Last Wednesday was the first time I drove at 100 km/h legally (the speed limit for green P’s). Now I’ll admit that it’s not terribly exciting, but it did remind me of the first time I drove alone after I got my P’s.
It was in the afternoon, and I was on the train home from university. I needed to get some keys cut at the shopping village in the next suburb, and was deciding whether to get off the train early, or drive a short distance. In my head I squealed in excitement that I would be finally ‘free’ from the constraints of public transport.
When I got in Mum’s car, I was still shaking a little, so a few minutes went by whilst I calmed down. I turned the key, reversed out of the parking spot and set off.
Obviously the drive felt different because there was nobody sitting next to you watching out for things you were doing wrong. At least there wasn’t a testing officer making fail marks on the sore sheet. But I felt compelled to do everything right: indicate before turning, safe distance from others and checking mirrors.
Admittedly, some of those skills have deteriorated since!
I got the keys cut and drove home rather satisfied, knowing that I saved travel time by deciding to conquer the first-time anxiety.
Do you still remember the first time you drove alone?
