Putting the Brakes on Anxieties: Learning to Drive Later in Life

Life can be so stressful because of the never-ending list of duties we need to complete that we all look for things that make life easier. It becomes apparent, as a parent, that there are a few things that can make everything far more streamlined. Driving is one of those things that is not necessarily essential when you’re in your twenties or have fewer responsibilities, you can easily use public transport, but when you become a parent, a car is the absolute lifeline. This is why so many people are now learning to drive later in life when they didn’t need to before. What are the things to consider to ensure that you can navigate this road effectively?

Picture the Benefits

There’s no two ways about this; learning to drive can be quite difficult for some people. When we attempt to learn later in life, one of the big issues professional driving instructors refer to is the fact that older people are more cautious behind the wheel. 

Learning to drive as a teenager means you are more inclined to take risks, and this can actually be to someone’s benefit on the road. Ultimately, if there is a gap, you have to take it. So when we feel like there are major hurdles in doing this, we’ve got to picture what life will look like beyond passing our driving test. 

Look at the things that would be so much easier, whether it’s taking kids to school, soccer practice, parties, or playdates. Even beyond parental duties, there is a lot more freedom and a sense of adventure that can come along with it.

Breaking Through the Anxiety

It’s natural for anyone to experience anxiety when learning to drive, and there can be a number of specific concerns we have. One common fear as a parent is not being able to balance the responsibilities of driving with the demands of family life. However, acknowledging these anxieties is the first step towards overcoming them, and professional driving schools will have experienced instructors who understand the unique concerns of an adult learner and can provide specific guidance to increase confidence behind the wheel. 

It’s also something that you can do to build up your resilience. Because if you are undergoing something like an intensive course, where you are learning to drive over a period of a few days or weeks, this can add more anxiety if you’re experiencing stress at home. However, this is where enlisting the support of your family in the short term is critical. If you decide to take a course that lasts a few days and is very labor-intensive, you should focus on this and this alone and be sure that everybody is on board with this. It’s short-term stress for long-term gain for everybody.

Balancing Parenting and Learning

If it’s completely possible to step away for a whole week to learn, there are a number of key strategies to manage the balance effectively:

• Involving your family in the learning process by sharing experiences with your children, and explaining the importance of driving safely, which will also set a positive example for lifelong learning.
• Incorporating learning into daily routines, for example, driving your children to school or having an opportunity to practice, which allows you to hone your skills and make learning a shared experience with the family.
• Designating specific learning times for lessons, whether it’s during school hours, on the weekends, or in the evenings. This will help create a routine that should accommodate both your parenting and learning responsibilities.
• Communicating with your family about your learning journey is also important, and by sharing your concerns, progress, and asking for support when it’s needed can be a significant motivator.

Building Up Your Confidence

Learning to drive later in life is not just about having a few lessons and then passing your tests but is an ongoing educational experience that will require some adaptation. When it comes to building your confidence, you will benefit from some of the following components:

• Learning to keep calm because learning to drive is stressful even after you’ve passed your test. You will learn more on the road after you’ve passed your driving test. When we’re learning to drive later in life, we’ve got to understand how best to put ourselves in a more relaxed frame of mind. Driving hypnosis courses could be very useful here, but it all depends on what helps calm your nervous system down.
• Preparing your mindset and attitude for driving is also another critical thing because if you spend so long in the passenger seat, there is an absolute sea change that can occur, and this can throw you into a very stressful mindset. When we feel stressed about driving, we’ve got to take the opportunity to prepare our mindset so we can react to any situation. For example, defensive driving is an excellent approach that will keep us more alert. If you feel that you don’t have the right mindset for driving and you wonder why so many people go out on the road when there is the potential for accidents all of the time, it’s about remembering that driving is actually a skill that becomes automatic, and as you develop your abilities behind the wheel, you won’t second-guess yourself.
• Finally, it is also about remembering that driving is something that gets better the more you practice. The more skill you develop, the better it will be for you, and gradually over the months and years, you will be exposing yourself to different situations on the road. However, many people learn bad habits over time, and you are in an excellent position to remember that learning later in life means you don’t have the decades of “experience” to unlearn a lot of bad habits. You’ve become a far more responsible individual than those people learning in their teens and twenties, and this means while you may think you won’t be as good a driver, in fact, you will be a far better driver than others because you are more cautious, considered, and your skills are far fresher than those other drivers on the road.