How do you learn to not be a terrible driver?

fevertrees

I'm 22 and have been learning to drive here and there for like 2 years. I say here and there because I go months without a lesson (or so much as driving) at a time. My dad is teaching me and I've been away in college for most of this period. Couldn't find anyone to teach me while I was away. So I guess I was starting fresh almost each time.

I'm shite. Like really shite. I'm a very cautious person. Probably dangerously cautious. I failed my first test miserably recently. 18 grade 2s. No grade 3s somehow (?). I hate driving. My dad genuinely thinks I drive badly on purpose but I just have no sense of direction and I take wayy too long to move off etc. Tester told me I hesitate too much and observe too much (ironically my instructor said I don't look enough?). I'm especially bad with roundabouts. I always forget which turn to take cause I'm so focused on gears etc.

How do I get less shite? I want to be safe and competent on the road. As it stands I'm neither. I've probably driven 15 hours outside of lessons and I'm still terrible

goldenmick

Buy a bike.

Jim_Hodge

Get proper lessons and do the mandatory Essential Driver Training.

Furze99

Drive more. The main problem with the 'modern' system is that people don't get enough practice as learners. Going by the law, they must be accompanied at all times by a qualified driver and don't get that crucial experience of relying on themselves. So stick to the law, but drive more.

Also as above, all road experience is useful - so cycling also learns you a lot in reading road situations.

Mad_maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058246001/how-do-you-learn-to-not-be-a-terrible-driver

Sounds familiar, one of my sisters is a hyper cautious person ,she spent over a grand on driving lessons about six years ago but had to give up in the end , she couldn't conquer the fear ,she's a very together person otherwise and a very successful solicitor but is extremely cautious about everything

Ten of Swords

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068119#Comment_119068119

If they've had a test recently they must have done this already.

OP sounds like you need consistent practice instead of going weeks and months without driving.

How does your dad react to you when you're out driving? Does he make you nervous or get impatient/raise his voice when you make a mistake? I find that learning from a family member can be a bad idea sometimes.

fevertrees

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068141#Comment_119068141

That's probably it. Going 3/4 months without practice isn't helping.

As for my dad, it's a disaster. He's fed up at this stage and flies off the handle easily. I think it stresses me more. I seem to have an easier time driving during lessons. I get it though, he thought I would've gotten my license within 3 months or something.

I'm home for the summer and really need to pass. Think I'll squeeze in more lessons.

Galwayguy35

I notice every time I come across someone taking a driving lesson some knob will start blowing the horn at them because they are a bit slow at lights or on a roundabout, there is really no need for it because we all had to start somewhere.

fevertrees

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068135#Comment_119068135

I know it's a good system but that's part of the reason I'm so crap. I'm never alone in a car. I've always been told what to do and I'm used to just being guided through driving. I haven't had to use initiative. And then suddenly I'm expected to ! And I'm utterly reliant on my poor dad taking time out of his day to give me a lesson when it's a massive pain and he probably wishes I'd just go practice in some ghost estate at 6am or something

Burt Renaults

Get (or save up for) an automatic and see what happens when you remove the clutch and changing gears from the equation altogether. In the meantime, find an instructor who has (or has access to) an automatic car and see how you get on.

Tester told me I hesitate too much and observe too much (ironically my instructor said I don't look enough?).

Clearly, you're hesitating because you're observing too much - or rather, observing the wrong things. Which makes the whole process of driving far more complicated than it needs to be. It also increases the chances of missing out on actual hazards.

It takes some people longer than others. That doesn't mean you'll be a bad driver at the end of it all. More often than not, it means the opposite. Don't give up.

Glaceon

If you’re focusing too much on the gears, would an automatic car be an option? It would restrict your licence to only automatic cars but with hybrids and electric cars becoming more common this may not be as much of an issue as it used to be.

Practice, practice, practice. That really is the only way. Find a quiet spot where you can practice. When my daughter was learning to drive we went to a big local industrial estate on Sunday mornings and did laps around it, bends, roundabouts, practicing three point turns, reversing and parking... it all helped to make things like gear and clutch control come more naturally, which it will come to you too in time. If you practice enough, before you know it you'll be changing gears automatically.

Actually spending some time on two wheels wouldn't hurt. I spent a couple of years commuting by (motor)bike before switching to four wheels (no baby seats on motorbikes) and honestly, being on two wheels will teach you a lot about road sense, anticipation and observation skills.

DarkJager21

Buy an automatic, then you can be dangerous without worrying about gears.

Ubbquittious

Practice in a field or on an empty forestry road, get comfortable with the car in empty/desolate places and after that return to the big schmoke. You need a lot more than 15 hours outside lessons.

Mad_maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068211#Comment_119068211

what im going to say goes against the default attitude generally but you should learn in an automatic

1. they are so much easier to drive , you focus only on steering , changing gears is not only a challenge for learners , its means less time for other things
2. with the rise of electric vehicles , all cars will eventually be automatic anyway , the old attitude that learning only in an automatic puts you at a disadvantage is completely outdated view , as a people , we were absurdly opposed to automatics for a very long time but that is largely gone now , having a " restricted licence " is neither here nor there as you wont have any trouble getting an automatic nowadays

expect youre dad to disagree strongly with me on this one as the older generations were fiercely suspicious of automatics

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068492#Comment_119068492

I rented one of those yokes there a while back in a place where there was nothing else available. Horrid things they are

hayse

If you can’t maintain an average speed of 99kph in 100kph road give up.

cena

First don't have you dad teaching you to drive. I just picked it up naturally. Maybe from video games helped

Get an automatic. My wife couldn't drive at all in a manual and in the automatic she passed her test within 3 months.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068550#Comment_119068550

GTA is a good place to start

atilladehun

Agree with all the other advice on automatic and practise.

I'd add, be an active passenger. Have your driving brain on when you're in a car or bus. Watch as you approach junctions, pull off again, change lanes. People i know who struggled never seemed to pick up any of this stuff while they were young. Those that did learn quickly seemed to have an eye on driving even when they couldn't.

kowloon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068578#Comment_119068578

But don't do the murder part, that's a grade 3 on the test. Get lessons regularly, don't get them from your Dad. You will get the hang of the gears. Do not listen to anyone who says you should get a moped/motorcycle instead, they're not easier.

Mad_maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068515#Comment_119068515

what are you talking about ?

" horrid things "

Drive a vehicle that you can correctly gauge distance in manoeuvring and parking. Far too many that are driving bigger cars and have no ability to judge it.

I learned to fly an airplane before I could drive, and was shocked at how you have to pay such constant attention in a car 😂 I believe Aer Lingus’ chief pilot also learned to fly jets before she could drive a car.

In my day of learning to drive there fortunately (for me) wasn’t the need for the accompanying driver or I wouldn’t probably have succeeded in learning to drive. I bought a small car, took a batch of lessons, practised about 6 months or more on my own, took a couple of pre-test lessons, then took and passed the test.

I had made up my mind it was just as easy to pass my test as it was to fail it, and that I wouldn’t be much into the idea of repeats. But that was easy to accomplish simply because I practised hill starts in the steepest non-busy hill I could find, practised 3 point turns on the narrowest non-busy road I could find, and reversing around the quietest but most angular corner I could find. With all that self-guided practise, the test route was an absolute breeze by comparison.

An investment in a set of lessons followed by intensive practice is needed, with a couple of weeks non-stop dedicated to it. If you can round up as many friends/relations to sit in car with you and try let you work out your driving , that would be key. Gears etc should be second nature, you need to focus on road-craft.

When I do anything new I try to rehearse it all in my imagination, often obsessively. Helicopter lessons are ferociously expensive and I just took two of them. To get value from the experience I read up lots about how they fly and by the time I got onto the controls with an instructor it felt that the machine already had a familiar feel and I was able to give the helicopter on two controls into a precise landing configuration whilst the instructor lowered the aircraft onto the ground.

Visualisation of doing something and doing it right has amazing results. It’s very well worthwhile training your brain bore & between lessons / practice.

Jequ0n

If you are so nervous and insecure you probably shouldn’t be on the road..

Junkyard Tom

Have you considered cocooning yourself in duct tape?

Larbre34

Don't learn from a friend or relative. They're not a professional and probably have more bad habits than you have. And in all liklihood, the rules have changed in some respects since they qualified.

Also, they won't tell you want you need to hear, whereas a professional won't sugarcoat it, their job is to prepare you, correct persistent issues and get you ready for the test.

If you are going to make a concerted effort to learn, make sure you have the resources to make your lessons frequent and regular and that you will have access to a car to practice between lessons. Like anything, you need the proverbial 10,000 hours to get good at something. Now, not all of that needs to be before the test, but weeks and months of gaps between stints practising out on the road, will never yield results, specifically confidence and good instincts.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068492#Comment_119068492

The problem with learning in an automatic, or passing your test in an automatic, is that you'll only get a full licence to drive an automatic. I would advise the OP to stick it out with a manual until she passes her test. Then switch to a automatic if she prefers.

I'm hanging onto my manual transmission car until my daughter passes her test for the same reason. Then I'll be looking into EVs.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068661#Comment_119068661

Automatic cars (bosca prundál)

Mad_maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068728#Comment_119068728

What year are you calling from?