A structured interview/discussion sessions were held with 13 young novice drivers, using two attributional rating exercises, to examine the frequency of self-monitoring, the adaptivity of emergent attributional thinking, any changes over time, plus any gender difference. Drivers who self-monitored frequently tended to be those whose attributions were most adaptive, tending to express high levels of internality and personal control. They were also strongly aware of their learning needs and gaps in skills and knowledge, had high personal motivation in achieving learning success, and some had developed their own self-coaching strategies. The attributions assigned by the drivers collectively changed from a state of wide variability to more conceptually coherent and consistent patterns of attributions. Some early inconsistent attributional thinking had dissipated by the end of the study. No major gender difference was found. These findings suggested that facilitated discussion aimed at prompting self-monitoring of learning to drive encourages reflection on a wider and deeper range of factors surrounding learning experiences than novice drivers might otherwise consider.