Late learners: Meet the Northern Ireland folk, including Julian Simmons, who learned to drive later in life

But then UTV decided to make a TV show about learning to drive, and Julian was literally thrust into the driving seat as the show’s host and learner driver.

The bubbly presenter, who was in his early 50s at the time, said: “The viewers followed me from the moment I got behind the wheel of a car to drive for the first time, right through to my test.

"I had a very good instructor. I learned to drive on the streets of Newtownards….. hill starts, roundabouts galore, everything. The thing I hated was reversing round a corner. The other one that was a nightmare was parallel parking. I never do that. I always have to go into a parking space head first. I don’t back into it.”

Julian described taking his driving test as a “nerve wracking” experience – and not just for him.

"It was filmed for television and there were four cameras in the car filming myself and the driving examiner. He was absolutely petrified – and you can imagine the state I was in!”

Julian failed his test on his first attempt.

"He (the examiner) took me to a hill in Newtownards that I’d never seen before and he said ‘stop at your leisure’ and I did all that and then he said ‘move off when you’re ready’. I did everything I was taught, rolling my head and looking all round me, released the gears, moved forward and stalled!”

Julian passed on his second attempt and said driving has been a ‘life changer’.

"I love driving. I go everywhere in my Mini, which I adore. I like the freedom and you don’t have to make conversation with taxi drivers….most are lovely and they’re great craic, but every now and again you may as well be sitting on Airforce One coming back from Dallas with the body of John F Kennedy behind you!”

The first car Julian bought was a ‘bright yellow Fiat 500 automatic’. I loved it to bits. I was like Noddy! Now, I’ve got an electric blue Mini with a white roof and white stripes on the front.”

There’s a spaghetti junction of reasons why people may leave it later in life to learn, from life circumstances to just not needing to, but for those who do go for lessons and pass their test, it’s a seminal moment.

Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon recently posted a beaming pictured of herself on social media to reveal she had passed her driving test at “the tender age of 53” and to encourage others that it’s ‘never too late’.

Gavin Sinclair, managing director of fleet risk management company, FleetMentor, and an advanced driving instructor and chair of Belfast Advanced Motorists (a road safety charity helping post-test drivers), has helped many people learn to drive after 50.

The oldest first time driver he taught was 67, whilst the oldest person for a mature driver’s assessment was 93.

He said trends show that people are leaving it later and later to learn.

"The average age is now pushing into the mid 20s. People are put off by the cost of insurance. And if people are going to university it’s unlikely they’ll need to learn drive, so they usually wait until they finish university.”

He added: “Most people learning to drive later in life have either lived in an area where it wasn’t relevant for them to learn to drive, so perhaps they have moved back to Northern Ireland from London and realised we don’t have the same level of infrastructure here and they need to get behind the wheel to get places.

"For some of them it’s maybe a change in family circumstances, perhaps the death of a spouse who had done all the driving, and they find they need to get their independence back.”

Gavin said the biggest pitfall for later learners is confidence.

“Someone who has taken that much longer to learn to drive may be more nervous because they have put if off for so long, so that it’s now become this big hurdle for them to get over.”

And in terms of teaching an older person to drive, Gavin said more patience is required.

"It is a much longer process, in my experience. Someone at 17 does, in general, pick it up fairly quickly, whereas someone older may have built a lot of their thought processes around driving on very negative experiences; they will know more people personally who have been involved in road traffic collisions, or been affected by them. That puts more pressure on them and more fear behind them, so they tend to be much more cautious.”

And in Gavin’s experience it usually takes an older person a couple of attempts to pass.

“Someone from the younger generation has just gone through school and are much more receptive to exams and pressure. But when people do pass they say it’s life-changing and say ‘‘why didn’t I do this 20 or 30 years ago!’

Lisburn woman, Claudia Preston, 56, is celebrating after passing her driving test earlier this week.

Claudia, who could already drive, explained that she had to re-sit her driving test after returning from America.

"I learnt to drive in America in my late 30s, so not so late in life, but I've had to take the test now that I've moved back home, as the American licence isn't exchangeable."

Claudia passed on her second attempt.

“My instructor was great, it was mainly my nerves letting me down, but it is so much harder and more rigorous here. I took plenty of driving lessons to prepare me for it even though I've been driving for 18 years. I was a pretty confident driver, but had a lot of bad habits.

“When I turned up for my test, the other test taker there was probably the more usual 17 or so years old. I felt like her granny!”

Claudia believes her age possibly makes her a more confident and ‘considerate’ road user.

“I know I am generalising, but I think I am a more responsible and maybe safer and more considerate than the very young drivers.”

Claudia said being back on the road has made life so much easier.

“Because I’m out in the country there’s no public transport and I care for my mum and I’ve got two dogs, so it’s just been really hard without a car.”

Sarah Patsioka, 43, learned to drive at the age of 38.

“I travelled a lot when I was younger so didn’t learn in my late teens. I met my now, ex-husband, in my early 20s and we lived in Greece, London and eventually Belfast but he preferred to do all the driving. We moved to Switzerland when I was 30 and along with the ex as taxi driver, everything was on my doorstep, so again there was no need. I separated from my ex and moved back to Belfast at the start of 2018 and made it my mission to get my test.

“That same year my uncle had become unwell and I was given a 15 year old Honda Jazz which, despite its age had a mileage of around 20k and was in mint condition.”

Sarah added: “I passed my test on my first attempt and for the last five years have loved the freedom driving has given me. I even went on to set up a successful dog adventure walking business, Buddy Up, using ‘Jazzy Jeff’ as our transportation.

“Last week I upgraded to a newer Peugeot Estate ‘Peggy Sue’ and I can’t wait to see what adventures await. Learning to drive in my late thirties was daunting but I am so glad I faced my fears and did it. ​​​​​​And I couldn’t have my business without my licence.”