I just about died today driving.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

No, seriously. I was nearly side-swiped about thirty times. Plus I can't stay in my lane--I have horrible spacial judgment and can't tell at all how close I am to the right side of the road, so I always drive off it and drive into other lanes on the highway and shit.

I was very happy yesterday and now I am miserable. My first two hours on the road were simply awful.

:cry:

[BootinUp]

1. Did you just start driving?

[WritingIsMyReligion]

16. Yeah. Driver's ed--hours alongside a teacher to get a permit.

:(

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. sorry. are you a new driver?

[WritingIsMyReligion]

15. Yeah. I'm in driver's ed, and here you have road hours to do as well before you get a permit.

These were my first 2 (of 10) road hours alongside a teacher. They really just throw you in there--trial by fire.

[Downtown Hound]

3. My very first day of driving, I pulled out in front of a car

and was nearly killed. However, that incident made me be so careful from then on that I have had a near perfect drivng record all of my life except for a minor fender bender. By contrast, all of my friends had totaled their cars within six months of getting their license.

When you're new to driving, just be as careful as possible. If you need to, go out late at night sometimes and practice driving a little bit when there are few cars on the road. It just takes practice, that's all. Soon it'll be like second nature to you. Remember that every driver has had close calls, especially when they're new. You'll get it down!

[S n o w b a l l]

4. Sounds like you need driver's ed or stay off the road

[WritingIsMyReligion]

17. I'm in driver's ed. Shoulda made that clearer. See post #12.

:)

[Inchworm]

5. It will get better with repetition

On the way to get my license I was driving with restricted permit. My dad was riding shotgun. I was driving down a dirtroad trying to light a cigarette. I ran over a chicken and killed it.

I felt horrible. Stopped car and tried to see if there was anything I could do for the critter. The owner said it was ok, he had plenty, gathered the chicken and walked off. My dad said nothing.

Dad remained silent the entire trip. Naturally, I was a bundle of nerves. As I went off with the Driver's License dude my dad approached and stopped the car.

"Don't smoke," was all he said. I'll never forget that.

:hug:

[Omphaloskepsis]

6. I will sell you my old bike for free.

I'm 30 and don't drive. It can be easily done. But, I don't think your location meshes well with pure peddle power.

I'm sure things will eventually come into place.. The learning curve is steep, but, you are a smart kid and I'm sure you can figure it out. Shit, Eminem has his license. If he can do it anyone can.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

14. Seeing all the morons also driving made me feel a little better, I must admit.

But it was still pretty awful. I felt like shit when I was done, and my teacher just kept saying, "It's fine, it's fine for your first time." It didn't FEEL like fine. If it had been fine, I would not have kept lane-drifting. :mad:

[Nicole]

7. Get off the road & practice where it won't be dangerous.

I spent time in an empty parking lot, practicing parking between the lines. I worked on centering the car in the space first. Then I worked on parking as close to the right line as I could get without touching it. Same for the left line. It helped a lot. The rest comes with time behind the wheel.

A mall parking lot is empty on Sunday mornings, before the mall opens.

Good luck!

[Gormy Cuss]

8. First off, take the iPod out of your ear. Then put away the makeup. That little mirror is not

a compact. Hang up the phone.


Most of all, stop trying to moon people while you're driving.



Sorry you had a miserable first trip behind the wheel, WIMR. :hug:

[WritingIsMyReligion]

13. Yeah, it was pretty bad.

I did okay the first hour, but when I got back in later, I couldn't feel for anything at all. It doesn't help that I was so nervous, and my teacher really pushes us pretty hard. I drove around Portland a lot and that was okay--nice narrow streets. I drove from SMCC back to the Mall by way of Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough, and that was also okay since there aren't a lot of people. It was even raining when I drove, and it was fine! But driving on Route 1 and having to make all these sudden turns and driving AROUND THE MALL on a Saturday when fucking everyone is out while in my second hour of driving--that was hell. Plus some people were just rude and nasty when they saw that it was a driver's ed car, and they hollered and honked and some morons tailgated the car for a while. I would have given them the finger but that would have sent me into a ditch, or so it felt like.

[Gormy Cuss]

18. Route 1 and the Mall Road on Saturday. That's a tough first trip, WIMR.

Your instructor threw you to the wolves with that move. It will get better.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

21. Driver's ed in general is pretty "trial by fire" now, I guess.

I would have been happy driving around some parking lot for 20 minutes beforehand, and staying clear of the mall, at least, but I didn't get that. The other kid driving (we do 2 kids, hour-on, hour-off, hour-on, hour-off because of insurance reasons and because there have been molestation issues!) only got like 3 minutes in a parking lot to practice making turns. But he was a lot better in general than I was. I think what they say about men is true--they're better at spacial judgment.

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. Your instructor didn't get their license number?

I dunno about Maine, but in Kollyforniya it's illegal to pull shit like that on student drivers in marked cars.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

22. I don't think so.

They kept honking and being rude, but he told me to "ignore" them. Well, sir, I tried that... :D

[Oeditpus Rex]

28. Yeah, *real* good advice for someone on their first day

F for teacher. :thumbsdown:

[UrbScotty]

64. That's the kind of trouble I've been having. (nt)

[Hangingon]

9. You have to get used to...

continually checking the left, right and center rearview mirrors, scanning the instruments while maintaining a view of what is ahead. Maintain an even speed in the proper lane and use turn signals. ALL distractions - cells, makeup, coffee, etc - are dangerous.

[Nikia]

10. Don't drive on the highway until you are comfortable

The parking lot suggestion is a good one. If there are any non busy streets or roads in your area, drive on those. Drive 25 mph. You will feel more in control at slower speeds. I had trouble driving at first too. It was one of the things that I was below average at.

[dysfunctional press]

11. it sounds like you weren't nearly sideswiped-

so much as it was YOU who almost did the sideswiping.

please, stay off any roads where i might be travelling.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

19. Sorry that I didn't make my being in driver's ed clearer.

Would that explain why perhaps I am a poor driver? I've never been on the roads before today, and I certainly wasn't driving by myself.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

12. ***SORRY GUYS--I should have made it clearer. I don't have my license.***

(I'm only 15.)

I'm in driver's ed right now. So when I say "driving," I mean driving on the roads for the first time EVER, with my teacher and another kid. To get your license you have to take driver's ed, of course, and as part of driver's ed you have to have 10 hours of road time here in Maine. I just did my first two hours today. It was pretty awful.

Sorry again.

[Wcross]

23. Don't worry, it takes a few hours behind the wheel.

Everytime I get in a new/strange vehicle I get set up in the seat and everything adjusted properly. I then look for a point of reference on the hood that I can line up with the center stripe. Works like a charm. Don't worry, you will be a great driver after a couple of years.

[Oeditpus Rex]

24. Don't sweat it, Kid

Almost nobody nails it their first time. It's a new sensation that takes quite a bit of practice.

When you think about it, there's a hell of a lot going on when you're behind the wheel. You have to make a lot of decisions rather quickly while learning a new set of hand-eye coordinates.

You'll be fine. :hug:

[WritingIsMyReligion]

26. Thanks, dude.

:hug:

I suppose it could have been a fuck of a lot worse, but I was so embarrassed. My hand-eye coordination isn't worth very much outside of piano, and driving isn't like anything I've ever done. I managed all right on normal streets, but being in the mall and such busy places--I felt so ADD! Couldn't keep my eyes straight, kept fumbling to remember what to do and when, plus I'm normally so involved in my own head that I'm piss poor at observing things. I have to switch into a totally different person, almost, someone who's actively engaged and coordinated and all that, and I didn't do that well at all today.

[Oeditpus Rex]

29. Well, I'd tell ya what happened to my sister

on her first day of driving, but I don't wanna put demons in your disengaged head. :P

[WritingIsMyReligion]

30. Haha, do tell!

I've got so many demons here; they'd enjoy the company. :P

[Oeditpus Rex]

31. k

On the first day she had her permit, she was out driving with dad, and she apparently hadn't closed her door properly because it flew open as she took a corner. She reached for the door, and in doing so not only took her eyes off the road but let go of the wheel. Dad reached for her instead of the wheel (this was in a 1960 Rambler — no seat belts), and she hit a parked car.

Poor kid. :(

[Ekirh]

25. I remember my first driving lesson . .

Hit the gas instead of a break.. was a bout a foot away from putting a new hole in my Mom's church. (We were practicing in the Church parking lot)

[WritingIsMyReligion]

27. Kid driving with me, pulling out of the parking spot, put the car in reverse instead of drive.

Curb right behind us. Ouch. :D

[Ekirh]

38. Ouch indeed. .

Besides almost putting the Hole in Holy Church . . . I think my learning experience with driving went fairly good . .

It can be shaky the first few times out. . you'll get the hang of it . . .

Just remember.. don't hit any pedestrians.. people tend to look down on that ;)

[WildEyedLiberal]

32. I sucked in driver's ed

First of all, my instructor was a dumbass - he insisted that I drive with two feet (left foot for accelerator, right foot for brake). That's a really great way to learn how to panic and hit them both at once and careen into the back of another car (which I DID NOT DO thank God but still). He was also a road rules nazi and insisted I be able to calculate exactly how far ahead in my sphere of vision I should be looking given my current rate of speed, which involved doing advanced multiplication in my head, while driving. He was such a fool I'm surprised I didn't die. I was terrible at parking for the longest time because of poor spatial judgment.

However, the happy moral of the story is that it DOES get much better. I've been driving for 7 years now and I am fine. Other than a small fender bender I have never been involved in any auto accidents, and I can park just fine now. You WILL get the hang of the spatial judgment in time, I promise.

Oh, I also quickly re-taught myself to drive using only my right foot.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

39. Sheesh, both feet?

:wtf: is up with that?

[WildEyedLiberal]

49. Dude was an IDIOT.

I unlearned that crap as soon as I could drive without him. My parents were appalled and taught me correctly, thank God.

[otherlander]

33. When I was in driver's ed

the instructor kept telling me that I was driving too far to the right. "You can't drive on the side of the road!"
"But there are trucks going towards me!" Must get away from scary trucks... Even if it means hitting curb. 0_0

Since I got my permit, I've hardly driven at all. I don't like driving a car. I wish I could drive a motorcycle instead.

[greatauntoftriplets]

34. Could one of your parents take you driving somewhere safe?

I started learning at age 14 on a test track at the University of Minnesota during a visit there. Afterwards, my father would take me to a deserted cemetery or a parking lot down near Lake Michigan (in Chicago) early on a Sunday morning when almost no one was there and set me loose.

By the time I had the car experience during driver's ed, I was a lot more comfortable.

It'll get better for you and apparently you were required to drive on some busy roadways.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

40. I've driven before this in a cemetery.

I get the mechanics of driving pretty well. But I suck at the whole "other people on the road" business, as well as changing lanes and shit.

[Fleshdancer]

35. one question for you....

when you're driving, say on the highway for example, how far are you looking? I don't know what part poor spacial judgment plays in it, but people who have the tendency to look at the road directly above the hood of the car have a harder time staying in the lane than people who look further into the distance.

My father told me this when I started driving and after being bull headed enough to try both methods, I finally concluded he was right.

:shrug:


On edit: I almost forgot to share my horror story...my first time behind the wheel for driver's ed, a !@#$ semi truck decided to cut me off with no warning and I got yelled at for not honking my damn horn. Never mind that I was busy slamming on the breaks and having a minor HEART ATTACK. Yes, I'm still bitter.

[Ikonoklast]

36. Here's a little hint that might help

It's from the SAFER System, used to train commercial drivers, and is probably the most important one. It is the first value taught using that teaching system.

It's called, "Aim High In Steering".

That means instead of looking at the road immediately in front of you, raise them up and look as far down the road as you can. You will still be able to see what is happening directly in front of you, of course, but it also helps to anticipate potential problems, such as lights getting ready to change, other drivers signaling to either change lanes or turn in front of you, pedestrians, etc.

The strange thing is it will help you effectively cut down on 'lane deviation', or wandering. It truly helps to try to see as far down the road as possible.

Good luck, and be safe.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

41. I was sorta trying to do that, but freaking out as well.

Next time I'm in the car (Monday), I hope to be able to do that more and stop worrying so damn much. Staying away from insane traffic would also be useful.

[DS1]

37. That's comforting

Please attend an advanced driving school before you kill yourself of someone else.

Thank you.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

42. I'm trying.

Perhaps you missed the memo upthread many times that I'm in driver's ed now and have never driven on actual roads before this?

[DS1]

45. Ahh

Okay, sorry for the snark, I thought it said you had your license already. Drivers ed is totally different. Good luck

[WritingIsMyReligion]

51. It's okay. I definitely should have made that clear in the OP.

Tired and full of snark myself, and still bone-white with utter terror.

:hi:

[DS1]

59. There's a trick that I'm surprised your instructor hasn't taught you

When you're driving within a decent distance from the right curb, find a landmark on the car you are driving - be it where the light starts, or where the hood ends or where the hood starts to curve - and make a mental note of where the edge of the road is in comparison to that. That way, if you're ever totally blinding by a trucker or someone who forgot to turn off his/her headlights, you can look to the side and still follow the road without getting blinded.

In other words, find where your car is center-lane, make a note of how the right side of the road looks in comparison to the hood of the car you are driving, and follow that when visibility starts to suck.

[fizzgig]

43. it'll get easier

it's not much comfort now, i know, but it will. just take it slow. and i agree with some of the posters upthread, try looking a bit further down the road.

the first time i drove a manual outside my neighborhood, my dad dropped me on the main drag on a saturday afternoon. i finally pulled into a gas station after i'd stalled the car for the brazillionth time in a few miles, got out of the car and called a friend to come get me because i couldn't even look at my dad, i was so mad.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

44. A little advice, for what it's worth

from an old flight instructor (a person can fly solo as young as 16, and I've taught several people that young to fly). Many of the same principles apply: flying is a lot like driving a car, only it's faster and in 3 dimensions.

A few basic things I always taught my students:

Don't look too close ahead -- watch your mid-distance for traffic and to estimate distance.

Don't fixate on any particular thing, but alternate looking inside and outside. In a car, this means you have to look out most of the time, but glance inside at the speedometer so you don't go too fast.

Relax; don't grip the wheel until your knuckles turn white.

To determine whether you are in the middle of your lane, imagine a line going up the middle of the lane that continues up to your right knee. Even though you are on the left side of the car, imagining this will keep you in the middle of the lane (this also works for landing an airplane on the runway centerline).

Practice. It won't take long before you feel a lot more comfortable. If a 16-year-old can solo an airplane after a week of practice (and I've had some students do this), you should be able to get the car thing down in no time. :)

[WritingIsMyReligion]

52. I'm not too good at visualizing much of anything, but the knee-line sounds like a good idea.

After feeling my heart rate nearly rocket off the charts, I'll try ANYTHING to stop lane-deviation--for that was probably the issue that made my teacher terse, and me angry at him for being angry and then scared...

:D

[JanMichael]

46. My wife almost killed her father when she was 15 learning to drive a stick

shift in a parking lot--almost put the car into a ditch. In..an..empty...parking...lot.

1976 Toyota Corolla.

Since then, not one accident, not one ticket, not one point, and she is 43 years old. You will be fine.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

53. Goodness, at least I don't have to drive a stick.

I'll leave the clutch until I can drive without one, thanks all the same. :)

Thanks for the happy ending--I could still use one now.

[Danger Mouse]

47. When I took driver's ed, I was in a car with someone who

was simply DREADFUL...always white knuckles in the back when this guy was driving...for series!
I was terrified of driving too, at first...and my first two road tests, I was petrified. Took me three times to pass! It'll come in time.
Don't worry about it. :)

[WritingIsMyReligion]

54. Well, the kid I was driving with said he wasn't too frightened.

"When you almost drifted into the island at that busy intersection, my heart rate didn't increase THAT much!"

Gee, thanks. :D

[Danger Mouse]

57. Well, you know, that's what this time is for...to get the kinks worked out...

course, i'm 26 and a scary scary driver, so maybe i needed more time in driver's ed :P

[WritingIsMyReligion]

58. Hey, my parents are scary petal-to-the-metal drivers sometimes.

Probably half of my problem is that I absorbed and internalized their bad habits. :P

[Danger Mouse]

60. my dad has terrible road rage...screams racial slurs and everything...

even got sued when he had an altercation in a burger king parking lot and used some racial slurs...ugh...
i'm not THAT bad, but i have flipped more than a few people off... :P

[bigwillq]

48. Oh jeez...stay off my roads!

:P

Sorry it's going so badly. :hug:

[WritingIsMyReligion]

55. Gee, you must be a driving whiz. Hotshot.

:P :P

:hug:

[snailly]

50. awww I'm sorry but it will get better

I had the same problem when I was learning. Ask you parents to take you to an empty parking lot on a Sunday. That is really how I learned. You get to know the width and length of the vehicle and there aren't potentially serious hazards while you're learning. Good luck and don't let this experience kill your confidence!

[WritingIsMyReligion]

56. Hey, thanks for that.

I've been driving in a VERY tight cemetery around here, but what I need is to get to know the parameters of the car. It doesn't help that my parents drive fancy-schmancy Volvos with excellent handling while the driver's ed car is a 1997 Oldsmobile-sedan-thing with a totally different orientation. :)

Welcome to DU, btw. :hi:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

66. A little free advice here.

If you have to drive in city traffic, DO NOT, repeat DO NOT get a car with a stick shift.

You will wear out your clutch from riding it in heavy traffic in no time at all.

In the city, automatics do much better, but they can wear out in the stop and go traffic too. They just take longer. I refuse to drive anything with a stick.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

68. I'm even more terrified of sticking.

Trust me, I'm not about to get a manual. :D

[1gobluedem]

61. I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself

It's only your first time out on the roads. You're a really, really smart kid and I suspect that you're used to doing things well the first time you try them. Driving is different. The parking lot suggestions are good; my mother did that with me and it was a HUGE help. Get comfortable behind the wheel and stop putting the pressure on. You'll get it.

[Godhumor]

62. You know, I read the title of your thread and thought you were copycating mine from yesterday

When I wrote about almost dying from a person making an idiotic turn right in front on me. That said, it does get a lot better as you get used to it. On my first or second day driving my mother, who really is very smart, took me on the windiest road in the town as a sort of trial by fire. By then end of the road the sweat from the palm of her hands had soaked through her jeans where she was resting them and gave her a horrible rash (guess she was a bit nervous.).

One of my friends learned to drive in winter, and we don't exactly have mild winters in Western NY. While out with his father he lost control of the car, slid into a snowbank, and got the car stuck. His father, very calmly, said, "OK, that was all right, but in the future you have to feather the brakes." My friend didn't think the slide has affected his father at all until the dad turned to face his son with one eye completely bloodshot. Turned out the stress of the situation had caused a blood vessel to pop in his eye (no harm done).

[BreweryYardRat]

63. It does get better.

Just realize there's a reason why the state requires 50 hours of drive time before you can get a license.

And I'd advise not taking a driver's ed class until you have at least 30 hours of driving experience. Driver's ed is best for fine-tuning your skills prior to taking your road test. For the initial training, do it with your parents.

At least your driver's ed teacher didn't swear at you for having little to no experience.

:hug:

Let us know when you're taking your road test so we can give advice.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

69. In Maine you have to take driver's ed before officially driving anywhere.

Everyone who takes it has hardly driven anything before, so it's certainly not like I was a sore thumb, I suppose. And the number of hours on your permit you need before taking the road test is only 35 day and 5 night. :crazy:

[krispos42]

65. Watch the lines on the road

Memorize where they normally disappear under the front of your car, and use that as a reference point. Maybe you can take a (flashless) picture while your dad or somebody is driving, so you can look at it and see what I mean. Or you can mark those positions with a magnet or something so all you have to do is keep the line close to the magnet to know you are a reasonable distance from the white line.

Another thing to do is look down the road about a quarter of a mile, no more than that. Don't stare at the road immediately in front of your car, you'll drive like a drunk and won't be watching the traffic. Keep your eyes focused further downrange, and your hands will naturally guide the car towards where you are looking. Even in traffic, don't look at the car directly in front of you, look over it, through it, or around it further down. If he brakes, you'll know!

Flick your eyes from car to car, from lane to lane, from sign to car to insturments and repeat. The light-sensing cells on your retina are concentrated in the middle of your vision. As a result, you see more details but have less perception of motion when you stare directly at something. By looking off to the side of the cars, you have better perception of when it's growing larger or moving sideways, like it's taking evasive action. Remember, you aren't concerned with the fine details of the cars in front of you. You want your brain to identify that is a car and to track it, and that's it.

Experienced drivers operate almost on autopilot, letting the subconsious take in all the relative motions of the cars around you. When a relative motion becomes dangerous, all of a sudden your brain snaps to attention and your eyes dart to the problem area. The problem may be a two hundred yards away, and may not even be apparent immediately, but your subconsious has your eyes on the problem and your foot hovering over the brake as soon as the warning sounds.

It was like that in my most recent accident. I was driving down a two-lane street. Right after a stoplight, a car had stopped to turn left into a parking lot. All the cars that were behind him stopped, as the first car had to wait for a line of traffic to go by before he could turned.

All the cars... except for the Ford Explorer behind me.

My subconsious, using my peripheral vision because I was looking through the Mustang in front of me, saw that the headlights approaching in the rear-view mirror were separating too damn fast and had my foot, which was casually resting on the brake, jamming it down as hard as possible just before the Explorer rear-ended me.

I did not hit the Mustang in front of me. And I realized immediately after impact what I had seen. But not before.

Autopilot kept a two-car accident from becoming a 3-car accident.

And, yes, the person driving the Explorer was yakking on her cell phone and missed all the stopping after the light.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

70. Thanks for that.

Part of my problem is I'm a very focused person--far too much so for driving. I'm not used to the intense stimulation, or so it feels like, of having 5 trillion and one things to look at/for all in the same moment. I guess I have to learn to let my eyes flick.

[BlueIris]

67. Just stick with it. The worst thing you can do is let anxiety set in.

Take meds if you have to (seriously). That was the only way I (finally) managed to learn to drive. These days, though, nine years later, driving like a pro.