Advice for drivers who lack confidence.
If you lack confidence when driving there can be times when you put yourself more at risk even though you are trying to be very careful. Any undue hesitation, for example, can confuse or frustrate other road users, both of which can cause potential problems.​The first thing to do is try to understand the reason you lack confidence. Is it because:
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You have had a recent collision?
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You haven't driven for many months much or not at all for many months or even years?
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Your driving skills have been criticised by a passenger, particularly in a repeated manner?
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You have always been a nervous driver?​
You have had a recent collision
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Collisions happen from time to time and if we were expecting them then they would be easy to avoid. But the truth is, they are rare and random for the vast majority of drivers.
So the longer we go on without having a collision, the less likely we are to change any poor driving habits.
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Take the time to really understand why the collision happened, particularly if it was your fault.
A professional driving assessor who is experience in refresher training for older motorists would help take a look at the situation in an unbiased way.
If you can find out why the collision happened you can possibly alter the way you drive slightly or change a habit which may make all the difference. This, together with an increased awareness, should help to regain some of that lost confidence.
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving is a term used in driver training to indicate a safer way of driving in order to avoid mistakes by other road users.
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This requires driving with good levels of forward planning, anticipation, all round awareness and, of course, concentration. One of the main reasons why drivers get caught up in a situation they can't control is that driving, is that they are driving on auto pilot, thinking about other things going on in there life.
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Most collisions are easily avoidable through a process of always being on the lookout for clues. There is usually some warning which tells us something may happen but if we are concentrating, we don't notice them.
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However, if a driver is particularly nervous, they are likely to be concentrating for most of the time. In this situation, it may be a lack of awareness behind, a lack of understanding how road users work interact or a lack of knowledge of the rules of the road.
On the other hand, it could equally be due to the uncertainty from others about our intentions if we are unduly hesitant about making a decision.
this will need some assistance from a patient and knowledgeable driver, preferably a professional trainer.