# How did you learn how to drive?



## TheOutsider (Mar 4, 2010)

Honesty, I'm about to hit 25 and I still don't know how to drive. It is really depressing and frustrating. I can't imagine being 40 and having to ask my mother for a ride somewhere and her going out to the car with a cane and an oxygen tank. *le sigh*

My mother pretty much refuses to teach me how to drive, saying it is not her responsibility and that I'm an adult, so it's my responsibility to teach myself how to drive. 

Ok yea, she should've taught me when I was 16 like everyone of my classmates parents did. It's not like I can just go and steal a car and teach myself.


I'm debating about enrolling in a private driver's ed course, but the anxiety just CONSUMES me. So, how did yall learn how to drive? Were you anxious getting your license? Are you anxious driving now, or do you feel FREE?!


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## Your Crazy (Feb 17, 2009)




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## foodie (Apr 27, 2010)

i took classes at 2 driving schools in different states lol...i was determined my anxiety played a part in preventing me from going to class at time thats why it took me longer to get my liscense...but im sure you can do it...just be determined you know...and im wasnt anxious at all driving and im not atm either my anxiety is purely social anxiety...im sure you will do just fine...! all the best good luck!


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## origami potato (Jan 9, 2010)

I was stubborn I tell you, but my parents (mostly my dad) wouldn't have it. I *had* to learn how to drive or else! Boo.

I took the quarter semester driver's ed course in high school. (It required a learner's permit, I failed that test 3 times. I always over think on multiple choice. ><) I drove with the teacher 3 times and got a certificate that pretty much wavered the need to drive with a DMV worker. So all I did was walk into the DMV, take my picture and I was able to drive alone!

It's definitely nice being able to drive. I do remember taking advantage of skipping out of high school (P.E., I loathed it) because of it's ability to give me independence. *laughs*

--
I do think it's a shame that your mother hasn't taken the initiative to teach you. I agree, it's not like you can up and go for a joy ride on your own. ><


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

I took driver's ed with a bunch of people who were five years younger than me. Awkard at the time, but worth the time/money/embarrassment.


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## Keith (Aug 30, 2008)

I learned to drive when i was 13 my friends mother would let us drive her car out in the rural areas of the town i grew up in, she was with us of course. All we had to do was some maintenance on the car like changing the oil, air filter etc. I know its illegal but boy was it fun haha. Needless to say i was well prepared when i entered mandatory auto school in order to get my license before 18. Some people just learn at different times my mom didn't know how to drive until her late 20s maybe even 30.

To the OP I hope you can summon the courage to go to auto school, all the instructors i had were really nice.Best of luck!


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## Amocholes (Nov 5, 2003)

I'm self taught. I really started driving at 21. I got my license at 23 after getting pulled over for an expired registration and then driving without a license. I did not go to any school. I just went in and took the tests and passed the 1st time around but I had already been driving almost every day.

Get your permit. Call a driving school. They will teach you how to drive. You will also need a licensed driver to practice with but they just have to sit in the passenger seat.


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## accepting myself (Jun 27, 2010)

My case is just sad :-( I tried to learn in drivers ed in high school but the class was filled and I coul'nt get in, my parents don't drive, I have no siblings ( so no help there ) there was no other close family member that could teach me, I was completly friendless ( again no help there ). I was broke so I couldn't afford a private school.

Later in life a very impatient person tried to give me 2 or 3 crash course classes before he rendered me hopeless and gave up. By this point I had SA so yeah I was really freaked out.

So now I just really don't want to learn anymore :-(


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## rickey (Jun 22, 2010)

my dad's teaching me first to get comfortable on the road. Im still learning and soon I wanna call up my local driving school for their lessons. 

One piece of advice, when parking watch you dont back up into any poles.


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## shyvr6 (Feb 18, 2008)

I mainly learned by driving with my friend in his car.


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## cakesniffer (Nov 11, 2003)

I went to driving school. It is mandatory in Massachusetts if you are under 18 and want your permit. Then I did the required number of supervised hours with my dad and aunt.


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## estse (Nov 18, 2003)

I drove a car.


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## Roberto (Aug 16, 2004)

I was 18 and really shy when I learned to drive - the person teaching me made all the difference in my comfort level. My grandma paid this old man. He was nice and cool as ****. His instruction was based more on passing the test than actually teaching you to drive, cause the only way to really learn is to do it. 

The actual day of my test, I was turned away because I had long hair, was anxious, and the woman thought I was on something. I really wanted to give up then, but I ended up getting a haircut and went back and passed the test. Don't let it discourage you if things goes wrong the first time. It usually does for most people.


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## shymtealhead (Feb 16, 2010)

I took drivers ed and got my license on the first try (of course I drove the required hours with my permit before I took the test). Its a little jittery at first, especially the first time actually driving, but it gets better and more relaxing. For me it's to a point now where I LOVE to drive in areas that I know...not as much as in unknown areas, but I learn more and more about those areas like the city's and such.


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

Stole my mom's car while she was at work and taught myself to drive on old dirt roads that cops barely went on. Also, my dad would often let me drive, when he bothered to visit us.


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## UndercoverAlien (Dec 29, 2009)

Atvs and go-karts first then my dad let me drive his Geo Metro, thats how i learned to drive a manual. They're so much more fun to drive than an automatic.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I took driving school classes and I drove with my parents for about 8 months before getting my G2 drivers license. I've been driving for 7 years now. The only anxiety I had was getting lost while driving. This anxiety was solved pretty quickly by getting a GPS unit for my car and later getting a 2nd GPS unit, my iPhone, so even on foot I wouldnt get lost.


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## whiteWhale (Nov 19, 2009)

I learned to drive a car when i was 14-15. My dad and I would go up into the mountains and he would let me drive around on the fire roads. That helped a lot to get the basics down. 

Also go-karts. If you have a place near you start using it. You will learn basic control and how to recover from skids, evasive maneuvers etc. Not exactly the same as a car but most of the basics carry over and it's safer than driving on the streets.


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## penguin runner (Apr 28, 2010)

My parents tried to teach me how to drive once... but after the yelling and pressure from them I decided I would try a different route. So I went to a private driving education place... plus by going there I was able to get money off for insurance which was definitely a bonus. I was like 5 years older than everyone in the class when I took the driver's ed so it was definitely awkward... but I got through it. Most of the time we were doing work/watching little videos so I didn't have to feel to weird... and while we did have breaks listening to music on headphones was fine. 

If you're parents aren't willing to help you with learning to drive you gotta find a different approach. Maybe a friend? (Although I know how hard it may be to ask a friend for help...) But driver's ed classes while anxiety ridden while they are occurring should definitely pay off. 

Hopefully you can find a way to learn to drive!!


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## Lonelyguy (Nov 8, 2003)

I had the advantage of growing up on a farm, so I was able to practice driving on our property. I was probably about nine years old when I first started driving my dad's truck around home and on the dirt road connecting our two farms. I got my license at age 16.


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

Your Crazy said:


>


Dude, jet moto was the ****.


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

Lessons with a driving school, like most people here. Still haven't taken my practical test though, and I haven't had a lesson for a couple of weeks, but I _can_ drive, just not legally 

Of course, over here we actually have to learn to drive properly, e.g. in a car with manual transmission (none of that silly automatic stuff that turns the car into a giant go-kart), or at least you'd be unwise not to because almost every car on the road is manual, like they should be.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Took drivers ed in HS at 15. Before I got to the behind the wheel of a real car portion of the class I'd already driven vehicles from hell with both my brothers and my father.

Vehicles from hell would be:

- F-150 Pickup with stick shift and the worst clutch imaginable.
- 1974 VW Bug with a stick & with no power steering and no power brakes either. Ah, what fun when a rapid stop only takes a hunded pounds of force on the brake pedal.
-Toyota Tercel: another with a stick and no power steering.

The school's drivers ed car was so easy by comparison. A small Oldsmobile that even a little old lady could handle.

Got my license just a couple days after turning 16.


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## Cheryl (Oct 26, 2009)

Before my anxiety really kicked in, I started in a big parking lot with my ex and my mom. I had to take a 5 hour which is mandatory here and pretty much did all but beg my mom to sit through it with me - I was having panic attacks the entire time. Driving kind of sucks for me, makes me pretty anxious, but there definitely is level of freedom that is worth it.


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## Misanthropic (Jun 25, 2010)

butiadoreyou said:


> Honesty, I'm about to hit 25 and I still don't know how to drive. It is really depressing and frustrating. I can't imagine being 40 and having to ask my mother for a ride somewhere and her going out to the car with a cane and an oxygen tank. *le sigh*
> 
> My mother pretty much refuses to teach me how to drive, saying it is not her responsibility and that I'm an adult, so it's my responsibility to teach myself how to drive.
> 
> ...


I'm 24 and I can't drive. I don't want to take driving lesson's for the same reason. I'm not as embarassed about it as I used to be,many people don't get their licenses until their 30s, 40s etc. (if ever).


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

A boyfriend taught me at age 22, on a standard, station wagon of all things! I wasn't about to take Driver's Ed in high school -- the teacher was known for being notoriously tough and obnoxious. His name was Mr. Chevette (pronounce shah -vet) and people nicknamed him "Mr. Shove-it." No way was I going to take lessons from that dude!


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## leonardess (Jun 30, 2009)

with my nostrils of steel


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## flyinginside (Jan 19, 2010)

butiadoreyou said:


> My mother pretty much refuses to teach me how to drive, saying it is not her responsibility and that I'm an adult, so it's my responsibility to teach myself how to drive.


My mom is the total opposite. She was offended when I told her that I would rather go to a driving school than have her teach me. It's not because she isn't a good driver--she is--it's just that I would feel more comfortable learning from a professional instructor.


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## ktbare (Sep 13, 2009)

I got paid for driving lessons for my 18th birthday. Didn't get my license until I was 20 though.


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## TheRob (Dec 30, 2006)

I took driver's ed at age 14, the summer before my freshman year of high school. Unless you lived on a farm, that was the minimum age for classes at the time. I had a restricted license for two years, until I turned 16. I remember two things distinctly.

1. The instructor melted down in spectacular fashion when he discovered I didn't wear my seatbelt on the cone course.

2. After a particularly awesome day of parallel parking, the instructor told me I drove better in reverse.

We only had on day of manual transmission training, so my dad taught me to drive stick shift on his 1970 Volkswagen Beetle.


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## filmcreator (Aug 24, 2013)

*Don't give up*

I was in the same situation. I recently got my license like two weeks ago and I am a brand new driver and still lots to learn and practice. I didn't get in in high school, mom never drove couldn't teach me, no close family members would teach me and no friends that would. So I didn't start taking lessons until I turned 25 when I could finally afford them. Because I'm an adult most driver classroom courses are off limits to me but I just read the driving book for my state and decided to use some free interactive tools like Road Aware by State Farm and then do an online driver's ed course and then I would ask a whole bunch of questions when I was taking lessons behind the wheel with an instructor. I'm still taking lessons even though I just got my license because I feel there are areas I'm still really weak in. I couldn't afford the lessons till now and will have spent $1500 on driver's training but it was worth every penny. Don't give up just save the money and then enroll in adult driving lessons. It'll be worth it. Now if I can just learn to back into parking spots and out of them and pull into them properly life would be easier....working on it .



accepting myself said:


> My case is just sad :-( I tried to learn in drivers ed in high school but the class was filled and I coul'nt get in, my parents don't drive, I have no siblings ( so no help there ) there was no other close family member that could teach me, I was completly friendless ( again no help there ). I was broke so I couldn't afford a private school.
> 
> Later in life a very impatient person tried to give me 2 or 3 crash course classes before he rendered me hopeless and gave up. By this point I had SA so yeah I was really freaked out.
> 
> So now I just really don't want to learn anymore :-(


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## Crisigv (Aug 3, 2013)

When I was 18, my dad started teaching me how to drive in his GMC Safari. I was so nervous, but we started in a big parking lot when it was empty and he graduated me to the main roads when I was more comfortable. Afterwards, I went to driving school for a bit and I had a good time. The class was really diverse. 

It only took me 2 tries to pass the first test, and 1 try to pass the final test. Now that I have my own car, I feel so free. Even though I never go anywhere, the fact that I can feels great.


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## BeautifulRuin (Aug 5, 2013)

op, i'm in the same boat. my mother said/didnt do and still says the same thing your mom said/didnt do. why tf should i have to go to DT and pay all that money, when i can be taught for free? i'm just going to have to save some money up and go sign up for training.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

Had an hour of simulated driving a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the following week I was out on the streets and hills of South Korea tearing things up (literally).

This is me in the drivers seat:


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## Crisigv (Aug 3, 2013)

nubly said:


> Had an hour of simulated driving a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the following week I was out on the streets and hills of South Korea tearing things up (literally).
> 
> This is me in the drivers seat:


Seriously?! I'm actually jealous right now.


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## DarrellLicht (Mar 9, 2013)

Father teach. He showed me parallel parking is easier than most people make it out to be.

I got my license after my third test, and i'm sure the guy took pity on me.. Or he was trying to score with my mom.. :|


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

Crisigv said:


> Seriously?! I'm actually jealous right now.


Wasn't all that great lol. A part of a wall ended up on the front slope of the vehicle and the guys sitting in the back joked around that they were pinballs when I drove. I was a terrible driver but what can you expect with no training?


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## Crisigv (Aug 3, 2013)

nubly said:


> Wasn't all that great lol. A part of a wall ended up on the front slope of the vehicle and the guys sitting in the back joked around that they were pinballs when I drove. I was a terrible driver but what can you expect with no training?


Still pretty awesome.


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## nitro eh (Jul 18, 2011)

Just started learning last few months. Mostly just driving around with my dad and getting experience. Going for my road test in a week or so.


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