New Driver

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
New Driver
11
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 11:20am

O.M.G. How do you do it?

C got her learner's permit a couple weeks ago and had her first behind-the-wheel instruction yesterday so now, she can "officially" drive.

She had two hours with a professional driving instructor and got home just in time to go pick up DS from school, so I let her drive us. Yikes! Bad idea on my part ... heavily trafficked two-lane road, students walking home on the narrow shoulder on either side, cars jockying to get in and out of the drop off lane, school buses stopping for drop-offs ... not the greatest scenario for a new driver and I thought I was going to push my foot right through the floor! I actually made her pull into a parking place and let me drive home! She was soooo not happy with me. Couldn't help it, though.

I know she needs to drive to be able to learn to drive, but .... ???

 

 

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2000
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 11:24am
She'll get it, don't worry.
Pam
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-28-2004
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 11:35am

I'm on new driver #2 - this time it's my son! He is surprisingly a little better than his sister was initially, other than the "purely suggestional" stop signs :)

We did the housing development streets for a few days, then moved to some non-crowded country roads. He is still a bit leery of going through town - so am I since he tends to drift toward the passenger side because he doesn't want to be too close to the center line. I keep wanting to grab the wheel as I see the mailboxes whizzing by my head.

My dd has had her license for almost a year now, I'm not too worried about her driving much anymore.

You have my prayers! Good luck!

Mom to Emily (18), Conor (17) and Hannah (12)
Wife to David - 8/20/88

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 11:38am

Stock up on Tylenol for the headaches and the sore leg!

I started mine in parking lots and then moved to subdivision and country roads-dont know what the equivalent is in CA ;)

It takes so much practice. Right now she is focused on the mechanics, I remember lining up the hood ornament on my moms Pontiac with the edge of the road to be sure I was in the right place on the road. Tells you how much attention I was paying to everything else!

It gets better-but not much!

I'll be starting with #3 soon-wonder if it will be any easier? Nahhh

Avatar for kel7col4
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 12:07pm

Couldn't imagine attempting to teach a new driver to drive in Southern California lol... DD goes for her permit next month and I am so dreading it. The rule in our house has always been dh will be teaching dd to drive - he's so much easier going and I nit-pick. He won't be here of course and the current joke is dd and I will be killing each other before we get out of the driveway. UGhhh...

She's such a ditz - I can see her driving down the road and getting distracted by a butterfly.... Right now I have her practicing with a shopping cart ;p Seriously lol - she would drive me nuts when we go grocery shopping and she's pushing the cart. I would be walking in front of her and EVERYTIME I would stop, I would get hit :( because she would be in lala land. I've never gotten her to understand the similarities lol




iVillage Member
Registered: 12-24-2006
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 12:23pm

I can relate....

About 3 weeks ago a neighbor saw my son driving erratically on the highway, jumped in his pickup and followed him home (a couple of mile). He told me that DS-18 had almost flipped my car and it scared the living daylights out of him. I was thankful that he let me know how DS was driving when I wasn't with him.

DS told me he was fiddling with the radio. We've had arguments about that in the past when I let him drive me. It's like he's obsessed with the dang thing. The car we're working on now for him doesn't have a radio, hehe. And I don't plan on buying him one!

Good luck. I know it's scary. I've also made DS pull over and let me drive.

zz

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-1999
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 12:32pm
All I can add is let her practice as much as possible when she has her permit before she is able to go out alone and then you really have to worry. lol My DD would drive home from school all the time after track w/ her friends in the car (and me) and they would make fun of her, which didn't help. I remember that one friend lives at the end of a dead end street, so you have to pull into the driveway to turn around. When DD did that, she couldn't figure out which way to turn the wheel to back out! Luckily this was on a road w/ no cars. She also used to drive way too close to the parked cars on the right because she was afraid of going over the center line. She's 18 now and I'm still not sure if she could parallel park. It's part of the driving test, but they do it in back of one car, but not in between 2 cars. They were probably damaging unsuspecting people's cars if they were doing that.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-1999
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 1:44pm

I can so relate!! This morning DD and I got in a huge fight because rather than shutting up and listening to me when I tell her she needs to do something differently, she says "I know mom" with that tone of voice - I'm sure you all know what I mean.

Avatar for coldfingers
Community Leader
Registered: 04-30-2000
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 2:58pm
Your story about your dd sounds sooooo familiar.
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Avatar for heartsandroses2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 3:09pm

HAHAHAHAHA - omg, I can soooo sympathize with you!! DD17 JUST got her license less than 2 weeks ago. When she was first driving with her permit, I thought I was going to kick a hole right through the passenger side floor! I kept hitting my imaginary brake!! There were times when I also told her to pull over so I could drive. She was not happy with me when I did that and said she'd never drive with me again...unfortunately for her, I was the sole instructor as H was rarely around during the hours when we needed him to be.

Incidentally, she had her accident 6 days after acquiring her license and totaled her car!! She's a good driver but I think she was over confident and still getting used to driving a manual stick shift car. Ugh - she's now in the market for an automatic.

My only tip is to take deep breaths, take her out to practice during periods of the day with low traffic volume and start on back roads. Once she masters the low traffic and back roads, start hitting some main roads, etc. But definitely, go on a nearly empty stomach, turn off the radio, and take deep breaths!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
In reply to: hydrangea_blue
Fri, 06-01-2007 - 3:38pm

Oh I feel for you! My daughter just got her license a couple of months ago so I'm little bit ahead of you in this department and it is definitely nerve-racking :-). But you will get through it, I promise. If you are interested in any ideas to help you through it, especially in the beginning weeks, one of the things that really helped us was driving in the only in parking lots on days when school was not in session. She could then drive without worrying about hitting another car or somebody walking. We did this for a while, then we went out on really quiet roads and drove on those for a while. We took it real slow before moving up to busier streets. Also, you may want to check the laws in your state...your dd may only be allowed to drive right now with only a parent (no siblings). Don't want you to get in trouble :-)

It took my dd a while before she remembered which pedal was which...especially in a pinch. I have been told by other parents that this was a problem for their kids too. So, I really didn't want to see my dd suddenly "gun it" one day instead of braking. What a scary thought. Actually, we did have one little mishap in the beginning of her driving which actually had to do with exactly that scenario. We were practicing at the high school and my dd was parking the car and mistakenly pressed on the gas instead of the brake and went right over the curb, onto the grass, and hit the building of the school! I almost had a heart attack right there. Fortunately, she didn't damage anything...tiny little scratch on the bumper (very lucky) but, boy oh boy, it made me realize how quickly something can happen. Thank god we weren't at a red light. Also, we drove together A LOT every chance we could get. Some kids at my dd's driving school only drove when they were at the driving school which adds up to only 8 hrs of driving before taking the test. So good for you for driving with your daughter...she'll be a better driver for it.

You will get through it and will probably even like the fact that one day your dd can run to the store for you and do an errand:-) I do like the fact that my dd can drive herself around town now. The chauffeuring around was really starting to get to me.

Best of luck and let us know how it's going :-)

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