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New driver I need all the advice possible!

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#1 ·
So I finally got a car yesterday. Its like a whole new world. My anxiety is still there though. The most I've ever driven by myself was to my mailbox for like 6 mins. I'm anxious about getting gas for the first time, using wipers when it rains, checking my tires????, lifting the hood???, etc. I'm just brand new and anxious. Any advice and success stories is welcomed. I will try driving for 30 mins in the neighborhood today but I'm so not ready to be driving to work alone today. Anybody similar?
 
#2 ·
Just practice all those things without driving. Turn on the wipers , headlight, adjust your mirrors. Drive around your block a few times to get used to it. Practice speeding up and slowing down fast. Then just start driving further away from your home and coming back.
Here is link to adjust your mirrors correctly.

 
#3 ·
Around 2008-2009 and newer all cars were required to have tire pressure sensors, so you'll get a dash light if they're low. If it's older just go to Walmart and buy a tire gauge for about $1 and keep it in your car. Bad gas mileage is a sign of low tire pressure, so I reset my trip meter every time I fill up the tank. Then if I notice I'm not getting the miles out of a full tank that's the first thing I check. If one of the front tires is low it'll pull a little to that side too. I don't know if you have Casey's General Stores there, but they have free air at all locations as far as I know.
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#8 ·
Its a 2008 honda accord has 166k miles.

do something slightly anxiety inducing every day, but not *super* anxiety inducing. Figure out what you could do tomorrow slightly more than you did today, if its 6 minutes, make it 7. Don't do more than one new thing a day (so you will need to get gas, do that quite soon,but don't take on anything more other than that for the day). Keep it minimal but consistently improve daily. Think of it like training in the gym, slightly more daily and you will be comfortable in no time.

Or, in other terms (and this applies to SA, or anything), go out of comfort zone, but never so much you fail. Never fail.
Thanks. Yeah tomorrow I plan on going to walmart, getting gas, and going to church.

The only thing I ever lift my hood for is checking the oil or giving or receiving a jump (which you shouldn't have to worry about if your battery is in good shape.) Beyond that, I let the pros deal with it.
Haha thanks!
 
#4 ·
do something slightly anxiety inducing every day, but not *super* anxiety inducing. Figure out what you could do tomorrow slightly more than you did today, if its 6 minutes, make it 7. Don't do more than one new thing a day (so you will need to get gas, do that quite soon,but don't take on anything more other than that for the day). Keep it minimal but consistently improve daily. Think of it like training in the gym, slightly more daily and you will be comfortable in no time.

Or, in other terms (and this applies to SA, or anything), go out of comfort zone, but never so much you fail. Never fail.
 
#5 ·
Anxiety made me drive better, use your weakness & make it a strength.
 
#6 ·
Get to know all your buttons while sitting parked. Headlights, high beams, wipers, emergency lights, radio, how to adjust the heat and air, all that jazz. Take as much time as you need until you're comfortable. Practice in a quiet area when traffic is low, like evenings when everyone's already made it home for the day, or early mornings.

Getting gas is pretty self explanatory. Most pumps have a screen that will walk you through every step. Most newer cars have a button that's inside the car which will open your gas cover. Figure out where that is ahead of time. Swipe your card or pay the cashier, select your fuel grade, remove gas cap, and pump away.

The only thing I ever lift my hood for is checking the oil or giving or receiving a jump (which you shouldn't have to worry about if your battery is in good shape.) Beyond that, I let the pros deal with it.

Get your oil changed per the recommendation in your manual. The recommendation used to be every three thousand miles, but it's my understanding that newer cars using synthetic oils can go quite a bit longer between changes. Make sure you keep an eye on that.

You can do this. :smile2:
 
#14 ·
I've never bothered checking tire pressure unless it visually looks flat. Not great practice, admittedly, but once it starts losing air you're just going to need a new tire no matter what you do.

Getting gas is pretty self explanatory.
Well, it took me a decade of driving to discover that there's a magic latch that allows people to fuel without panting in exhaustion and giving up before it's full because of the constant hand muscle exertion.
 
#11 ·
My dad gave me this piece of advice: if you're approaching a difficult junction/roundabout and you're panicking that you don't how to handle it, just let someone go in front of you and follow that car.

I feel you! I stopped working on my licence during the lockdown and will have to return to it soon. Just the thought fills me with anxiety. It's not even the driving as much as some moron instructor yelling at me (I had one I had to fight all the time). When my parents were ill, they got me to drive to the shop without a licence and I had the most hilariously terrifying experience - getting stuck by an busy road, jammed by cars on both sides, having to do all these maneuvers...also parked like an idiot and hit the pavement once -_-
 
#16 ·
Normal

What you're experiencing is something everyone has likely gone through as a first-time driver. I put off getting a license until I absolutely had to 'cause of school/work.

I'm still not an expert and myself having gotten into an accident just last year, some would argue I'm not allowed to give advice but I'll give what I have.

My two cents is to get as much practice in until it starts to stick. If you have to sit in your car and practice changing between park/drive and turning on the low beams/wipers, then that still counts.

Unfortunately, this is one of those things where you'll be getting the most useful experience from actually being out there in the open. If your car is relatively modern, it should have sensors onboard to tell you about things when they go bad (e.g. tire pressure). While there's always the chance the sensors aren't entirely accurate, if your car is new or your state requires you to get your car inspected, I think you could be reasonably be assured they're working right for most things. Of course, you can always buy a tire pressure gauge and do it yourself (I have to do this a lot more in the winter here where I live).

I don't know if they have something similar to AAA where you live but if you don't, you might want to invest in a spare tire and add that in somewhere if your car is able to host it somewhere.

I don't have the know-how for how to take advantage for everything that may come with a car, but aside from what I've mentioned, I think all that's left is the usual common sense stuff that I think everyone here would follow anyway...

Congrats on your new ride! :grin2:
 
#17 ·
^^ Thanks

So I got gas and went to walmart but on the way home the oil light lamp flashed briefly! I will drive it to church soon but I hope that light doesn't come back on. I don't want to spend money on this car so soon!
 
#19 ·
The worst part of driving is dealing with other drivers of course. Nothing you can really do about it, but always keep your eyes on the road and be ready to react if somebody does something stupid, because people are idiots. I can't think of anything else really that I get anxious about anymore. You don't have to deal with snowy/icy roads at least.
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
Drove to get my haircut today. I'm not sure how close you're suppose to park to the curb/wheel stop thing in parking spaces. Can you go too far or will it stop you? Will it damage your tires if you park too close on it?



Thanks :)

[Staff Edit]
 
#21 ·
I do not like driving a car, but it is something I have to do to go to my job, and other places I need to go.

The highways are very dangerous, and you have to keep you eyes on the road, and your rear view mirrors at all times.

One thing I have learned, from several near collisions, is that when changing lanes, even if you do not see any cars in the right or left rear view mirrors, to your left or right, there could still be a car beside you in the lane you are planning to turn into, so always look to your left or right through the glass on the car doors, to be certain there is no car in the lane you are turning into.
 
#23 ·
Thanks I don't have to drive on a highway thankfully but a ramp that is similar and merging is the hardest part especially when the traffic is bad. Its like do you stop and wait or just let others know you're coming in because the road is ending in front.
 
#24 ·
My mom is freaking out because the oil lamp light was flashing but the guys at the shop said the oil is fine I'll check it myself tomorrow though. She says the car might blow up. I knew this car wasn't perfect I just need something that'll last a couple of months before I throw any money on it to make some profit on it. Worst case scenario it dies on me but it only cost me $606. It seems fine to me though.
 
#29 ·
My mom is freaking out because the oil lamp light was flashing but the guys at the shop said the oil is fine I'll check it myself tomorrow though. She says the car might blow up. I knew this car wasn't perfect I just need something that'll last a couple of months before I throw any money on it to make some profit on it. Worst case scenario it dies on me but it only cost me $606. It seems fine to me though.
No offence obviously Kevin - but how was this very specific number decided on? :)
 
#26 ·
I'll attempt to drive to work today for the first time alone. Hope the car manages.
 
#30 ·
Kevin, I hope your drive to and from work was safe.

I dislike making left turns so much that I will drive a mile or more out of the way, to find an intersection with a light with a green arrow for making left turns. It is terrifying to me to make a left turn with no traffic light.

The description you give of merging from a ramp from one highway into another,is extremely bad at two intersections near my shack, and while I avoid one of those as much as I can, there is another one where I have to go on a ramp and make a left turn right at the river span of a high rise bridge.

Often I will take a less crowded highway over the river, and chance having to stop at the drawbridge, which sometimes delays me by 15 mins, but does not have the terror of turning left into a busy crowded highway right at the span over the river of the high rise bridge.

That other intersection, where I have seen quite a few wrecks, and have had some near misses with other cars, is one that I sometimes cannot avoid.

When you are driving, keep your eyes on the road and wide open all the time, as Sammy Johns was told in the song "Chevy Van," and Johnny Cash sang that he did in "I Walk the Line."
 
#32 ·
Congratulations on the WHEELZ! :boogie :boogie :boogie (I haven't given those out in a LOOONG TIME!) :lol

Don't worry about doing things with your car. Everybody has to go through it at one time or another. I was in between two accidents one morning on my way to work (40 minute commute one way). I wasn't hit, but shrapnel from one of the accidents nailed by radiator.....I leaked worse than a baby's faulty diaper! I had to be towed. No choice. They fixed it......but they forgot about the hose! A week later, I was trying to get home from work and saw the water temperature rise to red. I leaked out. I had to wait on the side of an interstate for an hour...and all but one towing company had run out of people due to the eight hour work limitation! I was told that it would be 8pm by one, and 10am the next morning by another one!

I got a tow truck to take my car FIFTY miles to the dealer where I had my car fixed. $250!

If I can get through all of that, you can get through anything. Don't worry about what other people think.
 
#33 ·
^^ Thanks now its suppose to be storming today so not sure I want my first time driving to work to be in a storm!
 
#34 ·
Getting oil change today and thats it, I'm not putting anymore money in this car anytime soon. I have to break even, even if that means I only get a few months out of the car.
 
#35 ·
Drove to work and back guys! I'm already dreading it again tomorrow but at least I know I can plus saved $26 by not using lyft/uber.
 
#39 ·
After skimming through the updated version of the Texas Drivers Handbook since not all states are the same I think its been 20 years since I last read one. I still have my revised handbook from 2000. The driving behavior of motorists in todays city is atrocious too much wreckless driving over the years as it worsened with the growing population. Ive always been a careful, cautious, and precise driver and now Im rewarded with 100 dollar discount for persistency with the current insurance. As harrison has mentioned its going to take practice time and patience. Youll get the hang of it. Take it easy. :)
 
#42 ·
I got my license almost 9 yrs ago. I don't go many places at all like 15 miles a day maybe :stu. The big thing is the money I'm saving by not having to use Uber/Lyft

I've been driving for ages Kevin and I still have to watch this. I drive a lot on freeways (or used to before the pandemic) and it's very easy to miss someone in the lane beside you if you're not careful. Especially if everyone's going pretty fast. Check your mirrors and have a good look.
Thanks I just stay in the left lane until close to my exit and then go in the right. I don't like switching over too late though.
 
#43 ·
Driving this weekend will be a test with the Labor day traffic/crowd.
 
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