Driving: Dread or Freedom?

Driving is one of those things that can be a joy and or a nightmare, at times, to so many people. When i first learned to drive, i was excited and scared at the same time as i imagine most people are. You always have the nervous parent and the capable parent and who ends up driving you can have a significant affect on how you turn out as a driver, as many studies show.

While i started off my driving career with my dad, who was the capable one. It eventually got passed onto my mum to finish off the majority of my hours, who while uneasy at first, eventually calmed down a bit. She still worries about me though when i drive her places, even after doing it for around 10 odd years now, but i think that's just a typical mother worry wart kind of thing.

I would have several lessons at the beginning of my driving career and at the end of my driving career and the first teacher i got was a bit of a headache to work with. He was very strict and blunt and would generally get pretty irate about things, my friend had him and had a similar experience. Not sure if that's a typical male driving instructor trait, but it put me on edge, funnily enough my sister had a very laid back male instructor, so must have just had a bag pick of the litter, so to speak.

I remember one time i accidentally hit a curb and he had his arm leaning against the window and he got pissed off at me when i hit it. Luckily when i returned back to lessons, near the end of the year, i got given a much nicer female driving instructor who put me well at ease and made the last leg of my driving journey a lot easier to bare.

In Australia you need 120 hours of driving including 10 of those hours to be night driving and you have to wait till you 18, from the age of 16, to go onto your red provisional license. A year later you get your green provisional license, providing everything went well and you didn't get a fine and must have that for 3 years, before eventually getting your full license. Each stage has specific rules and regulations which determine, if you allowed to drink, how many people you can have in the car etc.

When i finally got to do my test to get my provisional lisence, i was extremely nervous. I was so nervous, especially using the driving teacher's car with her in the back. I didn't even make it out of the test centre, for forgetting to turn on the ignition and started to roll the car forward, super embarrassing and what felt like a waste of a test, that cost money each time.

Luckily the second time around i was able to pass, i was using the family car, which put me a lot more at ease and didn't have the instructor in the back this time around. It was an incredible relief and a great step forward to becoming independent. Ironically it was very close to the time frame i could have just waited until i'd turned 21 to get it, only being motivated to get my hours up after my best mate go his licence.

Since then, I've gained a love hate relationship with driving and the road. While it offers freedom and the ability to drive anywhere at anytime you want. When it comes to certain drivers and road users, i often wonder if i'm better off just sticking to public transport, despite a pain that would be. Some people make me contemplate how in the hell they got their licence when they act like such maniacs on the road and it's very troubling, not to mention the bad attitudes a lot of these people have and the privilege they feel in owing the road.

Driving, ironically is a privilege and some people often take that for granted when their being stupid on the road and while i understand it's easy to get into bad habits of driving for so long. Some people really need to learn how to drive properly in an appropriate manor that is both safe to themselves and other users on the road.