How to drive a car: a beginner’s step-by-step guide

Step 1: Check the car

Before you get in, take a quick look around the car for damage, fluid leaks, tires that look low or flat, and snow or dirt on the lights and windows. Once you’re inside, make sure your view is clear. When you start the engine, the warning lights on the dashboard should come on and then go out.

Step 2: Set your seat and steering wheel

• Sit high enough to see over the steering wheel and the hood, and to see the ground about 4 m in front of the car. A firm cushion helps if you need more height.
• Move the seat so you can reach the pedals comfortably, without stretching.
• Sit upright, with your elbows slightly bent when your hands are on the wheel.
• Keep at least 25 cm between the centre of the steering wheel and your breastbone. Transport Canada recommends that distance because of the airbag; tilting the wheel down and reclining the seat slightly both help.
• Centre the head restraint behind the back of your head.

Step 3: Set your mirrors and buckle up

1. Inside mirror: centre it on the rear window.
2. Left mirror: lean your head toward the driver’s window, then set the mirror so you can just see the back of your car.
3. Right mirror: lean toward the centre of the car and set it the same way.
4. Seatbelt: the shoulder strap goes over your shoulder, never under your arm or behind your back, and the lap belt sits low across your hips, not your stomach. Pull it snug.

A driver who doesn’t wear a seatbelt faces a fine and 2 demerit points. Before you move, find the wipers, lights, defroster and signal lever, so you can use them without looking down. The mirrors and blind spots guide explains why mirrors alone aren’t enough.

Step 4: Learn the pedals and gears

An automatic car has two pedals: the accelerator on the right and the wider brake pedal to its left. Use your right foot for both, and keep your left foot on the floor.

Step 5: Start the car and move off

1. Check that the shifter is in P, and press the brake with your right foot.
2. Start the engine: turn the key, or press the start button.
3. Keep your foot on the brake and shift into D, or R to back up.
4. Release the parking brake.
5. If you’re pulling away from the curb, signal, check your mirrors, then look over your shoulder at your blind spot.
6. When it’s clear, ease off the brake. The car starts to creep forward on its own; then press the accelerator gently.

The exact order varies a little from car to car, so check the owner’s manual. To back up, shift into R and look over your shoulder in the direction you’re moving. To park, brake to a stop, shift into P and set the parking brake before you turn off the engine.

Step 6: Steer with both hands

Ontario’s Handbook puts your hands at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock on the wheel, rather than the 10 and 2 many people learned. Keep both hands on the wheel for most steering and lane changes, and steer smoothly.

• For sharp turns, use hand-over-hand steering.
• To straighten out, let the wheel slip back through your hands, or feed it back gently.
• Finish your braking before you turn the wheel.
• Never steer with one finger or the flat of your palm.

Some other provinces also teach push-pull steering, where your hands never cross. Whichever you use, keep both hands on the wheel.

Step 7: Speed up and stop smoothly

Press the accelerator gently and build speed smoothly to blend with traffic. To stop, brake early and press the pedal firmly and evenly, so the car slows down gradually instead of jerking.

Where to stop

At a stop sign or a red light, come to a complete stop, with no rolling: at the stop line. If there’s no line, stop before the crosswalk; if there’s no crosswalk, at the edge of the sidewalk; and if there’s no sidewalk, at the edge of the intersection.

Braking hard

With anti-lock brakes (ABS), press hard and keep pressing, even if the pedal pulses, and steer where you want to go. Without ABS, brake as hard as you can without locking the wheels, and don’t pump the pedal.

Step 8: Signal and look around you

• Signal well before you slow down, stop, turn, change lanes or pull away from the curb. A signal doesn’t give you the right to go, so make sure the way is clear.
• For a turn, signal before you start to slow down. If there are driveways or side roads before your turn, wait until you’ve passed them, so nobody thinks you’re turning there.
• Check your mirrors about every five seconds.
• To change lanes: check your mirrors, shoulder check, signal, check again, then steer over gradually without slowing down.

Step 9: Turn left and right

Slow down before the turn, more for sharper turns, then speed up gradually as you come out of it.

Right turns

Start and finish close to the right side of the road. Look ahead, left, right and left again, and check your right blind spot for cyclists before you turn. Finish in the right-hand lane.

Left turns

Start in the far-left lane for your direction, and finish in the far-left lane for your direction on the new road. Look ahead, behind, left, right and left again. While you wait for a gap, keep your wheels pointed straight ahead, so a bump from behind can’t push you into oncoming traffic. Once it’s safe, go.

Step 10: Keep your distance

Stay at least two seconds behind the vehicle ahead. When it passes a fixed point, such as a pole, count “one thousand and one, one thousand and two.” If you reach the point before you finish counting, you’re too close. Leave more space in rain, snow and darkness.

Look well down the road too, not just at the car in front. On the road test, the Handbook asks for two to three seconds of following distance and scanning 12 to 15 seconds ahead.

Where to practise your first drives

• Start as soon as you have your G1, in daylight, in an empty parking lot or on quiet residential streets.
• Keep early drives short and focused: smooth starts and stops, gentle turns and signals.
• Move to busier roads as each skill becomes automatic, then try different times of day and different weather.
• Remember the G1 limits: no driving between midnight and 5 a.m., and no 400-series highways or other listed high-speed roads unless your accompanying driver is a licensed driving instructor.

Booking your first lesson? The first lesson guide explains what to expect and what to bring.