Teaching my wife to drive

I can't drive my wife anymore going to her office so I have to teach her so she can do it herself. I asked her to acquire first a student license maybe the weekend. What can you suggest and how can I make this easy for her?

I don't have much time to spend training her. any tips please?

 

I really just hiring someone to teach her, as her husband you might get frustrated and impatient and it could cause problems in the marriage so I strongly suggest hiring someone to teach her, or simply going through driving school if you guys can afford it.

 

When I was ready to learn to drive my husband was very happy to instruct me. Then after awhile he wasn't so happy because I wasn't catching on to manual as quickly as he expected. My advice to you is to do what I did, which was to take driving lessons and just use my husband as adviser.

 

I'm teaching her the manual transmission. Its the only car we have and its manual. I believe she use to drive with her dad back then. But she seem to forget as she claim she can only drive straight, no swerving and do parking experience.

We lately tried and eventually i got nervous when I saw a truck going towards us lol.. she manages to slowdown though. I think shes learning at 25 kph, its somehow good.

 

I'm with the others who recommended driving school. It's not worth the stress and strain on the relationship or the wear and tear on your vehicle.

Now, having said that, I will be teaching my fiance' to drive manual (she's knows how to drive auto), however there is no timeline for these lessons, and the learning vehicle is a Swedish tank (Volvo 245) so I'm not worried about our safety or damage to the vehicle.

It really comes down to how much time you have to devote to this, if it's not a lot or you are not very patient with nerves of steel, I'd stick with driving school.

 

With such a close call I don't think she is ready for the road yet. You should have her away from the public so that your lives and that of others is not threatened.

 

I would just hire someone to teach her. Two people who love eachother should never teach each other how to drive. lol

 

I think that you can teach her if you both are comfortable with that. When I was first married (way back when !) , I could drive, but didn't know a lot. My husband had me drive on back roads, and he explained shifting to me, and we practiced on hills with no other cars and at very low speeds. he taught me to listen to the sound of the engine, so I would know when to shift down, going up a hill, or to keep from using my brakes, coming back down a steep hill.
He showed me how to use the mirrors properly, and how to shift without using the clutch, just from listening to the motor and shifting at the right time.
I was lucky, because he was an excellent teacher, and he would get frustrated; but he didn't panic easily. Probably a good thing; I am sure I worried him pretty bad a few times though.

 

I would suggest she go to a driving school. Teaching someone to drive is stressful. I remember when my dad tried to teach me how to drive, he kept yelling at me like I knew how to drive. Just let a professional do it.

 

Thats what she thought when we first started. but when i told her, I have to work and that she has to really learn for no one will ever drive her but herself. she has to step bare foot so her feet can feel how the engine is and that she can shift whenever she feels that engine might die. Shifting is the hardest to learn for her and as of now she can use primary and second.

 

Oh wow. Your wife reminds me of myself a few years ago. I got my license rather late at 24. I remember my boyfriend and sister teaching me prior to getting my license. The first thing I remember is my boyfriend taking me early morning to this area where the streets were really empty and small. It was near a local supermarket in our town and he taught me about staying within the lanes, break and gas pedals to start. We really focus on driving in the lanes, eventually practically a few turns some days later.

 

Don't do it. Please do not do it. Teaching someone how to drive is one of the most stressful things I've ever had to experience. It's even worse when you teaching family members. Usually tempers soar very quickly, and is also hard for them to listen to you on a very serious note. I have never had any good experiences with teaching people were close to me and so whenever this subject arises I usually tell them to go somewhere else and get the proper training as they will listen to other people without question. And essentially the get better training without destroying the relationship.

 

I remember teaching myself how to drive a manual shift way back in the day. My dad had gotten me a used red Toyota Celica (with fat rear tires) and I couldn't return back to school from that weekend until I learned to drive it back by myself. So I set out really early that Saturday morning (to avoid traffic) and I slowly made my way to my old high school. I had packed a few make-shift obstacles in the trunk so I could make a simple obstacle course. I practiced in the large parking lot of the school all day long (starting, stopping, shifting, reverse, parallel parking, etc.). I drove home with a whole lot more confidence that evening. It really helped to not have to think about other vehicles while learning the coordination involved with driving a manual.

If she's afraid, she shouldn't be behind the wheel around other vehicles. That's a recipe for disaster.