How I did it: I got my learner's permit at 16 and tried driving once - it was a bad experience (nothing happened, it just really shook me up for some reason), and I didn't attempt to drive for years later. It took an absolute necessity of being able to drive myself before I finally got my license. The truth was, I was scared of driving, and cars in general (still hate crossing the street, though it's not as bad as it used to be). So, my strategy was to begin by imagining myself as the driver while in the front passenger seat, so I could work through some of my nerves without being in control of the car. I also spent a lot of time doing parking lot driving, not venturing onto streets until I was bored silly with the parking lots. Once I got past the initial fear my perfectionism started kicking in to the point where I was almost obsessive about doing things right; I spent an hour in an empty parking lot with my mom trying to turn left into a parking spot and line up perfectly. The actual test was no big deal. I was nervous, but everything went completely fine. I think the fact that I was 21 helped the tester be a little less picky, too.

Lessons & tips:

1. Start slow
2. Have a clear reason for doing it and a set time by which to accomplish it
3. Don't be embarrassed to drive 5 under the speed limit while you're learning. It can make you feel more comfortable and in control.

Resources: Our DMV website had an online sample test with multiple choice questions. Going through that several times made the "written" test a breeze!

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Feb 08, 2010, 10:06AM PST | 1 comment | 1 cheer