<p>Okay, so I am an AWFUL driver. Tomorrow is my last day of Behind The Wheel drivers ed and I haven't improved at all since yesterday. My mom and dad practiced with me two or three times in parking lots, but my mom wouldn't let me practice turning or doing anything important because she was freaking out, despite me doing nothing wrong. My dad is calmer, but I don't see him much so we only practiced once. I did okay then and even practiced turning....</p>
<p>Then, on my first day of drivers ed, I fail horribly. I can't make a right or left turn to save my life (literally) and no matter how much advice I read and receive and how many times I practice, I can't get the swing of it. At first I thought it was just me (which it probably is) since my partner drives AMAZINGLY compared to me and all my friends are naturally good at driving. But then I thought about how I figured out how to turn with my dad and he said the exact opposite of my drivers ed teacher. So maybe it's her?</p>
<p>My drivers ed teacher always plays music, talks on her phone and texts. This kind of distracts me, but I know she's always watching what I'm doing because she'll steer the wheel and use her brake A LOT. She gets really frustrated when I don't turn well (which is always) and she kind of freaks out (which I understand because we're on the road). She's not very calming though and when she puts pressure on me, I don't do well (I don't do well under pressure).</p>
<p>I do okay driving straight, stopping when I should and even 3 point turns, U-turns and 2 point turns (surprisingly), but I CANNOT do a regular left or right turn. I nearly started crying the first day because we were practicing in the parking lot for an hour and my teacher got so exasperated, she forced me to get on the road (even though I really wasn't ready) and she basically steered and used the break so excessively. She says that I need to have more confidence in myself when driving but I find it impossible to do that when she doesn't have confidence in me to brake correctly.</p>
<p>I'm a terrible driver but I wasn't that bad when practicing with my parents. I sobbed for hours last night because of how awful I did. I'm not used to sucking at things (a classic CC overachiever, I hope) so this was extremely challenging for me.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice for me? Not really sure if this is in the correct forum, but hey, it's high school life and this is the first class I have received a D in. :'(</p>
<p>Yeah, I suck at driving. I’m eighteen, I’ve had my temps for almost three years, I got like a C in driver’s ed (which luckily wasn’t an actual class at my school), and I got pulled over for a DUI once.<br>
I would consider whether driving is really necessary for you at this point. I’ll be able to take public transportation when I’m in college, and it’s not like I can afford a car anyway, so I don’t see the point of trying to get my license for another few years. </p>
<p>Where I live, it’s pretty much a necessity to drive. We don’t have good public transportation and I don’t really want to be the burden that relies on their friends to take them everywhere.</p>
<p>The way I learned my turns and gained confidence on the road is by driving on backstreets when there’s no traffic. What do you have trouble with? Making the turns too fast? Swinging out onto the other side of the road? Doing it specifically when there’s traffic moving? My driving instructor just says that when making a right turn, wait until your front wheels pass the end of the curb (before it curves around), then turn. In all situations (left or right), aim your car for directly in between the lines. </p>
<p>The first day I drove during driver’s ed I almost hit a parked car … on the other side of the street! I was SO nervous. I’m a very good driver now I just needed lots of practice/time to get comfortable.</p>
<p>I’ve helped my two oldest kids learn to drive. When they first started I drove them to a quiet neighborhood and had them drive there. The streets are wide and straight with virtually no traffic and no parked cars … it’s a very easy place to start driving. We stayed on those streets until my kid was comfortable and wanted to try something more challenging (I guess I also had a vote but since they were nervous they stayed longer than I thought they needed to). One kid took almost 3 times as long to move on to more crowded streets … and that was fine. </p>
<p>This is not race … drive at a level until you’re comfortable and then step it up. </p>
<p>PS - there is a reason I mentioned I helped the kids learn to drive … both kids realized working with their Mom was a very bad idea on this topic. So if neither parent is a good teacher (temperment, availabliity, etc) is there another adult that can help you out … aunt? uncle? close family friend?</p>
<p>My dad is okay at teaching me to drive. I just hate that I’m not naturally coordinated and that I’m always going to be a hazard on the road no matter how much I try (at least, that’s what my drivers education teacher thought). </p>
<p>OnMyWay2013, I have trouble with having the wheel turn back without swerving. And making them too quickly. And finding myself on the other side of the road. And doing it while there is actual traffic. Basically all of the above. I’m not too horrible at any other aspect of driving, but the turns (a vital skill in driving) really mess me up.</p>
<p>Can you try go karting or something? I know it sounds silly, but I think the mechanics are really similar. If you can get used to how the steering wheel turns back to its original position (I had a problem with this when starting out too) in a controlled environment, I’d then move on to driving an actual car in a parking lot, and then backstreets before moving onto the road. And practice driving with your parents beforehand as well–driving instructors often assume you have already and move really quickly! </p>
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But thanks for all the feedback, guys.</p>