*sighs*

[coffee_lifeform]

I've decided driving is Very Hard. Thought I was doing alright when I got up to third gear, but then I came far too close to crashing on a crossroads, panicked and had to be very firmly talked through what was going on. I knew the panic was going to be a big issue - it's all fine when it's going well, but the second I think it's going wrong I

Comments

[megglesmcgoo]

If it's any consolation I don't drive either and am too scared to even take lessons again.

[call_waiting]

It may sound trite and obvious, but the answer really is practice. The only reason folks' panic is because they're being exposed to *completely* new situations, and because they haven't yet learned to trust the car. Once you get comfortable with most kinds of situation you're likely to encounter, and you learn to trust how the car's going to behave in new situations, the reason for panicking goes away.

Of course, I'm sure the first time you *actually* crash, that's a situation you've never been in before so most people probably *will* panic. But I think panicking in those cases is actually kinda okay...

[damien_wise]

No, it's not easy.
The first few times at trying anything difficult and new, it's natural to suck.
Something that worked for me was time driving around an abandoned car-park. Nothing to bump into and plenty of lines/intersections to practise getting lined-up and a sense of situational awareness. A lot of it's training your senses and muscle-memory.
So, stick with it, and good luck. :)

[cthulahoops]

It is hard.

I'm two days into owning a car and three months into having a license, and those moments of panic haven't gone away yet. There's so much of it that's about making snap decisions and living with the consequences when the decision is wrong. That and learning not to think about what went wrong until you're somewhere safe.

One stupidly obvious trick that it took me too long to figure out is that slowing down slightly creates a surprisingly large amount of extra thinking time.

Keep going. It's not easy, but it's worth it. :)

(How long have you been learning?)

[coffee_lifeform]

Thanks for saying it's not easy. Most people I've been speaking to have said it is, but there's just so much to remember when you're starting off. :(

(This was my second lesson, so officially since Thursday)

[mytholder]

It gets easier. When you're starting off, you've got to consciously think about every action (ok, I'm supposed to change gear. Move foot off one pedal, put it onto the other pedal, push in other pedal, reach down, grab gear lever, pull it that way, let pedal back up smoothly). Later on, it becomes part of your muscle memory, and you just think change gear.

[fluffworld]

It is tough. It takes a while for things to become instinctive, but - much like the day when you suddenly realised that you can touch type without looking at the keys without even thinking about it - with a lot of practice, it gets not just easy, but unconscious.
Like some other people said, going slow is good, car parks are good. You'll get there. But it's something that takes months to learn, as opposed to weeks.