I suppose my case is not so unique, however it's also not very common. In my late forties I've decided to get a driver’s license.

I think I’ve been postponing this decision since my thirties. There were two reasons for that. First of all, I didn't want to add a dangerous activity to my life. I am pretty sure it's because I was in a serious incident when I was eight and it caused me real psychological trauma. The second reason is much simpler. There was no need to drive myself. My wife was responsible for that. As you may see, I had no motivation to overcome my fear and my sloth.

At the present time I have a motivation and it looks like I've lost my fear. That's why firstly in my live I drove a car for two hours through the centre of night Cracow a couple of days ago. In Poland they are used to force a driver candidate to drive from the first second of practice without any preparation. It's difficult for me to assess this radical approach. Maybe it works quickly and effectively like a vaccination against a novice's fear. In my case, it took an hour of tension and moderate fright to get rid of them. The second hour wasn’t  intimidating at all. Also my instructor was giving me a lot of autonomy when it came to braking, signaling and other basic actions. Moreover, here in Poland it is a common practice, when an instructor is chatting with you during a lesson. They do it on purpose to prepare you for an exam, where you need to explain your actions or choices to an examiner.

To summarise my short story, I'd say this experience was a bit exciting and inspiring. Since that lesson I've felt some confidence that my goal is quite achievable and I will become a new, inexperienced driver with a license after a couple of months. Wish me luck!