Last night it was great to see a programme entirely dedicated to learning to drive. If you didn’t manage to catch The Undriveables, you can watch this weeks episode on ITV Player and there are still another five episodes to come.

This week’s episode featured Keely a mum who has failed her test a total of nine times and Malcolm a retired teacher. The Undriveables showcased two common issues that learner drivers often encounter: Keely struggled with confidence and nerves and Malcolm struggled with road positioning and co-ordination.

Throughout the programme, the two were faced with some very challenging situations, which really tested the areas which they are weakest in. Keely had a hard time having to drive through the hustle and bustle of central London which soon caused her nerves to get the better of her.

Malcolm was faced with the challenge of driving up a narrow road with parked cars. Malcolm’s instructor, Ursula, really helped him to reflect on this issue, by asking him to stop and get out of the car so that he could actually see how close he was positioned next to the parked cars. This lesson worked to reinforce the fact that this is a pressing issue that needs working on, as bad positioning is an instant fail on a driving test.

Keely told insurelearnerdriver about her driving test “I hit the kerb doing the reverse round corner manoeuvre. I knew I over steered and was going to try again but the examiner would not speak to me to say if this was ok so my panic set in! I came back round the corner to start again and hit the kerb. It was 31 minutes into 38 minute test and before that incident I was driving fine, no errors, so it was a massive disappointment!

Although Malcolm and Keely only had 5 days from their training until the day of the test, they both made a vast improvement due to making a conscious effort to work on their weaknesses. Unfortunately, when it comes to nerves and panic, it is easier said than done to control and sometimes a situation may arise where they can override the rest of your efforts. So make sure you are feeling confident and have had enough practice so that driving almost feels like second nature to you.

The Undriveables really reinforced that every learner has a different issue, as after all, learning to drive is learning and everybody learns at different speeds and in different ways. But sitting back and reflecting on what your weaknesses are and how you can work to resolve them can really help you to move forward.

To squeeze in a little more than 5 days practice before your test get a quote for online car insurance online now.