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You’re off!

You’ve booked your lessons and I’m sitting beside you. Not only that, you’re in the driving seat, surrounded by pedals, brakes, gear leavers, Knobs and switches which one day you’ll master. You feel terrified, excited, impatient to get going, a bewildering cocktail of emotions.

On our first lesson I will need to see BOTH parts of your driving licence, and you will need to pass an eyesight test. This is standard procedure to ensure you are entitled to drive.

Some learners have a natural aptitude for driving, relate well to their instructors and find the process exciting and enjoyable, hopefully you’re going to be one of them.

Before setting off

What to wear:
Any comfortable clothes and sensible shoes will do. Heels are best avoided as it’s difficult to get the leverage you’ll need to operate the pedals. And boots or trainers with thick soles aren’t a good idea either as it makes it difficult to feel the clutch biting point. Trainers with thinner soles are fine though. Avoid flip-flops because they can slide off too easily. And don’t drive without shoes.

Your first few lessons

Car control is a lot to take in at first, it’s a physical process which requires a new range of conditioned reflexes, response times and hand-to-eye co-ordination skills. Even a simple procedure like moving off involves dealing with the clutch, gears, handbrake, indicators and checking the mirrors.

It might feel difficult to believe at the moment, but this will get easier. Eventually you’ll be carrying out the correct sequence automatically. It’s a bit like learning how to tie your shoelaces, your first attempts will have been a real effort, involving much concentration and guidance from your mum but now it’s something you do without a second thought.

The first stages of learning a skill are the most difficult because you’re still at the stage where you have to remember everything – the knowledge is in the conscious part of your brain. However, as it’s more ingrained it becomes subconscious and automatic, and the space freed up in your conscious mind means you’re more able to pay attention to what’s going on around you on the roads.

You might find that as you progress to driving in heavier traffic, you could find yourself getting flustered and thinking that you’re holding everyone up when other cars are behind you, waiting for you to pull out at a junction or complete a manoeuvre. But don’t let it get to you. Everyone who’s taken a driving test has been through it as well!

Just the two of us

Many learners find they feel really self-conscious during their lessons and loath the sensation of being watched by their instructor all the time.

This is perfectly natural and is partially down to the fact that being tutored in a one-to-one situation can feel so unfamiliar. Most of us are more used to being taught in classrooms where there’s the opportunity to blend into the background and try to figure problems out for yourself if you prefer.

But don’t worry if this makes you uncomfortable, you’ll soon learn to relax.

Enjoy the learning process

Studies have shown that people learn more effectively when they’re happy and relaxed so you owe it to yourself to make your lessons positive experiences. How you do that is going to depend on you personally.