I passed!! I passed!! I passed!! I passed!!

It will definitely get better.  It is a very different perspective being on the opposite side of the vehicle and road.

Keep driving, try to go out at quiet times on the roads so there is less traffic.  I bet after about 4 hours of total driving you'll feel completely differently then you do right now.   

I hope so! Thanks for the pep talk! 

Did my first official driving lesson today, ugh, so much to remember!
Use the handbrake when stopped, push pull steering, the mirrors, shifting properly.....

I have driven here on my own in the past (well have not driven very far from home but I have dived into roundabouts and dual carriageways and even car parks and managed to get in and out without any major or even minor mishaps, but, sigh.....
learning this "new way" of driving after driving in the US for 31 years, it is harder then I thought it would be   

Did my first official driving lesson today, ugh, so much to remember!
Use the handbrake when stopped, push pull steering, the mirrors, shifting properly.....

I have driven here on my own in the past (well have not driven very far from home but I have dived into roundabouts and dual carriageways and even car parks and managed to get in and out without any major or even minor mishaps, but, sigh.....
learning this "new way" of driving after driving in the US for 31 years, it is harder then I thought it would be   

Well fast forward from my first miserable driving lesson to having passed my test this morning with only one minor! 

Well fast forward from my first miserable driving lesson to having passed my test this morning with only one minor! 

Yeah!!!!  Congratulations!

 

Hi folks,

My background in driving is as follows:

- Got US driver's license when I was 22.
- Drove every day for 6 years in the US (Atlanta and Philadelphia mostly), but automatic cars only.
- Moved to London when I was 28, and never bothered with driving license as I felt no need for it.
- After more than 5 years of not driving at all, and now at the age of 33, I started taking lessons with a popular and expensive driving school here, but I decided to go for manual.

I have had 18 hours of lessons so far (one 2-hour lesson a week for 9 weeks), and I am still struggling with the clutch. I feel like I am too "programmed" to drive automatic, and I keep forgetting to use the clutch, especially when stopping... and worrying about what to do with the clutch is taking my focus away from the road, which is making me quite nervous.

What I am not sure about is whether this is "normal" for someone who is used to years of driving an automatic, or if it's just me! Everyone I know here has learned driving for the first time on a manual, and they are quite shocked that I haven't got control of the clutch yet after 18 hours of lessons. Should it take me longer to learn the clutch than a complete beginner with no experience driving?

I don't think I actually have any other problems (like driving on the other side of the road or following UK road signs), and if I were taking the lessons in automatic, I'd have been test-ready already. Obviously, the big concern is that I might take many more hours of expensive lessons and still not be able to deal with the clutch properly. I really do want to be able to drive manual cars, but am fully wiling to accept that the number of hours I've spent trying to learn and not getting much out of it means that I may be better off just switching to automatic.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Newest member to the 'I passed!!' club!!   

So excited and more than anything so unbelievably relieved.  I got here last October and by December I had to learn how to drive a manual and find my way to work.  Because I was working I used that as an excuse to put off taking lessons and doing the test till the last possible moment, September 14th.  Luckily I found an instructor in Birmingham who would do a 2 day intensive course to help me understand UK roads and get me confident in doing all the maneuvers (the maneuvers scared the hell out of me!).  My instructor had taught Americans before so he knew how to bridge the gap between what I already knew and what I needed to know for the UK roads. 

The day of the test I was so nervous my legs shook uncontrollably but after taking a couple short breaks from the lessons I felt better and most of all just wanted to get it over with!   

My examiner was very nice and in fact had me do my maneuver straight away (backing into a parking bay).   Funny enough I had my first minor driving out of the testing centre, those dang nerves, it was a one lane drive and it is meant for two lanes of traffic and I drove straight down the middle!  However I just kept driving and thought to myself that I just needed to keep going and keep my focus, I couldn't think about what he was writing down because I couldn't change it now.  Luckily when we got back to the test centre he told me straight away that I had passed - 7 minors.  Not great but I passed and all that anxiety I had for 11 months just melted away. 

Happy it is over with and I don't have to go through that again!

P.S.  If anyone is in the Birmingham area and needs a good instructor, especially one that has successfully taught American drivers, message me and I can give you his details. 

Newest member to the 'I passed!!' club!!   

Wooooo Hoooooo Congratulations lostandconfused!    I know just how you feel as I passed in August, so that excited and relieved feeling is still floating around me too  !   

P.S.  If anyone is in the Birmingham area and needs a good instructor, especially one that has successfully taught American drivers, message me and I can give you his details. 

I'd love the info on your Birmingham instructor!

Hi folks,

My background in driving is as follows:

- Got US driver's license when I was 22.
- Drove every day for 6 years in the US (Atlanta and Philadelphia mostly), but automatic cars only.
- Moved to London when I was 28, and never bothered with driving license as I felt no need for it.
- After more than 5 years of not driving at all, and now at the age of 33, I started taking lessons with a popular and expensive driving school here, but I decided to go for manual.

I have had 18 hours of lessons so far (one 2-hour lesson a week for 9 weeks), and I am still struggling with the clutch. I feel like I am too "programmed" to drive automatic, and I keep forgetting to use the clutch, especially when stopping... and worrying about what to do with the clutch is taking my focus away from the road, which is making me quite nervous.

What I am not sure about is whether this is "normal" for someone who is used to years of driving an automatic, or if it's just me! Everyone I know here has learned driving for the first time on a manual, and they are quite shocked that I haven't got control of the clutch yet after 18 hours of lessons. Should it take me longer to learn the clutch than a complete beginner with no experience driving?

I don't think I actually have any other problems (like driving on the other side of the road or following UK road signs), and if I were taking the lessons in automatic, I'd have been test-ready already. Obviously, the big concern is that I might take many more hours of expensive lessons and still not be able to deal with the clutch properly. I really do want to be able to drive manual cars, but am fully wiling to accept that the number of hours I've spent trying to learn and not getting much out of it means that I may be better off just switching to automatic.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

I too had to take a lot more lessons than my colleagues who qualified in automatics.  I decided since my employer at the time was paying for me to have lessons and get a license, I would practice and qualify in a manual.  I think I did much more than 18 hours of lessons in a manual and at one point my instructor said that if I were to qualify in an automatic I would be more than ready to take the test, but said that he notices that I hesitate with the manual.  I went ahead and qualified in the manual and did stall the car once during the test, but still passed.

I think it does have to do with driving an automatic for a long time so using your left foot for anything isn't a natural movement.  Alternatively, I have a lot of British friends that complain their left foot doesn't know what to do when they are in an automatic.  Even now as I am back in the UK after a couple years of not driving a manual, I am still a bit scared/hesitant of driving my fiance's manual.  My fiance has taken me out to car parks that aren't busy to practice and has suggested taking some lessons just to refresh and build up my confidence again.  I think it just comes down to practice, hang in there!

I had never driven a car before I moved to England. As a young adult, I made do with public transportation because I was a single mother and my finances didn't stretch to afford a car and it's expenses even if I knew how to drive at that time. 

Everything changed when I moved over to England and I had two young children, a spouse who spent a great deal of time in Europe and inadequate public transportation. I learned to drive with the AA at the age of 28. I took 14 hours of lessons and passed in a manual on my first attempt. I'm very proud of that because my brother-in-law failed his first test and my mother-in-law passed after the FIFTH attempt.
I've been back in the US for 11 years and have owned two automatic cars but I've just purchased a new car last week and it's a manual transmission! On the test drive, it was awkward since the gear stick is on the right but you quickly pick it up. I was shocked that so few people here have the ability to drive a manual. So, I am a quite proud of myself because of this. Plus, I had forgotten how much more fun driving a manual can be and I'm so glad I bought it.
So, keep learning, keep practicing to build up your confidence.

That hard part for me was getting into the proper mindset in the first place; accepting that I had to jump through the necessary hoops to get the prize at the end....

Anyway, I'll post about it soon.

Here's a blog post about my test that I finally got around to writing. Guess I have a funny definition of 'soon'! Hint: it involves Wang Chung.

I passed today!!!! It wasn't very pretty, 11 minors, but I still passed. I think my nerves got to me.

I took 30 hours of lessons over the past 2 months. I didn't have much experience in a manual car before and haven't driven regularly since 2004. I'm just so relieved it's over now!

I passed today!!!! It wasn't very pretty, 11 minors, but I still passed. I think my nerves got to me.

I took 30 hours of lessons over the past 2 months. I didn't have much experience in a manual car before and haven't driven regularly since 2004. I'm just so relieved it's over now!

Yay you!  Congratulations all around.   

My test is coming up the middle of next month, and I'm taking lessons - 13 so far and several in the next few weeks... 

...I've noticed my fingernails looking a bit chewed on lately. 

Yay you!  Congratulations all around.   

My test is coming up the middle of next month, and I'm taking lessons - 13 so far and several in the next few weeks... 

...I've noticed my fingernails looking a bit chewed on lately. 

Good luck, Becca! It's such a relief once it's over.