Anxiety-free Driver Training

Hey there! I’m so excited to help you with your driving journey. I’ve put together a plan based on four skill levels to get you confident behind the wheel. We’ll go step by step, focusing on “ Us” (you and the car) first, then moving to “ Them” (traffic and tricky stuff). Let’s break it down in a simple, friendly way!

This is where we start, getting super comfy with your car. We’ll focus on the basics to make sure you feel in control.

• Hands, Feet, and Eyes: We’ll practice using your hands on the steering wheel, feet on the pedals, and eyes to look around. You’ll do lots of exercises to get these three working together perfectly.
• Feel the Car: You’ll learn how the four tires feel on the road. We’ll practice touching curbs and even climbing one, so you know where your tires are. You’ll also feel how your body sits in the car compared to the wheels and the “purple line” (the center of your car).
• Road Positioning: We’ll work on where to place your car on the road so you’re always in the right spot.
• Basic Turns: You’ll practice simple left and right turns, plus pulling over to the curb to judge distances.
• Parking and Reversing: We’ll do parallel parking, reversing, and aiming the car where you want it to go while watching your surroundings.
• Three-Point Turns: This helps you feel the tires and learn maximum steering (full left to full right) with a “1-2-3” hand-over-hand count.
• Two-Point Turns: These teach you to control the car in reverse, which is key for all parking.
• Focus on Us: We’ll talk about keeping your attention on driving (100% on you and the car, 0% on me or others). Beginners often focus too much on me, the instructor, but we’ll work on keeping your eyes on the road.
• Quick Intro to Level 2: We’ll touch on signs, lines, and laws—like who stops (reds) and who goes (greens)—to get you ready for the next step.

Now that you’re comfy with the car, we’ll add the rules of the road. This is still about “Us” (you and your car), but we’re bringing in the laws to keep you safe.

• Crossing a Busy Road: We’ll start by crossing a big 4-lane road with a divider in the middle. You’ll stop at a stop sign, cross two lanes going east, pause in the divider, then cross two lanes going west. This teaches you to yield to “greens” (who has the right of way) like pedestrians, bikes, and cars.
• Focus on Us, Check on Them: You’ll practice keeping your focus on car control while sometimes looking at traffic (Them). We’ll repeat this until you can stay focused on “Us” without getting distracted.
• Turning Right: After crossing, we’ll practice turning right into a smaller residential area, still focusing on car control and the basic laws.
• Drive on a Busy Road: We’ll drive down the busy road for 2-3 blocks, then back to the residential area. One way is downhill (using brakes to stay under 50 km/h), and the other is uphill (using gas to get to 50 km/h). This helps you control speed.
• Tighter Residential Area: We’ll drive in a trickier area with traffic circles and odd-shaped intersections. You’ll practice car control, follow basic signs, and prove you can focus on “Us” without worrying too much about “Them.”

You’ve got the basics down, so let’s add traffic! This is where we start focusing on “Them” (other drivers) while still using everything you learned in Levels 1 + Level 2.

• Drive in Traffic: We’ll stay on the busy road and go 10-30 blocks straight, getting you used to traffic all around you—front, sides, and behind. You’ll handle bigger intersections with lights, greens, reds, and stricter lines.
  
• Repeat and Build Confidence: We’ll keep going straight through traffic, then mix in residential areas with left and right turns to calm you down. You’ll prove you can focus on positioning and not get distracted by traffic or fear of messing up.
  
• Higher Speeds (80 km/h): We’ll move to a faster road (up to 80 km/h) with lane changes, speed changes (80, 60, 50, 30), and new road setups. You’ll practice controlling gas and brakes, going from 100 km/h down to 40, then back up to 70, without fear.
  
• Top Skills: We’ll spend lots of time on two tricky moves: lane changes and left turns at lights. You’ll learn to look all around (360° awareness) to do these safely.
  
• Talk to Other Cars: You’ll learn how to “talk” to other drivers using your car—brake lights, positioning, and signals—so you fit into traffic smoothly.
  
• Mix It All Together: You’ll use car control, laws, and traffic skills all at once, learning what “normal” traffic patterns look like.

This level is about knowing when something’s off in traffic. It takes practice, but you’ll get there!

• Learn What’s Normal: Using everything from Levels 1-3, you’ll start to notice what’s “normal” in traffic and spot when something’s wrong (like a car acting weird).
  
• Talk About Fear: We’ll chat about crashes and why they happen. Spoiler: it’s usually the driver (you), not others, so we’ll work on keeping you calm and confident.
  
• Proving Ground: To show you’ve mastered all four levels, we’ll drive in tough spots:
  
• Downtown: You’ll handle left and right turns in traffic, with pedestrians, bikes, and tight spaces. This proves your 360° awareness and car positioning.
  
• Highways: You’ll drive on busy highways at high speeds, mastering lane changes and keeping that 360° awareness.
  
• Bridge to North Vancouver: We’ll cross a bridge to North Van and back (via Second Narrows) to Burnaby, then back to Vancouver. This gets you comfy with bridges (they scare lots of new drivers!) and exposes you to new areas with different roads and signs.

In our first session, I’ll watch how you focus on “Us” (you and the car) and “Them” (traffic). I’ll also check your skills on all four levels by keeping things simple and talking with you. We’ll see how you react to cars, people, bikes, parked cars, dogs—anything nearby. From there, we’ll move to harder spots, but always at your pace.

This plan is all about building your skills step by step, so you feel calm and confident on the road. We’ll focus on “Us” first, then add “Them” as you get better. By the end, you’ll be ready for anything—downtown, highways, even bridges! Let’s get started—I can’t wait to see you shine! 🚗

Todd Cooper

236-998-4268