Driving instructor Mireia Brunet: “Some signs appear in the first lessons and show that a student will take longer to learn”

For Mireia Brunet, the driving test is the end of the process, not its purpose. After 18 years teaching at La Meva Autoescola in Barcelona, she says many students arrive focused almost entirely on passing, asking how many lessons they will need and when they can obtain their licence.

Brunet tries to redirect that concern from the first day. Learning to drive, she says, means more than controlling a vehicle. It means “learning to observe, anticipate, manage fear and accept that every decision has consequences.” The licence follows that development rather than defining it.

She says some students show early signs that their training will take longer. They may struggle to coordinate movements or judge distances and speeds accurately. Others lose concentration easily or become too focused on the result. When passing the test matters more to a student than understanding why a manoeuvre is necessary, progress is often slower.

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Learning to observe, anticipate, manage fear and accept that every decision has consequences.

Driving also requires understanding what is happening around the vehicle, rather than repeating movements from memory. Brunet says learning the car and its surroundings helps reduce fear. Confidence does not come simply from being told that one is driving well. It comes when students prove to themselves that they can handle real situations.

During training, students must listen, accept and correct mistakes, manage frustration, stay focused and make continuous decisions. They also take on a major responsibility because their choices affect safety. Brunet sums up her approach simply: “You don’t come to get your licence, you come to become a driver.”

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You don’t come to get your licence, you come to become a driver.