Driving

[Bambi]

Or more to the point, learning how to do it

I've never hated something so much in my life. It's frustrating the fuck out of me. So far I'm failing to see how someone can enjoy this. It's hard

I want learner stories to make me feel better.

The only time I didnt stall was the first lesson. I've had hill starts, roundabouts, rush hour fucking traffic, reversing and Ive only had 5 lessons

IT'S THE FUCKING DEVIL

Probably more interested in stories of manual learners, seeing as it's harder, unless there's any really funny stories...

Anyway. How long did it take to click into place for anyone that has a licence. And how are you getting on if you are a learner

I swear if I hadn't already passed my theory, and paid for 10 hours, I'd just give up

 

[Dionysos]

I've not had a great time with learning how to drive either.

Considering I've always regarded driving as my eventual doom, it took a lot of convincing myself to get to finally learning how to drive. I'd always assumed I'd have no coordination and would crash and die.

It's not looking too good so far. My road awareness is pretty terrible, and I've driven into curbs on roads and almost damaged the tires a few times. My instructor gets quite stressed and worried, and I really do not intend it.

Considering I've hardly mastered the human walk, it's quite ludicrous to imagine myself driving a car like a proper person. I've been trying, however, but I'm just terribly lame. I can see it taking a long time before I pass. As much as I need to drive a car to be taken seriously as a human being, I also want to be safe. I'd rather it take a long time and finally learn how to drive decently than to drive straight through it all and then end up in a tree.

 

[Dee]

I absolutely love driving. And while I did have some hang-ups learning how to do it, the fun is getting better. I'm one of the few people I know who is a master at parallel parking (and just parking in general). I have to repark everyone's cars for them because they're just horrible at it. Anyway, I started learning from a young age. The most daunting task I had learning how to drive was driving from Oregon to Missouri with my step dad at the age of 14. It's pretty scary when you're going for a few days, passing all those big semi trucks and whatnot; especially when your step dad pushes his seat back and says, "you got this?"

 

[Roland_Deschain]

Well where I grew up in Iowa we are allowed to obtains lincense's for school and work at age 15, that is when I got mine, we also had to learn on a manual.

The thing about the manual is to not over think it. Its as easy as 1 2 3 if you want it to be. Take the process of using it in your head and review it in your mind over and over again. If it helps you can even whisper it to yourself while you are doing it.

It will never be easy at first, but try to seek practice from friends in your free time to better prepare yourself for the actual lessons. Drive with your friends and just get some extra practice in using their cars.

Driving is one of those things that wordly advice does not really help too much with. Its going to take practice and a little determination. The plus side is that once you complete your lessons you never have to drive a manual again.

 

[Shu]

Driving + Music are the only real freedoms I have really. It's the time where I can think mostly. Back when I was 15/16 I drove everywhere. I started on a manual truck from my father, but due to my ma wanting me to drive something with better mileage I stuck to a 96 camry (because that makes a lot sense).

From there I drove till I was 18 and then received a Dodge Intrepid. I loved the crap out of this car. I used to take road trips to Savannah Georgia/Oxford Mississippi/Memphis Tennessee/Little Rock Arkansas/Chicago Illinois and a few other places.

In 2005 I bought a Nisan Altima 5 speed. I've loved this vehicle, I've had very little problems with it (knock on wood) but really I use it these days to get me too and from work.

The only real problem I hate about the car is the fact I have to get a 250 dollar tag every damn year. Not only that but I also have to get an inspection, and tires rotated quite a bit. If the maintenance would go down it would be perfect, but honestly it's an awesome car. Just which I had an Auxilary plug in for my Ipod nano. =\.

I've met many people driving my cars. It's been the best experience for me.

 

[Rapture]

After many years of driving I fail to see why someone would absolutely love it unless they just got their license and are experiencing the newfound freedom of being able to go wherever they want to go.

I remember how excited I was the day I got my license. I got it the day I turned 16 and I remember looking at my license and thinking Ohhh yeah

Now much farther down the road, I've come to realize that yeah the freedom is nice...but the set of responsibilities that come with driving a car and owning a license. You have to pay for your insurance and drive carefully...or for some of you rebels who speed and do what we call "Chicago rolls" through the stop signs and still manage to not get caught I drive a car that I keep in pretty much perfect condition. No, its no BMW and etc...but I'm much more weary about where I park it...so it doesn't get scratched up and etc... Then, there's the car payments. It doesn't bother me now but it was a bit of a shock to to my wallet the first few months of payments because I don't make an incredibly large about of money right now anyways. There is also the occaisional accident...I've been injured before and delt with irritating people who want to appologize to you when they've just done something incredibly stupid and entirely avoidable that causes you months of pain and suffering and all you really want them to do is shut up so you can stop thinking about telling them off. Then there's the road rage, the other stupid drivers out there, the traffic clogged highways, getting frustrated because there's construction, the DMV and the weather here...like driving on ice or heaps of snow.

It is a lot when you think about the big picture. But, I do love driving my car, listening to the music cranked a bit, with my windows down and the moonroof open...and it makes up for it a bit.

..and Kels I've heard the driving test/learning how to drive in the UK is more difficult. So hang in there

 

[Bambi]

I've not had a great time with learning how to drive either.

Considering I've always regarded driving as my eventual doom, it took a lot of convincing myself to get to finally learning how to drive. I'd always assumed I'd have no coordination and would crash and die.

It's not looking too good so far. My road awareness is pretty terrible, and I've driven into curbs on roads and almost damaged the tires a few times. My instructor gets quite stressed and worried, and I really do not intend it.

Considering I've hardly mastered the human walk, it's quite ludicrous to imagine myself driving a car like a proper person. I've been trying, however, but I'm just terribly lame. I can see it taking a long time before I pass. As much as I need to drive a car to be taken seriously as a human being, I also want to be safe. I'd rather it take a long time and finally learn how to drive decently than to drive straight through it all and then end up in a tree.

My I hate learning to drive buddy, we shall unite in our hatred for it

How many lessons have you had?

Ive got no coordination whatsoever, sounds like you need a new instructor though, if he's gunna stress and worry, then you are as well. Mine at least is very good like that, if I keep fluffing up or get myself wound up, or almost hit a wall wacky he won't so much as raise his voice, he just tells me to concentrate on the 80% that's going right (Im sure it's much less than that lol)

I will stick at it folks.... for now, otherwise it's just a load of stress and a theory test cert for nothing

 

[Dr. Percival Cox]

Learning is annoying if you're being taught by your parents because no matter how well you do you have to listen to them constantly give their opinions. My dad for instance. I don't like taking directions from him because for reason my dad thinks cutting through residential roads and constantly running into stop signs and street lights is a much more efficient way of getting around than driving on the highway because... I honestly have no clue what would lead him to believe such a thing. Plus having your mother freak out because she believes that you're going to ram into the car that's about thirty feet in front of you if you don't just immediately brake.

As far as driving on my own, however, I actually enjoy doing it. Atleast, at night anyway when the sun's not in my eyes and it's not 100 degrees. There's just something calming about driving at 2 AM and blaring your favorite band and just watching the night lights. That's me, though.

 

[Coco]

I got my students permit when I was 16, and my parents immediately enrolled me in a driving school for two weeks. It was better than having them teach me, but I have to agree, it was terrible. I learned the basics from the school, but application was still hard.

At home, we had a manual Corolla I could practice with and my engine loved to die in the middle of intersections. cars honking at me and the embarrassment I also couldn't estimate where the wheels were, so I would end up driving too far from the curb. I HATED THE CLUTCH It got better over time, like my dad would have me drive whenever, wherever when I was still learning because he says, "Driving is a skill. A skill can only be perfected by practice."

It's been 4 years since so I've gotten a bit of experience. I drive an automatic Honda Civic now, so my embarrassing days are over thankfully. I'm more confident now about driving, and I'm still at the stage where I enjoy the perks of driving like speed and freedom to go anywhere. It's still a big responsibility though, because although he says it's mine and I'm the only one who uses it, I consider the car I use owned by my father because he pays for everything.

 

[Kandy-Sugar]

Ugh I failed my first driving test because I was trying to get my manual licence.

So I ended up just going for my auto licence and got that first go.

I always stalled and even mounted the footpath a few times. I had really bad hand and foot co-ordination when it came the gears and clutch.

I don't know why anyone would want to get their manual licence unless they really enjoy manual cars. They're a fucking nightmare!

I ran through a stop sign across a pedestrian crossing during my driving test when I was learning in the manual as well. The driving instructor looked so scared and I just knew then I'd failed. <_<

 

[Bambi]

im up to six lessons now, and ive managed a full lesson without stalling wahay.

I covered 3 point turns my last lesson and for a first bash, i think i did fucking mint. out of the 6 goes i had i only bumped the kerb twice, i am officially lewis hamilton

Im sure the loathing will return come next friday seeing as next week im cramming no less than 4 hours of driving lesson in. x_x

 

[Stock Choengroux]

It took me approximately two weeks (of practice in an empty parking lot) when everything just clicked. But I never used the freeway for two months after everything clicked. I wanted to make sure my click really... clicked.

I remember borrowing my cousin's car to take the test; he drove an automatic. And after I passed, I practiced with manual tranmission. And I never looked back.

 

[Dee]

I have a manual story. My step dad had taught me how to drive manual and one of his friends gave us this nasty old, Ford hatchback clunker that had mice and other rodents living in the seats. Anyway, long story short, it was a piece of shit. And as I was driving it down the freeway (don't remember where I was taking it) the thing started smoking. My step dad calls me on my cell to tell me my car is on fire, so we had to pull it off to the side. It did catch fire, but luckily nothing else happened.

 

[Squid]

I LOATHED learning to drive with a passion. I put it off til I was 18 and then thought fuck it, I need to learn because I don't want to be like my friends who leech off of others with a car.

So I learned (now I am the one being leeched off of) and tbh I love to drive now it's relaxing and fun and feels good to just turn the radio up and drive while singing really loudly

Anyway, i don't really have any funny learner stories, I learned with an Automatic car (thank god) I did have some bitch who charged me $80 per lesson and she would make the lessons go for weeks and weeks then I realised she was just trying to milk as much money from me as possible, then I hired someone new to help me and I passed in the second lesson with him (although I failed my Reverse parallel but he let me get away with it)

 

[Raiiyokuu]

I haven't got my license yet But I'm going to soon enough, sometime in September I hope.

I actually learned to drive from my brothers when I was 13, going on 14. They taught me how to drive manual. And because we three are big on street racing I learned to drive manual in my older brother's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII.

And yeah Toni, -_______- Parallel parking is a bitch to deal with.

Is it bad to say that I'm a gearhead and I'm able to fix my own engine and stuff like that, when I was like 12.

While I may not have my own car yet, I'm certainly glad I know how to drive

 

[Bambi]

did left reversing today, covering parking on thurs, then i guess its just practicing till im done. i had a bit of a simmer of the rage but i managed to keep my cool....just i seem to be pretty good with manouvres, bowt time i found summat in this driving lark that i could do

il be glad when this is asll over

 

[Jack's Smirking Revenge]

i used to love driving, but i went through a period when i was learning when i dreaded my lessons. i don't know what it was, i think i was always too aware that there was someone next to me in the passenger seat judging me. i could always relax really well when driving by myself.

when i was doing my first test, i stalled going up a hill too slow in 4th gear. i dunno why it didn't occur to me to drop a couple of gears when i felt it going, but i didn't. my examiner told me that he'd never seen anyone do anything like that before. :dave:

 

[Bambi]

Hahahaha trust you

I'm ok with the instructor, it's the thought of driving on my own that gets me in a cold sweat hahaha, wtf am I going to do without dual controls?!

I'm covering parking tomorrow, then I think I've pretty much touched everything, I just have to actually get better at the driving part lol. Typical that Im nailing the manouvres no problem yet I can't seem to drive in a straight line without causing myself complications. And god forbid I have to bloody stop and start.

 

[Lirael]

Learning to drive was awful, and I really liked my instructor! I think my dislike for it was due to the amount of pressure I had on me. I was quite able to drive. There were just too many reasons I NEEDED to pass, and that led to stress, which led to poor decisions and/or confusion during the test.

I live in the middle of nowhere. There's no public transport and so I had to ask my parents to drive me here and there when I wanted to go to Chris' or meet a friend. I suppose I asked for their help a couple of times a week. They hated it. With a vengeance. I therefore felt I had to pass to avoid leeching their time.

I also knew that, once I had finished Uni, I'd need to find a job. There are no jobs where I live. At all. There is one corner shop and EVERYONE who's young works there. ISo I'd need to drive to said job.

With this added pressure, the pressure of Uni (always in the back of my mind) and the pressure of a stranger sitting beside me marking a piece of paper, I failed 3 times.

Then I came back for summer and tried to refresh my ability to drive. All the mechanics were there - I really like driving a manual car - but my judgments weren't perfect. They weren't bad - I was engaged in my drive and always thought through my decisions - but you fail here if you cause anyone to change direction, slow down, or do anything potentially dangerous (two of my 'fails' were because I ended up in the wrong lane on a roundabout I didn't know and provided the wrong signal to the drivers around me).

Anyway, I passed 4th time, and in my own car. The next week, I had to drive every day during the rush hour. It was awful, but I did it and there were no incidents. It was just stressful having so many cars around me and having no one there to offer advice.

My grandfather said that you REALLY start to learn when you go out there on your own and he's right. You can consult an instructor or parent when you go out with them. It's very different when you're on your own. But I'm getting used to it. And I quite enjoy driving to music now!

 

[Donald Trump]

I got my license when I was 15, though they've raised the age here to 16 now. You can get your learners so you can drive with someone who has their full license, most of the time I drove with my mother because my dad kept telling me I was going to crash when he was sitting next to me, which annoyed me.
It just takes a while to get used to. But after that everything is fine.