How long did it take you to drive big distances after you passed your test?

[Evenodd]

I've just passed my test, hooray! As in, just a couple of days ago, so it's still very new. It just so happens that in the next week I have 2 things on which would be considerably quicker to get to now that I have the ability to drive there. But they're both quite far - not hugely so but around 30-40 miles each way and involving motorway driving, one at night. I'm torn between just giving it a go or thinking it's a bit too soon. My instructor was very adamant that P plates make things worse rather than better and advises all his students against it but now I'm not so sure.

How long did it take you to do bigger journeys once you'd passed and did you build up your confidence slowly? It probably is too soon considering I've never driven on a motorway but it feels a bit sad to take double the time to get there when I could be driving!

I passed in October and haven't done very long journeys yet. The need hasn't arisen. I also haven't driven on the motorway but I'm keen to try it. At the moment the worst I've done is town centre at rush hour. Our particular town is very difficult to drive in but it's where I did my test so I don't mind it too much.

Still a bit confused. I'm trying to look at the route and memorise the lanes I need to be in

I really cannot remember, but I did get DH to give me motorway instruction a couple of times before I attempted it alone.

He did the same for DD when she passed and he was shocked how clueless she was (she was planning to drive from Hull to Liverpool on M62 a week after passing). Same with DS, who was also clueless on the motorway (stopping distances, indicating in plenty of time, pulling back into lanes in gaps, judging speed of others etc).

It might be worth your while paying for one or two motorway lessons with your old instructor if you don't have anyone else who could do it?

Oh sorry... just seen you don't have time to squeeze a lesson in.

I built up to long journeys and the first time I went on a motorway it was an accident (I followed the SAT nav). I was surprised at how easy it was and I didn't look back.

My advice is to sit yourself in the left Lane behind a truck (leave a good distance). They go around 60mph or less and it is easy to follow them and do what they do. You are also not in anyone's way in the left lane. If you are going to change lanes, signal really early and people will move out of your way. Never forget to do a shoulder check before moving across.

I used P plates for a while and people were generally really nice about it. They gave me more space. I had no problems and felt like it offered those around me the chance to avoid me...

Remember that even if you miss a junction or a turning, it isn't the end of the world. You won't get lost, you just take the next one and the SAT nav will recalculate your journey.

At night be well prepared with a very clean windscreen (the glare can make dirt show up more) and avoid looking directly into the cars coming towards you. Look to the left and stay close to that line.

Take your time and pull into a services if you need a break or to calm down.

Just go for it. I had a motorway lesson the week after I passed my test and all my lessons were 90 mins so your journeys would have been fine. I much prefer driving myself, I drive along reminding myself that I'm coming up to a zebra crossing, dual carriage etc.

I passed 10 years ago and did my first long drive (3 hours) this Xmas.

However...... I passed aged 18 and then moved to London so didn't need a car. Then I emigrated and had to learn in another country on the other side of the road, and DH doe most of the driving anyway. Plus we generally fly here if we need to travel a long way. So I hadn't actually driven in the UK in years, let alone done long distances, and was really nervous about whether I'd even remember UK driving.

It turned out it was absolutely fine- I actually really liked motorway driving as it's so simple. You will be totally okay too. Look at your route beforehand, notice a few handy stopping points like petrol stations or service stations in case you need a break.

Passed years ago, and still don’t dolong journeys

I had a friend who went to LA on her honeymoon with non driving wife. They hired a car and drove to San Francisco and back! She had passed her test the week before the wedding. I was so in awe of her and her chutzpah.

Changing lanes on a motorway is no different to changing lanes on a dual carriageway, which you must have done in your lessons. If there's a gap indicate and move over. If it's busy and you need to move over for a junction indicate and carry on in your lane until a gap emerges (people should let a gap open up for you),

Took to it like a duck to water and clocked up hundreds of miles in the first fortnight

Ive been driving for 24 yrs and ive never driven on a motorway. Don’t like them, andcwhen we go away DH is the driver as he likes driving.

I do dual carriageway fine and i like to drive when I know where I’m going!

You will be fine, it's no different to a duel carriageway really.

Skip the P plates, they will make some idiots less tolerant not more.

Once I got my car I've driven where I wanted. But I think it was a good few months before I did a decent motorway run. I could have done with having a motorway lesson, but I never did, so I made some dodgy lane changes the first time (got beeped at for them), oops.

For the night driving, which motorway is it? I will admit I don't much like unlit mororways, eg M40, at night. Lit ones are much easier.

I drove 100 miles or so, literally just the next day, on my own on the motorway. I then drove to France two weeks later, my DH always ensures it is baptism by fire. He also made me park in a multi storey car park with loads of pillars and the world's tiniest parking spaces in the first week.

Couple of days. I bought the car near where my parents live, and had to drive it 70 miles home. It was nerve-wracking, but I didn't give myself the chance to get worked up about the idea of motorways and got on with it.

Living in the US, my children started learning to drive at 15 and were expected to drive on the freeway on their first or second lesson.

They've both driven 250 mile plus journeys (and one hasn't actually passed her test yet).

You'll be fine OP

The next day I drove 50 miles there and back on the motorway.

I had to pick up my first car two weeks after passing my test, it involved a major motorway and city bypasses. I was terrified. A month later I did a round trip on the at motorway again to get to the next city about an hour away. Petrified again due to horrid weather conditions, it becomes a breeze after while.

I didn't have a car for two months after passing my test and my parents wouldn't let me drive theirs. But first thing I did once I had a car was drive to the nearest motorway junction (23 miles away), do two junctions, then came off, turned around, and came back the same way. A few weeks later I went and did the same journey at night.

Two months later I drove to Fishguard and caught the ferry to Rosslare and then drove all the way across Ireland.

I've looked it up and there's a non-motorway route there, but it involves a lot more big roundabouts and twists and turns. I'm not sure which is worse really, the straightforward motorway or the other option!

The motorway is nearly always no worse than a busy dual carriageway. Do you have a satnav? I think it makes driving a lot easier for going to new places.