learning how to drive
By agnescav
@agnescav (566)
United States
September 8, 2007 8:53pm CST
I don't know how to drive and there is a reason for that. It is not just that I am afraid. I am afraid that I am going to kill a child.
Once in a while, though, I get it in my head to learn. And every time, I do I get in a car with someone who is
nearly in an accident.
Now I am getting close enough to fifty to figure, if I'm gonna learn, I better do it now!
How old do you think is too old to learn how to drive?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
9 Sep 07
At some time in our lives we all experience irrational fears and they can stop us from doing things. If we give in to them long enough, they become phobias. If you had a fear of elevators and never went in them because you were afraid they would fall or stop between floors and kept that up long enough, you wouldn't be able to ever enter an elevator even if you needed to. Sometimes there are things that don't make sense to others, but we have real fears and we can even cite reasons for having those fears.
The biggest problem you have to overcome is your fear. Driving a car isn't difficult and the likelihood that you, out of all the drivers on the road, will hit a child is a very small chance indeed.
It's never too late to learn anything. Your experiences with other people teaching you to drive only reinforces your fears, so don't go with friends or family. Call a professional driving school. The instructors are trained not to be nervous with new learners and they usually have cars equipped with a brake on the front passenger side where the instructor sits. That should make you more comfortable. And don't worry, they teach people younger, older, better, worse... they see them all.
Most of all, good luck! I hope you are able to get out and get your license to drive and enjoy all the freedom it brings!
2 people like this
@agnescav (566)
• United States
9 Sep 07
It doesn't happen when I am learning how to drive. I am just a passenger. They don't usually know that I'm considering it at that time. And the near-misses are almost never their fault.
And that is what I am thinking about now. The freedom it will bring!
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
9 Sep 07
Let me tell you, once you start driving, you will never want to be a passenger again! I can't stand being a passenger. Consequently, I am the worst passenger in the world. I always assume they don't know how to brake, or avoid an accident.
Trust me, once you start driving on your own, you will be a control freak too and the only driver you trust.
So get out there and do it!
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
9 Sep 07
That depends on the eye-to-hand co-ordination that you have and on the reflexes as well as eyesight. So yes, you'd better do it soon if you're going to do it.
1 person likes this
@cblackink (969)
• United States
26 Sep 07
I don't know if there's such a thing as "too old" to learn how to drive, but there may be such a thing as "shouldn't be driving", which happens to a lot of elderly people. Bottom line: if you're going to learn to drive, you should do it now, because you don't know how many more years you'll have ahead that you will be able to drive safely. Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with other drivers. Not everyone is like that. I've been driving a car for thirty years now, just out of necessity. It's like that saying about riding a bicycle. Once you learn, you never forget. Go for it! It's a little hard and nerve-wracking in the beginning, because you're not used to having to pay attention to so many things at once, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
