49 years and I still love it. There’s nothing so liberating as being by yourself, usually listening to a podcast, with no interruptions!

@WelikebeingcosyThanks, I need to bite the bullet!

To be honest though, I have crashed my bike into stuff when distracted so that’s not a good sign!!

This is so lovely to hear! I'm 47 and finally getting my epilepsy under control so hopefully I can start soon too. I can't wait!

Well done @Welikebeingcosy!

My lovely grandma learnt to drive in her 50s (in the 1960s) after she was widowed. Amazing woman.