This is a real-life case study of our past previous students- We encounter many such students who are having such high anxiety during their driving lessons.
This problem is faced by many students and our driving school in Pakenham is experienced in teaching anxiety drivers, we are ready to help to face your fears. Our solutions in this blog will help many future students.
Case Study of an anxious learner driver – Driving Anxiety – is it real?
Hi all, I am from Melbourne and I’ve had my learner’s permit and I have completed 120+ hours on my logbook. I passed my Hazards perception test about 3 months ago. My father is pushing me to book my drive test in 1 month, but I do not feel comfortable and confident to drive independently – I think i feel anxious of driving on road.
Most of my hours are with my dad taking me down the same simple routes on local streets and main roads because he is too nervous to take me elsewhere.
I hired my first professional driving lesson in the Burwood area because I’d never driven in an area like that before. My instructor was really good, he had been very simple and started with basic road rules, then started with local streets till I was ready to get on the main road. I asked his honest opinion about whether I would be prepared for my test and he said I would probably be able to pass my test, but whether I am able to drive confidently and safely by myself is questionable. I 100% agree with my driving instructor.
My second lesson with my driving instructor was in peak traffic, school timings with trams in Burwood and my anxiety skyrocketed – totally clouding my good judgment and of course, the more mistakes I made, the worse my anxiety got. – My Driving instructor was very patient and was controlling the car to keep me calm and was instructing me to step by step on how to drive in such high traffic conditions.
In the past weeks, before I had Transformers Driving School to come to my rescue, I have been waking up in my sleep sweating and my heart palpitating thinking about driving. I can’t eat before I drive, because of how nervous I get. I know people get nervous about their test, but I feel this is definitely excessive.I just had a huge argument with my dad about postponing my test but he is really unhappy about it. He can’t understand why ‘everyone else can do it’ except me. (I’m going to postpone it anyway ). I was EXTREMELY anxious, but i focused really hard on breathing and concentrating on the road.
I’ve briefly discussed it with my driving instructor, but I don’t want to palm this issue onto her as it is not her job.
How our driving instructor have helped this anxious student and made the student a positive and confident driver:
1. Know the rules first. This is a very important part- Keep practicing the rules and implement it while driving. Our Driving instructor encourages you and reminds you of the rules while driving.
2. At the end of each lesson, feedback is given on mistakes done during driving lessons. This is very important to go back to understand the rules and recount the mistakes and try to rectify it in the next class.
3. During this learning process of rectifying the mistakes during a driving lesson, this will help you with confidence. Our Driving instructors are always encouraging, our aim is to improve your observation, attention and focus while driving. Confidence is not built in 1 or 2 classes, confidence builds eventually with multiple driving lessons with a trained instructor.
4. If you are learning with your parent, then they are more anxious more than you are, so it is always important to get started with an instructor take the feedback provided during your lesson. practice the rules and then practice rectifying the mistake with your parent.
5. Last but not least, always discuss your problem with your parent about your anxiety problem, because anxiety is a MENTAL ILLNESS. In this case, the parent is not aware of the situation and can make the situations worse. By talking, you are able to diffuse the situation and parents can encourage rather than argue.
Conclusion – Driver Anxiety – Best Advice to fix ASAP :
For nervous beginners, read the Vicroad road rules, hire an experienced driving instructor who is calm and help you boost your confidence. Take the feedback from the driving instructor at the end of each lesson, read the rules book again and practice it with your parents. This will wiil get you ready for the next lessson. But the most important of all, talk to your parents and your driving instructor about your anxiety issue. A great suggestion for parents, please do not try teaching your child without 2 to 3 formal lessons from a qualified driving instructor.
