A brief driving lesson

Some years ago, when I was in my final class in high school, there was this girl who was my senior and had already graduated the previous year. I think we were about thesame age but she was slimmer and shorter .

Months after she had graduated, she was already driving her younger siblings to school in her daddy's car. I found this very fascinating since she wouldn't be more than nineteen years. Also because it was more common to see a boy driving his siblings to school than to see a girl.

Two years after I left secondary school, I met this same lady at a wedding event. She was actually the one who drove all her friends to the ceremony. Once again, I was impressed. I have seen hundreds of ladies driving in a car, but I never thought much about it since they were all older than I am. But this particular girl was just about my age or even younger. So, I felt challenged. If she could handle a car, I think I can too.

At that time, There was this commercial driver of about 25 years old that was very friendly with my family. At first, when I told him that I was interested in learning how to drive, he thought I was just fooling. But I kept bugging him for about a month till he finally obliged. Although he was always busy and only returns home at about nine or ten in the evening. But I forced him to make time for me during the weekend, at around four or five in the evening and he reluctantly agreed.

On the appointed day, he made sure he explained all the vehicle parts used in driving . I was told it was important to understand their functions before I could handle a car. Ofcourse the theoretical details were very easy to grasp and I quickly memorised everything.

" A car( manual) had three controls; the throttle and the brakes . Throttle was used for acceleration while the brakes are applied to gradually bring the car to a halt."

I was also told about the number gears and their applications,which I masterd very well too. And ofcourse, the steering wheel, that's quite easy,I thought. I already knew the function of that one before I was told.

When we were done with the theory classes and I assumed the driver seat. I felt my heart give a little flip as soon as my instructor started the car engine. I almost totally forgot all I had initially memorised. Even the steering that I thought was the easiest to maneuver felt quite heavy in my hands and I was so scared to turn it either sides. I imagined that it might fall out of its position if I held it very tight. But my instructor kept encouraging me to stay calm and keep my eyes on the road. We spent almost two hours plying a football field at a very steady pace before closing for the day.

We also had a practice the next day which was on a Sunday and my instructor continued to encourage me,he also mentioned that I was doing well. I was getting more familiar with the use of throttle and the brakes. Although, it took me longer time to stamp on the brakes after my instructor had shouted severally even when I had already been advised to always maintain my feet on the brakes while driving. Thank God I never stepped on the throttle instead of a brake. I was told stories of learners who made such mistakes and ended up colliding with a fence or a tree , thereby wrecking the vehicle. Maybe he shouldn't have told me, such stories really made me lost courage. It also seemed as if the more an instructor screams at one who's learning, the more nervous and scared one becomes.

We had four more lessons and I felt I had improved alot. On our fifth tour, while coming out from the field, my instructor mentioned that we would try out one of the less busy roads the next day, since I was already doing pretty well on the field

Fear and trepidation immediately seized me as I wasn't expecting to hear that any time soon. My instructor assured me I would be alright since he would be there to guide me. But all that didn't make me feel better. From the driver's seat, I kept staring at the other cars as if they were monsters. Watching them drive at a much higher speed made me lose my nerves and I thought I was hallucinating. For a moment, I couldn't remember my right side from my left anymore.

I was definitely not ready to toy with my life. Infact, the scenes of fast moving cars from the highway made me forget all I have been taught and I immediately became disinterested in learning how to drive. I told my instructor that I was still a teenager, I still have alot of time to learn how to drive. Lol

And that's how I quit driving 😁

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Thanks fir reading 🙏🙂🙂