OP, my mom learned to drive as a middle aged adult and it was tough for her.

What helped was having a lot of practice within safe spaces - she would practice driving at 6am weekend mornings at the mall. It was empty and large enough that she could do loops to practice turns both on parking lots and in parking garages, practice backing up, practice parking, etc.

Once she got more comfortable she began driving on busier streets and then on major roads like Rt. 7 and Rt. 50 (NoVa).

It took time for her to get ready to drive on highway but her persistence paid off. Just keep practicing!

Anonymous wrote:To add to this, he is the maybe 5th driving instructor I tried in this area (NOVA). The others were worse than him.

The problem may be you in that case, not all the other driving instructors.

More practice, don’t worry about what the instructor is or isn’t teaching other drivers.

What situations are you struggling with? If you want highway driving practice tell the instructor.

What state are you in? It is totally ridiculous that this instructor did not take you on the highway. He "doesn't feel safe"?? WTF?! Were you in a car with a passenger side brake? That's what you need.

Community colleges usually have driving instruction. Sign up for a session and get on the highway. Get as much experience driving as you can with supervision. There are too many fools on the road these days. Don't add to the problem. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To add to this, he is the maybe 5th driving instructor I tried in this area (NOVA). The others were worse than him.

You’ve been through 5 driving instructors and they won’t take you on the highway? That is not a minor technique issue, most of driving is practice and getting comfortable with how the car responds to your input, leaning how much input to give, and getting used to different driving situations. You can only do those things with more practice.

What specifically are they saying you do wrong?

Yeah this is pretty concerning to me. I think you need a lot more practice or that something is wrong. Most kids learn to drive with 3 lessons with an instructor and then just some practice with their parents. The fact that you have gotten lessons from 5 instructors and still can't drive makes me think that you need a lot more practice whether through lessons or with someone else like a spouse.

I was in the car with kids in their 2nd driving lesson with the 5th instructor. They drove terrible. I thought we'd crash at some roads.

How many hours have you been driving in total? In Maryland, younger drivers have to get 60 hours practice with a licensed driver (usually parents) and then 6 with instructors. One of my kids was a confident driver by 10 hours, the other closer to 60.

Research your next instructor well and give it one more try. If that does not work out, then maybe you shouldn't be driving? Not everyone should drive. I shouldn't and don't.