Support Group - Driving Me Nuts.

[slyc_willie]

At sixteen, when I first started driving, I was petrified of getting on the highway or even going over 45 mph.

Five years later, I was riding a motorcycle in rush traffic at 60+ mph.

Driving really is a pretty simple skill. You'll be amazed at how comfortable and easy the basics become once you've been behind the wheel for a time.

But, with that said . . . USE YOUR DAMN TURN SIGNAL AND DON'T TALK ON THE PHONE!

*ahem*

Carry on.

 

[TE999]

Don't get too exercised about driving.

The main thing is to be alert as to what's around you at all times.

Use your mirrors--and your neck.

I'm convinced some people aim their vehicles rather than drive.

And they cause most of the accidents IMHO.

I learned to drive when I was 12--on a 3/4 ton Chevy stake body truck.

6 on the floor and a tight clutch.

Nowadays I can drive anything that's got wheels.

 

[ms.read]

Umm if it ever does happen, ( me getting my liscence) Cellphones, Lipstick and all that other shit I see people using WHILE driving will not be allowed in the vehicle I am driving.

 

[The_Fool]

Umm if it ever does happen, ( me getting my liscence) Cellphones, Lipstick and all that other shit I see people using WHILE driving will not be allowed in the vehicle I am driving.

Mascara is the one that always gets me. Although I have seen people read books, paper, whatever and drive on the highway. The all-time killer though, and this is more the younger crowd I think, are the drivers that text at the same time.

 

[amicus]

Umm if it ever does happen, ( me getting my liscence) Cellphones, Lipstick and all that other shit I see people using WHILE driving will not be allowed in the vehicle I am driving.

~~~

Nope!

When it happens! YOU MUST, MUST, MUST! Keep thinking that as it is all in your control. Make it happen because you know is is going to.

Amicus...

 

[starrkers]

Umm if it ever does happen, ( me getting my liscence) Cellphones, Lipstick and all that other shit I see people using WHILE driving will not be allowed in the vehicle I am driving.

WHEN it happens, not if.

C'mon girl, if you can write 50,000 words in a month you can drive a damn car!


ETA: Crap! You've got me agreeing with Amicus!

 

[amicus]

Staarkers...

ETA: Crap! You've got me agreeing with Amicus!

~~~

Heh, I hate it when that happens!



ami...

 

[TheeGoatPig]

They did in New Jersey in the 90s, too.

I took one of those courses in New Jersey in the 90s as well. I only had three or four lessons, and I was 17 instead of the prefered 16 at the time, but still, that was how I learned how to drive.

One of the first roads that I drove down is one of the worst roads in my town, too

 

[ms.read]

WHEN it happens, not if.

C'mon girl, if you can write 50,000 words in a month you can drive a damn car!


ETA: Crap! You've got me agreeing with Amicus!

writing is easy,

driving a car? Much more attention involved. and still you can get in an accident because of "The other Guy" cuz he wasn't paying attention.

Scary.

 

[Weird Harold]

driving a car? Much more attention involved. and still you can get in an accident because of "The other Guy" cuz he wasn't paying attention.

Watching christmas commercials during las night's Mythbusters episode remind me of your dilemma -- do you play video games?

If you do, get some driving games and find the one that works best for you as a driving simulator -- even something like the Grand Theft Auto series can help you learn to watch out for the other guy.

I think there is probably a game out there somewhere that is specifically designed as a driving simulator and learning tool rather than a game -- something like MS's Flight Simulator for cars.

There are two parts to good driving -- Mental and Physical.

The Physical part is learning to make a car go and then make it go where you aim it and how to stop it safely. You can't learn the physical part without actually driving a real car and feeling the forces involved.

The Mental part is, IMHO, the most important part because it is what let's you stop worrying about the "Other Guy" because you've learned how to spot probable idiots and give them room to be idiots without involving you. That mental portion or "situational awareness" is something that youcan gain as easily from a nice safe simulation as you can from actually going out and dodging idiots on real cars -- plus a good simulation can guarantee you'll encounter some idiots to avoid and put you in more situations where you can pratice snap decisions than a boring drive around town ever could.

 

[Guest]

Well, 7 years ago I was you. I needed a license, and it took a million lessons until I got the confidence. I had a laid back, funny instructor that helped me along.

I passed the first exam, and from the on my confidence built up. Now I am working on a private pilot's license

So just relax...and enjoy the ride.



Maharat

 

[Guest]

writing is easy,

driving a car? Much more attention involved. and still you can get in an accident because of "The other Guy" cuz he wasn't paying attention.

Scary.

With a bit of experience, you can watch out for the other guy too. You just need to develop a mentality in which you are the utmost responsible for your safety. You can anticipate the other guy and stay ahead of him.

Maharat

 

[MarshAlien]

With a bit of experience, you can watch out for the other guy too. You just need to develop a mentality in which you are the utmost responsible for your safety. You can anticipate the other guy and stay ahead of him.

Maharat

I agree with Maharat, despite her use of a third of the vowels in a Scrabble set. "Fear is the mind-killer." I think that's from Dune. If not, I hereby lay claim to it.

 

[rgraham666]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned this bad joke.

A man bumps into a buddy on the street and stares at him in surprise. "Do you know you have a steering wheel in your pants?"

"Yes," his friend replies. "And it's driving me nuts!"

Ba-dump bump. Ksssssh!

 

[WRJames]

Some observations from getting two kids past this:

The way you need to drive to pass the driving test (at least in New York) is not way you would drive normally. One example is stop signs. There is a white line way back from the stop sign which is where you are legally supposed to stop -- of course, it is too far back to see if there is any traffic coming down the road. But if you breeze right past that line to where you normally will stop, you will fail the test (you can also, in theory, get a ticket). Plus, you need to come to a full stop and sit there for a second or two, even if that means you miss the only break in traffic you are going to see for the next five minutes.

Of course, if you are taking the driving test, you will be expected to obey the speed limit, which sounds like a simple thing, except that in many cases you will become a traffic hazard by driving so slowly.

Do you need to show that you can parallel park? Make sure that you have this down pat going into the test.

 

[ms.read]

Now, I've taken the permit test in both Massachusetts and Maine. (multiple times) ( god the first parentheses sounds so pathetic) and I noticed that in both locations there were kind of funny Red lights or Stop Signs. Is that a requirement built when the put the DMV/BMV in the building?

Scenario : Comming out of the parking lot (Stop sign) about five hundred feet later coming out of the driveway onto the main road ( there are nother driveways along this Long driveway of course There is a red light. another five hundred feet in front of that directly at the intersection is a second red light. What a way to make the initiate worried/Nervouse. (but hey if you can pass that without a sweat No problem right?

Now just waiting for the inevitable "date".........


Oh wierd harold, great advice. Yoda should be proud.

Rgraham. standing ovations!!!

All the rest of you, you deffinitely are keeping my mind off the road...(for now)

please note the above three lines are said with a smile and a hint of humor.

 

[Guest]

I agree with Maharat, despite her use of a third of the vowels in a Scrabble set. "Fear is the mind-killer." I think that's from Dune. If not, I hereby lay claim to it.

Iknow ... there are no editors on the board

Maharat

 

[ms.read]

Iknow ... there are no editors on the board

Maharat

Isn't editing a kind of censorship?

 

[Weird Harold]

...I noticed that in both locations there were kind of funny Red lights or Stop Signs. Is that a requirement built when the put the DMV/BMV in the building?

Scenario : Comming out of the parking lot (Stop sign) about five hundred feet later coming out of the driveway onto the main road ( there are nother driveways along this Long driveway of course There is a red light. another five hundred feet in front of that directly at the intersection is a second red light.

I don't know that it is a requirement to put a tricky traffic problem near the DMV building (or build DMV buildings near tricky traffic problems) but I do know that your driving test WILL include an intersection or routing that tries your ability to follow (relatively) obscure traffic rules.

The first time I took my driving test, the "trick" was an intersection that the configuration of lanes on the far side was slighly different (No "parking lane" on the far side) so that by staying the same distance from the curb, you were actually changing lanes in the intersection -- an automatic fail. There were other factors in why I failed that first test, but taking the test in a city I'd never driven in was very high on the list of reasons for failing.

The second time I took the driving test, it was in my home town, which has ONE one-way street that is all of two blocks long. The tricky problem there was (and probably still is) turning into the near lane of a one-way street -- but the Drivers' Ed instructor at the high school covered that point ruthlessly so very few of my generation were caught.

The "tricky problem" that DMV testers guide applicants into is usually something that professional driving schools can prepare you for, which is why I recommended that route. Most of the "tricky problems" around DMV's aren't really much of a problem if you're familiar with the area.

 

[matriarch]

They actually do that?!

That's what they do over here in UK.......I assumed that was how all driving schools operate.

For your lessons, they'll pick you up from wherever you designate (kids going to the local college, even high school), and do the same for the drop off. When I was learning, most of my lessons were pick up from home and drop off there when the lesson was over. I did a few where they picked me up from work, and then dropped off at home. And yes, they collected me for my test, I booked the car and instructor's time for 3 hours, we did a pre-test drive around, then the test in the dual control car, and then to take me home. Standard driving school procedure over here. Most people learn through schools - of which there are thousands - rather than through family or friends.

 

[matriarch]

Mascara is the one that always gets me. Although I have seen people read books, paper, whatever and drive on the highway. The all-time killer though, and this is more the younger crowd I think, are the drivers that text at the same time.

The worst thing I ever saw was a woman in yummy sports car....plucking her nose hairs whilst driving!! Honest, Min and Becca and I just couldn't believe our eyes....which were watering profusely just at the thought of it!

 

[starrkers]

One of the best pieces of advice I recieved as a learner driver, given by my father
"Drive like everyone one else is out to kill you, because some of them are". I've been driving for 20...crap 28 years and they haven't got me yet

 

[ms.read]

An update,

I called the driving instruction place where I originally took my drivers ed class (I have only 10 hours of driving experience because of them) They say that they can give me some private lessons AFTER I get my permit. SHEESH! Just waiting for that date to come back

 

[Weird Harold]

One of the best pieces of advice I recieved as a learner driver, given by my father
"Drive like everyone one else is out to kill you, because some of them are".

I'm saving Weird Harold's Rules for Paranoid Driving until AFTER she conquers her nerves and passed the test.

 

[ms.read]

Lol:d