first driving lesson?

Question

hiya everone,basically i took my theory test last friday and i passed 1st time! i was well chuffed with myself, now my mum's booked me in for a set of driving lessons. next tuesday's my first one! i spoke to my driving instructor earlier he sounds really nice and that, i'm just worried about going behind the wheel though what if i crash or something? i'm so nervous i'll make mistakes and other drivers on the road will get annoyed with me. how can i prevent this from happening? please help, thanks.

just want to say thanks to you all for your lovely answers. you've all put me at ease a bit now :) thanx guys an gals.xxxxxxxx

Answer 1

You will make mistakes (everyone does, that's why you need lessons).

You won't crash (the instructor has duel controls, which means he can stop the car or slow it down if he feels he needs to).

Other drivers will get annoyed with you but you don't need to worry about that. It is actually against the law to hassle a learner driver, so don't worry about it. Just concentrate on what YOU'RE doing and be ready for it to take a while to get the hang of it.

Answer 2

The good driving school places have two sets of controls. There is the set used by the trainee (you) and the set used by the instructor, so if you get into difficulty, the instructor takes over ... it is like pilot & co-pilot on a plane, except the instructor can turn off your controls.

You know waht a police car looks like, an ambulance, a fire engine, a taxi cab, don't you? They have distinctive shape, color, signage. Well the good driving schools also use vehicles in which it is obvious to the other motorists that here comes a trainee. We all know to be gentle with you, just like in real life outside of a car we know to be gentle with a baby. Don't be bothered by the ignoramouses who fail to do what we all should do.

The instructor will be very experienced, won't start you off on multi-lane highway that has bumper to bumper maniacs going 20 mph over the speed limit, but will start you on roads that he knows do not have a lot of traffic, than not go fast, dangerous situations, then as you do fine on the easy stuff, gradually up the challenges, so gently that you probably won't notice.

Answer 3

Hello new driver! The fact that you are worried and nervous, and not over-confident and cocky, to me shows you will be a more careful driver.
Some tips:
A) Learn about how a car works. This can help you to understand how to control a car.
B) Keep your foot on the brake when you start the car, and while shifting into gear to take off.
C) Drive the way the instructor teaches you to, not how you see people driving.
D) Don't drive with the radio on until you are confident and at ease behind the wheel.
Not to scare you, but a car can be an essential tool for traveling, or it can be a weapon. If you drive safely, don't worry about other drivers getting annoyed at you- that's their problem, not yours. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Hi Amy

First of all try to remain calm. Your driving instructor will go through all the basics before you even go anywhere and the car will have dual controls so for any reason the instructor can take over control if you get too close to anyone.

More than likely he will take you to a quieter area/industrial estate where you can stall and bunny hop toyour hearts content without very many other cars. Just explain how nervous you are to your instructor and this should help ease your worry.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Don't worry, after explaining the "cockpit check" and the gears,you will find your instructor will take you to a quiet stretch of road where you will practice starting off and stopping. You won't crash since driving school cars are fitted with dual control pedals( brake and I think,clutch). As for annoyed other drivers, don't worry about them, they are so quick in forgetting that they were in the same situation! Just relax, listen to your instructor and have fun!!

Answer 6

Try not to worry......you will have to trust your instructor - he/she will not let you crash, and should keep control of you on the lesson. You shoud not be put straight out on to a main raod at first, your instructor should start you in a quiet area to learn all the controls in the car and then practice moving off and stopping again and then going through the gears. Let the instructor deal with the other road users. Try to relax and enjoy.

Answer 7

You are not going to have an accident as your instructor will have pedals on his side of the car to take over if he needs to.
As for the other drivers, just remember that every one of them was in your shoes at one time and only the most ignorant and selfish of them will give you any trouble. Most of the impatient people on the road would probably fail their test if they had to do it again. Concentrate on your own actions and dont worry about holding anyone up. You are doing nothing wrong

Answer 8

You will more than likely learn in a dual drive car, if your instructor feels at any time you are not doing something correctly, he will be able to control the car from the passenger seat. Everyone is nervous on their first drive and I can guarantee, you will not have a crash.

Answer 9

dont panic yeah driving to begin with is a scary thing but you wont crash your instructors car will have dual controls so he can counterout any bad manouvers you might make and as for other road users getting angry dont worry hun, every driver has had to learn and most are sympathetic the odd idiots who will get annoyed are just losers who are the ones who will end up crashing. dont rush yourself be patient and take your time good luckxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Answer 10

Don't worry about it. You won't learn much during your first lesson - just how to safely start and stop the car. The instructor will take you to a quiet street for your first time and you will just practice moving off and safely stopping. It will be fun so just enjoy it.