Can anyone learn to drive a car?

This question is aimed at physically able bodied provisional licence learners, If you have a disability and would like to learn to drive a car, there is plenty of advice for diabled learner drivers from the citizens advice organisation.

There are quite a few people who have given up learning to driving in the UK either because they have failed the UK driving test a couple of times, have had a few driving lessons and have been told by their instructor they can't drive or have given up because they find driving very difficult, stressful and have not made significant progress in the time they have allocated to the task.

You would therefore be surprised by me saying that ANYONE can learn to drive. To kick start the process, get a copy of the official learning to drive guide shown, it will give a rough plan of what you will be expected to achieve. Since it is written by the people who conduct the UK driving test, you can be rest assured that all the information it contains will be of valuable use to you.

According to the DSA, the government body that conducts the UK driving test, the average pupil requires 40 hours of professional tuition with lots of private practise in between lessons to have a good chance of passing the test.

My experience has show that complete beginner Pupils can pass the test from about 30 hours upwards, those that usually pass with the least amount of tuition are young, usually male and confident (but not arrogant) and willing to learn. Note: Passing the test doesn't make you a good or safe driver, it is just the start of the experience building process.

So back to the question, people are different, and thus learn at different rates regardless of driving age, though statistics has shown that generally the young tend to learn faster. These facts not withstanding there will always be people who will have difficulty mastering the skills of driving, however that doesn't mean you should give up.



My Advice: If you are having problems, consider the following:

There are 3 main things that learning to drive will cost you. Time, Effort and Money.

Time: If you are having difficulty, then DO NOT compare yourself to anyone, you need to do it in YOUR time and not according to anyone else's, thus you will have to learn to ignore peer pressure and any pressure from anyone else. If it takes 2 years, what does it matter, if at the end of the day you achieve something that you thought was impossible.

Effort: This is the most difficult, only YOU can put in the work to overcome this difficulty. With driving there are two faculties involved, the brain and the limbs. You first of all have to have the knowledge in your head, then you need to get that information transferred to the limbs to do what is in your head. There is no short cut to this, it requires practise until you are confident at doing it without thinking about it. The harder it is for you, the more willing you have to be to overcome the difficulty.

Money: Well money has to come into it, but honestly, I think money is not usually the main reason why people give up. Anyway it will cost you more if you are having difficulty, so you would need to budget accordingly, if you are going to stick with it to the end. It means you might have to give up some luxuries so you can see your dream come through.

Having considered these points, the next thing you have to do is find a driving instructor that is willing to help you achieve your dream. Ask friends for recommendations, you are looking for someone who is willing to work hard with you. He or She should supply you with a Drivers Record, this is a syllabus of every skill required for the test, and at the end of each lesson you should be able to mark what you have achieved during that lesson. You need to take one step at a time, not in a rush, achieve some confidence in the skill (for example you should be confident in moving off and stopping before starting to deal with junctions).

If an instructor ever hints that they don't think you will be able to drive, that instructor is not willing to work for your hard earned cash, you need to look for someone else.

If you find the right instructor, and you are willing to put in the work both in the car and at home reading and learning, then it might take time, effort and money, but YOU WILL achieve your dream.

DON'T GIVE UP and don’t allow anyone to talk you into giving up or allow anything that happens while you are out on the road to cause you to give up, this is YOUR DREAM, LIVE IT.



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More Reading
Cheap driving lessons in london.
Do you just want to pass the driving test?
Failing the driving test.
Learning to drive in the UK advice.
Do not fail your driving test on junctions.