Tips For A New Driver?

Alright, so, I've got my G1, and have logged about 3hrs behind the wheel.

I am having big issues with anxiety related to driving - I get anxious when we've got a practice scheduled, I get anxious when I am behind the wheel, I dread driving in town and I get anxious when anything even remotely unexpected happens. By the time I'm done "learning", I'm probably going to have to pay for my mom to get her breaks done, because I tend to ride the breaks.

So far I have driven on a lot of back roads(I'd hate to have to learn to drive in a city!!) and I am okay as long as there are no animals/people/other cars around. I've had to turn across traffic a few times(scares me), I've driven as fast as 80km/h(scares me), and I've parked and had to back out of a parking spot a few times. Today I drove in a light rain(not nearly as scary as I thought it'd be).

There's just so much to remember! So much to pay attention to. I am constantly worrying that I am forgetting something. I hate the idea of people pulling out in front of me, and the idea of people following me.

What tips/tricks can you offer me to help me get over my anxiety and make learning easier. I know that practice is the biggest one, but it's hard to practice when you get anxious just thinking about driving.

Go to an empty parking lot and goof around with your car a bit.

Place soft (garbage bag of crumpled newspaper or clothes) obsticles to dodge or weave around or stop before hitting and realize how quick your reflexes really are and how hard you can push your car without loosing control or flipping it.

Talk to yourself while driving and even when you're a passenger in a car to practice watching the road - keep a quiet and calm running commentary of all you see and how you will adjust to avoid accidents ie...

"Checking my mirror, all clear, signal, switch lanes, light ahead is green, flashing orange hand is on so light might turn yellow, prepare to stop, check mirror for tailgater who might rear end me, made the light, car turning right ahead, not looking at me, may need to honk horn? swerve to avoid? Stop? nope - he saw me, continue, kids on bike on sidewalk - watch them, break lights ahead, possible traffic jam? Cop? Accident? Dog? ease off gas, check rear for tailgaters ....

My mum started doing this when I was 15 and I've never been at fault in an accident - been hit by a couple cappy drivers I still do this today, especially when my nieces and nephews are in the car - to turn them into eagle eyed drivers who can anticipate problems and react accordingly.

RELAX..!!!

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will your confidence level.
It takes TIME..!!!

Hours upon hours upon un-ending hours to gain confidence. We've all been
there. Just settle yourself a bit and get on with it. Avoid circumstances you
feel uncomfortable with for the time being. Those instances will present
themselves in due time.

If you drive "overly-cautious" and ride the brakes, you'll draw attention to
yourself. Don't be surprised if you get pulled over because of it. When that
occurs, just stay calm and respectful. Keep all of your required paperwork
close at hand.

This time next year, you'll look back on this old post and laugh about it.

Good Luck.

grumpy.

Oh, nuts... I wish I could help. I was just kinda thrown to the lions, myself.

I didn't get any real practice until I was 21, and driving scared me, too. I've never really liked it. I just do it to get from point A to point B. I stay as far away from other people as I can. Not easy in the city, but I do it the best I can. I drive like my brakes are going to fail, and the guy in front of me is going to drop his drive train.

My beloved Shay advises you do what he did -- get around by using the back roads, just like you are doing now. Do that for a year or three, and you'll have a good feel for the car and for driving in general. It will have become a lot more natural, and your anxiety will most likely have decreased significantly. Then you can start going on some of the busier roads, with experience under your belt.

When I was learning to drive we live out in the county and had a long driveway. I would drive up and down the driveway and practice backing up and turning around. If you have something like that available to you it is nice because you can practice and don't have other cars to worry about.

I might not be of much help but try what everyone has said. Just relax, take your time, and I would suggest that you have fun learning about your car. If you have a huge field head out there and take your time learning how your car handles turning, backing, and breaking.

Way back when, I had to be forced to learn to drive. My mom was tired of taking me to and picking me up from my job. I was scared to death.

The anxiety passed. It took time. There was just so much to learn. This might sound stupid, but it helped me. Sit in the car with it running. Tell yourself to turn on the wipers, the lights, adjust the mirrors. Play with all the bells and whistles until they are second nature. It helped me to get out on the roads knowing I was sure I knew how to work the car.

And believe in yourself. You can do this.

When I started driving a man from a driving school showed up and I got in to the drivers seat. I had never driven any sort of vehicle before. Off we went driving through the city and even on the interstate. Baptism by fire.

My advice to you is to accept that you will be anxious, fearful and uncertain. Take a deep breath and push through those feelings. Sadly we get our strength and courage after we do the things we worry about and not before. Driving will get easier each time you do it. It won't take long and you will be very comfortable. Once you have learned to drive I have some more advice. This comes from expensive, hard learned lessons.
Leave plenty of distance between you and the car in front.
Double check when going through intersections that someone doesn't see you.
Avoid excessive speeding but don't drive so slow that people are constantly going around you.
Stay in your lane, going around every slow driver on the road saves you very little time and is a very bad habit.

In my first 2 years of driving I had 4-5 accident and 6 speeding tickets. I lost my license for 6 months. Once I followed my advice above I've been in 0 accidents and no tickets for the past 25 years.

ckcs":24kqoacv said:

When I started driving a man from a driving school showed up and I got in to the drivers seat. I had never driven any sort of vehicle before. Off we went driving through the city and even on the interstate. Baptism by fire.

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Yep. First or second day of driving, my instructor had me on the interstate, driving over a major interstate bridge. Behind a brick truck with an uneasy load. And he didn't like that I stayed so far away from it. I ignored his instructions to stop hanging so far back from it.

He might have saved my life, though, as I came up to a high grade crossing, and a police car came roaring over from the other side... in my lane. He reached over and yanked the wheel to the right, and the police car sped past.

I'm sure BH will be so happy to hear my horror stories!

ckcs":24kqoacv said:

In my first 2 years of driving I had 4-5 accident and 6 speeding tickets. I lost my license for 6 months. Once I followed my advice above I've been in 0 accidents and no tickets for the past 25 years.

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I've been driving for about 23 years now, and I just got into my first accident I was at fault for two years ago. I forgot about oil collecting on the roadway after a drought. We got a nice light rain, it lifted the oil, and -- in spite of having enough room to stop -- I couldn't change lanes, and I don't even know if I was able to slow down.

I'd been in accidents before that, but not my fault.

Here we always just assume the other drivers don't see you. weather distracted by the radio,passengers,the phone or just their thoughts.Always drive like you are invisible....... I live i n a very small town...The kind of place where three cars is rush hour..You wouldn't believe how many motorcycles get wiped out ...But here in Arizona wise bikers drive like they are being hunted,...keeps them alive. . , You will be fine ..Just remember that no one sees you, even if you make eye contact.. they assume that you want them to go first.Don't be scared by horror stories ether we all have them.Heck I got rear ended in a bright orange car in the middle of a left turn signal on a straight road,sunny day....She was reaching for the radio...or her purse ...who knows???
Anyway..always wear your seat belt,and sunglasses, don't drive tired. and assume you are invisible, except to law enforcement.....and always keep a good distance between you and the guy in front of you..someone will always try to squeeze in..If you end up in a traffic jam this is a necessity!( My small town is just off the interstate and every week-end the freeway turns into a parking lot. I just stay home.... )You'll do fine the fact that you are asking everyone for advice is very good!!! It means that you care and that is the first step...
I have been driving for thirty years....(legally)

I think part of the problem is my mom. She's constantly pushing me, expecting me to drive everywhere because I can. If I am going to slow, she complains. If I take too long or fiddle around too much, she complains that I am stalling.

These are some good tips, though. I just don't know how well they will work if my mom's the driver in the passenger seat!

Don't let your mom get to you. You'll be a better driver than she has ever been, if you don't go over what you are comfortable with, and you don't get too close to other cars. Don't let her make you go faster. If she wants to get there faster, she can always drive herself.

I anticipate slowing by paying some attention to what is going on ahead of the car in front of me. If I see them slowing, I sometimes start to slow even before the car in front of me does... even though I'm already a good way back. (Naturally, you can't watch just the cars in front of that car in front of you. If you do, they'll keep going, but the car in front of you will stop all of a sudden. LOL)

I also prefer to creep up to a stop, rather than brake hard. I'll be going very slowly before I'm even close to the car in front of me, or the stop sign, or whatever I'm having to stop for. Then I'll creep up to a good place to come to a full stop. This helps make sure I do actually have plenty of room to stop, it doesn't make the person in front of me think I'm going to hit him, and it forces cars behind me to slow down before they might have normally, making it less likely they will hit me. I don't stop too close to the car in front of me, so that if I do get rear-ended, I don't get pushed into the car ahead. Hopefully.

You may have to put your foot down with your mom. She probably doesn't remember how nervous she was when she started driving. There is no reason for you to drive in a risky fashion just because she wants you to. If she's going to torment you, you may just have to refuse to drive her.

I saw this in the smilies section and thought it was very fitting for this post and had to add it :driving:

cmfarm":3sbydt2j said:

I saw this in the smilies section and thought it was very fitting for this post and had to add it :driving:

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:lol: