<p>As much as I would love to NEVER ASK ANYONE FOR A RIDE EVER AGAIN, I am absolutely petrified of driving alone. Countless times have I sat paralyzed, fearing of what would happen if I were to run over a someone or get in an accident, destroying my parents' car. Everyone around me seems to be doing just fine and I just can't seem to let this go. Any suggestions on getting over these fears?</p>
<p>I love driving, but I was kind of afraid I’d run over someone too at first, but the more I practiced, I felt like I was in control of the car vs. what I’d felt like at first (that the car was controlling me). It really just takes practice. If you’re careful and everything, there’s not too much to worry about.</p>
<p>Do you already have liscense? If not, those fears will probably leave during drivers training</p>
<p>If you keep on thinking that you’re going to get run over or hit someone…you’re not going to enjoy driving. </p>
<p>Personally, I feel that driving is really easy. Second nature. Just think. This is a car. Tht I control. Gas. Brakes. Wheel. Simple stuff.</p>
<p>I used to be afraid. If you just get out there, you’ll get used to it. Start with parking lots and then just residential areas.</p>
<p>I used to be a little afraid, but I was more afraid for others than myself. </p>
<p>Now I’m not afraid. If I get in an accident, and die, well, c’est la vie. I just hope that no one else is affected and that it’s just me. That’s why I would never drive under the influence. I’m just saying like if you’re afraid of being mauled by a semi-truck, there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t prevent it. Just drive like I do - drive safely on your part - accept the risk, and don’t worry, especially when driving. A distracted driver is a dead driver.</p>
<p>^I think you’re scaring the OP more Qube :)</p>
<p>like everyone else said, just practice. start by driving around a lot in parking lots until you feel like you’re comfortable with the car</p>
<p>My D2 (now 17) was also quite intimidated by driving. She still mumbles about killing us all whenever I give her the keys… But I tell my kids that there are two life skills they MUST have before leaving our house. One is swimming, and the other is driving.</p>
<p>In our state, kids start by taking a few weeks of classroom training. Then they have to pass a written test (my D failed it twice before she passed). Only then can they actually get behind the wheel. The driving school then gives her several lessons over a several month period. But she mixes that with driving with her parents. We decided it was best for her to learn from one parent (the calm one, me :)). </p>
<p>Our first outing was on a dry Sunday morning in a parking lot with pretty much no cars in it. We have very gradually moved on to driving on quiet streets, then onto streets that actually have cars :eek:. The driving school took her on her first freeway outing, but we have done a few more since then. She has gotten much more comfortable over the months, and is scheduled to take her actual license test in a couple of weeks. She may not pass on her first try, and I am actually okay with that.</p>
<p>I don’t have any plans to send her out by herself early on to anyplace she hasn’t already driven anyplace with me during her permit phase. Hopefully she will continue to gain confidence as she does this. Hopefully you can do the same. Just take it gradually.</p>
<p>OMG ME TOO!
I thought it was only me! Everyone else seemed so excited (and scornful of my fears… after a freaking-out session one long-suffering friend who drives already was like, “You DO know that the steering wheel and brakes do what you want usually, right?”) that I figured I was the only one who was scared stiff…
I’ve got my permit, and as long as I’ve taken driver’s ed by about May 31st I can then take my road test. Meanwhile, due to my stupid school schedule, I’ve had time to go driving a grand total of ONE time.
Unfotunately no useful suggstions as of yet, but just wanted to let you know that I’m with you…</p>
<p>Wow, you guys have some pretty tough requirements compared to my state. </p>
<p>I (and all my other peers with their licenses) took a stupidly easy 30-question electronic test to get my permit at 15 (you only have to get about a 70%), then at 16 you drive around in a square in a small neighborhood with a proctor and bam! They hand you your license, provided you didn’t do anything idiotic!</p>
<p>No driver’s ed, no tutors, no anything. We only have to get something like a certification for 40 hours behind the wheel when we go to take our license, which most everybody never actually does because all you need is a parent to sign off. Oh, and an eyesight test and some legal papers maybe. That’s it.</p>
<p>Honestly, driving is scary the first time you do it with your permit, and then it’s scary again when you drive for the first time by yourself. But the more you do it, the more used to it you get. I’ve been driving since early sophomore year, and now it’s not really a big deal anymore. In fact I kinda find it relaxing. I have about a 45-minute round commute to school every day and I love having just the downtime with nothing but me, the car, and the road.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to stop freaking out. (This is for OP and Hannah). If you go out on the road all timid and hesitant, you will get hit or cause an accident. Don’t go below the speed limit. Don’t hesitate between changing lanes. Don’t break (to a stop) while turning. Don’t drive in the left lane and go the speed limit. Don’t suddenly break when the light turns yellow (sure way to get rear-ended). Do check your blind spots. Do pay attention to signs. Do be aware of your surroundings. Do know the workings of your car.</p>
<p>I agree with Rob. In my state you have to pass a 30 or 40 question test. I faile it but passed it in the next 10 minutes. To be honest, I don’t remember the rules or whatnot. Then wait a year to take your driver’s test. In that year you’re expected to know how to drive. My mom just had me drive to school. That was my practice. Then she bought me a car to practice on. I wasn’t comfortable on her “SAV” so driving a car was a lot easier. Took my driver’s test. Passed. Bada bing bada boom. Got me a license.</p>
<p>To those that are afraid of driving, please know that you are not alone. When I started taking driving lessons with my parents at 15, I was SCARED TO DEATH. I was absolutely white-knuckled, on the brake, hated turning…I just could not drive. Every now and again, my dad would ask me, “Do you wanna go out for a driving lesson?” I kept making up excuses so I wouldn’t have to drive. But, that summer, my parents signed me up for driver’s ed and I hated every minute of it because I knew that one day I would have to get over this fear. </p>
<p>In my state, you first have to get your permit (like 40 questions on a computer) and then take driver’s ed. In that driver’s ed class, you have to have eight hours of driving time with your instructor. My instructor was a 70-year-old woman who scared the crap out of me, and on multiple times, fell asleep while I was driving. I really don’t know how I made it through, but I did. The hardest part was city driving because I live out in the sticks with an 800 person population in our town, so not much traffic.</p>
<p>I finished driver’s ed, but I was still scared to death and did not want to take my driving test. The driving test in my state consists of driving around for a bit, and afterwards taking a maneuverability test (basically, backing up through cones and going back forwards). Plus, you have to log in at least 50 hours of driving before you take the test. Backing up was the hardest thing ever for me! I literally put it off for an entire year because I did not want to do it, and I even asked my mom on multiple occasions, “Do I really have to have a license?” </p>
<p>But, as I got busier with having the lead in the musical, National Honor Society President, concerts everywhere, and going to friends houses, I started to realize that relying on my parents schedules of when to pick me up and drop me off wasn’t really working, and I was getting everywhere late because they couldn’t get off of work in time to take me. </p>
<p>The following summer, I decided to really start this whole driving thing. I went out with my dad at least twice each week for a little driving lesson until I had my fifty hours. Took a while. I then went online and looked at the parameters for the maneuverability test, and designed a replica in my back yard, cones and all (10 acres of land, so plenty of room to practice). </p>
<p>After about 3 weeks doing this, I finally got up the courage to have my mom make an appointment with the driving person. I was still scared to death, but I decided I had to do it. I drove with my mother to the driving place, and the driving instructor came out. She was an absolute stone wall. Word for word, this is what she told me: “No talking, listen to my directions, questions only when necessary. Drive forward.” </p>
<p>I did great on the driving portion, and we got to the maneuverability test. I started to drive forward and did great on that part. Now, it was time for backing up. If you knock over a cone, you automatically fail. I started backing up, and was doing great and as I got to the final cone on the passenger’s side, I knew that I had lightly tapped it. I quickly turned my wheel the other way, and avoided knocking it over. I was out, and she told me: “You passed. Pick up your license at the station.” </p>
<p>I WAS OVERJOYED! FIRST TRY AND PASSED IT! Truthfully, I never thought about it, but the moment that I got that license and every moment after, driving has become second-nature. I think just the feeling of that accomplishment makes it so much easier (for me anyway) because now I love to drive. I give my friends rides, go everywhere, job and back. Drive to school instead of the bus. Now, I’m so glad that I have my license. </p>
<p>Bottom Line: Driving is scary at first. It is a big risk getting behind the wheel of what we can consider to be a few-ton death machine. But, at some point, we all just go and decide that we have to do it, just like everything else. Now, it’s all up to you when you decide to do it. Take it from a person who knows, it may take a while, but you will get it eventually. Just be patient with yourself.</p>
<p>I apologize for the length, but I do hope that this helped. :)</p>
<p>My state (the wonderful Empire State) requires a WRITTEN permit test on which you need to get a 14/20. No lie. It’s pathetic. And my friend took it in a crowded room of kids and was the only one who passed. My whole thing is that it works both ways- I don’t want to end up on the road with all of these crazies, but if they made it onto the road, it must not be that hard…
So I suppose I’m really more scared conceptually, because the one time I actually drove, I actually had a great time- admittedly, it was in the parking lot of a local school and I never got out of neutral, but still.
And I can’t even get over the fear because I have no time to drive- half my friends are seventeen and still don’t have permits because they don’t have time. It’s outrageous.</p>
<p>MrABlair23, just wondering, are you from Ohio?</p>
<p>Sounds like it. I’m from Ohio and I can’t pass the driving test because of the maneuverability test. I practiced for hours, got it perfect, and then they asked me to do it in a completely different way than I was taught by the driving instructor, and I completely failed it.</p>
<p>ME TOOOOOOOO!!! I feel your pain! I just recently started driving on the highway… and everyone stay about 10 meters away from me since I always swerve by accident!</p>
<p>The first time I drove they pulled me over and asked if I was drunk.</p>
<p>I’m a senior and feel your pain. I don’t have my license yet because of my fear of driving. I’m a fine driver when I don’t panic, but when I realize that I’m driving it’s like I can’t focus anymore, and then I have to pull off the road. I think I just need to force myself to drive until I’m used to it.</p>
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<p>Well, I don’t know about your parents, but I would not DREAM of signing off if my kid had not actually done the required 40 hours with a licensed adult. That includes 10 hours of night time driving as well. 40 hours is quite a bit, and hopefully the OP’s comfort level will go up with practice. And you can do more than 40 if you feel you need to before taking the test.</p>
<p>One reason I would advise finishing up getting your license in high school is that a lot of people don’t drive much while they are in college because they don’t have cars in many cases. So you want to get your license and get a bit of practice under your belt before leaving for college, as it is a skill you really need to be a functioning adult in the US. But there is not a huge rush – my D2 is a senior, and as I said before, just taking the final license test for the first time this month. So you do not HAVE to do this the year you are 16.</p>
<p>I stand at the point that I’m confident at driving in areas and situations that I’m used to, just scared to go on the freeway, somewhat at night/fog/rain (barely actually drove at night even though I was supposed to), and the downtown area… But that’s what you still have your parents for to keep learning after the test!</p>
<p>Anyways, I do wish somewhat that I got my license earlier so I could do the carpooling business and stay a little longer at friends houses–it’s a provisional license for a year or turn 18 in California where you can’t carpool or drive at certain hours. And probably I’d be experienced in the far away places by now as well.</p>