Another driver hit the wrong pedal.

I couldn't figure out why my mother drove with her hands in her lap, holding the bottom of the steering wheel.

Since then I got taught how to drive by a licensed driving instructor.

Later I noticed my grandmother drove like that too.
Thats when I relised my grandmother was taught by her mother to drive a horse and cart.
She drove like that because she was taught to hold the reins like that, so she taught my grandmother, who taught my mother, how to drive a horse and cart.

It showed in other things too, looping thumbs around steering wheel, not indicating untill 3 seconds before turning, if at all.
Not using rear vision mirror evey 5 seconds.
Pulling out into the middle of the road before turning left into driveway, then sitting and letting the car roll its left front wheel into the gutter, rocking to a standstill, then taking off.
Just like you do with a horse and cart.
Driving with the left wheels in the gutter (3 clean strips on a gravel road. Use the left two. )
'Gliding across lines' not crossing in short straight runs.
Not braking to clear the 'blind spot' before changing lanes.
Not indicating 3 seconds before starting turning manoeuvre.
(Not 'before turning'! Its before 'Starting manoeuvre'
That includes anything you do at all, even looking.)

Get hit from the rear while your thumbs are looped around the steering wheel and you break both your thumbs, and wrists, and let go of the steering wheel, just when you need to control the car.
But you can now, with your face.

Not a pretty look, is it?

"10 and 2"

Not '7 and 5'

Back into a car park, you steer with your front wheels, you indicate where you are going with your indicator and your direction with your reverse lights and as you know exactly how to line your car up with the car to your left.
you know exactly when to turn the wheel left, when to turn the wheel right and who cares about the other cars as theres no way at all that you can touch them doing that and you finish as close to the curb without touching it, parallel to it, and directly between the cars with your car set up to drive out.

Indicate. Stop. Reverse. Turn left. Turn right. Brake. Forward. Stop.

As soon as you get into a car. Put your safety belt on.

I saw a newly taught driver not do this.
It was the first time she ever drove her car by herself.
She got 10 metres, safetybelt got caught in steering wheel.
She ran headfirst into a tree.
Smashed up car.
Suffered brain/face damage.
Never drove a car again, or worked in a job ever again.
Suffered musle spasms for the rest of her life.

Marte, that explains a lot! I was taught by a driving instructor as we had no family car, but I had huge respect for my dad when he borrowed a car.

The first thing he did after I'd passed my test was to teach me to double de-clutch, maybe unnecessary with modern cars, but that and heel and toe down changes have been the norm ever since.

Watching some local driving instructors I'd say that some of them are not so hot on road positioning either and I'm sure many won't have any professional qualifications.

However, I was taught to drive with hands at 10 and 2, but since then, it has been changed to 9 and 3, so even if professionally taught, it may pay to take refresher after a few years. I taught my stepdaughter and son the very basics in local car parks, but as soon as they understood the clutch, throttle, gear changing and steering, packed them off for professional tuition as there is no way I'd take them on the road without dual control.

Hmmm - I've seen an in-car shot on TV of you driving around Ham/downs with one hand at 5 o'clock!
Or was it the other at 7 o'clock?

But I agree with the first bit.
My father taught me. The goat had a little bit of input, which didn't help.
I taught my family. Even though my wife got out and walked home after I laughed when she stopped for a cat that was 100 yards away down the road. The kids were sitting in the back, and they thought it was funny too - which also didn't help.

Lucky for her, we were only 200 yards away from home.
Might have been lucky for me too!