First driving lesson..?

-Okay so my 17th birthday is next week and i'm going on my first driving lesson on my birthday. I bought myself a car, i have it all done up and i love it! I can't wait for the day when i can spin about whenever i want and to wherever i want =] But i sat behind the wheel for a bit today and the thought of being in charge of it scares the life out of me haha How many driving lessons do you think it will take for me to calm down about it? Thanks in advance xHaha I was pretty nervous about commanding a car for the first time too. My first time driving EVER was with a professional instructor and I was worried if he would be able to tell that I'd never driven before... so I lied and said I had done some puttering around town.



Anyway... Here are some tips I'd recommend for the first time:

- Wear thin soled shoes, that way you'll be able to feel the gas pedal more, and will be less likely to tromp on it and scare yourself. Cars are pretty responsive when you hit the gas so easy does it!

- When you're going to accelerate, the car will roll on it's on when you let off the brake. Let the car start to roll a little before you step on the gas to ensure a smoother launch.

- Drive with someone who won't over react! My sister went out driving with my mom for the first time, and my mom tends to make mountains out of molehills so to speak... needless to say my sister came back crying. My driving instructor was calm, cool, and collected. When I'd do something wrong, he'd simply say "Hey, do you realize what you did back there, yeah it wasn't too good. You should probably have done blah blah blah..."

- Practice in a noncrowded area to become more confident and gain a feel for the car (how the turns feels, how receptive the brakes are, how fast you can go before you feel like you need to back off etc). Country roads and parking lots are best for this.

- Get out there into some traffic! You'll never become confident if you do the above ^ all the time. You can't just drive in secluded areas. There are going to be drivers who tail gate you and etc, and you want to get used to this and know how to react so that when it does happen, you wont panic.

- Practice emergency menouvers such as a shoulder drop off, and skid control. This will give you the confidence in knowing what you need to do should an emergency arise.



All in all, it took me about 2 or 3 lessons of an hour and a half each before I was confident behind the wheel.



All the best!If it's your first time driving, it may take a little bit longer than you're anticipating. It's recommended you get 50 hours of driving-time before being eligible to drive independently. Breaking that into "how many lessons" really depends on how much drive time you get during each session. To be frank, there's nothing to be even remotely worried or frightened about. I had my permit (driving with an adult) for a year, and when I got my car finally decided to drive. So, I drove for two months before getting a license -- which I got Monday of last week -- and it's a cakewalk.



If you're worried about the actual driver's Road Test, don't be. It lasts 10-15 minutes, and the only thing to be nervous about is the actual anticipation. The driving is simple.



So, just focus. And take your time. There's no real number you can label on how much practice you need, just reach for confidence.