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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Anyone else just can't get the hang of driving?

60 replies

MrsIsland · 16/09/2021 15:44

I've had 8 hours worth of lessons and still have no idea how to steer at junctions. I'm learning in an Automatic. I just feel so stupid and useless. I would quite happily give up but DH is encouraging me to keep going.

OP posts:

INeed2P · 16/09/2021 15:56

Hi OP! What do you mean "steer at junctions"?

MintyGreenDream · 16/09/2021 15:59

So 8 weeks or so? Don't be hard on yourself you've hardly had any driving experience.What do you mean steer at.junctions?

FedUpAtHomeTroels · 16/09/2021 16:00

Keep going it will sudenly all click into place. 8 hours is nothing.
Our neighbour in her 40's is still learning, she said she wished she'd done it when she was young like all her friends it's harder the older you get.

Original poster

MrsIsland · 16/09/2021 16:01

I mean I don't know how much to steer or when to straighten the car up when going either left or right at junctions. I can kind of do it when the instructor tells me how much to steer and when to stop but I can never judge it for myself.

OP posts:

Dragonpox · 16/09/2021 16:03

Are you practicing outside of lessons? You really should try and practice most days - go to a car park late at night to just get used to manouvering properly (with a qualified driver of course!)

Anyonebut · 16/09/2021 16:05

Are you looking too close to the road in front of you? I used to do that (although my problem was trying yo stay in the middle of my lane on the motorway) and then I realized I was trying to correct by millimeters because I was looking right in front of the car at that moment, you may need to be looking a bit further ahead, IYSWIM

herculesoffline · 16/09/2021 16:06

Could you ask to practice steering in a car park?

Aquamarine1029 · 16/09/2021 16:06

@Dragonpox

Are you practicing outside of lessons? You really should try and practice most days - go to a car park late at night to just get used to manouvering properly (with a qualified driver of course!)

I agree. Do you have issues with depth perception, distance perception, etc?

AnathemaPulsifer · 16/09/2021 16:07

8 hours of lessons is very early days. Give it time.

DixonD · 16/09/2021 16:08

8 hours is nothing! Keep it up, you’ll get there.

Original poster

MrsIsland · 16/09/2021 16:09

Yes I have issues with spatial awareness I think and with depth position etc which is why I haven't tried learning until now. It just seems so unnatural to me. But now DH wants me to learn because he's got a new job working away and it would just give me much more independence when he's not here. I also don't have anyone to practice with when DH is away which probably doesn't help. I don't know where to look or where to be aiming the car if that makes sense.

OP posts:

tttigress · 16/09/2021 16:12

It would definitely give you more independence, 8 hours is nothing.

Keep practicing, would be good if you could also practice with DH.

BubblesThaDragoon · 16/09/2021 16:23

8 hours is nothing OP - don’t give up! Some people take longer to learn - I have issues with spatial awareness and after about 25/30 hours manual it’s starting to come to me. I’d like to think I’m highly intelligent, professional job, qualifications etc and learning to drive is the hardest thing I’ve ever done!

BubblesThaDragoon · 16/09/2021 16:24

Also just realised you mentioned you don’t know where to look/aim the car - ask your instructor to give you reference points - this helped me massively!

MeAndZig · 16/09/2021 16:25

there are lots and lots of YouTube videos that I watched to help me . 8 hours is nothing persevere and it will pay off! I also find that I had lots of diff instructors over the years but found one that I finally understood and that’s who I passed my test with. Good luck !!!

nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 16/09/2021 16:48

8 hours? 8 hours is fuck all, don't give up so easily.

I wasn't a natural driver and had probably upwards of 100 hours. I learnt to drive a Genie faster than I did a car!

Aprilx · 16/09/2021 17:01

I’m still not sure what you mean by “steer at junctions” but from your second post, do you mean you don’t know how much to turn the steering wheel when you wish to turn the car? If you are driving slowly enough, the effect should be immediate so you will soon get the hang of it.

Anyway, after eight lessons, I still couldn’t drive in a straight line, I was still driving around a car park. Keep at it, you will get there in the end.

Original poster

MrsIsland · 17/09/2021 15:14

I have had another 2 hours this afternoon. I think I'm frustrated that I don't seem to be improving at all. It's the knowing how much to steer and not ending up on the wrong side of the road I'm struggling with. But 10 hours in I feel like I should be able to steer. That's 1/4 of the amount of time my driving instructor says it takes on average to learn

OP posts:

TimeForTeaAndG · 17/09/2021 15:32

Ignore the average number of hours, that's neither helpful nor relevant. You need as many hours as you need.

Driving is a skill that takes practice, some people get it easily and some don't. If you have difficulty with spatial awareness then it's obviously going to take more time and I'd ask your instructor to focus on quiet streets if possible where you can practice junctions and things without worrying about other cars.

The steering wheel represents the position of your wheels. When it's centred you are going straight and as you turn it the wheels turn to that position. The tighter the bend, the further round you need to turn the wheel.

In order to turn at a junction you need to draw a curve with the front end of the car from the position you are in to the point you want to end up. Once the front of the car gets to the end of that curve, you turn the wheels back to centred.

So although a junction is 90degrees (or whatever) you aren't jamming the wheels all the way to the left/right, you're following a curve.

I've drawn a little diagram, hopefully to make my point a bit clearer.

Anyone else just can't get the hang of driving?

MyCatEatsPrawnCrackers · 17/09/2021 15:35

8 hours is nothing! I had 2 lessons a week for about 15 months and I was hopeless! I just couldn't reverse around a corner or do a hill start. But I persevered and passed first time (after my zillions of lessons!) I couldn't practise outside lessons as nobody in my family could drive. You will get there in your own time.

IvySneezes · 17/09/2021 15:58

@MrsIsland if you can steer a shopping trolley, you can steer a car. It’s just bigger really.

MojoMoon · 17/09/2021 16:02

Can you ride a bike? How is your steering when you do that?

LimitIsUp · 17/09/2021 16:07

8 hours is negligible driving experience - give yourself time

ThePotatoCroquette · 17/09/2021 16:08

I've done about 100 hours of lessons and still don't have a license. 8 hours is a drop in the ocean

Gingernaut · 17/09/2021 16:13

Nope. Can't get the hang of it at all.

ADHD and dyslexia, here.

I have spent hundreds of hours over the decades and tens of thousands of ££££ on driving lessons and speed, distance and judging corners were embarrassments.

My very last lesson, before finally giving up was just as awful as the first.

When your driving instructor is sitting beside you shouting "Turn left!
No! Your LEFT! No! Your OTHER LEFT!" after almost 33 years of lessons with a variety of different schools and instructors, then you know you have to hang up the L plates.

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