Learning to drive at 46 - what do I need to know?

[tigerbear]

After never having been interested in learning, and quite frankly, because I’m terrified, I’ve never had a driving lesson in my life.
I’m 46, and now thinking it would be good for me to learn (I have a tween DD who is needing to be ferried about more and more, and it’s not really fair on DH for him to do it all).

I’m definitely more interested in learning in and only driving an automatic.
The one and only time I had a go in DH’s manual car, I stalled it about 10 times 😬

Any tips on preparing for driving lessons, learning the theory side, etc from anyone else who has learned later in life?
Thanks!

I just passed last week ( I’m in my 30s) for the theory, I’d get one of the apps, I liked the 4 in 1 driving theory app, as it paced it all out for me and had the questions and hazard perceptions and lots of mock tests.

practice as much as you can with your husband and his car, when you feel confident enough to, start doing the driving, for me the biggest thing I freaked out about was when unexpected things happened that I wasn’t sure how to deal with, but just loads of driving really helped me not freak out in those situations.

Hi @tigerbear , good for you! I passed my test 5 years ago aged 39. I found driving lessons really intense and stressful, although I didn't really like my instructor so that didn't really help. Many times I felt like I was doing terribly and was never going to get it - actually looking back I was doing fine, and I passed first time. I'm still not the most confident driver, but I can do it, and the stress is absolutely worth it for the freedom it gives me

Stalling a manual car all the time is normal in the beginning so don't worry about that! I learned in a manual. I still stall occasionally, I think most drivers do!

There’s also a lot of YouTube channels that show mock tests or how to do the hay park, parallel etc and I found them really good to watch.

No advice, but I’m older than you and trying to screw up my courage to start learning.

Fellow-feeling!

Watching with interest as I am also 40s, never learned to drive and terrified of the prospect. It's getting more and more difficult to manage though as public transport is getting worse and worse and more and more expensive.

Good luck!

Before you start, though, look at the cost of buying and insuring and parking and MOT-ing and fixing and running a car. You might find that it'll be a lot cheaper to take taxis.

And that's not even counting the cost of lessons!

My husband passed his test first time last year at the grand old age of 50! My best advice is to find the right instructor - it'll save you so much money in the long run.

I passed my test first time when I was 51. I’d moved out of London and the public transport was rubbish and expensive. I went straight for an automatic on the advice of my daughter in law. Totally ignoring anyone who says it’s not proper driving if it’s not manual. I’m not the most confident driver but I drive and that’s what’s important. I work from home all the time so didn’t need to drive to work which limited the opportunity/need for driving every day. I’d advise getting as much driving experience as possible at any opportunity

Like Eviebeans I went for automatic recently (having tried and failed to learn in a manual years ago), as I'm 39 and just need to get on with getting my licence and wanted to make it as straightforward as possible.
It honestly made it so much easier for me. Automatic cars are getting more and more popular with hybrids etc. so it's easier to find them these days.

Passed my test in August and got a car in September and I never would have if as another poster said, public transport hadn't deteriorated to the point that my job could have been at risk because I was constantly battling to do a 20 minute journey with buses that broke down, were late, didn't turn up or just stopped halfway there, made you get off and wait for the next one which was invariably late!

I'm very cautious, tend to slow down and stop rather than just barge through and and posted on here (and got some great advice) about driving in snow and ice. Not knowingly broken the speed limit etc, much to the fury of others who seem to think that doing the speed limit is unreasonable, no matter if it's 60 in a 60 or 20 in a 20. It bothered me at first but now I just think it's their problem, I'm not risking my licence, myself, my car and other people because someone else wants to shave 30 seconds off their journey. You drive to the conditions of the road and to me that means your own experience as well, I drove through the recent storms and kept it steady - I had never experienced that before and in order to be as safe as possible, that meant slowing down a bit and being careful, and in order to gain experience and confidence I have to drive in it!

I would second the app for the theory, I had sat it years ago but this time around it was very different, tight security and conditions, but the practice paid off (I used the RAC app for £4.99 a month) and obviously I passed. So would recommend plenty of practice.

And just take your time with the practical side, I tried a few different times over the years and could never quite get it, this time something just clicked and I could do it and learned quite quickly.

Good luck 🍀

Edited to say I'm 44.

Get the theory app and get the theory revised and passed whilst you're still mulling over actual lessons.

I learnt and passed at 39. I'd recommend frequency of lessons. I had 2-3 a week! Also theory test apps and iirc, there was a hazard simulator computer programme I practiced on before my theory test. Good luck!