Do you think you become a better driver each year? Have your driving skills improved over the year?

[Anonymous]

I don’t think my driving skills improve yearly. I feel they are the same as they have always been.

[Anonymous]

I think experience counts for something in and of itself.

Beyond that, it is the same as anything else: skills you focus on and give time to, particularly when they are set goals and you track practice, will get better. Skills you do not use will get worse.

Two examples that come to mind are snow driving and parallel parking.

But the fact is that most people vastly overestimate their driving skill. I took a class once. Before the class, when the instructor asked who was a good driver, lots of hands went up. At the end of the day, after hours of having skills tested by simulated emergency situations, very few hands went up. People had realized their limitations.

[Anonymous]

Adding: I think there’s also an age-related curve, where skills tend upward from license issue age as people become more experienced and more mature, less impulsive, etc., and then skills tend downward as people age and their vision, reflexes, etc., begin to fade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adding: I think there’s also an age-related curve, where skills tend upward from license issue age as people become more experienced and more mature, less impulsive, etc., and then skills tend downward as people age and their vision, reflexes, etc., begin to fade.

If the skills improved every year, 99 year olds would be driving Formula 1 cars. I agree with the above poster.

[Anonymous]

I've been driving for 27 years. I don't know if I've become a better driver, but I do know that it occurred to me about five years ago that I no longer fear parallel parking. I had always avoided it until one day, I did it and realized it no longer held a stronghold over me. I'm good at it!

[Anonymous]

Yes. Absolutely better ever year

[Anonymous]

No. It took like two years to get comfortable and good n then downhill from there, because I got cockier, Iphone came, and now vision. Also, all the safety features annoy me and require my attention instead of helping.

[Anonymous]

I feel I’ve been a pretty good defensive driver for a few decades now - but in recent years I did start slowing down more, I’m just not so anxious about getting anywhere. That’s made me a better driver I believe.

[Anonymous]

I've been driving for 40 years and am a better driver than I was at the beginning. Over time, my big improvements were more patience, less ego and better awareness of the cars around me and anticipating what they are going to do. I'm guessing that is pretty typical - new drivers get into a lot of accidents. Older drivers don't log nearly as many miles as middle age adults and I'd guess the accident rate (per miles driven) for drivers over 70 goes up.

I probably peaked as a driver around age 40. While some aspects of my driving have improved since then, my reaction time and visual acuity have declined to some extent. I told my kid that I probably haven't driven 90 mph in at least a decade and probably never will again.

I'm still a safe driver at age 60 but was kind of hoping that the self-driving technology would be ready for me soon! Maybe I should start looking at a golf cart retirement community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adding: I think there’s also an age-related curve, where skills tend upward from license issue age as people become more experienced and more mature, less impulsive, etc., and then skills tend downward as people age and their vision, reflexes, etc., begin to fade.

If the skills improved every year, 99 year olds would be driving Formula 1 cars. I agree with the above poster.

I strongly believe that everyone over 65 should be required to renew their DL annually - and be given a road test.

This will never happen but my brilliant idea. I’m 56.

[Anonymous]

You can tell while driving on the road that the majority of people here decline in driving skills as they go. They get their driver's license without any good driving skills, and it just gets worse from there.

[Anonymous]

There's a skill curve, as for all things, OP.

For a number of years, you improve with experience, then comes a slow decline. In my 40s, I'm probably at peak driving skill. This is as good as it gets for me.

[Anonymous]

40 and yes better because I’ve seen more crazy stuff on the road and can anticipate things better. I’m also a better pedestrian. Like I know there are idiots out there who will swerve around a stopped car without wondering why the car in front of them stopped (e.g. person crossing the road) or to see the maniac speeding and weaving through lanes in my rear view mirror and anticipate leaving an opening because I know they’re going to cut over. When I was a new driver I expected everyone to follow the rules because that was what we learned in drivers ed it was the law! That bubble has been thoroughly burst and I will definitely be teaching my kids to drive on alert, like not immediately going through a light that just turned green.

[Anonymous]

I have become more cautious and less at ease because I live somewhere with terrible drivers. Not sure if that makes me better or worse than I used to be. I certainly indicate, obey speed limits and rules of the road. I just don't trust that others will so anticipate way in advance for everything.

[Anonymous]

I somehow remember my drivers’ ed teacher showing us a graph on driver safety. It was a bell curve that peaked in late 30s/early 40s.