Driving

Varna

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Sep 17, 2005
Messages
752
Hi,

I had my 2nd lesson today (I'm 22) and felt really nervous, although I enjoyed it also. I was wondering if anyone had any advise on how to curb my nerves as today I did coming out and going into junctions and did some roundabouts also, very scary stuff and learned to go from gear 1 to 2.. I wish I did this years ago becuase I feel to aware of things going on around me that I get real nervous cos I'm thinking 'Oh this could happen etc' too much and not concentrating on driving. I know I can talk to my instructor about this also, but was wondering what people who are driving advise on nerves.
 

Imgormiel

Part of the furniture
Joined
Apr 18, 2004
Messages
4,372
Hi,

I had my 2nd lesson today (I'm 22) and felt really nervous, although I enjoyed it also. I was wondering if anyone had any advise on how to curb my nerves as today I did coming out and going into junctions and did some roundabouts also, very scary stuff and learned to go from gear 1 to 2.. I wish I did this years ago becuase I feel to aware of things going on around me that I get real nervous cos I'm thinking 'Oh this could happen etc' too much and not concentrating on driving. I know I can talk to my instructor about this also, but was wondering what people who are driving advise on nerves.

pop some St John's wort before you start :)
 

Chronictank

FH is my second home
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
10,133
get someone to take you to a empty carpark and then leave you in the car alone,
drive around a bit practice your parking.
When you passed your test do pass plus and then go on the motorway to build your confidence
 

Sparx

Cheeky Fucknugget
Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
8,059
nah dont bother with pass plus, you will be more than ready by test time, i was


just remember all driving is, is a series of left and right turns, thats all. And if anything goes wrong all you have to do is stop. Everyone can see what you are doing because of your lights

It was quite nerve wracking for me too, but after a few lessons you wont even notice yourself changing gears etc you will be concentrating on something else
 

Sparx

Cheeky Fucknugget
Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
8,059
yeah i do know that, not by much tho due to todays Internet prices, same as being over 25 doesnt make too much difference anymore

Btw i am over 25 and i've been driving a company car so dont need to worry about insurance for now, by the time i get my own car it will be well over a year
 

- English -

Resident Freddy
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Messages
5,263
i always found chewing gum calmed the little nerves that i had, and was advised to have some before my test.. either that worked or i just rock irl :D
 

Himse

FH is my second home
Joined
Jan 31, 2004
Messages
2,179
i always found chewing gum calmed the little nerves that i had, and was advised to have some before my test.. either that worked or i just rock irl :D

Then you drove your mates car and got caught

Whilst Drink Driving.


Retarded !
 

crispy

Can't get enough of FH
Joined
Mar 9, 2004
Messages
2,706
Nothing to do really. It only goes away when you feel comfortable with your own driving and the car :p

At least for me.
 

NikonL

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Messages
648
you do realise pass plus = lower insurance? :eek7:

I've done pass plus and to be honest, not a lot of insurance companies bother to take it into consideration, you really won't save much money, and the companies that do offer to save you money tend to have shitty deals anyway :/
 

- English -

Resident Freddy
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Messages
5,263
Then you drove your mates car and got caught

Whilst Drink Driving.


Retarded !

yar but a) i wasnt drunk (was under breath limit) and b) i aint even got a slap on the wrist for it...

tho it taught me a huge lesson
 

CstasY

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Messages
1,019
Driving looks pretty easy to people who don't, but the vast majority of learners have a bit of a shock the first time they sit in the drivers seat. Nerves happen and theres no real way to banish them except experience. When I started driving I got my mum to drive me to an old airstrip on dartmoor, gave me some basic skills before I jumped in the car for my first lesson.

Couple of years later its second nature.
 

Haggus

Can't get enough of FH
Joined
Jun 18, 2004
Messages
1,075
Drive more. Think that's the only way to get rid of your nerves. Confidence etc

I don't even think about driving anymore I just do it. Some people are natural drivers though (not boasting but just saying some people are not meant to drive full stop. Hi blondes!!!)
 

NikonL

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Messages
648
It has nothing to do with intelligence and everything to do with co-ordination and spatial-awareness :p
 

Dudley52

Part of the furniture
Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
1,134
get someone to take you to a empty carpark and then leave you in the car alone,
drive around a bit practice your parking.

That can help with the basics, changing gears, braking etc. But them things aren't usually what scares drivers. I've had about 50 hours of lessons and I still get scared on large roundabouts, mini ones are ok, its just I find it so hard at rush hour to pull out onto the roundabout. So that wouldn't help much. But yes like alot of people said, give it time and you will do it naturally.
 

Golena

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Feb 11, 2004
Messages
3,292
Driving is all about confidence. Several years ago I had a big accident and the first time back in a car going at 30 felt like I was doing 150. It took a few days before I was actually able to drive normally again.

The only way to get confidence is to drive lots. Getting someone to take you to an airfield is actually a great way of doing it, I know there's plenty around and you don't need insurance on the car your driving if someone else takes you there. Getting used to changing gears etc without all the other distractions (like not hitting other cars) means it will become second nature quickly.

The other important thing is not to get hastled by other drivers. Yeah your crawling along like a snail, but that 30 seconds they lose sitting behind you isn't actually important to them, so don't worry about it.


Actually the best bit of driving advice I ever received when learning was to look at where you want to go (duh!). When I started I spent most of my time staring at the front of the car since that's the bit that was going to hit stuff. When I started looking 100 meteres down the road at where I wanted to go instead of where I was going it seemed much easier all of a sudden if that makes sense.
 

Varna

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Sep 17, 2005
Messages
752
Thanks for all the advice so far guys, you;ve been really helpful. :worthy:
 

Ezteq

Queen of OT
Joined
Jan 4, 2004
Messages
13,457
Hi,

I had my 2nd lesson today (I'm 22) and felt really nervous, although I enjoyed it also. I was wondering if anyone had any advise on how to curb my nerves as today I did coming out and going into junctions and did some roundabouts also, very scary stuff and learned to go from gear 1 to 2.. I wish I did this years ago becuase I feel to aware of things going on around me that I get real nervous cos I'm thinking 'Oh this could happen etc' too much and not concentrating on driving. I know I can talk to my instructor about this also, but was wondering what people who are driving advise on nerves.

Its all a matter of boosting your confidence having a good Positive Mental Attitude and believing in yourself. I find that nothing gives me all of these more than a half pint of tequila, one of these and youll be so confident you wont even need to take lessons!




[disclaimer: don't drink and drive...this was a PSA from MilkCorp]
 

NikonL

Fledgling Freddie
Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Messages
648
The other important thing is not to get hastled by other drivers. Yeah your crawling along like a snail, but that 30 seconds they lose sitting behind you isn't actually important to them, so don't worry about it.

I had a lot of trouble with this actually. I had a tendency to feel guilty when I thought I was putting people out. In the end someone basically explained to me "If you're doing the speed limit, and they're behind you wanting to go faster, then that means they're late/stupid. Stupidity is not your problem, and if they're late it's because they didn't set off early enough, which isn't you problem either" That made me feel a lot better about holding the fuckers up :p Plus when you see the fucking reckless moves they pull, you lose all sympathy for them.
 

uron

Loyal Freddie
Joined
Jan 20, 2005
Messages
656
Passed my test 2 weeks ago, havent driven since! (dam car insurance being so expensive!)
Jus relax and take it slowly is best thing, changing gears etc comes naturally, and if u drive the same car u can hear when it wants you to change :p worst thing i found was learning to go down gears, took a few lesson to get it right!
Make sure u can basically do all maneuvers with ur eyes closed (not literally!!) as then when you get asked on the day you dont need to worry, i hit the curb on the parallel parking on my test, but pulled forward, straightened car and it was only a minor, so not to bad! same with the questions you get asked, just learn them off by heart almost, only 10 or so of them :)
 

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