A driving lesson starts before you turn the key. If you have slept badly, finished a long shift or feel mentally overloaded, the important question is not whether you can force yourself through the appointment. It is whether driving and learning are responsible under the circumstances.

I’m Elvis Begic, your instructor at Rijschool in Maastricht. I teach personal manual lessons in English and Dutch in my Volkswagen Golf. This article gives you a practical way to think before a lesson, without pretending that one checklist can measure everyone’s fitness.

Fitness is part of learning to drive

The Dutch national learning goals for category B include deciding beforehand whether driving is responsible. They specifically mention physical and mental fitness, including tiredness, mood, medicines and illness, and how these can affect recognising and handling risky situations.

You can read this in the official national learning goals for category B, under the section about deciding whether to participate in traffic. This is broader than operating the clutch correctly: a driver also has to judge the circumstances in which driving is sensible.

Ask three questions before leaving home

Take a quiet minute and ask:

These questions are a learning aid, not a medical test or official CBR checklist. If medicine is involved, use the specific guidance in our article about medicines and driving lessons and ask a doctor or pharmacist when needed.

Do not hide how you feel

Being honest does not mean that every imperfect day must be cancelled. It means giving relevant information instead of hoping your instructor will not notice.

For example, “I slept badly and I am struggling to focus” is useful information. “I am a little nervous about today’s roundabout practice” is different. The first may call for reconsidering whether you should drive at all; the second may become a manageable learning goal.

Tell your instructor before moving off. A driving school cannot diagnose your health, but safety must come before completing a planned exercise.

Tiredness can change how a lesson feels

Manual driving combines observation, decisions and physical actions. When your attention is reduced, a familiar sequence—looking, choosing a gear, controlling the clutch and checking again—may feel less organised.

Do not use one difficult lesson to conclude that you cannot learn to drive. First separate the skill itself from the circumstances of that day. After a suitable lesson, discuss one concrete moment: what did you miss, when did concentration drop, and what helped?

That reflective approach fits with patient driving instruction in Maastricht.

Plan the lesson around real life

If you regularly book immediately after school, work or a night shift, notice whether that timing supports learning. Do not compare yourself with a friend whose weekly routine is different.

When contacting the driving school, discuss current arrangements rather than assuming that every preferred time is available. I also offer 90-minute lessons, but a longer lesson is not automatically the best choice on a day when concentration is limited.

Read how to plan lesson duration and lesson numbers and compare the current prices and packages without treating a package as a guarantee.

A calm decision is a driving skill

Sometimes the responsible decision is to drive. Sometimes it is to ask a question, seek advice or arrange another way to travel. Learning to make that decision is part of becoming independent—not a sign of weakness.

I provide manual driving lessons in Maastricht and nearby areas including Meerssen, Bunde, Gronsveld and Cadier en Keer. Lessons can be discussed in English or Dutch.

Contact Elvis about your learning goals. Tell me your experience, preferred language and location, and ask about the current possibilities.

The official learning-goal source was checked on 22 October 2026. This article offers general learning guidance and does not assess your individual medical fitness to drive.