If you ask one of your parents or older relatives what their experience was learning to drive for the first time they will probably say their experience was completely different from how driving is today. Indeed many aging parents have to give up driving because they cannot drive in the modern world.
There were fewer cars on the road and there was generally a freer attitude to driving. Although car driving today can seem more stressful, there is no need to panic.
Here are some car driving tips that can ensure you learn to drive calmly and safely.
1. Stay Calm- Don’t Panic
The worst mistake we can make while driving or doing any activity in life is to panic and stress. If we do either of these things then we can find ourselves making the situation worse.
When we panic we cannot thin through our actions carefully enough and we can end up making more mistakes or losing concentration.
We need to ensure that we are not so relaxed that we are not paying attention but we need to be in a neutral state, ready to face any challenges that come at us.
To calm our nerves listen to some music as you drive that you have chosen specifically to calm you down in advance. Be kind to yourself and don’t beat yourself up when you do make a mistake. Accept that you will make mistakes as you go on.
Focus on the positives of driving instead of assuming that everything is going to go wrong. If you assume the worst then this could come true. This is one of the best ways for how to stop panic attacks while driving.
2. Take a Trusted Friend Who Will Support You
When you are learning to drive you must have a friend or family member beside you who is an experienced driver. But this driver must not be someone who is going to stress you out.
They must be someone who you feel comfortable with and who is going to give you positive encouragement rather than negative feedback. As well as this they must be someone who you can get along with for hours at a time without falling out with.
Some cars for learner drivers have secondary controls so you might find this a much easier to drive if you know your trusted friend can take control of the wheel at any moment.
A family member might be a good idea but it depends entirely on your relationship with them. If they are someone that you row with constantly or who likes to undermine you then avoid them. A direct parental figure like a mother, father or grandfather might best be avoided.
A cousin or favorite uncle might be a better choice as you are less likely to feel the pressure from them if something goes wrong or you make a mistake.
Be sure to listen to everything they have to say but at the same time make your mind up about whether their advice is helpful or not.
Finally do not be afraid to be truthful and if you find having your friend or relative in the car while you drive is not helpful tell them so and find another partner to help you drive.
3. Drive On Private Land First
You must eventually get to practice on real roads but for early beginners who are car driving for the first time and nervous try driving on private land.
On private land on big estates, there are no other cars on the road. You can test out the car and get to know what it can do and what it cannot and how it responds to you. This experimentation is important for real roads.
After a while, you could even ask a friend or family member to bring their car so that you can get to know what it is like to overtake and ride with other cars around.
The other important factor about driving on private land first is it allows you to drive by yourself. On the road, if you have not yet passed your test, it is advisable to have a friend or partner with you and even dual-controls.
On private land, you can drive solo without any fear of causing any damage. This can help build confidence as you will not always drive with a partner when you do pass your driving test.
You can also experiment with electric cars to see how differently they drive from normal cars as these will soon be the standard car that people buy.
Car Driving Tips: Stay Calm and Comfortable
The most important car driving tips when learning to drive is to ensure you stay calm no matter what happens. Panicking can only cause issues and can lead to more mistakes.
Be sure to take a trusted friend or family member with you in the care when you are first starting out. Consider a car with dual controls in case of an accident.
And also get yourself into a calm and relaxed state before you set out on your journey: put on some relaxing music. Combine with this with an alert state of mind and you should be fine.
If you wish to practice then be sure to practice on private land in the early stages of learning to drive. This way you cannot hurt anyone and you can get a feel for the car and how it responds to you and any other cars on the road.
If you are interested in learning more about driving basics or car driving then be sure to check out the rest of our site.
