How do you learn to not be a terrible driver?

hayse

Don’t drive two abreast.

seamus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119079590#Comment_119079590

If you'd said it me 20 years ago, I'd have derided automatic driving as "not real driving", but tbh that's all bravado nonsense. We're so abstracted from the operations of cars now anyway that unless you're involved in racing vehicles or will find yourself needing to drive manuals often (e.g. as a mechanic or using a pool of vehicles), that for the average person there is very little to be gained in knowing how to use a manual.

Cars are a method of getting from A to B. Whether it's manual or auto is irrelevant, it gets you from A to B either way. If someone is finding gears to be their sticking point, then having a go in an auto is definitely a great idea.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119079947#Comment_119079947

20 years ago I would have said the same thing too. the only reason I switched to an automatic 2 years ago is because my left knee was giving me grief in rush hour traffic. Now I wouldn't change back to a manual.

em_cat

Just to echo others here OP, practice practice practice, limit any and all gaps in between as you are still learning. I get the obsession people have in selling automatics to you and tbh I can agree that in order to get you thru the test and build confidence it makes sense, however, if you want to stick with manual, find somewhere you can practice gear changes & stalling, just doing that over & over will help immensely.

is_that_so

My 2c here.

I'd echo the importance of regular practice and as suggested by others, in an industrial estate, one that is not crazy busy, but one where you can do a lap, and just do lots of laps up and down the gears. Be sure too to go out in different weather conditions.

I can relate to family teaching you so maybe there is another full licence holder the OP can get in the car over pater familias! Lessons are a must but they can be a lot longer than an hour if you arrange it that way. Sometimes that works better for people as they can relax into the longer drive. Find an instructor that you like and trust. Do the test when you feel you can, not when you feel forced to and do that practice thing.

Xidu

OP, it took me 5 times to pass road test. 😂😂😂😂😂

it was a nightmare

I spent so much money on lessons

I suggest to buy an auto car

i did manual one and it was so hard

i have no sense of direction either

SunnySundays

I was you!!! I was a terribley poor driver when I started and it took me forever to get the hang of it. Looking back the main reason was overthinking & wanted to be good instantly rather than improving gradually. Also, my lessons were too far apart & I wasn't getting enough practice.

After failing twice & discovering a full clean license was needed for a lot of jobs at the time, I had no option but to get it right & started over no initial help with family,needed a proper instructor, family mean well but it often doesn't help, especially when their cards aren't dual control!

Some things that helped:-

1) Driving lessons twice a week from a highly recommended instructor- did 8 lessons before any help from family

2) Then moved to 2 weekly lessons with practice twice a week in between with the most patient family member who will agree to say nothing until the end unless I was dangerous. It's much easier that way as if someone is constantly correcting you, it will make you worse or it did with me anyway

3) Moved from practicing in my dad's good car (my dad has the patience of a saint normally but not as a driving instructor!) to my mother's older car with her telling me the old scrape would be forgivable, I wouldn't ruin her clutch etc. (she was desperate for me to drive!). It took the pressure off & it was also a much smaller car

3) Practiced in large industrial estates - ones with lots of roundabouts, even mini ones.

4) Started with quiet Sunday mornings, later moved to evenings,then busier times etc.

5) Focused on getting one thing right at a time and repeating it until I did. I.e. hill starts, roundabouts, reverse around a corner etc. There were days went I just reversed around corners for 2 hours!

6) When I started improving then I started I then did more practice on the test routes

7) Then mock tests instead of lessons

8) I also noticed it was so drummed into me about looking in mirror that I was constantly trying to look in them all, all the time, rather than glancing & focus on the correct mirror depending on the situation!

I did about 20 lessons before I reapplied and passed easily.

I hate to break it to you but for me that was the easy part. I was still a terrible driver for about 2 more years before I really improved just by driving every day. Different routes, different cars, different passengers, different weather conditions- there's learning in all of that.

10 years later, I'm a very good, confident driver. Have done the driver tests for insurance etc. If I can do it genuinely anyone can. Don't give up. I love it now and it never bothers me.

charlie_says

Don't be in a rush and understand that driving, particularly out of urban areas is likely the most dangerous and stressful a activity most people do on a daily basis. Respect the road, other road users and be prepared for the unexpected.

fatbhoy

Have you considered gender reassignment, OPer? Becoming male, like.

andekwarhola

Practice and - as with life in general - simply abiding by the time-honoured principle of not being a cwnt.

FintanMcluskey

Growing up on a farm has some serious benefits.

Many interested and competent children have 15 hours driving experience before they are teenagers.

It will just take time but everyone learns it eventually.

L.Dsallday

No witnesses haha

maccored

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

first time i drove an automatic I almost put myself through the windscreen when i braked

Potential-Monke

I did the same... Keep braking with the same foot. Only race drivers use left for braking. And people who think they are. Or the heel-toe people... Yes, that microsecond you saved makes all the difference on the road!

fevertrees

Hey guys!

I've been practising with the auld fella everyday for the last week and I can already feel a big improvement, as can he. I think my main issue was inconsistency. Going weeks/months without driving when you're learning is stupid. Sure I was "unlearning" in the interim.

Here's hoping I get a date for my next test in the next month or 2

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119124458#Comment_119124458

I have used left foot braking to tighten a car into a bend(front wheel drive), but very rarely and yeah it was when "pressing on". Pointless really. I do heel and toe downshifting though, but only because that's how my dad taught me, so that's what I did and it became a habit. It does make for a smoother downshift I suppose.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119143558#Comment_119143558

Fair play! 👌 Practice is everything. A friend of mine was all fingers and thumbs learning to drive and took ages to get to the point of doing his test, which he promptly failed. And this was when traffic was a lot lighter. Well he finally passed and got lots of practice driving for a job he was in. Then got interested in amateur motor racing and got bloody good at it. If anyone was to predict any among us was going to go racing cars him(and me) would be right at the back of the line. I'd still be at the back of the line. 😁