Learning to drive.

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

I'll be taking my test within the next 2 weeks or so at the rate I'm going. Haven't hit anything yet or had major issues, my main problem seems to be keeping it together on freeways, especially off-ramps.

Funny thing is, on today's session we saw a car from a 'rival' driving school ahead of us, following the same route as my instructor wanted me to take for a long while. They didn't make any mistakes I could see except creeping too far forward at intersections. It's bizarre how the main two driving schools in my province put each other down in their ads and lessons.

 

[Valksy]

I took a corner way too fast and mounted the pavement, causing an elderly man to discover his inner sprightliness (instructor had dual controls, dunno why he didn't realise we were shifting).

Oh. And I was out on the right a little by the centre dotted line, signalling for a right turn and waiting for oncoming traffic to clear (this is in the UK), everything was fine,I had a row of cars behind me waiting but it was fine. The moment it was clear I made the right turn and as I did some fucking fuckwit came steaming up behind the row of cars, overtook them and broadsided me as I was turning.

He later went on to say that he "didn't see me" when I was in court seeing him prosecuted. I was in a learner driver car with a great big L plate thing on the roof.

The other drivers who had queued behind me and saw the whole thing queued to give me details (unusual in the UK, people tend not to get involved unless asked, they were so furious at his carelessness).

As I scrambled out of the car and saw that the backseat and doors on the drivers side was completely busted up I realised that I had really come within feet of being badly fucked up (instead of just taking an elbow injury that troubled me for years). I promptly fainted and landed in a puddle.

I went home in a police car.

He was prosecuted and found guilty.


(and yes, it is a bit disjointed because I don't really remember it).

I didn't drive again for almost 4 years.

 

[Davey Woo]

Next to none. Though whilst I was on my provisional I went out for a drive with my parents and I nearly rammed into a guy at a roundabout.

 

[CrashBang]

I was an awful learner driver. I've been driving for a year now, passed my test age 19, and I maintain that everyone learns the real road lessons once they have their own car and experience real driving first hand
When taking my lessons I was trying so hard to follow the instructors instructions so precisely that I didn't think to just use my own instincts and judgements. You truly become a driver once you've had your licence for a while. I, embarrassingly, had to take my test 5 times because I just couldn't get it down. I also have ADHD and so when I try to focus extra hard on concentrating is when my mind wanders even more. Sucks

 

[Enigmers]

Next to none. Though whilst I was on my provisional I went out for a drive with my parents and I nearly rammed into a guy at a roundabout.

The roundabouts in my neighborhood are probably huge hazards because nobody uses turn signals, and I'm not entirely sure you're supposed to or not.

Most of my classmates have their most basic license already, but I don't I just don't trust myself behind the wheel of a car yet, though my years of playing video games probably helped me in some for or another, no?

 

[Aesir23]

It was December 23. 9:00 PM. And there was a blizzard.... I nearly rear ended a semi because the visibility was so poor.

Why did my instructor decide to have a lesson on December 23 anyway!?

 

[esperandote]

I crashed our car on the garage door when i was still learning, I was about 15 years old (25 now) I hit the accelerator instead of the breaks. On my defense I was slightly drunk.

I teaching my GF to drive now, she's struggling to learn. She isn't very graceful motion or coordinated. Of the two times we've gone out to drive she crashed 2. The same problem she hit the accelerator instead of the break. We were in an unused parking lot so no other people was harmed or private property. The first time we got a flat tire and the second leaks on the engine and transmition carters.

 

[Low Key]

I had zero problems learning to drive. I even got to skip a couple of lessons because my genius instructor thought it would be awesome to drive downtown in rush hour traffic where we only moved a few miles in an hour. Then I got my license on my first try.

Perhaps it helped my parents let me drive their vehicle around (with them in it obviously) before I was legally allowed to.

I just have to say, even though you probably won't listen to me (I know I didn't when someone told me), don't speed once you get your license. It's such a waste of money.

 

[rosemystica]

My driving instructor was incomprehensible and OUT OF HIS FREAKING MIND. He tried to seize the wheel from me and steer us off of an I-95 overpass to illustrate some kind of danger or something (seriously, we bent the goddamn guard rail). And then he kept instructing me to drive around the skeeviest parts of town.

So I've had a phobia of driving ever since. I just walk or ride a bike anywhere I need to go... although I've been getting more interested in cars since I've been watching Top Gear. Seeing the kind of fun they have with cars makes me want to try to learn how again, so I can have even a fraction of that kind of enjoyment.

 

[Elle-Jai]

Thankfully, I've now blocked most of it out. I only had to learn automatic though, since no one in the family had a damn manual car anymore :S

But I started learning on my aunt's farm, so by the time we advanced to the road, it was more about interpreting what the other cars were doing and learning to notice EVERYTHING happening around me.

On a more interesting note, I've been teaching friends to drive. Lycoris and his braking still scare me (plus he once drove into a ditch while taking a corner too fast lol), while with J driving I'm never sure if we'll get there before old age, since he drives like a grampa.

When I'm not sitting in the passenger seat, it is kinda funny to reflect back on

 

[Sarkule]

I've just started learning to drive myself. Went for a drive with one of my parents the other day, drove for about half an hour. Then when I was turning off the car, I went to put the handbrake on. Then realised it had been on the whole time! :S

 

[EF Typhoon Guy]

I never really had any issues whilst learning to drive, and passed first time, so go me

 

[Limie]

The scariest thing that happened to me when I learned to drive was when I was coming off a roundabout and somebody was overtaking a queue of traffic to get onto the roundabout, which meant that he narrowly missed me and scared my instructor something aweful. Driving instructors must be fearless.

 

[RanD00M]

It was December 23. 9:00 PM. And there was a blizzard.... I nearly rear ended a semi because the visibility was so poor.

Why did my instructor decide to have a lesson on December 23 anyway!?

To teach you how to drive under the most extreme of circumstances.I think that everyone should have to learn that.

OT:Well I have gone to 8 lessons.Two left and I can drive while I have someone to watch in the car.And I've been doing pretty well so far.No accidents or anything.

 

[leviathanmisha]

I was driving my bf's car after a week of snowfall and I clipped the end of his bumper with a snowpile in our mall's parking lot...he's done worse though, so I don't feel so bad.

 

[Emilox The Great]

it went really good at my first driving lesson, until i found out the hard way: ramming into old ladies at full speed does not award 100 points in real life...

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

I'm still learning, probably the funniest one was how people just shout at you for being a learner, some dick on a bike screamed at me and my instructor kept egging me to pretend to drive into him as we went past but that guy went down an alleyway.

 

[Kwaren]

I learned how to drive in Mom's Ford F-150. It is now my F-150 and I love the thing. It has bad gas mileage but I never get stuck in the snow!