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Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

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11–20 of 70 posts

Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#11
Don't sweat it. It's not hard. The dumbest sixteen year olds in America manage it.

But here's a pro-tip. You don't even have to learn to drive. Just choose one primitive skill and pick a corresponding vehicle:

Don't learn to practically drive at all, but can pass the test? Get a Tesla.

Can only learn to floor the gas angrily and drive in straight lines? Get a BMW.

Can only swerve recklessly across lanes? Get a Nissan Altima.

Can only drive at 30mph and then confuse everyone around you with lane changes? Get a Prius.

Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#12

My mother passed her driving exam when she was 40. Pay for lessons. Pay attention. Breathe. Stay present. Different things to gain an intuition for: - Getting used to being in the driver's seat. Getting used to where everything is. Especially the turn signals (shoutout to my fellow BMW drivers). - Getting used to acceleration, braking, holding your speed, steering, and turn signals. - Getting used to the size of your…

My main driving mantra is:

"Be as predictable as you can, but assume everyone is trying to kill you."

Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#13
Learning is easy. After 15 minutes in a parking lot you’ll have the broad strokes of how an automatic transmission car moves. Being comfortable when driving takes experience, so use every opportunity you can to drive in different situations.

Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#14
I got mine around 35. Learning to drive was significantly easier than earlier attempt around 19.

Young people are seriously impaired by emotions and lack of experience with real world in general.

Driving is a particularly hard thing to do. Younger people generally don't notice it because everything seems hard for them. So they just wing it and get into a lot of accidents.

As 40yo you'll be fully aware of the danger but also emotionally equipped to operate appropriately.

Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#15

My mother passed her driving exam when she was 40. Pay for lessons. Pay attention. Breathe. Stay present. Different things to gain an intuition for: - Getting used to being in the driver's seat. Getting used to where everything is. Especially the turn signals (shoutout to my fellow BMW drivers). - Getting used to acceleration, braking, holding your speed, steering, and turn signals. - Getting used to the size of your…

My main driving mantra is: "Be as predictable as you can, but assume everyone is trying to kill you."

See all. Assume you are invisible. Occasionally you will be.

Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#16
post #5

I have a 50–something friend who just completed this (Brooklyn native, never felt the need, felt constrained during Covid, etc). They used a driving instructor, took classes once or twice during the week (normally works from home so was easy to fit into their schedule). Definitely hire a driving instructor. From my friend’s description learning to drive in NYC (specifically Brooklyn) was far more stressful than when…

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Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#17
I don't think it'll be a problem. After all, teenagers are notoriously bad drivers, often a menace to society, myself included at the time! If anything, being older might make you more "chill" on the road.

Just don't be too chill, holding up traffic behind you. Go with the flow.

Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#18
I've been driving for 30+ years, so I can't help you with the experience of learning at 40. But I can tell you what my dad told me when I started driving and what I will tell my children when they learn:

1. 90% of driving is predicting what the other drivers will do. Luckily most of them will follow the rules of the road, so you don't have to worry about those. You need to worry about the outliers. The driving part will become pretty automatic, it's the situational awareness that is most important.

2. There is only ever at most one person in front, one person in the back, and one person to each side. Those are the ones you need to worry about most. But you also need to know who will become those people soon, so make sure you look ahead and not at the road in front of you. And make sure you check your mirrors once in a while. When I was learning to drive, my dad would randomly quiz me, "is there a car to your left right now?" And I had to know without looking. Because in an emergency you need to already know which ways are clear.

But if you master these two things, you will be a better driver than most.

Good luck! And don't assume your age will make it hard -- the mechanics of driving are pretty straightforward with just a little bit of experience.

Re: Ask HN: 40yo adult learning to drive what is different vs. learning young?

#19
Most teenagers feel invicible and are unaware of their limitations. This can be a real asset when learning to drive!

As an adult learner, you're much more aware of your own mortality. You really feel the weight of responsibility for avoiding accidents. So you'll probably be a more careful driver, but it will take longer to get comfortable.

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