Featured image: Image by fancycrave1 from Pixabay
As of now I am officially learning to drive and as I suspected it is not easy. Now, there are a number of reasons why learning to drive is not easy – but the reason can largely be summed up as ‘multitasking’. I have a very hard time being able to multitask and it certainly increases my error rate. But, learning to drive requires a huge amount of it.
This is because you’re always needing to look around you for hazards – you’re needing to indicate what way you’re going to go – you need to know when to change gears, when to use the clutch, when to brake, how much or little to brake, how much or little to accelerate, at what points to use the handbrake. It is a long list and it is almost like you need to be an octopus.
So far, I have only done two driving lessons so I have a long way to go. The parts I have found hardest are using the clutch at the right time and finding that biting point (where you lift the clutch up just enough to slowly pull away). Another thing I have found difficult is the perception – it always looks like you’re a lot closer to something than you actually are. For example, when coming in to park in front of or behind a parked vehicle it can look like I am very close to hitting it – I am told to turn early into the spot but my brain is freaking out about it seeming way too close.
Turning the wheel was also a little tricky to get the hang of when going around corners. You have to keep turning the wheel even if it feels way too much and then when you’re turned you just kind of let the wheel come back around and correct itself – might not have explained that very well. It certainly isn’t as reactive as turning the wheel of one of those little fair-ground/theme park go-carts, turning in those seems much easier.
I am needing to also get faster at completing the tasks needed to actually pull off. I am a bit slow and still cautious to the point where I do not want to pull out if I see any vehicles coming, which means I end up sitting there holding the clutch at the biting point and lightly pressing the accelerator waiting to take off the handbrake for quite some time, or even needing to start the routine over again if I wait too long. On my second lesson I have gotten a bit faster at the pulling out routine and after a bit my anxiety went way down.
Another thing with me is I have often been a heavy-handed and heavy-footed individual which is not good when it comes to the pedals of a car because they are so ridiculously sensitive. You need the very slightest of push on the accelerator when pulling out and holding it there along with keeping the clutch at the biting point was very difficult. And holding all that there while you check your mirrors and blindspots before taking the handbrake off and actually pulling out was crazy hard, sometimes my feet seemed to just move off their own accord and I’d have to adjust again and then look about again before pulling off.
After enough time my brain does get quite worn out from all the multitasking I am not used to and so I will eventually have to stop and end the lesson – otherwise my judgement and speed starts decreasing quite rapidly and that brings my anxiety back up again – only making things worse. Hopefully once my brain adjusts to all the multitasking it should start being able to go for longer and longer driving without tiring so easily as it currently does.
So far, all I have been doing is pulling out, driving a way down, then parking up – and repeat. I also did a few junctions and went around a block and back in my second lesson, but that is the extent so far. There are still so many more things I will need to do while driving. One of the things I am most afraid of getting around to are roundabouts and just busier roads in general where my anxiety will increase as I do not want to make other driver’s impatient with my slowness and possible mistakes.
I am determined to stick with a manual car for now although an automatic is on the table if it all becomes a bit too much. But I believe I can do the manual if I just stick with it. I am also very happy that my instructor’s car has dual control, meaning he has pedals on the passenger side to use if I mess up. I actually did almost crash into a parked car on my first lesson and I think if it was not for the dual control intervention, I would have.
When we panic, we are a lot more likely to make mistakes and that is what happened, I messed the pedals up while panicking and also forgot momentarily how the clutch works. I’d say though that the second lesson was a much greater success than the first – I still stalled a couple of times but I felt like I made a lot more progress at being faster with the pull-off and park routines and going around the block for the first-time using junctions. I came away feeling more confident the second time rather than more anxious like the first time.
A small part of me still remains anxious but hopefully that should fade with enough lessons. Doing these lessons alongside studying for my CSA exam and now also studying for my car theory test is why I have such little time at the moment. For now, I am only going to be able to write a blogpost on Friday’s and they will be more lifestyle-like blogs similar to this one.
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