Should I Take Driving Lessons in Later Life?

21 Nov Should I Take Driving Lessons in Later Life?

Most people start learning to drive in their late teens. Getting hold of your provisional licence at the age of 17 is a rite of passage and is typically followed by a block booking of driving lessons. For those who leave things a little later, the vast majority of people who intend to learn to drive during their lifetimes do so before they turn 30.

But what if you decide you want to get your hands on your driving licence further down the line? If you’re in your 40s, 50s, or even your 60s, is it really worth thinking about starting a course of driver tuition from scratch?

The short answer is yes…why not?

A Case of Confidence

At Adams Driver Trainer, we regularly tutor adults of all ages, who for myriad reasons didn’t learn to drive in their teens or 20s. While discussing their motivations for finally getting behind the wheel, we often find that older adults tend to put off learning to drive indefinitely due to confidence issues.

The longer a person waits to start their first course of driving lessons, the more likely they are to struggle with confidence issues. Or at least, that’s how it seems to be in our experience.

In addition, many of those who seek driver tuition in later life talk of having failed their test once, twice, or countless times in the past. Some lost confidence after failing their practical test multiple times, while others simply could not afford to continue paying for driver tuition as younger adults.

The Benefits of Learning to Drive in Later Life

Whatever a person’s motivation is for waiting until later in life to learn to drive, there are several key benefits to undergoing driver tuition as an older adult.

Firstly, research has shown how older adults tend to be significantly safer and more responsible motorists than their younger counterparts. All of which could make it quicker and easier to pass your test than would have been the case as an overly-enthusiastic teenager.

Secondly, you may have significantly more money at your disposal than you did in your teens, meaning you can buy yourself a car, get yourself insured and practice in it (alongside someone with a full driving licence) to your heart’s content.

Life experience can also play a role in assisting older adults in learning to drive.  Even if you haven’t ever taken the wheel yourself, you’ll have spent many years or decades on the road in some form or another. During which, you will have learned a lot about road safety and about the rules of the road in general.

Learning to drive as an older adult also brings the bonus of having not to worry about extortionate insurance costs. Insuring a car as a teenager can bring the kinds of eye-watering costs that few can comfortably cover, which don’t tend to apply when insuring a car in later life.

Driver Tuition for Older Adults

At Adams Driver Trainer, we offer a comprehensive range of driver tuition packages for adults of all ages. Whether you are looking to pick up where you left off some time ago or starting from scratch, we’ll do what it takes to get you behind the wheel safely, comfortably and at a price you can afford.

For more information or to discuss any of the driver tuition services we provide in more detail, contact a member of the team at Adams Driver Trainer today.