MOTORISTS are worried their driving skills are suffering because they’ve spent far less time at the wheel during the coronavirus crisis, it’s claimed.
And chief among their anxieties is that they may struggle with both parallel and reverse parking once they are allowed to make more than just essential journeys, according to research.
Young Driver, the country’s largest pre-17 driving school quizzed 1000 UK motorists to discover which skills they think they most need to improve when they get back on the road.
And parking came out tops, with 39 per cent of women and 30 per cent of men wanting to brush up on parallel manoeuvres, while backing into spaces was an equal priority at 30 per cent for both sexes.
But the survey highlighted some significant disparities between male and female drivers’ priorities, too.
Overcoming nervousness on a motorway was important to 20 per cent of women, closely followed by being generally more confident behind the wheel for 18 per cent.
In contrast, after parking skills, 17 per cent of men thought they should learn to be more patient, with 13 per cent wanting to drive in a more eco-friendly way.
Sue Waterfield, head of marketing at Young Driver, which specialises in teaching 10 to 17-year-olds how to drive, said: “No matter how long we’ve held our driving licence for, it’s easy to lose confidence or worry about skills when they’re not regularly being used.
“Hands-on experience is so important and the only way to build up that confidence – which is why we believe so passionately that the more experience drivers can get before they even reach 17, the better driver they will be in the long run.
“Our research shows there are many aspects of driving where people feel their skills are lacking or bad habits have crept in, so getting that thorough grounding at an early age can be really important.”
