So… I got my diver’s license as soon as I turned 18. It was a very stressful period of my life, and I hated everything about driving. They promised me freedom, but I got shackled.

Passing the exam as a nightmare (took me 3 attempts) and even during the lessons the professor saw how horribly tense I was. I got sick just by thinking about the car.

Once I passed, my family decided that I’d get over my fears by forcing me to drive, every single day, for weeks, with the whole family in the car, yelling, mocking me…

I had several panic attacks that were dismissed as lack of maturity, and I stopped driving. It’s been years.

But now I’m going to have to get better at this due to circumstances, and I’m scared.

I feel that I can’t focus on all the elements of the road, I have a very hard time calculating distances because I’m very short (edit: 1’50m, if that is relevant) and barely see above the wheel, I have to move the seat so close to the wheel that I fear that if one day the airbag jumps, I’ll suffocate. My blind spots seem infinite.

My car is automatic, so no stick to worry about.

If you have read all I wrote, I’ll greatly appreciate any advice or encouragement. Thank you

  • itsathursday@lemmy.world
    13·
    1 day ago

    I really recommend a defensive driving course. You are able to learn with a professional on a closed circuit with controlled conditions and are able to be 1000% safe in being able to test the your limits and learn without any fear of failure or harm. They get plenty of people that are really a wreck behind a wheel and slowly you start to gain confidence and all the things getting in your head and in the way of simply driving become more second nature because of the atmosphere and setup.

    With the things you learn, however little, driving in a road with other cars becomes something you see from a different perspective, a lot of what paralyses you will fall away because you have so much more experience with just driving a car and you will be able to focus on the basics like driving straight and behind other cars within the limits of the rules of the road. If not, at the very least you will find a new passion for vehicles off the road and on a track. It is worth all the money and more and very much a compliment to any traditional driving schools or instructors as it’s putting you IN control.