General Discussions
Advice needed please :-)
Hi. I will just give a brief explanation of where I am at the moment. I first started learning to drive in 2006 when I was 25, had a horrible instructor who ruined my confidence so had to take a break. I started lessons again in 2007 with a different instructor who was brilliant with me from day 1, during the time of learning I took 2 further breaks as I had my 2 sons, got back into it again January 2011 and finally passed my test 21st June. It took me so long to build up my confidence with driving and I feel that because of how long it took to learn this is why I am having the problems I am having now I have passed my test.
Basically I was driving a fiesta that is the only car I had ever driven and now I am learning to drive a 2 litre vw passat, I have no choice but to drive this because of having our children and a huge double buggy etc and I was always being told once you pass your test you can drive anything, well it doesnt feel like that to me. Perhaps I am just being impatient and it will all come to me eventually like learning to drive did but I dont want it to take 4 years!!! I have only been able to practice driving the car at weekends as my husband needs the car in the week for work and I have no confidence to go out in the car on my own, I cant even reverse out the driveway without his help. The main problem being the clutch, my foot keeps slipping off the pedal and I dont know why. I am wearing the same shoes as when I had my lessons. My husband cant seem to give me an answer but I struggle to keep my foot positioned properly on it, I never had the problem in the fiesta. He reckons its because it is a bigger car the pedals are wider apart and I need to adjust my position and I have tried to move my seat around incase it was because I was sitting too close or too far from the clutch. What is the problem do you think? It is really bothering me because obviously I need to have good clutch control. I am ok for general driving but if I need to use the clutch a lot, say like in heavy traffic or reversing down our driveway which is on a hill, my foot slips and I either stall or have to go into neutral to reposition foot and then carry on with what I was doing.
The other issue is I seem to of forgotten how to drive. I keep making silly mistakes like forgetting to change gear, forgetting the handbrake etc, not being able to park at all etc. Nothing serious but I hate feeling like I have no confidence again, ok I now know how to drive but not how to drive my car.
Please can someone tell me they have felt like this and that it does get better as I am not enjoying the experience to be honest and sometimes just want to not bother and carry on using the bus or walking everywhere.
Thanks for reading if you have got this far.
Advice needed please :-)
Hi. I will just give a brief explanation of where I am at the moment. I first started learning to drive in 2006 when I was 25, had a horrible instructor who ruined my confidence so had to take a break. I started lessons again in 2007 with a different instructor who was brilliant with me from day 1, during the time of learning I took 2 further breaks as I had my 2 sons, got back into it again January 2011 and finally passed my test 21st June. It took me so long to build up my confidence with driving and I feel that because of how long it took to learn this is why I am having the problems I am having now I have passed my test.
Basically I was driving a fiesta that is the only car I had ever driven and now I am learning to drive a 2 litre vw passat, I have no choice but to drive this because of having our children and a huge double buggy etc and I was always being told once you pass your test you can drive anything, well it doesnt feel like that to me. Perhaps I am just being impatient and it will all come to me eventually like learning to drive did but I dont want it to take 4 years!!! I have only been able to practice driving the car at weekends as my husband needs the car in the week for work and I have no confidence to go out in the car on my own, I cant even reverse out the driveway without his help. The main problem being the clutch, my foot keeps slipping off the pedal and I dont know why. I am wearing the same shoes as when I had my lessons. My husband cant seem to give me an answer but I struggle to keep my foot positioned properly on it, I never had the problem in the fiesta. He reckons its because it is a bigger car the pedals are wider apart and I need to adjust my position and I have tried to move my seat around incase it was because I was sitting too close or too far from the clutch. What is the problem do you think? It is really bothering me because obviously I need to have good clutch control. I am ok for general driving but if I need to use the clutch a lot, say like in heavy traffic or reversing down our driveway which is on a hill, my foot slips and I either stall or have to go into neutral to reposition foot and then carry on with what I was doing.
The other issue is I seem to of forgotten how to drive. I keep making silly mistakes like forgetting to change gear, forgetting the handbrake etc, not being able to park at all etc. Nothing serious but I hate feeling like I have no confidence again, ok I now know how to drive but not how to drive my car.
Please can someone tell me they have felt like this and that it does get better as I am not enjoying the experience to be honest and sometimes just want to not bother and carry on using the bus or walking everywhere.
Thanks for reading if you have got this far.
Hi Pumpkin,
I have felt some of your feelings in the past. Funnily enough my first driving instructor was awful. It turned out that he was a an alcoholic and he would ask me to make a manoevre and then tell me before I'd done it that women can't do this, which didn't help. He wasn't there for my first test and it was a disaster.
I packed it in for a couple of years until I decided to try again, had a much better female instructor who was ex police and I passed with her first time but my second test.
I can't remember what car I leaned in but the only car available for me to buy after my test was a Metro which I remember parking nose to a wall and being unable to reverse as I just couldn't find it. Apparently I had to lift the gear lever up vertically and then move it into position. Who knew ?
Your confidence will take a while to grow. I can't and wouldn't even attempt to drive anyone else's car even if I was allowed to because I just don't feel that I'd be that sure of getting it right. So I stick with what I know and any changes I take slowly and have done alright. I didn't start to learn at all until I was in my thirties I think it was.
This was a picture I found of the Passat foot pedals, are yours like these....
Had to take photo off as the website changed it's pictures. Couldn't find another picture showing everything clearly enough.
The Fiesta food pedals I found were these,....
Were yours like those above ?
You can see the difference. They seem to be further from the floor in the Passat don't you think ?Maybe it's just an optical illusion. I don't know if they are supposed to be a specific height.
If they are different then it could be because of their height that is making it difficult for you.
I honestly doubt you've forgotten how to drive and I expect the mistakes you're making are due to stress and anxiety. If you felt calmer you'd be absolutely fine.
Why don't you ask your former driving instructor to come along and give you some extra help with driving this larger car. When I passed my test my instructor said that if I wanted to she would come along and give me instructions and guidance for driving on the motorway etc but I got by without.
The first time I went out I didn't use the motorway even though it's a quiet one and I'd go out very early and come home late, when the roads were quieter. I'm fine now as I've been driving for quite a while but I don't like big cities or busy motorways which I avoid as much as I possibly can.
I'm now driving a much larger car than I've ever had before, it's a Mazda 323F and it took me a bit to get used to parking it etc but I'm ok now and just don't take risks. If I don't feel happy about a parking space I'll try and find another.
Owly x
Is there anything you and your husband feel comfortable about sticking to the clutch pedal to help your feet grip it better.
Owly x
Firstly all cars are different so I don't have the one size fits all mentality!
A VW passat is big & will be heavier on the clutch. Is the car ship shape, good working order? Only ask as my car at first had it's bite so high up it hurt my ankle in traffic and the clutch failed the MOT for the car so it needed replacing.
Parking still scares me and i passed in feb. My car (pgt 206) Its easier, lighter, no boot sticking out smaller bonnet and I feel closer to the manoeuvre but in hubby's Renault saloon it's so heavy and big and angular I dread parking in tight car parks!!
Can you get maybe a top up lesson in that car with your instructor?
You're so nOt alone in this xxx
