Voices is the Dorset Echo's weekly youth page - written for young people by young people.

Being a learner driver is hard, first of all you have to get in a piece of metal and get used to controls which will seem alien to you at first, but it is enjoyable.

It gives you freedom and a challenge to take on and as you get more wheel time, your confidence grows.

Sadly some other road users seem to forget how nerve-racking it was to first learn to drive.

Most people are polite and will go out of their way to give you space and let you pass them and are respectful that you are learning.

Others however feel the need to tailgate, speed past you (even when you’re doing the speed limit) and try and squeeze by you when it’s your right of way.

It’s not a one off either, I’m constantly hearing stories from my fellow peers about how someone tried to cut them up or tailgate them. The only thing you can do is ignore them, stay calm and concentrate on your driving.

Of course learners make mistakes, it’s all part of the process. But when someone repeatedly beeps their horn at you or tries to intimidate you it can make anyone feel quite stressed.

Sadly, this is something that people have to get used to and I know this doesn’t just apply to learner drivers. But when it does, people can clearly see the L plate on the car.

Everyone had to learn to drive at one point, it’s just a shame that they seem to have forgotten.

The two best pieces of advice that I ever received was ‘Only pay attention to what the car’s doing and not the person in it’ and ‘treat driving like everyone else on the road is an idiot’.

Also the fact that you have to second guess and predict absolutely everything is important.

On the other hand, learning to drive is a great experience that I would highly recommend and most road users are lovely. There’s just a select few that will test you, but you just need to stay calm, ignore them and carry on driving safely.

By Hollie Carr