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What are the Best Ways to get Driving Practice?

Sheri Cyprus
Sheri Cyprus

You can usually get adequate driving practice by combining professional driver training with your own practice drives outside the driving school. In many cases, your driver education instructor will pick you up at your home or school for driving practice during lessons. Instructor cars have dual controls so you can drive, yet he or she can still take over the operation of the vehicle if need be. After you receive your learner's permit, you may want to practice your driving skills in a family or other car with a parent or other adult who has a driver's license in good standing.

When you're first starting your own driving practice as a learner in order to gain enough hours to get your driver's license, it's a good idea to practice in low traffic areas near your home. For instance, large, mostly empty parking lots will give you some good space to start practicing different driving techniques. It's best to practice driving on suburban streets rather than main high traffic roads until you become more comfortable. Be sure to have appropriate maps in the car and don't drive so far off the main streets that you become lost. If you do become a bit lost, use it as part of your driver training and remain calm, pull over safely and figure out your maps to find your way back.

Beginning drivers should practice in a low-traffic area.
Beginning drivers should practice in a low-traffic area.

Practice parallel parking on a street without too much traffic. Give yourself a wide space, such as that for two cars, when you first attempt to parallel park. A mental exercise in which you visualize yourself going through all of the steps in parallel parking or another driving practice activity you find challenging may help you prepare better if you feel a little apprehensive.

Driving while doing anything other than focusing on the road can be dangerous.
Driving while doing anything other than focusing on the road can be dangerous.

The best way to get the most valuable driving practice is to keep practicing the skills that are expected of you in order to get your driving license. You must not only understand driving concepts as outlined in your learning materials, but you must be able to adequately put them into practice on the road. Most areas have a minimum number of practice hours required to earn a driver's license, but it's usually best to put in more than the required time to help you feel more confident in your ability. Don't forget to practice defensive driving techniques such as safely operating your vehicle according to current weather and road conditions.

Discussion Comments

Sporkasia

My first time getting behind the wheel of a car was when I was 15, yes 15. I had just received my permit, and my mother let me drive home from the department of motor vehicles. She was a brave woman.

As advised in the article, initially, I was allowed to drive only in light traffic, very light traffic. My mother was patient and with hours and hours of practice, I gained enough confident to drive in more congested areas.

Drentel

When I was a teenager, there were no driving classes in our school, and there was no law requiring that potential licensed drivers have any practice hours or practice driving tests.

I studied for the written test to receive my driver's permit. Once I passed that, I was given a permit that allowed me to drive with an adult licensed driver in the car. Before that I had only driven on private roads that farmers used to get to their fields. The roads were more like driveways, but driving on them was good practice for handling a vehicle.

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    • Beginning drivers should practice in a low-traffic area.
      By: naka
      Beginning drivers should practice in a low-traffic area.
    • Driving while doing anything other than focusing on the road can be dangerous.
      By: Peter Atkins
      Driving while doing anything other than focusing on the road can be dangerous.
    • Defensive driving courses may teach students how to drive in hazardous weather conditions.
      By: Horst Schmidt
      Defensive driving courses may teach students how to drive in hazardous weather conditions.
    • Large and empty parking lots provide space for practicing common driving techniques.
      By: Lee Barnwell
      Large and empty parking lots provide space for practicing common driving techniques.