tips for learning to drive

[cpr02]

i started taking driving lessons for well over a year but gave it up because i found it too difficult ! i wondered if anyone who can drive or is taking lessons has any tips as to what helped them as i dont want to take it up again and waist my time and money

the things i find most difficult are -
1. judging spatial awareness eg distances between cars , distance between the car and the pavement
2 co ordinaton in starting and stopping actions carrying out manovers
3 sense of direction and sometimes can get confused between left and right - and the roads just look like one mass of cars

ANY help would be welcome i just dont want to start lessons again if it leads to giving up
thanks

[Ldyalb]

i started taking driving lessons for well over a year but gave it up because i found it too difficult ! i wondered if anyone who can drive or is taking lessons has any tips as to what helped them as i dont want to take it up again and waist my time and money

the things i find most difficult are -
1. judging spatial awareness eg distances between cars , distance between the car and the pavement
2 co ordinaton in starting and stopping actions carrying out manovers
3 sense of direction and sometimes can get confused between left and right - and the roads just look like one mass of cars

ANY help would be welcome i just dont want to start lessons again if it leads to giving up
thanks

I had the same problems sadly. I haven't been able to afford to take lessons again yet but when I do I hope to try once more, this time with an automatic car (I found steering, looking at the road and changing gear too much for my brain to handle). I would look up dyspraxic-friendly instructors first, people have posted elsewhere on here about driving schools which specialise in helping people with SN learn to drive. If not then most driving schools I looked at in Nottingham when I was at Uni had instructors who were very good with nervous drivers so maybe try one of those and explain what you find hard and why. Good luck!

ps: do you know anyone who could take you out to practice? I didn't have anyone and several friends who didn't took a lot longer to learn to drive than those who did get lessons from parents etc (my bf passed with 25 official lessons, 1 10 min lesson with his Dad before Dad was replaced with his Mum for many hours of lessons over about 8 months. Lucky git! )

pps: I admire you, I got so scared last time I tried to learn that I broke into a cold sweat just thinking about being behind the wheel. I'm not sure if I'll ever dare get behind the wheel again (even getting into a car as a passenger makes me nervous now)

[cpr02]

aww thanks !! have decided i will def give it one last shot if it doesnt work out at least i will have tried its just finding the right instructor im from scotland and dont think there are any driving schools round here like the one you mentioned sounds good though !it will either be an incredibly stupid or really good idea thanks for the reply

[Gina]

Hi CPR02!

It took me two years until I past my test and the first two instructors I did not get on with at all, third time lucky I got a very laid back and understanding instructor who took things really slowly - he even suggested I try an automatic car as I took forever to get used to changing gears but i perservered as I wanted to be able to drive a manual car and I finally suceeded with thanks to my very patient driving instructor - I did not pass my test 1st time it took a coule of goes I think the first time I was too nervous and made a few errors.

so here are some tips:

* Find a really good instructor and explain to them that you have a neurological disorder called dispraxia and it impairs co-ordination, spatial awareness and they way you think and so you will need more patience and understanding than the average student.

* Maybe consider trying an automatic car to learn in - this will mean when you take and pass your test you will only be able to drive autimatics but it may help you if like me you had trouble with the gears.

* If you are nervous about being on busy roads ask your instructor for the first few lessons if you can do it on quieter roads and car parks.

* I asked my driving instructor specifically if he could run through again and again and again parking, roundabouts and reversing into a space so that I nailed it - I didnt understand what he was trying to say when trying to explain parallell parking but now I have a method that works for me every time: drive past the car you are trying to parralell park behind and the boot of your car should be in line to the rear drivers side window back edge then I turn the steering wheel all the way to the left as I reverse gently then when the back wheel is almost at the kerb I stop reversing and turn the wheel all the way to the right and reverse a little bit until the car is sttraight and then i turn the wheel until it is in line again, and then i starighten the car up a bit and done. this works for me every time - and if I am not sure if the space is not big enough for he car I do not attempt to park in it (had an accident ince learnt the hard way)

Hope that helps

xx

[zanderman1980]

the way i learned clutch control was watching somone else drive my car and mentaly time itfor example with the clutch, same worked for the brake. 1 was the foot on the pedal, 2 was the pedel depressed to the floor 3 was the biting point and 4 was the clutch up as fr the accelerator i listened to the sound off the engine and tok not how it sounded at differant gear changes

[nessmaron]

I don't know if this would work for everyone (and it does involve saving up for ages) but I did a lot of lessons over about 6 weeks in the summer holidays...at times I was doing 4 hours a day (in 2 x 2hr sessions - I would definitely not advise a 4 hr lesson - tbh I often got tired/driving deteriorated after 90 mins) and then some practice with my mum. Doing it all close together really helped me to get stuff into my head. Think I had about 55hrs of lessons before I passed.

Directions: Also found it very important to get instructions early so I could plan my movements - really struggled with last minute instructions.
Sometimes forgot directions really soon BUT noone minds if you ask again. Especially in my test I asked the examiner to repeat directions a lot to compensate for my goldfish memory, but they can't mark you down for it so don't be scared to do it!

Clutch control: I found/find clutch control difficult as I am not very good at making small movements so initially I kept stalling as I would lift my foot too much and then later I found moving in traffic jams just on clutch control really difficult but my instructor really helped me by spending about an hour getting me to hold the car and move it and hold it again on hills using just the clutch.
Top tip: New shoes oddly enough also really helped me (found this out totally by accident). Trainers I had were quite soft behind my heel cos I always slipped them on and off to avoid retying shoelaces all the time. When I got new trainers gave my heels better support when driving and massively improved my clutch control.

[Shadwell]

I can give a couple of tips.

make sure you can see the end of the bonnet. while it might sound silly, but it really helps with seeing distance from kerbs etc. so if you are small or can't see the bonnet use a pillow, or something that can raise you up in the seat. then while driving, then make sure the kerb is nearly to the left of the bonnet. + a little more. when parking looking slightly at a distance the kerb should be about 1/4 of the way across the bonnet. another tips is to use your mirrors more than the normal person, but not when things need attention infront of you.

a tip for stopping, if in doubt stop, and wait. but for things like judging distances, then try staying back from the car infront, and watch for traffic braking infront of him. as far as I am aware, you won't fail your test for being too far from the car infront. so just ease off a little. stopping distance, then start braking when you can see everything braking/stopping. but as a rule then leave a minimum gap of 2 lamp posts. ie 100 feet in a 30 zone, until comfortable to be just over 1 lamp post.

but most of all I would say get a driving instructor that relaxes you, ie. tells you jokes, makes you laugh etc. because at the end of the day the more relaxed you can be, the better you will drive, as learning to drive as a dyspraxic is daunting enough. even if you really want to drive.

I can't express the last bit strongly enough, I was lucky as in my first driving instructor was really good, only 2 or 3 times he had to use the dual controls during 22 hours of driving lessons, and only once was because I hadn't seen a car, another was because I was stalling the car by being in the wrong gear for pulling off.


The worst part was I didn't find out about being dyspraxic until 13 years after my driving test. but yes I had to work to get through my test, like driving every possible time I could get behind the wheel. so to the shop, to pick my mother up from work, going out with my parents for about an hour each day. I must have clocked up a good 200-300 miles a week at the time. so don't think it is easy. but the more practice you can get the better chance you have of passing your test. but having the right people sat next to you, the higher chance of learning to drive safely, and the more chance of passing first time.

[Steven]

If you are parked on the side of the road, check your mirror, start signaling, & keep an eye on the blind spots. Make definite there is no vehicle, person, animal, or any other obstruction in the way when pulling out.

[phoena]

Driving requires attention, concentration and alertness of the driver and when you are an amateur, the need of all the above three, is all the more high. Make sure you are watchful especially, while driving in busy, commercial roads. Use the rear and side mirrors to keep track of traffic and pedestrians.

[hannah bear]

i am learning to drive to and find judging distances hard to so cant help there but with the left and right thing i can my instructor put a red sicker on wheel for left n green 1 for right that helps me alot and dont get confused now hope this helps you a wee bit if i find out any more i shall post it on this forum my instructor is very nice and is helping me out as much as she can.