u/Apurvita_1729

Hey all, I posted a while ago about putting P plates on considering I don’t have much road experience even though I am a good driver. My partner is a blues driver and he thinks I am a decent driver and cautious and thoughtful, but he also thinks I exhibit qualities of a new driver such as delayed reaction time, or not looking far far ahead etc. I didn’t want to take people on the road by surprise if sometimes my reaction to something is delayed, or slightly bad lane discipline in unmarked roundabouts or where road markings are faint or if I stall on hills or under pressure etc. After three weeks, I’ve taken it off at least for familiar roads such as work, gym etc. Now I am afraid that I’ll inevitably make a novice mistake which might have been avoided if other roads could see the P and give me some more time to process things perhaps.

Would be very much interested in your opinions on this!

To all those who are new drivers here - I passed about two months ago and bought myself a little hatchback VW Polo over the weekend. I passed first time in Reading, and let’s say my confidence level is decent enough - I build up to speed limit quite quickly when the conditions meet, don’t hesitate too much at roundabouts etc etc. So I said, “I’ll never get one of those P plates” and my partner, friends and colleagues also told me not to. I’ve been driving everyday a little bit for the last four days, and here are my thoughts on P plates.

a. Having learned in a diesel car, it was quite difficult for me to get the sync of bite point and acceleration correct in the new car. During my first independent drive from Ascot to Reading, I stalled so many times and got beeped for stalling SO MANY times. Clearly I caught people by surprise as I had no P plates then. I was genuinely trying to do my best.

b. I immediately got P plates, and the next drive was instantly better. Maybe it’s completely psychological, maybe I just got a bit more used to the car, but I could see people maintaining good distance from me, giving me plenty of space to change lanes. While that could be out of fear from their end, the outcome is still positive for a new driver provided we aren’t holding people up unnecessarily and actually try to drive properly.

c. While it’s true that you get treated like a learner, that in principle is true, at least for me. I literally have just passed at the age of 31, and had zero experience before this. I honestly felt like I am re-learning all of it again. So people giving you a bit of space isn’t a bad thing.

TLDR - if you are older but new to driving, hence more prone to road anxiety, or even an anxious person in general, or a classic ruminator/over-thinker - BUT wondering whether you should get those P plates, I say yes, get them. And to all those who say that we shouldn’t be on the road if we aren’t confident, I say there are different levels of confidence, and I choose not feel disheartened because we all have to start somewhere.