The First Driving Lesson

As someone who has recently had their first driving lesson (yesterday), I am all too familiar with the commonplace nerves before finally starting to learn to drive. Some of the more common fears include whether or not you will like your examiner, whether you will take to driving naturally, and even fears of having a driving accident!

Whilst it is perfectly natural for the first lesson to be nerve-racking, many learner drivers will say that their first lesson was in fact one of their more enjoyable lessons! Most driving pupils will have been looking forward to starting driving for some time, and the thrill of finally sitting behind a wheel and operating a car can be huge boost. Whilst typically on a first lesson you will not be shooting off down dual carriageways and performing flawless reverse parking, you should in most cases be allowed some time of actual driving, after a discussion regarding how a car actually works.

If you are nervous about how well you will perform on your early driving lessons, it is good advice to get an elder person such a parent or relative to give you some basic driving lessons in their car (remember, they must be 21 or over and have been driving legally for a minimum of three years!). This will help to put the more nervous learners at ease and give them more confidence when they finally get behind the wheel with an ADI.

It is important to get on well with your instructor – this will help the process of learning to drive to become much easier on both parties, and encourage your driving ability. If you do not like your driving instructor for any reason, perhaps they are not the instructor for you, and consider changing. Also it is important not to overestimate oneself – learning to drive comes in baby steps, everyone started learning to drive the same way, so do not feel disheartened if you feel you have not done as well as you hoped, you will get there.

Finally, fear not about having an accident. All driving instructor’s cars should be dual-controlled, and your instructor will be a professional with a history of experience of bad drivers behind them. If you were going to have an accident, they would be able to see it a long way off, and will be able to prevent any mishaps.

Safe driving from Britannia!

What was your first driving lesson like? Share your experiences in the comments section below!