Learning to drive in my 30s.

Shergar6

I'm in my 30s and after years of putting it off i have to cop on to myself and get driving. I have my theory test and am going about getting all requirements like eye test etc for my learner permit. Do you really need a doctor's cert etc too? :rolleyes: I'm so nervous about it - it was a mixture of nerves, living near work and not being able to afford a car that's taken me this long - but mainly nerves. I don't know if i will be able to do it but i have to try.

All this and i don't even know if i'm going to be able to afford a car + insurance :pac:

Are there any other drivers who learned later in life? Do instructors treat older drivers differently - expecting more or less?

Cortina_MK_IV

My sister would have been in her 40's when she started. Wanting to do something bad enough is the key. If you put aside the financial issues of ownership then treat it as a life skill and go for it.

Shergar6

Cortina_MK_IV wrote: »

My sister would have been in her 40's when she started. Wanting to do something bad enough is the key. If you put aside the financial issues of ownership then treat it as a life skill and go for it.

Yeah, i have to. Not being able to drive is really limiting my life at the moment. I think driving lessons should be mandatory in school.

pudzey101

well done on going about it insurance shoudnt be too bad for you depending on the car with your age factor they wont see you as risky as a 17-22 year old , still first time insurance prices are crazy so you just have to shop around .

Dravokivich

31, almost 32 and only recently started doing driving lessons after getting the permit back in November. Don't think it's too odd really to be doing it at this age. I was always of the opinion it was too expensive to drive, but now I'm kinda needing to do it, as public transport isn't too suitable for me anymore.

sunny2004

Fair play to you lad.. just go for it

endacl

You're in good company, OP.

bannerman2005

35 here and halfway through the EDT lessons. Really annoyed at myself for leaving it this long but now that I have started hopefully everything will be fine.

Pick a good instructor that you are comfortable with and work from there

Best of luck with it

Shergar6

Ha that's great, i think i'd still react like a 17 year old though!

Thanks for the encouragement on here, folks. I have a few people in my life who can be very condescending and dismissive about it simply because they have been driving years. They don't get that it may be nerve wracking for some.

Gatling

37 started again recently ,glad I did actually find I'm a lot more relaxed and mature about driving now especially as most of my driving will involve ferrying the family and wife around

Kash

I moved out to the back of beyond when I was 30 and had to get a driving license, or turn into a hermit

There's no two ways about it, it is nerve-wracking! At 30+ you don't have that air of invincibility you have in your teens and twenties. I'm a very confident person, and I was still worried every time I got in the car. But that fades. You will make mistakes (my car is scratched on all 4 sides!) but if you take your time, you learn from those minor mistakes.

Do find a good instructor, I went through 3 before I found one I really liked.

Best of luck, and fair play!!

Shergar6

Shergar6 wrote: »

I'm in my 30s and after years of putting it off i have to cop on to myself and get driving. I have my theory test and am going about getting all requirements like eye test etc for my learner permit. Do you really need a doctor's cert etc too? :rolleyes: I'm so nervous about it - it was a mixture of nerves, living near work and not being able to afford a car that's taken me this long - but mainly nerves. I don't know if i will be able to do it but i have to try.

All this and i don't even know if i'm going to be able to afford a car + insurance :pac:

Are there any other drivers who learned later in life? Do instructors treat older drivers differently - expecting more or less?

I lived in Dublin city centre for 12 years and never learned to drive, which was always a regret of mine and it could be a source of weird glee for some when they discovered I couldn't drive in my 30s. I finally started getting lessons at 33 but it was only when I moved away from Dublin that I fully committed to it through necessity and I just got my full license in the post the other day just eight weeks later.

What did I learn? You're going to be nervous at the start, but that's natural. My advice would be that you really have to have access to a car and to practice between lessons in order to get the full benefit of them. I did the first eight EDT lessons but didn't have any practice in between and I just got frustrated and packed it in for ages, which was not a good idea as when I did finally get back to it, I had built the whole thing up in my head to something bigger than it was.

In the end, I only got fully comfortable when I found an instructor - the third instructor I used - that suited me. He was excellent, identified the very minor mistakes I was making and corrected them immediately. Then I got insured on my partner's car and just started driving as much as I could in the evenings, making excuses to go to the shops as much as I could and then just going out of my comfort zone with spins in heavy traffic, on dual carriage ways etc. By the time I did my test - after the 12 EDT lessons and three more lessons - I was very comfortable driving and I passed at the first attempt. I was nervous in the days before the test, but I was surprisingly calm on the day itself and while I made a few daft errors, I passed comfortably.

That summary may sound like it was a breeze, but it wasn't. In the end I think I turned myself into a decent and safe driver, but for a good while I was nervous and thought I would never get to where I am now, but if you stick at it and practice as much as you can you'll get there. I found that even after I was a competent driver, the key is to stay calm at all times and not to panic. If you start over-thinking, you will make mistakes. Fall back on your routine at all times and you will be safe. And just like in that video of Dara O'Brian, if you stall at lights or in traffic don't think it's the end of the world as it happens people all the time. You'll get aggressive drivers who get kicks out of bullying learners, but just ignore them as long as you are driving safely. Also, be very wary of people who flash at you to let you out at junctions etc and never feel pressurised by anyone beeping at you at lights as when you are driving regularly, you will realise that you can only ever trust yourself on the road.

In a few months/years' time you'll look back and wonder what the fuss was, but it can be a very daunting prospect. Dive in, try and embrace it and practice as much as you can and you'll be on the road in no time. The very best of luck and safe driving.

lisatu

Well I am 29 (30 in Sept) and while I have my license since 2010 I am only doing my driving test today. I am only officially driving on the road about 4 months.

I have been petrified all along to even start learning, I had insurance on my husbands car but always made excuses to have him drive so much so he stopped adding me to the insurance.

Then in February he went out and bought me a car and my own insurance so I had no choice but to learn and it was the push I need. I have been home with the kids for 8 years both are now in school so time to get out and do something for myself if I pass today. Be it start a course or a job.

It has been the best thing I started doing so really hoping to pass and have it done for the summer and before I turn 30, it will be the best birthday gift to myself.

Get yourself a good instructor and a good sponsor to go with you and take it slowly you don't have to rush to do test as long as you are happy to have someone in the car with you until you feel ready to take it.

I can't tell you why

I've given driving lessons to people twice your ago. 30 is not old or later life ( says this 39 year old). A decent instructor treats you as a person with whatever level of ability you show.

X6.430macman

I can't tell you why wrote:

I've given driving lessons to people twice your ago. 30 is not old or later life ( says this 39 year old). A decent instructor treats you as a person with whatever level of ability you show.

Is there anyone that just seem good from the start and are there people that just find it really difficult to drive.

cantdecide

Everything depends on your approach and your attitude. Primarily, it depends on not giving in to the negative 'no one has the disadvantages I have' monologue. You must simply treat it as a challenge and learning experience and in a practical sense, you need to develop your weak areas with tailored exercises and practice and not give into the temptation to fall into a comfort zone of things that are going well.

A close friend of mine started at age 33 (held permits but never pursued learning). Last summer, he bought his first car (from me ) and after applying himself and submitting to help and advice from many sides.... failed the test in September... but passed in October

iguana

I'm 37 and have booked my first driving lesson for next week. I never needed to drive before and I just got used to thinking of myself as a non driver. It's been kind of mind blowing to genuinely realise that actually, that doesn't have to be the case.

It was a bit embarrassing when I did the theory test though, as I could very easily have been the mother of each and every other person sitting the test. In fact I'm 99% sure the woman working there assumed I was the mother of the guy who arrived at the centre at the same time as me.

Lia_lia

^ Best of luck to you and the OP. My friend's Mother learned to drive from scratch when she was 60 after moving from Dublin to Kerry to retire. If she can do it anyone can.

stinkle

31 going on 32 and learning to drive after moving abroad - I actually really like it which is hugely surprising. By coincidence my new job means I need to drive on occasion too, which has spurred me on to sit the test soon. I never had the need or desire to learn when living in Dublin, also it just seemed like an unnecessary expense.

My driving school has paired me with different instructors due to scheduling and I find some are better than others, so do shop around if you feel you dont click with one. We dont have a car of our own, but use car sharing for me to practise and friends have been good too. Once I started practising between lessons I came on in leaps and bounds. Ive even started looking for excuses to drive to places and look forward to practise days when I previously got a bit anxious.

Agent Smith

Almost 31. Had my first propper lesson this evening.

Its.... Terrifying. Managed to get the car up to 20km and didnt hurt myself or the car or anyone.

Gotta get me a car now!

X6.430macman

Agent Smith wrote:

Its.... Terrifying. Managed to get the car up to 20km and didnt hurt myself or the car or anyone.

Haha was going faster than that as soon as I could reach the pedals

Rothmans

X6.430macman wrote: »

Haha was going faster than that as soon as I could reach the pedals

I don't think he was bragging.

X6.430macman

Rothmans wrote:

I don't think he was bragging.

Not a chance

iguana

So how are all of us oldies doing? I've done 8 EDT lessons, bought a car and paid more than twice it's value on insurance (despite my 'mature' status). However I just went out with it once with my dad who reduced me to tears by insisting I was driving in 3rd and 4th instead of 1st and 2nd when I wasn't. He eventually realised he was wrong and apologised but it has made me very wary of practicing with anyone other than my instructor. My husband works away and I don't really want to ruin the few days every so often that he's home by attempting to drive with him. However now that I've done reversing/small manoeuvres with my instructor, I'm able to practice those on my driveway when my son is in bed. And I'm also making use of a toy tractor of my son's to get my head around steering when parking in tight spots. Which sounds ridiculous, and had my husband in tears of laughter when he caught me doing it, but has actually really helped me visualise what I have to do.

Next week I'm going to brave driving with my dad again. Maybe just around an industrial estate at first, as driving in heavy traffic without dual controls would make us both nervous. And I think it's as important that the sponsored license holder is relaxed in the car, as it is for the learner, because a nervous passenger who is supposed to be helpful, is a recipe for disaster.

cantdecide

The NDLS had an applicant for first full licence aged 87 last week

Gatling

iguana wrote: »

So how are all of us oldies doing? I've done 8 EDT lessons, bought a car and paid more than twice it's value on insurance (despite my 'mature' status). However I just went out with it once with my dad who reduced me to tears by insisting I was driving in 3rd and 4th instead of 1st and 2nd when I wasn't. He eventually realised he was wrong and apologised but it has made me very wary of practicing with anyone other than my instructor. My husband works away and I don't really want to ruin the few days every so often that he's home by attempting to drive with him. However now that I've done reversing/small manoeuvres with my instructor, I'm able to practice those on my driveway when my son is in bed. And I'm also making use of a toy tractor of my son's to get my head around steering when parking in tight spots. Which sounds ridiculous, and had my husband in tears of laughter when he caught me doing it, but has actually really helped me visualise what I have to do.

Next week I'm going to brave driving with my dad again. Maybe just around an industrial estate at first, as driving in heavy traffic without dual controls would make us both nervous. And I think it's as important that the sponsored license holder is relaxed in the car, as it is for the learner, because a nervous passenger who is supposed to be helpful, is a recipe for disaster.

Heading to lesson 7 and despite a accident in the a school car a few weeks back , actually doing OK not getting out to practice much which is a worry but ,when I'm in a lesson in doing ok fairy relaxed at the wheel , smooth on the clutch and gears and managing in traffic fairy ok ,

Looks like it will be December for the test and January before I have a car and insurance

irishgirl19

I've finished my 4th lesson now. Im very very nervous. So much so that I am barely practicing between lessons. My instructor says im coming along well but I'm finding it very hard to guage the room I need either side of the car and for turns etc. Also doesn't help with impatient drivers behind. I wish I learned years ago

leelee77

I'm doing okay. Started in March and wasn't practising much in between lessons but have given up lessons for the summer as I really need to practice before I can progress. My Mam has been going out with me and she's very patient. Went out with my husband twice today and he's awful. He shouts and just focusses on what I can't do. Not ideal with two small kids in the back.

My main thing is there is a hill start coming out of my estate. I've built it up into such a big thing and conk out mostly every time. If I could master getting out of the estate I'd be grand I think. Also for practically every where I've to go there are between 1-3 roundabouts. Nerve wracking.

Keep going everyone. We can do it!

iguana

How old are your kids? I haven't yet driven with my 3yo in the car and I'm definitely a bit anxious about it. Firstly because I don't want him to witness the practically inevitable fighting (I vividly remember sitting in the back of the car as a child when my dad gave my mum lessons:eek:). And secondly because I think he would distract me as if he wanted my attention he'd badger me and I'm not confident enough to deal with driving while being badgered yet.

irishgirl19

My daughter is just coming up to 1, no one to mind her and probably one of the reasons I haven't been practicing as much. Not confident enough with her there

Dravokivich

Just gotta book in lesson 12 now myself.

Did a drive from Dublin to Kilkenny and back again the other week. (off motorways )

Really enjoying it.