Driving

I started drivers ed last week and finally had my first driving lesson on satrday. I was really excited at first, but I turned out to not like it so much. We drove down like 2 neighborhood roads and went straight onto the main street. I was so nervous that I couldn't even stay in my own lane so the instructor had to keep grabbing the wheel and such. It didn't really help that she was kind of yelling because it's not like I was doing the stuff on purpose so I just got more nervous.

My next lesson is on tuesday, I don't really like driving very much at all but maybe it will get better. I guess my main problem is I can't stay in my lane and I keep looking at the lines. any advice?

advice...... be calm.

Easiest thing road-wise is just to concentrate first on the line right next to you (The one on the left as you guys drive on the wrong side of the road :D )

As long as the car you are in is standard, as long as you keep one side of the car about a foot from the line, the other side of the car will be inside the lane. Straight away, that's less to think and therefore worry about.

If it's stressful enough that there's wheel grabbing and screaming going on, could you have a practice in a parking lot or something where there's nothing to hit? I started driving on an airfield long before I could do it legally on the road - by then all I needed to do was avoid hitting things.

As long as you don't hurt anyone, it's OK - you're learning, and if you were good already, you wouldn't need to learn.

Practice practice practice. It's like learning guitar, ya gotta keep doing it to get any good at it.
Don't get nervous about other drivers. They all have brakes and know how to use em. Plus, they'll automatically know that you're an inexperienced driver just by the way you're driving (or they'll think you're drunk :)

And if your instructor yells at you, yell back and tell her in no uncertain terms... "Do not yell at me while I'm driving!!". If she can't get it through her thick head that she's making things more dangerous for you, ask for a new instructor and complain to her supervisor. Nobody has the right to treat you with discrespect... especially a teacher.

Yeah my parents would always yell at me while they were teaching me... and they'd be yelling two different things. Its hard to drive at first, but once you get the hang of it you don't even really have to think about it. There is a hope!

Also, don't look just over the hood of the car. Force yourself to look out in advance of the car. It may soiund funny buy you should always look where you want to go. I ridden dirt bikes for years and it never fails that if I look at an upcomming rut in the trail, I go right into it. Look where you wnat to go.

Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how my next lesson goes

Haha... I grew up driving. My dad built race cars... that's how I got into engineering at a young age. He would always let me drive the cars around our yard because we had a huge yard and the cars that he let me drive were only 600cc Quarter Midgets... they look like sprint cars but they're smaller... They still get up to around 120 mph depending on how you gear them. So that's how I learned how to drive. I never took drivers ed either...

But yeah, like everyone else said... just relax. the biggest thing is just feel the car. Don't over adjust the wheel... that's when you find yourself swirving and such... Just hold hte wheel steady and if you find yourself drifting make very minor adjustments. Don't look at the lines on the road... look straight ahead of you... about 30 feet in front of the car and use your hand eye coordination to guide your hands. It will start to feel more natural once you've done it a few more times...

Mabey havin your mom or dad call the driving school to get changed to a male teacher might help. I don't wanna sound feminist (sp?) but I think I'd rather have a guy explaining what I'm doing wrong than a lady acting like her husband is driving.

I took drivers ed just to save on insurance.

25 hours in class biggest f***in waste of time in my life-slept through it and got %100.

10 hours in car. Includes 7 of city driving, 1 hour of country, 1 hour of highway driving.

I agree with schmange yell back at her. She's a moron if she doesn't realize pressure to perform screws people up.

Look ahead on the road like said before, and not just at the hood. Be decisive and predicatable. Realize everyone else is an idiot and don't expect them to practise the same driving tecniques as you do.

You'll be alright. Be confident and pass the course, or get a new teacher.

just look down the road ahead of you about 40 feet or so and aim your car ahead. Be a defensive and alert driver, make sure you are aware of your surroundings, and always stay calm.

Yep, what everyone else said, especially about looking ahead. Only watch the lines with your peripheral vision. That's useful for night driving as well with oncoming headlights. Otherwise I'll stress the importance of blind spots, both in looking in yours before changing lanes and such, and in being aware of being in someone else's. I'm always wary of riding in someone else's blind spot...and luckily have so far avoided several accidents when they unknowingly swerved near me. It took me only one close call on my part when learning not to fully rely on my mirrors.

..oh, and if you're gonna hit somebody, make sure it's an old lady.
They're worth extra points.

Originally Posted by: schmange..oh, and if you're gonna hit somebody, make sure it's an old lady.
They're worth extra points.

:D

They certainly are.... as are pairs of men carrying sheets of glass, water melon stands and chicken coups....

Practice, my man... Borrow a car from your parents or a friend, drive on some huge parking place and practice... practice... no hurry, no fuss. Calm and easily... You will get the hang of it. I was a horrible driver... failed my driving exam few times. Then I got the hang of it... Afterwards, I passed the category for trucks, even worked as a truck driver for a while. So, you will get it. Just calm and easily... Steady as she goes... ;)

thank you all for the advice. I had my 2nd lesson and it went MUCH better. I stayed in my lane for the most part and she only had to grab the wheel a couple times. The only really bad thing wasn't my fault. We were in a neighborhood turning a curve and all of a sudden sme psycho is coming straight at us 40mph. But the teacher was able to pull out of the way really fast. Overall it went really well and she said she was impressed with my improvement.

Don't get into the habit of lining up some part of the car with the line! That will keep you staring at the car and the line, instead of looking at the road and the other vehicles.

Look well down the road, and position your car so that you are sitting just to one side of the centre of your lane. This will keep your car centred in the lane. It soon becomes a natural reflex, and because it does not depend on using some part of the car as a marker, you can drive a different vehicle just as well, without having to set up new 'sights'.

It also gets you watching what's happening 'out there' where you need to be paying attention.

When I had drivers ed I took it with a good friend of mine and our instructor was close to blind so we would see who could go the most over the speed limit without getting noticed we could easily go 25 over. I ran like 5 stop signs (on accident) and one time was almost t-boned by a pickup truck it was all the other guys fault too. So just remember it could be worse :p

Once you can control the car automatically - Accelerator, brakes. clutch and gears - then the most important thing is observation.