If you are a learner driver and you have been progressing well with your driving course, it is only natural that you might get worried about losing skills that you have already learnt. Are you nervous that you might forget to drive? Well, that certainly should not be the case, as driving is one of the skills that, once acquired, cannot be lost.
Driving is one of the most natural skills to acquire and one of the hardest to lose. As a learner or a newly qualified driver, you should not worry even for a moment about losing the skills that you had already acquired since they are already ingrained in you. The following are reasons why you should still feel confident to drive even after a prolonged period without being behind the wheel:
Driving is a skill built on confidence
Driving is just like learning any other average ability, and you need the courage to do it, just the same way you need to be confident when learning how to swim. Once you’ve got the basics, the brain stores it, and it becomes a skilled memory. It is nearly impossible to forget such a skill as you do it without putting much effort into it. The most important thing during driving is the confidence that a driver has when in a car. Whenever you are in a car, you should exert maximum confidence, as you already know the basics of driving. The rest will generally happen as things will flow naturally for you, and over time you will get better and better. When you believe in yourself and what you have already learnt, nothing should bother you, as you will pick up from where you left off. You need not worry about it as your confidence when you return to driving is vital regardless of how many times you have driven a car.
The amount of time spent away from driving is irrelevant
As explained above, driving is a skill that cannot be lost. Therefore, the amount of time between one drive and another does not have any implications on your driving skills. It is the same as riding a bicycle for the first time after a considerable amount of time without doing so. It is entirely possible that a person can even stay for more than five years without driving, and once they are back to it, they do it as if they had been driving recently. You find yourself doing it without facing any problems. What you can do to ease back gradually to driving after a long period is, for example, driving in areas that are not busy with a lot of cars. Just simple driveways and roads will help you boost your confidence, and within no time, you can get back to driving as usual. Also, ensure that you drive cautiously and carefully and avoid doing stuff that might not be comfortable for you. Once this is over, you can go back to driving more fluidly, as this will only take a short time to get used to it.
Driving is fun
Driving is a fun activity, as most drivers even consider it a hobby that you can do in your leisure time. Once you are attracted by the prospect of just driving a car, you will find yourself enjoying it more when you do it, and this will only aid you in retaining the skills that you have already acquired. So, the mindset that it is fun and it gets you going will help you to be enthusiastic about it, and only in this way, you will be confident and excited to do it.
During this lockdown period, you can think of ideas and things you could do to help you improve your skills in the best way possible and in a fun way. The main point is to make plans to enjoy yourself when you get back to driving, which will subsequently make you long for it, and this will make things easier for you. You learn better and get better in things that interest you, and everything else will fall into place if you consider driving to be fun, which it is.
Practising effect
As a learner or a newly qualified driver, the lockdown situation should not hinder you from continuing to practice a few skills you already acquired. You can occasionally get in a car and try reminding yourself of the simple drills associated with driving. If you have a larger compound in your home, you can try reversing back and forth to check whether you still remember. Also, doing it with an experienced friend or family member alongside you will go miles in helping you feel confident as they are there to instruct you whenever you go wrong. With much practice comes perfection, and the little things you do to practice will surely be of significance and will go a long way in ensuring that your skills are still intact and you will only improve when you get back to the actual driving.
You can also peruse through the rule book once in a while and generally keep a close touch with the world of driving so that when you finally get back to it, you will be raring to go. Small successes each day result in big success, so make a point to practice little things often and keep reminding yourself of the essentials.
Something else that can be of vital importance to you is the internet, whereby you can engage yourself in watching tutorial videos for learners and newly qualified drivers. There are hundreds of tutorial videos for learner drivers that will surely help you to grasp and have a better understanding of cars and driving. Learning by watching is excellent, as the mind captures a lot by seeing, which makes it very hard to forget the skills. Likewise, watching also helps you to keep your motivational levels up as you are determined to learn more and more, thereby ensuring that you are still up to it.
Generally, learning how to drive is an enjoyable and essential skill that gets better with time and experience. It is a do-it-yourself project, and only you as the learner or newly qualified driver will ensure that everything you learned is in check. You should, however, not doubt yourself, as you need to believe in yourself and your skills and don’t forget the fact that it is almost impossible to forget to drive.