It’s a wonderful thing, hindsight. When I look back on what I've learned in life and what I may pass on to my children, it’s the more practical things that I've discovered make life a little bit easier. Learning to drive was a milestone in my life, but once I passed my test, I thought that was it. But it’s once you’ve passed your test that you really learn how to drive properly. And here’s what I really wish I knew when I passed.
Get A Good Car
When I passed my driving test, I got the first car I could see, which was older than my grandmother and wasn’t so much yellow as it was very dark white! It looked awful, and it wasn’t much fun to drive either. The amount of money I spent fixing it up, buying spare parts, tires, and even a replacement seat belt, it would have been cheaper to get a new car. And new cars don’t have to be expensive, there are some great volkswagen deals going around. And even if you can't afford a brand-new model, you can try and get an ex-demo one to make it a bit cheaper for yourself.
There are so many different ways to extend the life of the vehicle that I had no idea about! From clutch control to parking it in the shade, there are loads of little things that could have made the engine, interiors, and the whole thing last a bit longer. Instead, I sped around corners, coasted on the clutch, and didn’t look after the interior at all. As a result, I needed another car not long afterwards. But if you get a new car, you’d be inclined to look after it more. Taking care of your car and doing things like checking the oil and the tires on a regular basis could mean the difference between a breakdown or getting home in one piece.
Don’t Take People For Rides Right Away
Once you’ve passed your test, the compulsion to take all your friends for a late-night drive through and drive everywhere until four in the morning is a big one. But instead of bowing to peer pressure because you're the only one with a car, you need to spend some time in the car by yourself and get to know what you're capable of. They say that you don’t really start learning to drive until after you’ve passed your test, and they're right! Other drivers treat you differently, and you realize how dangerous it can be. When you're learning, you're protected to an extent, but now you're out on your own. So keep it that way for a while until you’ve got the hang of the roads around you and established what things you could improve on. It can be very stressful doing a parallel park when you’ve got a car full of people yelling, and it can easily lead to a moment’s distraction which is when you’ve scratched someone’s car.
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