Amen to this ! I wish the teenage driver that totaled my car with me in it hadn’t been so impatient and waited a few second longer to let me finish making my turn instead of trying to cut me off and T boned my car so hard that both my hearing aids flew out of my ears and landed on the back seat in my car and left me with head trauma and a bum right leg ! This happen in 1997 and I still have head trauma and couldn’t work as health aide anymore. The teenage boy’s parents tried to pin the accident onto me but they had to pay me a settlement !
So to the OP pleases give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re and be aware
of the driving condition and always wear your seat belt no matter how 'uncool ’ this may seem to you. If I wasn’t wearing mine I may had been hurt a lot worst or killed.
This is my approach for biking, and it’s kept me out of trouble driving through the crowded streets of Tokyo.
My advice would be: driving aggressively will not get you to your destination faster than driving calmly and rationally. On my bike, stopping at every red, I crossed the entire city in exactly the same time as the hyper-aggressive douche next to me who was revving his BMW 6, peeling out and cutting off every chance he got. Chill the fuck out.
That is the truth. About 5 years ago, I was following a car on Rt. 24 south of Boston about 300 yards back when it suddenly turned straight into the guard rail at 80+ mph. It took me a few seconds to even realize what I was seeing because it looked like tornado. When I realized that the car ahead of me had just been destroyed, I thought that I have to deal with an imminent fatality but it wasn’t quite that bad. The driver was injured and didn’t know his own name or phone number but he was alive.
The air bag probably saved his life but broke his nose and splattered blood everywhere. He went into severe shock with uncontrollable shaking and fading in and out of responsiveness. My job was to close down two lanes, keep him stable and talk him down until the ambulance and police could arrive 15 minutes later. I assume he made it out of the hospital OK but he could have easily died if he was just a little bit less lucky.
All of that could have been prevented if he was alert at all. The only thing he could tell me was that he fell asleep and he didn’t understand what was happening. I tried to put it in the gentlest terms possible - “You were in a very bad car wreck but you lived. You have to go to the hospital to be checked out but you will be OK. Your car is gone.”
Don’t be him.
Learn the correct way to set your side mirrors so you have maximum visibility.
Don’t let “I had the right of way” be your epitaph.
Assume everyone else on the road is either drunk or crazy, or at the very least will do something unexpected.
Don’t be a vigilante.
In Europe, stay to the right and pass on the left. No exceptions.
Which European country? Because Sweden is very different from Italy. Profile says Ireland, which is thankfully much closer to the former.
Don’t react to just the car in front of you; applying the brakes when their lights turn red or they slow. Also pay attention to the cars in front of them, be aware of any slowdown.
Check your rearview constantly. Set your sideview mirrors properly. But every lane change should involve you physically turning your head as well.
Don’t be afraid of the horn, in certain circumstances like someone merging into your space.
The “don’t drive tired” post is good advice. I didn’t drink much as a teenager but probably shouldn’t have driven on such a lack of sleep.
Just don’t assume that this extends to familial relationship advice and listen to "the End.
Blind spot mirrors are an option. Both of my driving jobs involved vehicles that had no “see-through” option to the sides (pickup truck/solid camper shell and side loading beverage truck) and I had no problem with tracking traffic. I actually prefer the spot mirrors for backing into spaces.
I gave my nephew this tip, and he told me it saved him from an accident.
Don’t trust turn signals. Lots of people, especially old people in old cars, have their turn signal going all the time.
If you’re at a stop sign, and another car is coming down the cross street toward you, and you pull out in front of him because he’s signalling that he is turning, he may hit you, and it will be your word against his that his turn signal was on (and he will genuinely believe it wasn’t).
And this is where experience comes in. Is the driver looking straight ahead or to the side he’s signalling? How long has the signal been on?
Is he slowing? At an intersection, are his wheels turned even slightly?
Your word against his is solved by a dashcam.
Seconded. I don’t know what your Country’s Version of AAA offers - in Germany the ADAC has several Training Centers where they can simulate ice, rain, snow and you can slide and learn to control the slide without danger.
Even if your license System is not set up for it, getting a Level-headed, good, adult Driver with 20+years of experience as your passenger for several months is said to help. (Good chemistry necessary, not nagging). Experience helps with passing other cars on Country roads, how to deal with oversteering in curves etc.
If you have an empty place somewhere, practice once its winter.
Depending on whether it’s required for your licence: practise driving at night, on the Highway, on Country lanes and in City traffic. (And parking).
Try to avoid the attitude “I know this” because you have a license. You Need to do several things automatically to steer the car, so you can use your mind to watch out for all other Drivers.
Here 6 Little-Known Driving Tips That Could Save Your Life | Cracked.com is an article that Shows not only how to properly adjust your mirrors, but also e.g. how you can drive much more relaxed by keeping a large distance.
Easier said than done, but still: only drive when you’re awake, in good shape, with enough time. If you are tired (drunk/ on drugs), have a cold or are in a hurry, you will make mistakes.
Practising the driving part - that is, handling the mechanical aspects of the car - till they are automatic is the easiest and first step.
The next step is automating safe behaviour: always turn on your own blinker, always look over your shoulder, always leave enough space etc. Do it consciouscly all the time until it becomes automatic. Try to think of a checklist - like pilots - for each procedure like turning, passing, narrow curves, driving at night/ Country lanes … : each circumstance requires x different things to check, watch out for, Keep in mind. (Like: Country roads in spring and autum = danger of deer running onto the road; Roads with trees in autumn = danger of wet leaves, which are as Slick as ice; bridges in winter = danger of ice spots…)
If you understand German, you could try YouTube for Videos of “Der 7. (Siebte) Sinn”. Short Videos showing situations and how to react that used to be broadcast on public TV.
If you are a passenger or pedestrian, watch other Drivers for mistakes, and what you should do in their situations. Trying to spot Problems in advance, by not looking at the car directly in front of you, but the car 2 spots ahead, can help avoid a pile-up. Watching for parked cars helps avoid the funny movie gag of taking off their car door, when they open without looking. And so on.
Sorry, safe distance is not in this article. Here’s How To Keep A Safe Following Distance When Driving | Drive-Safely.net an article that at least explains the Basics
I think this would be very bad advice for femmejean…
When, after getting your license and while driving, never, under any circumstances, pull out your phone to check for any new postings to your question here.
Eyes on the road.
In Europe = on the continent, in that context, not = EU countries.
Other than the use of ‘petrol’, I saw nothing to indicate residence in the UK.
Your right foot’s default position should be over the brake pedal; not braking, you should never ride the brake pedal, but just leave your foot hovering over it. If you need to stop suddenly, all you have to do is push.
And to reiterate running coach’s excellent advice, JUST DRIVE. You are not a good enough driver to multitask. Not because you are young and inexperienced, rather because NO ONE is a good enough driver to both drive and do anything else at the same time. Just about everyone thinks they are, but the fact is not a single person to ever live has been a good enough driver to multitask. The fact that other people are morons does not excuse your own moronic behavior. JUST. DRIVE.
Oh, and if you know you can’t help yourself with the cell phone, put the damn thing in the trunk. As unbelievable as it sounds, your texts and calls will still be there when you get wherever you’re going.
That’s true - they put adult Drivers with years of experience behind the wheel of Simulators, and even with Hands-free devices, they made more mistakes using the phone than not. Same if the passenger asked them questions.
Psychologists say that generally, a passenger talking with the Driver is less of a distraction than a phone call, because the passenger can see if a Situation gets dangerous and stop talking, and will know why the Driver is not talking for a few minutes. A phone caller can’t see the Situation, but the Driver feels obliged (socially) to Keep the conversation going, so the brain prioritizes the talk over the driving.
But for a beginner, no talking, and no Music, and no other distractions.
Any time you see a rental truck/van/trailer remember that the last time that person probably drove a truck/van/trailer was NEVER!!!
Profile says Dublin, Ireland, (plus other Ireland-centric things in various other threads he has created) Not that I’m saying you should have known, it was just a lighthearted note that as written, the advice would be very dangerous for the OP:D
I’ll tell you what I tell myself whenever it is slippery out:
Do not slam on the brakes when it is slippery. Take your foot off the accelerator and ease on the brakes, as much as your animal brain is screaming STOP NOW!
Do not let other people’s bad acts give you an excuse to act like a jerk. Rise above the road rage.
As mentioned above, assume everyone else might do something nutty or absent-minded at any time. Leave room to recover and don’t worry if this makes other people impatient.