Learning to Drive as an Adult: 7 Tips to Boost Your Confidence

Learning to drive for the first time can feel overly exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.

While growing up, we didn’t have a car, and I had no one interested in teaching me to drive. Also, I fear accidents which caused me to be disinterested in learning to drive. Instead, I got comfortable with always being in the passenger seat.

But for how long will I depend on someone to take me around?

Accidents can happen whether I am in the driver’s seat or not. Each time that I get into a car, I choose to put my life in the hands of the driver for the time being. But if I learn to be a good and careful driver myself, I will have more chances of avoiding an accident since I am the one in control of the car.

I’ve always dreamed of driving a cool car and being able to take myself on road trips. Just me, a good romance novel and a basket of feel-good foods.

How can I ever fulfill that dream if I don’t learn to drive?

Thankfully, I’ve finally mustered up the courage to get behind this skill.

And in case you too are struggling to learn to drive as an adult beginner, I thought I could share a few tips that have helped me so far.

These 7 things helped improve my confidence as a new driver and proved that driving does not have to be hard at all.

You don’t need to step on the gas to move the car

As someone who has never gotten behind a wheel before learning to drive, I always thought you needed to step on the gas to move the car forward. And the first time I got behind the wheel, it was at a parking lot near a creek. I stepped on the gas and almost drove us into the creek. Yikes! Thankfully, my partner yelled “Brake!”, and my reflex kicked in just as we were about to go off into the creek.

It took me 2+ years from that day to get behind the wheel again.

On my next try, he made sure to remind me that I did not need to press the gas. And that the car moves slowly if it is in drive or reverse gear and my foot is not pressing the brakes fully- which immediately helped me feel more in control of the car.

Stop steering in the opposite direction while reversing

For whatever reason, reversing the car seemed to cause a lot of confusion in my brain, and I would find myself turning the wheel in the opposite direction in which I wanted to go.

But now I know that it was because I was always thinking about the front of the car even while trying to reverse. 

When really, I should be thinking about where I want the back of the car to go and just steer that way.

Focus on where you are aiming to go, not the steering wheel

During my first week of driving, the steering wheel bothered me a lot. I struggled most with getting the car to go in the direction I wanted, and I was always thinking about how much I was turning the steering wheel.  

I could not understand what my partner meant when he said I needed to ‘feel’ the car and make it a part of my body.

I was too focused on the steering wheel instead of looking at where I was headed and moving towards there.

You should not be looking anywhere besides where you are going. Where you look is where the car will go. Therefore, do not look directly at oncoming traffic because that is where the car will go. You don’t want that. And if you look down or stare too long into your mirrors, you will lose control of your car. 

My point is, while driving, think about where YOU want to go, and the car will follow. In the same sense as if you are walking to a place, you don’t think about your feet and look at your feet while walking. You just look straight ahead and walk to where you want to go, and your feet follows. 

Learn how many turns it takes to straighten your steering wheel when it is fully turned left or right

If you haven’t become one with your car yet and cannot already steer well, this is a great tip to help you get there, especially when a driving task requires you to straighten your wheel quickly before moving any further.

Turn your wheel all the way to one direction and count how many turns it takes to turn it in the opposite direction. Divide that number by 2; that will be how many turns it takes to straighten your wheel when fully turned left or right.

Note: Steering a car is different from steering a lawn mower or a Go-Cart.

Know on your side of the street

Even though I live in the USA and know that we drive on the right-hand side, I still needed someone to say it to me…? Weird, I know. But for whatever reason, it provided me with some reassurance. I somehow felt more confident about turning onto two-way streets or wherever there are intersections after hearing and saying aloud that my side of the street is the right-hand side.

Maybe, it’s just me, but it did help to improve my confidence about making turns as a new driver.

Driving is learned through practice

For me, learning to drive caused a lot of anxiety. I was constantly overthinking the entire act and worrying about things potentially going wrong.

But that is what fear is- a barrier between yourself and an opportunity for growth. You get to choose whether you want to stay behind that barrier or move beyond it.

I chose to move beyond it. So even though my feet trembled uncontrollably over the brake while I stopped at every traffic light and my mind said “don’t drive, walk” every time I looked at the car, I forced myself to get behind the wheel.

The only time I truly learned to drive was by doing it. No matter how much I watched someone else doing it, or how many videos I researched about driving, the only way I learned was by putting it into practice. Sometimes I got it right and sometimes I got it wrong. But all the time I learned something new.

YouTube beginner driving videos are your best friend during this time. Research anything you are trying to learn or improve and watch as many videos as needed for you to grasp the concept and feel confident enough to put it into practice. Then get in your car and safely put your new knowledge to the test.

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