I drove a car yesterday, and I didn’t even hit any pedestrians or anything. So I did stall a couple of times, so what. And I may have gone over a traffic island with one wheel. But apart from that, I made some smooth gear changes, and went all the way to 4th gear without panicking, and manoeuvred through busy multi-laned traffic with success. Success, I tell you! The instructor was friendly and helpful, keeping up a constant stream of talk that was balanced nicely between reassuring instruction and casual conversation. It all came about as naturally as I was hoping, which is to say, it wasn’t a completely foreign concept or feeling. I had taken lessons previously, but that was, oh, maybe four years ago now, so it was nice to know I’d retained some of it.
Based on my first hour behind the driver’s seat in 2 years, the main things I need to overcome at this point are:
a) My general fear of speed.
b) Changing gears just before having to turn into corners and roundabouts.
c) The fact that I am concentrating so hard on the road that I have no idea of my surroundings (for example, I had no idea I was turning into my own street until the instructor told me to pull over)(in my defence, it was night time).
It doesn’t feel too weird, though. Like “hang on, I’m driving a car”. I was mildly anxious, but not stressed. It will be nice to have my next lesson in the day time.
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