Day 1 Driving: Tips To Help You During Your First Lesson Behind The Wheel

It's almost time for you first driving lesson! Are you feeling nervous? Excited? Maybe all of the above? This is perfectly normal.

We know that starting to drive can be both exciting and scary, especially if you're hopping in the car for your first driving lesson with a professional driving instructor. Our instructors here at Coastline are thrilled to help you learn the skills you need to become a safe and confident driver for life, which is why we've asked them for their best tricks and tips to help steady those nerves on Day One!

First Things First

If you have just booked your first driving lesson with Coastline, then you might be wondering what to expect or how to prepare for this lesson. Before we share our instructor tips, let's go over the basics.

Before the Lesson

• Make sure to have your learner's permit with you when the instructor arrives. Remember, you must provide your physical document in order to take your lesson. A picture on your phone doesn't count! Double-check that you haven't left your permit in another car and make sure you have your permit, not your sibling's.
• Driving takes energy and concentration! Make sure you are well rested, well fed, and well hydrated before taking off.
• You might be brand new to driving and nervous that you've never sat behind the wheel of a car before. This is okay! Our instructors are here to teach, from the very basics all the way up to the freeway. Plenty of students come to their first with no experience and leave their final lesson happy, confident, and ready to take on the road test.

Let's Hear From Our Instructors

Now for the part you've been waiting for. Let's see what our instructors have had to say!

The best way to help you prepare is to get some tips from the people who will be in the car with you: our driving instructors! Here are some tips they want to share:

• I always tell students “you got this, believe in yourself!” A lot of times that self-doubt can kick in and really affect their driving.
• I always tell students, if your body is tense, your mind will be tense, and I don't want any students to be stressed out when they drive. Driving should be fun! So, no death grip on the steering wheel or stomping on the pedals with full force!
• If it's their first time driving, I let them know, "I am here to help you. Think of us as a team, team work makes the dream work. So don't put evil in here, Ricky Bobby." I like to lead with a laugh. It lightens everyone up. Then I explain I can grab the wheel at any point and hit the brake if they need me. The only thing I have no control over is if they brake for no reason and if it's hard. We just gotta take it easy.
• Driving a car is just like riding a horse. You put the horse's head where you want him to go....you put your head where you want the car to go. This helps to relieve their stress levels.
• Remember to exhale and relax your shoulders, most steering errors are caused by tension (stiff shoulders and too tight of a grip on the steering wheel).
• Clothing Reminders - Do not wear flip flops, as that makes it difficult when switching from gas to brake pedals. Also, bring a hoodie or jacket with you. The weather can turn bad or if you have a driving lesson at night, it will cool down. You never know what may happen, as you might get a flat tire and need to be outside of the car, so better to be prepared.
• One of the items I have the student bring before I leave their front door is their cell phone. A lot of the parents look lost when I mention this. I tell the parents, trust me they will not be on the phone while driving. I have them bring the phone so that they can take pictures of the acronyms I use, diagrams used on the white board, and other resources my example folder. All while parked at the curb with car off, of course. This is so that they will have visual things to study in between lessons. I also let the parents know about this so they can quiz the student on the information as well.
• Have some breakfast. An empty stomach leads to distracted driving!
• Don't be afraid of moving your head and looking out as far down the center of the road as possible and keeping those eyes moving left and right.
• If they make a mistake, they are often so embarrassed and nervous. I tell them mistakes are normal and happen. Thank goodness we're in a lesson versus out there on the road doing them. It's really ok. I always tell them “you can’t be sorry for learning!”
• Mistakes happen. Making them during a driving lesson is perfectly normal. There's no need to apologize to your instructor. He or she understands you're new to this driving thing.
• Most instructors would love to meet your parents before the lesson, so try and make sure to schedule a time for your lesson when you know they will be home.
• Your parents might want to take a photo of you behind the wheel before taking off on your first lesson. Just let them. Smile for the camera and that can mean no tension or fighting before your lesson even starts.

Want to take a lesson from one of our instructors quoted above? Sign up here or contact our super Support Team with any questions!