Advice for New and Learner Drivers

[Cudwieser]

What advice would you give to someone starting out as a newly qualified driver (generally or specifically to your country) or someone nervous about driving or learning to drive.

[Dottie]

Drivers ed in America sucks. Id strongly suggest taking advanced courses if you feel like you havent learned much in drivers ed (in any country)

 

A lot of this can be done through regular driving but take note (there's a lot)

 

 

Watch for cops. this comes in handy to avoid tickets and citations, even for nonsense

 

Watch for stop signs and traffic lights

 

Learn how your car handles in various situations (ex turning this turn at ##mph, approximate stopping distance, etc)

 

Get a sense of how large/small your vehicle is. People that have no sense of this usually do not attempt fit in gaps that they can easily and safely fit into

 

Get a sense of how far things are in front of you and behind you. People without this sense tend to stop a mile before they really should stop

 

Learn how to drive in all weather conditions (rain, sleet, snow, ice, fog, high wind, hot af, cold af and anything else)

 

Learn how to properly drive on different surfaces (especially dirt, mud and gravel)

 

Apex turns in your lane, you'll be able to turn them faster

 

always have a way out of a situation, even if it means driving on the shoulder to avoid a potential collision

 

Know how fast your car accelerates. This will come in handy especially entering higher speed roads from lower speeds

 

Get a sense of how big the gap is, which piggy backs on knowing how long and wide your vehicle is

 

always Plan ahead (example; I am going to overtake this car, switch lanes, switch lanes again, then exit) before executing driving maneuvers

 

Learn how your car behaves at most speeds (example. some shake going 90mph)

 

If your car has a problem, get it checked out as soon as possible

 

Try to avoid tailgating (following way to close)

 

Don't go the speed limit in the passing lane. it pisses people off (seriously)

 

Don't use high beams in fog. That makes it worse

 

Use good judgement, Its probably not the best idea to go 0156302 kph on a wet ass road

 

If you have a GPS, dont stare at it for a long ass time and place it in a spot that you can glance at it quickly

 

Dont text and drive ever. Its a danger to you and everyone around you.

 

Dont get too angry when people do BS things when driving, it will happen to everyone

 

 

Edited May 17, 2015 by Winning001

[SouthLand]

Floor it.

[Cudwieser]

Floor it.

Only on a large plot of open and private land with the permission of the land owner. Simple matter of law and physics would forbid it elsewhere. In all seriousness, Legalities aside, go hard on a tight or unfamiliar road will lead to panic or sudden surprises you aren't able to expect. A car at pace will not stop on a dime and will put you into someone or over the hedge (more solid than you give them credit for, especially in Ireland where there are stone walls within them).

 

I really should add to this.

 

. Take time with everything and get familiar with the car and roads.

. Get lost from time to time. The more familiar you become with the world the less it will surprise you.

. Stay within the speed limit unless you are overtaking.

. If you are overtaking, give plently of room and get on with it. Put your foot down and forget the speed limit until you rejoin your lane. More over check your mirror when you merge back into your lane.

. Always relax before, during and after driving. Believe me it helps. You won't panic when sh*t happens and will react in a measured manner.

. If your car is doing anything odd, slow down gradually until it behaves or stop altogether is a safe place and check the car over. If you can't solve the problem, get help.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Cudwieser

[Dottie]

Floor it.

never fails

Edited May 18, 2015 by Winning001

[Ryan]

When in doubt, just do what everyone else is doing or go where everyone else is going.

[hvcciookay]

Lmfao ^

 

It actually works depending on who's leading.

[Scott.]

Learner drivers - Mirrors, mirrors, mirrors

 

Newly passed drivers - Don't matter, all goes out of the window, just don't kill anyone

[epoxi]

Know that statistically as a new driver you are probably going to crash, properly appreciating this fact is likely to make you one of the ones who don't crash.

[mr quick]

Apparently I'm an idiot for abiding to this: Never break the speed limit. I don't and therefore I couldn't give two sh*ts about cops or cameras.

[Andreaz1]

Apparently I'm an idiot for abiding to this: Never break the speed limit. I don't and therefore I couldn't give two sh*ts about cops or cameras.

Sometimes people make me feel like that too.

[SouthLand]

Apparently I'm an idiot for abiding to this: Never break the speed limit. I don't and therefore I couldn't give two sh*ts about cops or cameras.

 

Me neither...

 

[GTA-Biker]

My best advices would be:

-get to know your car

-drive carefully (watch for traffic signs,look out for what others are doing,don´t use your phone while driving,don´t drive too fast,don´t drink and drive...)

-drive often so you wouldn´t forget how to do stuff like parallel parking,shifting gears or something else

[SouthLand]

My best advices would be:

-get to know your car

-drive carefully (watch for traffic signs,look out for what others are doing,don´t use your phone while driving,don´t drive too fast,don´t drink and drive...)

-drive often so you wouldn´t forget how to do stuff like parallel parking,shifting gears or something else

 

The best way to do this is in a Racetrack that's very wide.

[Gouveia]

My best advices would be:

-get to know your car

-drive carefully (watch for traffic signs,look out for what others are doing,don´t use your phone while driving,don´t drive too fast,don´t drink and drive...)

-drive often so you wouldn´t forget how to do stuff like parallel parking,shifting gears or something else

 

 

-get to know your car

 

The best way to do this is in a Racetrack that's very wide.

 

 

I thought I knew my car. Then I drove it on a race track. Then I started accelerating it to 120km/h and breaking hard (it was part of the insurance's defensive driving class). I can't stress how much knowing what beast you're driving is important. Why? You know how much it accelerates, so you don't scare yourself. You know how much space you need to break safely (a.k.a. without stomping on the damn pedal). You know your beast, and you get to tame it.

[Cudwieser]

 

My best advices would be:

-get to know your car

-drive carefully (watch for traffic signs,look out for what others are doing,don´t use your phone while driving,don´t drive too fast,don´t drink and drive...)

-drive often so you wouldn´t forget how to do stuff like parallel parking,shifting gears or something else

 

 

-get to know your car

 

The best way to do this is in a Racetrack that's very wide.

 

 

I thought I knew my car. Then I drove it on a race track. Then I started accelerating it to 120km/h and breaking hard (it was part of the insurance's defensive driving class). I can't stress how much knowing what beast you're driving is important. Why? You know how much it accelerates, so you don't scare yourself. You know how much space you need to break safely (a.k.a. without stomping on the damn pedal). You know your beast, and you get to tame it.

 

True. More over (and a tip for overtaking) when trying to accelerate, especially when you are in top gear, always drop a gear unless you have greater momentum and the road and mirrors are clear. If you drop a gear it will get noisy, but as long as you keep your foot in and pull out in good time, any car will pull like a train. Even a 1 litre weakling can be made to charge as all the power is a car comes at higher revs and dropping a gear simply ups the revs (Double D and ease the clutch when going down the gears to stop the car from lurching or bogging down).

 

In saying that it is initially disorientating and scary when you get jammed into your seat, but check your inside mirror, your speedo and ease in to the proper lane and get back within the speed limit.

 

As for braking, this is going to sound odd, but try to break as little as possible. Don't be going fast enough to need heavy braking and if the road is visible over a sizable distance then use the length of the road to slow down by getting off the gas and using the gears (a practice that's rarely taught these days). Also on a final point learn the Double D. It's easier on the gears and makes for smoother down changes.

 

At the end of the day, be calm in all circumstances and never over react. Just deal with things as they happen.

[epoxi]

If you drop a gear it will get noisy, but as long as you keep your foot in and pull out in good time, any car will pull like a train. Even a 1 litre weakling can be made to charge as all the power is a car comes at higher revs and dropping a gear simply ups the revs (Double D and ease the clutch when going down the gears to stop the car from lurching or bogging down).

Personally I have found that small-engined cars are very slow (unless that 1 litre is a Ford Ecoboost engine or something). Switching from my 70hp Citroen to my 140hp Celica (140hp isn't even very powerful) my entire presence on the road changes. In the C2 I always felt inferior to other cars on the road, overtaking was often impossible and as you say you constantly have to work the gears just to keep up with regular traffic. With the Celica it will pull without even trying, everyday driving doesn't even demand more than 3,000rpm.

 

I don't know about the pros and cons of gear braking, even in driving lessons the practice seems to have fallen out of favour, but I do agree that trying to 'avoid' braking (by not speeding up when you see stationary traffic in the distance) is good practice: you just end up chewing through brakes/tyres and burning through more petrol otherwise.

[Gouveia]

I try gear braking whenever I can, but it's kinda tricky to get it done correctly without sounding like you're wrecking your car over.

 

Also, yeah: in "cheaper" cars, each hp makes a difference. My last car was a '08 Citröen C3, rated at 75hp. I now own a '13 Fiesta, rated at 125hp. It feels like a Ferrari next to the C3 (okay, not so much )

Edited May 25, 2015 by Gouveia

[Dottie]

Protip (mainly for english speakers):

This is a break

 

This is a brake

 

they're not interchangeable

(understandable for non-english speakers but now you know)

Edited May 26, 2015 by Winning001

[GrindingOnDatNRG]

It's actually easy. Hopefully they will be in an automatic car.

 

Start out and practice in an industrial area. Drive around and get the feel of the car and being in the driver seat. and being in control.

 

Take baby steps. And you get there.

 

Just relax, concentrate and try to get a feel of the car.

[Gouveia]

they're not interchangeable and you sound like you don't know much about cars

 

or just somebody who wasn't born in an english speaking country, and who is lazy as f*ck to try to think straight in a monday morning.

 

But nonetheless, I've edited the post to sound like someone who knows something about cars.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Gouveia

[Cudwieser]

 

they're not interchangeable and you sound like you don't know much about cars

 

or just somebody who wasn't born in an english speaking country, and who is lazy as f*ck to try to think straight in a monday morning.

 

But nonetheless, I've edited the post to sound like someone who knows something about cars.

 

 

 

Protip:

This is a break

 

This is a brake

 

they're not interchangeable and you sound like you don't know much about cars

I say the sentiment stands. Break (brake) as little as possible and you'll be fine. Either can be expensive; at least one can be fatal. Take it easy and use both sparingly.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Cudwieser

[unbid]

Two things:

 

1. Don't be nervous. Just relax.

 

2. NEVER start with an automatic transmission. You never able to do manual transmission if you start with an automatic since you're too comfy with it.

Edited May 26, 2015 by unbid

[Cudwieser]

Two things:

 

1. Don't be nervous. Just relax.

 

2. NEVER start with an automatic transmission. You never able to do manual transmission if you start with an automatic since you're too comfy with it.

Not strictly true, but you can't legally drive a manual in the UK if you gain your license in an automatic car. As for difficulty going from auto to manual it really just depends on how you are as a driver. Autos do a lot of coordination for you, saving on burnt clutches and busted gears, however they are power hungry mechanisms. Ideally if you want an auto save up for a car with a 2ltr engine or higher that produces good power and torque at lower revs (this will save on fuel). Otherwise if you want a smaller, cheaper car with a smaller engine (chances are the first car you buy will be small) then make sure it has a manual box and learn to use the gears (higher gear at 50mph equates to lower revs and better mpg).

Edited May 26, 2015 by Cudwieser

[epoxi]

 

Two things:

 

1. Don't be nervous. Just relax.

 

2. NEVER start with an automatic transmission. You never able to do manual transmission if you start with an automatic since you're too comfy with it.

Autos do a lot of coordination for you, saving on burnt clutches and busted gears

 

A manual is widely accepted as more reliable than an automatic (as long as you don't abuse it like a fool), plus failures of a manual transmission are cheaper to repair than auto failure. Also, for an automatic you need to consider regular transmission fluid replacements which increase the cost of a servicing significantly.

 

Everyone I have known has had their clutch last at least 70,000 miles.

[sivispacem]

89k on my Leon including a couple of track days and I'm still on the original clutch with no signs of wear or slipping.

[Flachbau]

For future encounters, how easy is it to get rolling in a car with a clutch? Does it depend on the car? I hear you have to push the clutch in, and slowly push the acceleration pedal at the same time. I don't want to drive any automatic cars unless its necessary.

 

For everything else, I think I got the gist of how to shift with a manual and what not.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Nick

[sivispacem]

Easy- just takes practice. IMO you'd be an idiot to learn in an auto.

[unbid]

There's no exact way to rolling in a car with clutch, but simple method is to turn it to first gear, release the parking brake, release the clutch pedal halfway until the car roll a bit, and hit the gas.

 

Other than that, it requires practice to master the smooth first gear change, especially when you doing itt in a slope.

Edited May 27, 2015 by unbid

[Cudwieser]

The trick is finding the biting point. You feel it when easing up on the clutch (clutches will vary and will be the heaviest pedal, so practice is key) with the parking brake on. The front of the car will rise. Once it does ease of the brake and the car will creep. start giving a little gas and it will accelerate. Keep accelerating smoothly while easing of the clutch. Changing up the gear is pretty routing, just being easy on the clutch and balancing the power, but down changing can be trickier, but quick enough to master (you'll not stall going into lower gears, but you can stall if you are too slow in a higher gear).

 

Once you learn the biting point and practice it using the parking brake, take time on an open and level area to find the bite with the parking brake off. This will help with negotiating traffic. In terms of hill starts I'd recommend always using the parking brake unless you are extremely confident and proficient holding a car on the clutch (even then it is still wiser to use the parking brake if you have to wait more than 10 seconds on an uphill junction).