The word stress has become part of our everyday language with people using it to describe themselves, work or modern life. It is not unusual to hear learner drivers describe learning to drive as stressful. Even many qualified drivers describe driving as stressful, especially if driving somewhere new. A Lloyds car insurance survey suggests that 70% of motorists experience anxiety in difficult driving situations after they've passed their test. So what is it that makes driving stressful for some?
As a driving instructor, you will have noticed that different people seem to experience varying levels of stress in the same situations, making it confusing to work out what triggers a stress response and what feeling stressed means for different people.
Stress is experienced when a person perceives that they are not able to cope with the demands of a situation or task that is important to them (in this case driving) and has four different stages.
1. Situation or task - let's take a learner driver negotiating their first roundabout as an example. The driver has to learn how to approach the roundabout safely, be aware of other road users, position the car correctly, judge the correct speed, mirrors, signals, brakes, clutch control, steering etc. It can be a lot to learn and remember!
2. Perception - the learner driver will perceive whether there is a gap or not between their own ability and the demand required to complete the task.
3. Stress - if the learner driver does perceive a skills gap, and that the gap is threatening, they will begin to experience signs and symptoms of stress. These may be physical signs such as sweaty palms, shaking, butterflies in the stomach and/or they may be mental signs such as overthinking or negative thinking.
4. Behavioural consequences - if the learner driver experiences a level of stress which is manageable then this may increase their attention and effort, thus improving their driving performance in successfully negotiating their first roundabout. However, if the perceived gap was over threatening, leading to high levels of stress symptoms, their driving performance is likely to decline and they may have a negative first experience of negotiating roundabouts.
The learner drivers experience and resulting behaviour and performance will then influence their self-confidence and future perceptions the next time they experience the same situation.
Understanding more about stress, how it can influence learning and how to manage the signs and symptoms of stress can all help to reduce the impact of stress on driving behaviour, helping to create safer drivers.
Confident Drivers offers subscription plans to support learner drivers and group plans for driving instructors with a range of stress management solutions created specifically to help with stress and learning to drive.
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I have been using the Confident Drivers website for a year now. It is my go to place of ADI reference when I am assisting a more nervous / anxious client /stressed during their learning to drive journey or test day nerves. The coaching wheel is my favourite coaching tool, my clients love watching their wheel evolve.
Confident Drivers provide an excellent service to both Learners and Driving Instructors. My learners have enjoyed the wealth of information and techniques to help them feel confident when driving or taking their driving test. I am seeing some really positive results in the learners that have used these resources.
Pupils love it and I've found it very useful myself. A great resource for people and not just drivers.
If you have a driving test coming up soon you might find our Ultimate Guide to Driving Test Nerves useful.
These plans are created specifically for driving instructors and their students. We also have a range of individual plans created for learner drivers, you can find more details on our Learner Driver page.
We created this podcast for drivers who want to be calm and confident on the road. Whether you are a learner driver, a new driver or have been driving for years, this podcast will help you to beat driving nerves and anxiety and build your driving confidence.
Co-hosted by Kev & Tracey Field, each Driving Confidence podcast episode offers bite-sized information and ideas that are both relatable and achievable to help you manage your driving nerves or anxiety and transform how you feel about driving.
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Take a browse around our blog for articles written to help learner drivers and driving instructors recognise the most common reasons for experiencing driving nerves and confidence issues. Each article offers strategies and suggestions that may help you.
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