I’m 16 and I hate driving. I don’t want to drive, I’m not good at it, and it constantly stresses me out, makes me unhappy. My dad insists on me getting my license. I have been trying to drive, but it isn’t going well. What should I do?
If your father is the one who’s trying to teach you to drive, that could be a big part of the problem. The natural tensions that arise between parents and teenagers often come to a head when driving lessons are attempted. I was a professional driving instructor at one point in my career, but my daughter and I quickly realized that me trying to teach her was not working; she took driver’s ed at school, and I supplemented that by getting her some lessons from a driving school, and things worked out. Learning to drive is stressful in and of itself; you’re naturally nervous — everyone is. Add to that the stress of having your very nervous father as your instructor, and it can a recipe for failure. Try this. Say, “Dad, I love you, but I get super nervous when you teach me because I’m worried that I’ll let you down, or damage your car. Maybe I should take driver’s ed at school, or save up for driving school lessons. Then we’ll both be more relaxed.” If, after that, you find that you hate driving, then ask your dad to please let you wait a few years, until you’re feeling more self-confident. When you have a reason to really want to drive, perhaps you’ll do better. If not, well, don’t fret about it. Lots of people never drive, and they do just fine. I do realize that driver’s ed and lessons are not always an option. Many schools don’t offer it, and lessons are not cheap. If that’s your situation, you could try to negotiate to have another trusted adult — an aunt or uncle, a family friend — become your instructor. I wish you the best.
How do I convince my parents to let me drive alone? I have my license but they will only let me drive when they are in the car.
Your parents sound like very anxious people.You can get your own car and pay for your own car insurance. That will relieve them of some responsibility in case you are in an accident; however, if you cannot afford your own car, or your own car insurance, you are at the mercy of whatever your parents want you to do.In my state, a parent can legally remove a driver license privilege from their minor child. This is because parents are legally liable for their children's mistakes while the child is still a minor (under age 18).Your parents obviously think you will wreck if you are left alone to drive; and/ or do something else irresponsible. Are you a responsible teenager? Have you earned their trust? If so, talk to them and make your case.If you have not earned their trust, you cannot expect them to trust you with (probably) what is the second most expensive thing they own: their car.Most parents that I know, with their teenagers, give their children a beater car: (old and ugly) so if the kid wrecks it, they won't care too much. Plus, you can get pretty cheap insurance on a beater car.That is what I did when I was raising my teenagers.
How can I convince my Dad to let me drive?
Stop thinking about it in terms of "fair". Your question is "how do I convince Dad?" For that, do the opposite of everything you say in the description. "Dad, I need your help. I know my brother is a better driver than me, but I need more practice to improve. Can you help me drive more so that I become better?"Humble "I need help, I know I'm bad" will get a much much better response than "but Dad, it's not fair!!!". He'll take the complaint as immature and not help. But a request for help and an acknowledgement that you don't get enough practice, and thus drive more poorly would help him help you.If he says no, then ask him to help place you in a driving school for more instruction. He'll see the cost and start letting you drive more.
Scared to practice driving again?
So I'm 15 and I've been practicing driving with my dad. Recently when I was practicing, I got into a tiny car accident when I was turning back into the parking lot and I scraped the back of a car. I made a sharp turn which resulted into that because I didn't really feel like I was confident in what I was doing and it didn't help that my dad yells at me whenever he teaches me. I'm going to officially get my permit now, and I'm just scared to drive again. I'm not a bad driver--I'm alert and pay attention, it's just that I'd really rather have someone calm teach me how to drive instead of yelling at me all the time. My mom doesn't drive so only my dad can teach me. What should I do so I can overcome my fear of getting behind the wheel again (if getting a new person to teach me isn't an option)?
I'm learning how to drive and I'm scared to death. I don't know what to do.?
I'm 21 and am just learning how to drive. I didn't get my license when I was a teenager because I was too scared to drive. I'm still scared, but I know that I have to face my fear sooner rather than later. After practicing in a parking lot for two weeks, I decided to go out on the road for the first time today. My mom was with me. I drove on the less busiest road, but it was still terrifying. My heart stopped and I thought that I was going to have a panic attack at any moment. It's very scary to drive behind a car. I don't have much experience with doing that or stopping behind a car at a stop light. I had a person honk the horn at me because I wasn't going fast enough when the light turned green, which freaked me out. I was kinda slow on the road and all of these cars were behind me. My mom said that if they are impatient, they can go around me. Even 40 miles per hour is a scary speed. I was also driving too fast while turning and mom was telling me to slow down when turning to avoid an accident. That's something I'm gonna have to learn as well. I had to stop driving after about 15 minutes because I couldn't take it anymore. I drove us home. We are going to try again tomorrow and I'm so scared again. I need to learn how to overcome this fear, but it's so difficult. Many things can happen out there. I'm afraid of driving like a drunk person and humiliating myself by doing something stupid. I'm scared of what other drivers will think of my driving. I really need help to stay calm behind the wheel. I want to get my license and gain freedom, but I'm nervous and scared at the same time. What do I do?
I'm 16 and I'm scared of driving ?
In all honesty that makes you normal in my book and there are many others who have the same feelings you do. Driving takes practice and it sounds like you had some close calls that scared and upset you which did not help. Part of learning to live life is overcoming our fears many times. We ALL HAVE THEM TO VARYING DEGREES. AND some people handle them differently. Plan on driving soon, ask your dad to go out say early on a weekend and pick an area with little or no traffic and just practice driving , use the stop signs just drive around in circles if you want to but by taking even a short trip you will gain some confidence back. You are 100 percent right its not easy. give yourself the gift of time and recognize and accept that your brain is right CARS can be a danger thats why you practice and get good at it. Hang in there please talk to friends and family you will be surprised to learn they all have similar fears . This is the way we learn and gain confidence in our own abilities, look in the mirror every morning and say something like today I will learn to be a good driver and if some dumb boy asks to drive my nice mustang the answer is always HELL NO!
Did learning to drive/driving make you nervous?
I am 15 and a half now. I can get my permit. But I am so scared!!! My dad has taken me driving a few times, and I am in no way bad at it, I just get so nervous that I start shaking and breathing really heavy. It's like I am about to have a fricken' panic attack!! I just get so scared; do you know how powerful that car is? How easily it could kill someone? How easily that car down the street could kill me!? It's scary! Also, it's a big deal to my parent's that when you turn 16 you get a car. We don't really have the money for it, but my parents pride themselves on being able to buy their daughters cars for their 16th birthdays. Both of my older sisters got cute little brand new cars. And both of them got into accidents within the first month! Not big accidents, but enough to leave a ding or a scratch. That scares me so bad! To have something that valuable in my possession to ruin! I just need some advice, how do I stay calm? Is it normal to be scared? Because I am. So scared.