First Time Driving

It was my first time to drive a car today.
Things I learned:

• Having to use the clutch to do almost anything is annoying, and hurts my foot.
• Jaywalking pedestrians are evil.
• Regular drivers, that honk at student drivers, are evil.
• Motorcycles are evil.
• The road itself is evil.

 

Clutching is so easy and satisfying though, you'll get used to it. The rest are arguable at best.

 

I drive an automatic, so I've never had to use a clutch before. I'm pretty sure it'd be annoying at first for me.

On the other hand, when you're driving, everything is evil. People can't drive to save their lives, and pedestrians seem to think that if there isn't a car near, they can walk wherever they want.

A little tip for whoever honks at you, if you're at a red light and in the right lane turning, just wait. They can honk all day and night but if you're in front they aren't going anywhere till that light turns green

 

You'll get used to the clutch

As for the honking, well, being a student driver, you probably did do something, though not intentionally.

 

Glad I never got honked at when I was a student driver. I've only ever been honked at when at a stop light and people were behind me.

 

Probably not taking a free right when you had a safe opening.

 

Free maybe, but it's not exactly safe to turn when you can't see down the road with a car blocking it. If they can see and I can't, that's too bad. It won't kill someone to wait at a red light

 

Cyclists are evil. Get fit and save the environment somewhere else!

 

Relevant:

I almost hit a cyclist a long time ago, who I didn't see until the last second, because:

1. He ran a red light
2. He was riding down the bike lane on the wrong side of the street

There's a building in the corner of that intersection that obstructed him, so there was no way I could see him until I almost hit him and I had a green light for crying out loud.

 

This is my response to every person that goes to the YMCA. They complain about working out and such and when they get their children early they complain more, and I'm always saying to myself "Just work out at home for crying out loud." Hell, I have Insanity and I do it at home.

Cyclists really do need to stay on the sidewalk though. There's no bike lane on most of the roads where I live, so they're just riding at 5 miles an hour through the streets and when everyone is trying to go the same way, it's a pain. GET ON THE DAMN SIDEWALK YOU MORONS!!

 

construction crews taking up lane space trying to build buildings for people to use are evil

 

Drive only on the side walks.

 

They are?

Wrong.

 

Clearly you're not a fan of GTA style living.

 

You've never lived until you've drifted a five speed. I've done it several times this week alone. I'm not a reckless driver, they were all actually defensive driving maneuvers. I was turning left at T, saw a truck coming at me at around 15-20mph, calculated a 3 second response time before I was facing a collision, in the three seconds I had I cut the wheel right and then back left while hitting the gas. I actually saw his license plate through my drivers window. For those interested he was actually going to run the stop sign. If that had been anyone else there would've been an accident.

I will attribute a lot of the situations I find myself in to the fact I'm crazy. I frequently hit 100mph on backroads just to see if I can. I take turns double the posted recommended speed. I pass a lot of people in the worst spots. I had a guy the other day turning left so I went off road to pass him. There was a slight shoulder but my right wheels were eating dirt.

Basically, it's not as bad as you think it is. If I was your instructor you'd have cut your license in half and threw the pieces into a volcano. Drive safe and remember to be alert but calm. Don't freak out when you see a cop, that causes panic and could lead to a mistake. Generally you'll have a decent amount of time to react to something. That's why I argue gamers are better drivers ... at least the ones who don't hit people for fun. The faster your reaction time, the better you'll be.

A tip for clutch is to rest your foot when not in use. If your leg gets tired, don't be afraid to pull off at a gas station or a parking lot and walk around the car. Get the blood pumping back to your legs. Driving can be extremely tiresome, especially putting up with all the people who don't know how to drive. I've always argued that honking your horn, in most situations, does more harm than good. The only reason you should use your horn is to signal to another driver that danger is imminent or if you're saying hello.

I'm one of the best drivers I know. I'm extremely dangerous but I'm still the best. Protip, don't look away from the road for more than 1 second at a time. That's only in cases where you have to. I typically look away for 3-4, sometimes longer, seconds when I'm driving and I end up in the oncoming traffic lane. I'm one of those people you learn from by watching their mistakes.

Seriously though, you'll get the hang of it. In a few years it'll be like second nature.

-Nights

 

You're going to get yourself killed with stupid stunts like that. :x

 

Is it weird that I suddenly want you to teach me?

As for all the problems with honking. I wasn't doing anything wrong. They were probably just mad cause I was going pretty slow for someone on 2nd gear, but my instructor, who was in the car with me told me to stay on that speed. What bothers me a lot about driving, is the number of times I have to swerve left and right avoiding parked cars, and people who are walking on the road. Also motorcycles, I don't know much about motorcycles in other places, but here they squeeze through every single space they see.

 

Well I can't score points if I don't do tricks. In all seriousness I've understood the severity of my driving habits for a while now. Behind the wheel I'm just not afraid of anything. Put me on a roller coaster though and I'll cry like a baby. If I'm the one in control I have enough trust in myself and my capabilities to handle the situation. It's not enough to be good at something, you have to know you're good at it. I forgot to mention I practice singing during the entirety of my drives. These close calls really help you hit the high notes xD

Weird, no. Crazy, yes. In all honesty I wouldn't teach anyone to drive the way I do. I'd teach them to drive, following the three c's (cool, calm, collected). Whatever they do or decide to try after that would be on them. I put the safety of others above my own which is why I'm great at dodging. I'll take the offroad challenge before I hit anyone.

People are always mad about something. If it wasn't your speed it would've been something else. It's funny how you can always be in a hurry to get somewhere. I'm always in a hurry to get nowhere except where the road takes me. If your instructor told you to maintain speed then that's what you've got to do. I'll give you a word of advice and this is my own personal motto, though I alter it at times, "The worst they can do is hit you." So long as you're sure to wear your seatbelt the damage would be minimal. It'd be their fault so you wouldn't be in any trouble. Don't try to make them hit you but if you're maintaining the set speed limit then you're in the right.

You'd be surprised how easy it becomes to do menial tasks such as swerving. When I drive it feels like a current. The road is the river, my car is the raft. Just go with the flow and avoid all the hazards. It's one of the few moments of peace I have to myself. Never forget that people walking on the road have the right of way. That doesn't mean they are allowed to walk in the middle of the road, they'd be arrested pretty quickly. As far as parked cars, or pedestrians for that matter, you just have to gauge your car's width to see how much room you have to move. The smaller your car the more room you have to avoid hazards. Before you get in your vehicle walk to the front and get an image of how wide your car is. Remember your placement in the car and gauge yourself appropriately. I test this all the time. I've cleared a gap barely big enough for my car several times. Driving is part skill and part math. Physics and numbers, that's all driving is. If you're driving sixty miles an hour, your a quarter mile from the railroad crossing, a train is coming at an equal perpendicular length at an equal speed. How fast would you have to speed up to pass before the train reaches? You wouldn't. In a quarter mile, you can't speed up enough to make a difference, at least not in a typical vehicle. More than likely there would still be a collision. Now given an extra quarter mile on the trains part, you would have enough time to clear the tracks. That's still not recommended as it's dangerous and given the condition of the crossing you could still be looking at an accident. The point is it's all calculations and reactions to those calculations.

Again, with motorcycles, the worst they can do is hit you. They'll be more injured than you, providing you wear a seat belt. If they hit you then they are the ones in the wrong, given you didn't give them any other option than to hit you (for example pulling out in front of one which is traveling at a high rate of speed). The only thing you have to be careful of is hitting them. Keep a good distance if you have a two-wheeler in front of you. A car length and a half is a good distance in the city. You want enough time to react if they stop suddenly. Trust me, if you hit a two-wheeler who's just stopped on a dime ... it doesn't matter how fast you're going, they're getting air time.

Just remember to keep your eyes open, use your full sight, use your senses, and stay calm. Driving involves 25% watching what you do, 75% watching what everyone else is doing. If the only motto you ever have to use is "The worst they can do is hit me" then you're doing alright. I've used a lot worse.

Be alert. Be Calm. Be safe.

-Nights

 

It only takes one time, dude, for something to happen that you just don't have enough time to avoid having a collision or whatever. That's how my aunt's Suburban got totaled. She did everything she could, got stopped just like that, and still got hit because the other idiot who was coming down a side street with yield signs of both ends was going 50 or 60 (speed limit 50) and did nothing to avoid hitting her, her student, and my mom--no one got hurt, fortunately. He was trying to beat them.