Fear of driving: How can I overcome it?

That's usually how I try to drive in traffic. Try being the operative word. It often results in maniacs beeping at me, or cutting in front of me, or eventually I over-accelerate and end up coming to a stop again.

Also, If you use a turning lane to cut around traffic and then cut back in, I will hate you. Peopke that do that to the extent I'll tailgate people just so they can't get in. it's kind of bad but they just get my blood boiling.

edited 24th Jun '14 11:58:32 AM by joesolo

This thread had to pop back up on the day that I got stung by a bee whilst driving and nearly ended up going through a lamp-post, didn't it.

So my advice to any novice or indeed experienced drivers is this: if you feel something land on your arm and see a large, black bee shape, don't flail your arm around in an attempt to get it off and nearly lose control of the car.

That bee was probably quite grateful for a place to land for a few minutes. Until the landing pad tried to kill it.

This, oh so much. Even if you're in a turn-only lane or there's only one way you can go... you still indicate dammit!

Make sure you know your local right of way rules and try to stick to them as much a possible. Letting someone else go first when you have right of way isn't being polite, it's just generating confusion.

That being said, good manners and a bit of common courtesy never hurt.

Gradual acceleration is kinder to your fuel bill. Save stepping on it for times when you really need it.

Unless you're in a traffic jam or something similar, try and keep to the speed limit. There is little more annoying than having to pull up because some doofus is setting 10 to 20 under the speed limit... especially on a single lane where you can't overtake.

Unless you're on a high way. High ways everyone speeds(unless there's police, speed traps, or cameras), so stick to the right. Or left if youre in England/another country that drives on left.

I did the speed limit on a highway by me, and inn the slow lane an RV changed lanes to pass me.

May have forgotten to mention it in my soapbox post, but yes, it's better to stay with the speed of surrounding traffic then to follow the speed limit as gospel—unless there's construction, then you best slow your ass down unless you want a hefty fine or worse.

Something that I think is an older idea which doesn't really make a lick of sense is the idea that if you're going through lanes of traffic to get to the other side, you're only supposed to go when it's absolutely clear in both directions and using the middle "turn" lane to merge when the other side is clear is absolutely, positively the Worst. Possible. Thing! To me it seems stupid, wildly impractical, a waste of time, and unsafe for everyone around.

edited 24th Jun '14 5:22:10 PM by chi_mangetsu

So it went better than I thought. Did nice turns and stopped effectively and did NOT floor it this time.

My driving instructor Rebecca is the coolest too. At one point I said 'Am i supposed to be having this much fun learning to drive?" and she was all "Well, learning should be fun!'

And then I named the car we were using 'Bessie' after the Third Doctor's Model T....

better than my instructor. he was a bit batshit.

keep going on about the pyramids being built by aliens, and something about a singer pissing herself in the middle of a show -_-

Yeah, I noticed i could focus better than with the yelling old man i had last year

The teacher's very important, as with anything else.

7 months without any parallel parking practice is a doozy.

I'm starting to think signing up for a test 3 weeks away with no practice since January might have been too ambitious.

But I don't wanna chuck out more moolah to renew the permit again if I don't have to.

yea make sure you practice it.

I don't have to do it very often, but I've had my license 3 years now, and the other day I had to, actually forgot how to turn the car into the spot for a minute. kept the wheel turned at the wrong time.

Also, as you get more driving experience, try to avoid depending solely on your brake for slowing down. You'll experience less wear and tear on your brake pads if you "brake with your accelerator" by letting off your gas when cars in front of you start tapping their brakes in the city. Inner city wear from stop and go traffic is the worst for your brakes. Coasting will save you a lot of potential trouble in a number of circumstances (e.g., don't speed just to stop at a red light).

I can parallel park with no trouble at all, anything from a subcompact to a long-bed, extended cab pick-up. Unless I stop to think about what I have to do next. Then I might as well just go find a parking lot with pull-in spaces, because I'm hosed.

I'm usually too terrified of clogging up the street to parallel park.

Was it a wise idea to take a road test with only 3 weeks of practice and a 7 month drought?

Or should I just have waited,renewed the permit and then signed up as to rid myself of any deadlines?

On one hand, I'm not making "California Rolls" anymore, and most of the big picture stuff (such as turning, basic parking [nose-ins and lots], and the appropriate breaking and speeding) is under control with sane circumstances [such as being fully awake and not waking up, or working with car that doesn't have a totally alien turning or breaking or steering radius].

But on the other hand, I freeze on tests very easily if I care, and I drive like I don't care and am comfortable..well anyone can see the problem with that, and I'm having troubles trying to reacquaint with backing and lane-changing.

I'd like to think I can get those two things back in line in time,but I'm not so sure.

This leads me to another question,...should I have just gone after a permit in another state as well just so I could try out the tests there as well?

edited 11th Jul '14 11:37:07 AM by terlwyth

I don't think you even can go to another state. Usually you get a license in the state you live in.

as for the test, it's better to drive carefully and unsure. They want you looking around and being careful.

Is this on an automatic?

You'll be fine.

Blech, I hate it when I'm a careful, nice driver, and some asshole does something really sudden and stupid and I wind up in an accident. Dude makes a left turn on green (not a green arrow). He does this from a standstill, throttling the accelerator, without flipping on his blinker. I was in the right lane, abreast with another car a third through the intersection. Guy to my left swerved through the otherwise-clear intersection but didn't stop, while I got smacked across the front. I drove a Corolla...it doesn't brake like a Mercedes. Whatever, no one was hurt. The guy said thrice "I didn't see what happened ." (You didn't see two average-sized cars, really? Staring at your crotch as you made a text?) Thing is, no one else stopped besides one person at a red light who quickly asked if we were ok and toodled on. Not that I blame them. 'Cept, Mr. Crotch Starer of course says he had a green arrow. My word against his, so it's decided as no fault. MY car, OTOH, was declared totaled because the frame got tweaked.

Bleh. It turned out ok, all things considering. I haggled a new dealership 2014 car down from about $21,000 to around $14,800. Credit rating kids, it helps! These strange new things in cars have me gawking—Bluetooth? Listening to my Android through the speakers? WTF is this witchcraft?!?! I haven't seen yet how my premium's going to jack up but I'm preparing for war.

Where you from? I was takling to my insurer recently (combined my car and home into one policy since I've moved out for the first time in my life), but ultimately the premium has more to do with your age and driving history than it does with the value of your car (unless you're trying to insure a performance vehicle).

UPDATE: After two years on a permit, I finally passed.

Congrats!

Manual or automatic? Congrats either way!

Yay for Terl!

@Ach: Auto, the folks said they wouldn't even let me try anything with stick until I passed. (Although the car itself does have a pseudo-stick column I have used)

However now,that's next on the list to learn.