I’m the worst driver ever

[jellymum1704]

I passed my driving test early this year , I mainly learnt driving so I could be independent and do nursery runs etc. I don’t drive much on weekdays due to work but try to do weekends to get practice. I’m also 27 weeks pregnant now. We have a fairly narrow curved driveway which is a nightmare for me at least. Today I managed to badly dent/scrape the car against the brick wall. It looks horrible and dented low. Couple of mums on the road exclaimed loudly and that made it worse. I simply panicked and was shaking when I parked finally and have been in tears. I feel completely unfit to drive ever again. I’ve always been a bit anxious about driving but pushed myself nevertheless. I feel I have taken several steps backwards. Not to mention the cost of repairs. I’m feeling so guilty, DH wasn’t mad at me but genuinely can’t understand why I struggle with this driveway. We have a quote to get part of the wall broken down so hopefully that will help somewhat. Thank you for reading, I’ll be grateful for any similar stories so I can feel less horrible.

oh, you're not the worst driver ever! I'm a contender too!! Don't worry about repairs-thats what you pay insurance for! I bounced the car off a bollard yesterday-luckily no damage, but I'm crap at driving!
I passed my test in June, only been driving for a month tho, cos I'm so nervous!
I drove to work today and am sitting here getting anxious as I walways balls up the junction coming out of my work. Always. In fact I came on here to post asking if anyone has any tips for nervous drivers!!
I have to go into town to pick up my prescription in an hour and I'm proper sweating already at the thought of it! I keep stalling our big diesel car and I have to park in a small car park. I feel sick already.
So you're not alone!! MY DH keeps saying to me to keep trying and its ok to make mistakes.
Do you have P plates on? I do, I find folk are far more patient when I have mine up!

I think most new drivers have an accident of this sort. I know I did —more than once—

It’s shit when it happens but given some time, you won’t care. Just chalk it up to experience and one of those things and don’t let it dent (no pun intended) your confidence. You’ll get better with more experience.

In fact, I'm doing calming breathing excercises already and have been on google maps to look at the car park I'm aiming for!
Deep breaths, deep breaths!

The problem is you're not driving often enough to get your confidence up. Ideally you should be doing a bit every day.

Im still not a confident parker. I put it into first and switch the beeper sensors on. Saved me many a scrape those beepers, forward or reverse.

I know exactly where you're coming from. I passed my test about 18months ago. Also don't drive often as I live close to supermarket, 1 min walk from school and work.

About 7 months after passing my test I moved house. It's on street residents parking. I had a boot full of Aldi goodies and there was only 1 spot left to park which was pretty tight. I was confident with parallel parking and didn't want to park a street away and be back and forth with all my bags so went for it....

Well I scraped a neighbours rear wheel arch, had a brain fart and instead of moving off of it to correct myself, I crunched into her car even more. Her car looked awful, dents and proper deep scratches, mine barely had a scratch. I'd only lived there a week!

I felt sick. I was shaking like mad even though I knew it wasn't the end of the world and neighbour has heard the crunch and came outside. She was lovely and made me a cuppa.

Took me a while to stop being afraid to attempt tight spots but I made myself at least try before giving up and moving to a different space and now I'm pretty much back to being reasonably confident.

I know it's hard but try not to let it take over your thoughts

I scraped our car on the wall coming out of the drive a couple of weeks ago - absolutely no excuses, I have done it a million and one times and it is not tricky, I was just in a rush, assumed I was parked in exactly the same spot as normal and didn't check properly and managed to scrape a nice amount of the door. Stupid mistake, will cost to get it fixed but everyone makes mistakes. Get the wall knocked down and try not to worry too much.

I reversed into a bollard about 2 weeks after my test... in my defence it was kind of hidden by a bush, and I meant to just nudge the bush a little bit...
never told my parents and they never noticed the little scratch!

You’re not a terrible driver, these things happen.

Pregnancy can also send your sense of spatial awareness completely off course, I was a very confident driver pre-pregnancy however I can’t park my car to save my life since being pregnant and managed to scrape into another car at Tesco, I had to replace their whole rear bumper .

It doesn't mean you are a crap driver at all. I had been driving for about 20 incident free years when I suddenly did something similar against a low barrier in a car park.

Nobody can ever say that it will never happen to them. It was an accident. I'm sure you are as good as most and better than some.

I’m a rubbish driver. I have been driving since I was 17, now 41. Never had an accident touch wood but - I can’t park. I’m always scraping my wheels on the kerb. I once drove into my bosses car (parked). I drive really slowly as well, even though I drive a Golf R which is properly speedy (DH chose it).

You really aren't. I've been driving 20 years, and I've lost count of the number of dents and scuffs I've put on various cars. Can you avoid parking in the drive until you are more confident? It will get easier!

Ah you sound like me - a mistake and I was berating myself for months. Whereas my dh, who’s been driving since 18, shrugs off the fact he knocked down our driveway wall.

Practically - you need to find a way to park in the drive. There’s no shame in a) taking it really slowly regardless if you feel paranoid. Parking is an art and needs concentration at first. B) using your mirrors - and by that I mean flipping down the wing mirrors so you get a better view if necessary c) wind down your drivers window so you can look out and see where your car is going. Reversing is actually easier in terms of parking but can be daunting.

I make parking mistakes if I feel under pressure or feel I need to park “fast like a good parker would do”

You made a mistake. Just get back in the car and try reversing in a few times using the tips and you will nail it.

I think almost all new drivers have at least one scrape I know I did. I got into my car, turned the key, the car leapt forward (I had left it in gear), panicked, hit the accelerator instead of the brake and hit the rear end of the car in front, the car of the really hot man I had been trying to impress. In the remaining 36 years of my driving career I have never caused another accident (but I have been rear ended while in traffic on two occasions).

I work in insurance taking notification of new claims. Believe me, you are certainly not the worst driver. I take about 5 claims a day where people have scraped against their own property, its the most common type of claim I'd say. Although considering ur a new driver I wouldn't go through the insurance if you can avoid it..

My friend did something similar the other week but she caused £1000’s of damage! She’s been driving 25 years!! These things happen. Don’t let it put you off.

Some people just get it with low speed manoevering, and it's hard for them to see another point of view.
As a long time biker, I got very used to being able to judge instantly if a gap if big enough or not; and can often get into space with millimetres to spare.
However - I get it wrong from time to time. I used to have a shred driveway to reverse down. Clipped mirrors a few times and even neighbours low wall once.
It's always the worst feeling when it happens because you know it was a) avoidable, and b) entirely down to you. But look at it from the other angle - all that time behind the wheel that didn't cause an accident. Far outweighs the time spent denting things.

When you get back in the car, remember to tell yourself the car is there to obey you. Believe in yourself and work to your schedule (however long it takes to get down that drive). You'll be fine

You're not alone, I think passed my test years ago but never drove until last year due to crippling anxiety about it. I've now been driving a year and what people say is true - you have to force yourself to do it every day to build confidence. I know that if I go a week between drives, which is pretty easy for me to do for various reasons, then my anxiety about it increases massively. When it's a daily thing I feel much better.

I'm not great at parking though, my own drive is angled and uphill and I can only park properly if I approach from one side. So I end up driving the long way round my estate to make it easier. It only adds about 30 seconds to my journey but I do feel a bit daft.

When I passed my test I would just do lots of driving to get my confidence and experience such as shops various places which helped I soon felt really confident driver.
Mind you I'm rubbish at parallel parking but I never do Parallel parking if I practised more I would probably be ok . I had a minor bump in work carpark my first at my fault in 11 years so annoyed with myself so I have to pay for damage or go through insurance which I don't want to do . The problem with new or nervous drivers you over think every thing and are too cautious but experienced drivers sometimes lack concentration which causes accidents. In my case no excuse I except responsibility and glad no one hurt I'll be more careful in future.