calling all non - natural drivers

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Can you give me any advice on how to get more Confident with my driving. how did you get from nervous learner to fully fledged "I can go anywhere day or night" driver.

I've been having lessons a few months. now. It's going well bit I'm. Still not consistent I still make.stupid mistakes. I. make things far harder than. They. need to be and I find it hard to relax and enjoy it all.

I'm very Conscious of the fact that I'm responsible for what's basically a lethal. weapon and an very Over cautious.

I can do it. I do do it. but one bad lesson sets me back weeks in Confidence gained.

I need to know. There's an end to all this that my hard work wont be for nothing and ill stop planning all these long winded routes just because they will be easier should I actually pass my test at some point.

how did you get over the final hurdle and not he a nervous wreck at the thought of another lesson.

nervous wrecks a bit if an exaggeration tbf but it still does make me nervous.

By switching to auto. I learnt to drive manaual and passed my test but was never confident, particualrly in my first old bangar that still had a manual choke and you had to drive off in second gear....

We switch to an automatic car a few years ago and it is just so easy, I don't understand why more people who don't like driving don't abandon the manual and go straight to auto.

lesson went well. felt as if I was getting it still which was nice but we were out of town. got another one this week so will see how the town centre driving goes again.

I am not a natural driver, it took me five tests to pass. That said the more you do it the easier it gets, I have been driving for six years now and it has got better. I hated learning to drive, it made me feel sick and I found the whole thing stressful so you have my sympathies.

The nice thing about driving alone once you have passed is that nobody is there judging you, if you want to wait that little bit longer at the roundabout, if you miss your exit it really doesn't matter, you can take it at your pace (within reason of course!)

I'm not a natural driver AT ALL but I get by OK now. Things which helped were:

Getting an automatic
Getting my own wee car instead of driving DH's BMW. Other drivers generally expect BMW drivers to be cocks, so treat them like cocks in a pre-emptive strike fashion. It is not pleasant to be an inexperienced driver in a beamer.

Getting sat nav. I cannot over-emphasise how much this has helped me.
Parking strategically - as in, I go to the back of the car park, on the school run I park up the road instead of trying to reverse park into the wee space right at the front of the school

I still make mistakes. But when I do, I discuss them with DH later. It is astonishing how many mistakes aren't actually mine in the first place - because I'm not confident, I take it all on to my driving (for eg woman shouting at me because she had to reverse back down a road - but it was her side of the road that had parked cars, so I had right of way, she was being a cock and assuming I'd reverse). Nothing for me to get het up about there...

I passed this year and still haven't learnt to enjoy it. I park in the back parks of car parks and go the long way round to avoid certain tight roads. I hoped the love of driving would come when I passed my test but it sadly didn't.

I think frequency helps, not a natural driver but went with three lessons a week, so six hours, really seemed to help. Once I passed my test I had to drive every day so quickly settled into things.

I think one of the things that helped me once I had passed was having to drive long distances (lived in Cheshire boyfriend in Norwich). On long drives you get to do the relaxing bits where not much happens and you learn to feel at ease in the car, whereas on lessons and in town you are always doing manoeuvres and dealing with traffic so it's more tense.

It's just experience. Nothing can substitute for hours on the road. It took me four attempts to pass my test. Every time, my instructor said I was ready and perfectly capable but nerves got the better of me in the test and I made silly mistakes. However, I think that all those hours of driving lessons made me a better driver in the end and I don't regret any of them.

I would second the advice to consider an automatic. I was determined to pass in a manual, thinking it would give me more choice in the future, but I haven't driven one since the day I passed. Got straight into an automatic and would never go back to manual. Even though you say you have no problem with gears, part of your mind must still be thinking about gear changes, plus one hand has to come off the wheel to change gear. I found I could concentrate on everything else - other cars, road conditions, etc - so much better when I wasn't having to think about gears.

Good luck and persevere. The freedom it gives you is well worth it in the end.

I took about eight attempts to pass my test so if I can do it anyone can. I felt like I was having an affair with the driving instructor I saw him more than my husband. Once I got my licence earlier this year I forced myself to face my fears - a multi-story car park, the motorway, Hammersmith gyratory system, Hanger Lane.

I had a small accident, I just bumped someone in a Land Rover and damaged a headlamp but weirdly it made me more aware of things, the insurance paid.

I first took lessons in another country where the driving is awful, I was 17 and it seems old habits die hard. You have to be assertive and more risk-taking there because it's so much more aggressive.

Just keep doing it and if you are a passenger just be super observant of the person driving (this really helped me) and make sure your DC learn young.

wow 8 attempts.

I mean this when I say I truly admire the sheer determination and sheer effort that must have taken to keep going. I can only hope that I can do the same should I need to.

auto is t really an option at the mo as the car I will have access to after is a manual. I kind of feel at the moment I have come this far I will push through. If I pass I literally will be out daily doing school runs so waiting saving and trying to source an automatic while the manual car is right there is going to be a last resort at this stage.

I'm. Not closed off at all and should i end up taking multiple tests and getting no where I will definitely re consider. just a manual at this stage would be easier as I can go straight away then.

I'm. Going to go crawling to family and beg for a few days of practice. proper 3/4 hour chunks as opposed to the odd hour here and there.

Think it's only the very young and the very arrogant who truly believe they're natural drivers. As others have said, once you've mastered the basics, it's all about experience.