Don’t feel like I’ll ever be able to drive

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Yes I heard a similar view in the UK, that you don't learn to drive until you pass your test. Nonetheless, there's a lot of overlap. The theory you need in the UK for passing the test (Highway Code) was a good grounding for safe driving, in my view. But some of it was kind of silly - e.g. having to memorise stopping distances at various speeds, when in practice you just get a feel for when you're at the right distance from the car in front, because it would take too long to recall the numbers and convert them to anything useful. Knowing what the road signs mean is good, though they usually have that written below the sign anyway. Knowing what to do if you're involved in an accident - that's important and doesn't change. The really silly thing was when they test you for an emergency stop, where they "suddenly" tell you to stop - the giveaway is that they always have to look behind them before they do that, for safety's sake, so you know it's coming. Not much of a test for a real-life situation. Mostly it's the fact that other drivers don't drive like they would on a test, and if you do, or expect them to, you'll be out of kilter with them.

But yes, overall it's kind of different, like any other exam. The object of the exercise is to learn how to pass. My father was a reasonably safe driver although he'd failed his test. He then passed a motorbike test (which was rather easier because he'd had a lot of experience on a moped and on a bicycle, and the test isn't so hard), and then he got a 3-wheeler car, which for some weird reason his motorbike license qualified him to drive. He gave me a lot of lessons but when I moved on to professional tuition it became clear that he'd taught me a lot of "bad habits" that would never have got me through, but he was nonetheless a safe driver, and fitted in with other traffic well enough. He reckoned there was only one rule - don't bang into anything.

It is possible mandatory non-emergency stopping was an area where AS affected my driving.

Traffic lights in the U.S. show green to say you can go, then briefly amber to warn you it is about to go red, and then red when you are required to stop. I was taught if I got an amber light and it was practical for me to stop, and I had not yet entered the intersection, then I should stop. I guess that is the "on a test" answer.

For an amber light when I knew the car behind me was at a safe following distance, I would stop (just like on a test). A car following me at a safe distance can also see the amber light and has time to stop, too. I was confused because many drivers see the amber light to mean "go really fast so you can get through before the light goes red"--and they assume the car in front of them (me!) is going to do the exact same thing.

If you think it through you should conclude I've been hit from behind a few times. Legally, I was not at fault. I was still inconvenienced. And the insurance company gets tired of the bother.

I am getting better about making sure the car behind me is way behind me before I stop.

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Right. It seems in the real world, rules are made for breaking. There's a "box junction" near my home. The law is that you can't enter it unless your exit is clear. Motorists ignore that every rush hour. As a result, cars end up rolling off the box junction and onto the pedestrian crossings, blocking them while the pedestrians have the green light to cross, forcing them to wait for the next green light, whatever the weather. I've seen drivers who obey the rule and wait getting honked at by the drivers behind. There are traffic cameras watching the junction, but the law has been ignored for years and nothing has changed. By majority motorist consent, that's the correct way to drive through that junction.

https://blog.passmefast.co.uk/driving-t ... ion-rules/