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

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

#21

Post by ryukoposting »

I have a friend from southeast Asia who learned to drive as an adult in the US. He learned on a friend's car, receiving instruction from that friend. Here's some notes:

Having an instructor is nice, but a patient friend who you trust will also work.

The throttle is more sensitive than you'll expect at first. Automatic cars roll forward slowly unless you hold the brake. Old cars have less sensitive brake pedals - that's normal, not a sign of anything being worn out/broken.

Be confident. You will make mistakes, but you'll make fewer mistakes if you don't let mistakes get to your head.

When waiting to make a left turn, creep forward into the intersection. It will feel weird at first, but it makes traffic flow much more smoothly.

Take turns in counterclockwise order at stop signs. If people are going in clockwise order for some reason, do that instead. Just go with the flow. If you aren't sure when your turn is, wait for an awkward pause. The awkward pause means it's your turn (probably).

Use cruise control on highways. Nobody likes Lead Foot McGee and his magic fast-downhill-slow-uphill band.

Use your mirrors, and use your turn signals. This should go without saying, but I have to say it.

You're in New York. That's a hard place to learn to drive. But, if you become a good driver in New York, you'll be able to drive competently just about anywhere in North America.

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

#22

Post by danans »

I learned to ride a motorcycle around 30, in a big city no less.

Your brain is plenty plastic enough but remember that your brain can learn far better by analogy and conscious correlation than a younger, more plastic brain can. You are probably more socially and situationally aware than a younger person which is a huge part of driving safely.

You also have a fully formed prefrontal cortex so unlikely to make stupid choices behind the wheel made by many of us who learned to drive younger.

Also, to get a feel for pushing a vehicle it's traction limits (that you should never attempt on the road) try go-karting. It will help you understand the relationship between speed, turning, traction, and control.

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

#23

Post by pubby »

I teach driving lessons as a job. Adults usually become proficient a little faster than kids, as they take it more seriously and have learned the laws through osmosis. Most of the time the difficulty with adults is they have no one to practice with.

Regarding skill, I think it's genetic. Some people can get their license in a week, others it takes months. Video game skills probably help.

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

#24

Post by mewpmewp2 »

okdood64 wrote: post #12
givemeethekeys wrote: post #10

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."

If you really assumed everyone is trying to kill you, you should really not go outside at all. Or if you see a car nearby, immediately swerve. You should probably never stop, at lights for example.

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

#25

Post by 762236 »

I learned in my teens. I now hate driving. It is too much responsibility, and is boring. I can make anything go fast (including the Prius), but that has little overlap with safe and responsible driving (a proper understanding of human limits, such as how much we can track, how our eyes saccade, how quickly we can respond, makes it clear we need to drive slowly).

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

#26

Post by genman »

ryukoposting wrote: post #21

I have a friend from southeast Asia who learned to drive as an adult in the US. He learned on a friend's car, receiving instruction from that friend. Here's some notes: Having an instructor is nice, but a patient friend who you trust will also work. The throttle is more sensitive than you'll expect at first. Automatic cars roll forward slowly unless you hold the brake. Old cars have less sensitive brake pedals - that…

> creep forward into the intersection > Use your mirrors, and use your turn signals.

I would add this: turn your head, not only your eyes, always control the blind spot by turning your head.

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

#27

Post by d--b »

Just did at 40 as well.

If anything I found it a lot easier (I had taken driving lessons when I was 16 and didn’t perceive speed and danger like I do now).

I passed really easily, and have been driving about 50000 miles since (I moved from big city to the countryside which is why I needed the license).

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

#28

Post by piptastic »

ryukoposting wrote: post #21

I have a friend from southeast Asia who learned to drive as an adult in the US. He learned on a friend's car, receiving instruction from that friend. Here's some notes: Having an instructor is nice, but a patient friend who you trust will also work. The throttle is more sensitive than you'll expect at first. Automatic cars roll forward slowly unless you hold the brake. Old cars have less sensitive brake pedals - that…

When at a 4 way stop, the order is who arrived at the stop first (until there are none remaining). If two or more vehicles arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the right should go first.

So when you get to the stop, just look at everyone there and know that when the last one there is gone it's your turn.

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

#29

Post by outside1234 »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #24
okdood64 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If you really assumed everyone is trying to kill you, you should really not go outside at all. Or if you see a car nearby, immediately swerve. You should probably never stop, at lights for example.

Probably a better way of saying what they probably meant is "Always drive defensively"

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

#30

Post by karlkatzke »

In my teens, I had so much ability to process all kinds of stuff that I would pay attention to too much and get too distracted, and as a result, I would turn up music loud enough that it consumed the rest of my attention so that I'd stay focused on driving.

As an adult, I find myself turning off music and other distractions because they take up too much of my processing ability, because my ability to process that much is significantly lower than it was when I was a teenager. Keep this in mind as you're reading other advice aimed at teenagers, and understand how much of driving training is teaching someone to pay attention when there's so many things going on around them to watch but they mostly need to watch what they are doing.

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