Getting back behind the wheel after years without a car

What is really missing after a long break

What you lose is not driving itself, it is the automatic side of it: judging distances, changing lanes without thinking, matching the speed of the traffic around you. Legally nothing stands in the way, anyone holding a full licence may drive again after fifteen years off the road. What is missing is routine, and that is what makes people uneasy.

On top of that, cars have changed: assistance systems, reversing cameras, automatic gearboxes, stop start. Much of it did not exist when you last owned a car. These points are typical as well:

• A feel for the width of the car and for distances
• Parking, especially in reverse
• Multi lane roundabouts
• Motorways and lane changes
• New technology in the car

Many adults feel embarrassed about taking lessons again. There is no need. A third of my sessions are with returning drivers, often people who have held a licence for twenty years.

How many sessions it realistically takes

Two to four sessions after a short break, four to six after many years. Once we have done the initial assessment, that is the first session on quiet roads, I can tell you honestly. After that I know what is missing, and I will say so even when the answer is that you hardly need anything more.

A session lasts 90 minutes. That is deliberate: one 90 minute session achieves more than three short lessons, because a topic can actually be finished in that time instead of starting again from scratch each time.

A four week plan

Week 1: quiet residential streets, basics and vehicle controls. Drive the same short, familiar route three times, always at a quiet time of day. The aim is not progress, it is getting used to it again.

Week 2: city traffic in Bern, roundabouts, tram lanes. The same route at different times and once at dusk, plus two parking manoeuvres per drive and one trip through city traffic at a moderate time of day.

Week 3: motorway, slip roads and lane changes. One new route per drive, looked at on a map beforehand.

Week 4: parking, manoeuvres, a longer drive in one go. Add one drive in the rain and one drive with a passenger. Manage those three and your routine is back.

Two rules help. Short and often beats long and rare: twenty minutes three times a week achieves more than two hours on a Sunday. And never practise under time pressure: driving to an appointment trains stress, not driving.

If one situation stays stubbornly difficult, a single session is worth more than further attempts alone. It is usually one small technical point that can be sorted out in twenty minutes.

What you can practise specifically

• Motorways and slip roads, especially with a short acceleration lane
• Parking and manoeuvres, for example reversing into a space on a slope
• City traffic: busy roundabouts, turning across traffic without lights
• Driving at night, including in the rain
• Moving up to a larger vehicle
• Getting to know assistance systems, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and parking aids

We do not build anything from scratch. You say what bothers you and we drive exactly there. A 90 minute session is usually enough to settle two or three such situations. In your own car if you prefer, which is often sensible, because afterwards you are confident in that specific car.

It also makes sense if you have only driven the same short route for years, if a move to Bern suddenly puts you in city traffic, if you need confidence back after a minor accident, or if you have driven abroad for a long time and want to refresh the Swiss rules.

Not a course, but individual sessions

There are no group courses for getting back behind the wheel, only sessions of 90 minutes. If you need several, you take Fokus3, Auffrischung6 or Intensiv9. After the first session we decide together whether anything more is needed at all.

And afterwards: two short drives a week maintain routine far better than one long drive a month.