Car accident 3 months after passing test … my fault 😞

[Hughsey09]

Hi all,

At nearly 40 I passed my driving test 3 months ago after putting it off for many years due to bad accident as a passenger at 16. I didn’t want to learn but I have two young children one of whom is a wheelchair user and a hubby that works full time so I decided it was time.

I’ve been driving round here and there and have felt ok as long as I felt comfortable where I was going to and from.

This morning I decided I needed to start pushing myself out of my comfort zone and attempted a really busy round about, the lane I was on merged into the left lane and even though I checked my mirrors I ended up merging into the side of a huge HGV 😭. Completely my fault, feel the absolute apitomy of stupid and not to mention scared.
This happened 2 hours ago and I’m still shook up. I pulled over and the driver shouted at me and asked “what the f do you think you’re playing at”, I totally get he’d be mad and wondering what the hell I was doing but it was genuinely a bad judgment and lack of experience. I didn’t know what to do so I just locked myself in my car in floods of tears and rang my husband, luckily the traffic police drove past and helped me. My husband arrived and gave me a huge hug and couldn’t of been more supportive.
No damage to the HGV, the side of my car is scraped in a few places with only a small dent.

I am absolutely horrified I’ve done this, I feel so stupid and that I probably shouldn’t drive anymore. Just thankful that it wasn’t any worse and that my young children were not in the car.

please no horrible comments. Has anyone experienced similar when new to driving and carried on ?

These things happen. You fucked up, no one is perfect. If nothing else, perhaps you’ll forevermore be more cautious in such situations which can only be a good thing.
I’m sorry the other driver shouted and swore, he was probably very shocked and scared for everyone’s safety. He probably feels a bit bad now!

You had an accident. Be thankful no one got hurt, get back in the car and practice. You can take further lessons to gain experience and get help with using your mirrors. Passing your test doesnt actually mean you're a competent driver but you will become competent with practice.

Were you so busy checking your mirrors that you didn't notice what was immediately next to you? That's a big thing to not notice, but it'll make for a great anecdote in years to come!
Things I did immediately after passing my test:
Rear ended a London bus. I got out of the car, ran up to the cab and said "Oh no! I've just rear ended you!" He got out, inspected the tiny scuff, shrugged and drove off 😆

Ground to a panicked halt in the middle of Apex Corner roundabout. At rush hour. In the dark.

Drove halfway across the country at night with full beam on, not even realising, because I'd learnt to drive in London and didn't even know what that lit up blue light symbol on the dashboard was. Had to stop at a service station and call my best mate in tears, because I didn't know why all the other drivers on the A303 were flashing me.

Etc etc etc etc..........

Still driving over 20 years later, having had no significant accidents.

Years ago I was in a crash on a motorway bridge, car smashed onto the back of me which forced me into the car in front - I was absolutely terrified and had a panic attack. The police attended and a very kind policeman got in the passenger seat next to me and told me to drive down off the bridge and onto the slip road. I told him I couldn’t do it and he said ‘if you don’t drive today you’ll never drive comfortably again’, I literally sobbed the whole way but he sat next to me and reassured me. He was absolutely right though, you have to tell yourself that you can do it or you’ll doubt yourself forever!

Plus, every single driver in the world has made a mistake! Some people are just lucky enough to get away with it!

Accidents happen, it wasn't intentional or through negligence and no one was hurt. When you are feeling calmer see if you can reassess what happened to help you in the future. Your DH sounds lovely and you could do this together if you find it stressful revisiting it.

If you can afford it you can always have more lessons. It's not uncommon for people to have lessons after a test to bring up their confidence or tackle specific things like the more horrible roundabouts/ night driving/ motorways /parallel parking etc. there are also intensive and defensive driving courses that I've heard have helped people.

Some instructors are also better than others at reading their customers and helping them. My sisters instructor realised that she was calmer (also started driving older) when she had the radio on and she explained and demonstrated things better than mine did.

Also, if you don't have dashcams please do get them.

I turned right out of a junction directly into the side of a bus once

Who the hell doesn’t see a bus ? I didn’t, not in that split second. That was an embarrassing one, being gawped at by all the passengers. Not one of them got out and asked if I was ok.

Take a deep breath, no one was hurt, it's not the end of the world. I had a bump less than a month after passing my test. I drove straight into someone giving way to me. Completely my fault. 15 years later I'm still driving, no more prangs (touch wood) and a full no claims. Is the other driver going through insurance? I wouldn't notify them if he isn't. If you feel shaky then get another driver to sit beside you for a few drives. The most important thing is to get back behind the wheel. I didn't pass until I was 35, and it's so easy to lose confidence when you're older.

Accidents are common with new drivers. An accident where everyone walks away unscathed, where the other party has no vehicle damage and where the damage to your car is small = that's as 'good' an accident as it gets, tbh.

Tell you what: you won't make the same mistake again

Different scenario but my brother once turned in on a motorcyclist who was undertaking him. Knocked her off, had to call ambulance, they have to cut her out of her gear and stretcher her off. She was a junior doctor rushing to work and when he indicated to turn into a driveway, she thought he was indicating to come back into the lane after overtaking a stationary vehicle and so drove up his left hand side to get past him. He should have checked more closely, she shouldn't have been there.

That was a shit accident for him to cause (and worse for her to experience). He is now 100% the best driver I have ever seen and someone I would always feel relaxed in the car with.

One accident does not mean you should not be driving.

Take some easier journeys to get your confidence back up but don't let this one put you off.

Get straight back in the car and drive!! The accident happened but everyone is ok! Chalk it up to experience!

I once reversed into my dads BRAND NEW car! Somehow my car was fine but his was very damaged! He still hasn't forgiven me haha

Easy to say but don't worry. My DC crashed his car 2 weeks after buying it. No further incidents in 3 years. He says the accident has made him a much better driver.

This. I think that first knock after passing your test is a rite of passage. Welcome to the drivers club.

it was your fault but that doesn’t mean you don’t know how to drive. We’ve all made errors and sometimes that means a scrape. I’m a man, so therefore I’m a very good driver (!) but as a new driver I reversed into a lamp post, then drove into a van. On the same day.

get back on the horse. You know how to drive.

That must have been quite scary.

Two things
A) the HGV driver shouted at you because you gave him a fright too. He/she'll be more than aware of the size and weight disparity of the vehicles and it is no comfort to him/her if it is your fault if you're hurt Seriously doubt he will claim a thing so notch it up.
B) get driving again. If it's reassuring get an instructor to come with you and do all the trickiest bits locally until you are comfortable and decisive when you get there. I learned to drive in central London and my instructor was a beast for horrible junctions but everything has been a breeze ever since. Mostly it's being very clear on your signals and road positioning so everyone else knows where you are going.

Best of luck but don't beat yourself up. We've all done something stupid at some point.

Yep. Although I have been driving for 35 years and never had an accident, I have made plenty of mistakes, but fortunately got away with them! No such thing as a perfect driver!

Agree with all the comments above that say get back behind the wheel ASAP and probably worth getting an instructor to cover some motorway driving sessions for you.

It’s a pretty common reaction to shout at the other driver unfortunately- adrenaline etc. Don’t take it too personally and try to be grateful nobody was hurt etc.

I had a crash 2 months after I passed, no claim needed insurance did not rise. I was stressed for days about it, couldn’t sleep had the worst headache for days. I got over it and still drive now 3 years later, you will too. Hope you are ok soon.

I would call that a scrape rather than an accident, and from the damage you've described I probably wouldn't bother to claim or even have it repaired (though this will depend on how old your car is and whether it's owned or leased). Do you have P plates OP? That might be useful to alert people to the fact that you're a reasonably new driver.

It happens. Don't worry. Just get back on the horse.

Give it a few days, then ask your husband or a friend to come with you while you drive through (or around, preferably!) that roundabout. Conquer it and you'll feel better.

We all make mistakes and my blood sometimes runs cold when my near miss comes in to my head. Just be grateful no one was hurt and learn from it. I too would question if the lorry driver was trying to squeeze through when he shouldn't have. But it is amazing how a massive lorry can be invisible in your blind spot, happened to me joining the motorway the other day. Also in low sun , completely invisible. We'll done on passing your test , get back out there. Check and double check what is around you, and expect everyone else to drive like idiots.

You don't mention checking your blind spot so I assume that's how this happened. I see experienced drivers do this all the time, especially on roundabouts. A woman was on here the other day saying she didn't check her blind spot when starting up in traffic, even though she had recently passed a cyclist, and wondered why he called her a dangerous driver.

Don't make an insurance claim and hope the lorry driver doesn't, and just be more careful next time. We all make mistakes occasionally.

HGV driver shouldn't have shouted, but he probably got a fright / may be worried about getting into trouble with his boss

It's a horrible feeling to be involved in an accident, but may encourage you to be that bit more careful on the road, which is a good thing

All that matters is that no one was injured. Metal can be fixed easily

The bones are there's been a misjudgment. It happens.
I bet everyone is shook up after they've had an accident, especially for the first time. However, it's nothing that can't be fixed.
Drive your car as soon as you can.
My story was 2 days after I past my test I reversed out of a parking space and swung the car round and bashed a car in the opposite line of parked cars......just as the owner and his wife were walking back to the car. It never occured to me to use mirrors to see where I was going!! 38 years later I've had the odd bump along the way but nothing significant.

Accidents happen. I was 30s when passed.
2 days after passing i turned into a parking space with a concrete post next to it. Took the whole side of my car out. Obviously as no one else involved i didnt say anything.

Then a year later went shopping. Didn't put handbrake on! Came back out was like where the fuck is my car. It had rolled backwards. Into another car.
I left a note on there screen, they called me and said not to worry they had so many scrapes on their car it didn't notice! I reported to my insurance in case.
I had a cracked number plate but that was it thankfully.

Touch wood nothing since.

This is not great, but you weren't hurt and the damage was not too bad. You will get over this. It's rare to meet somebody who has never had an accident. What about booking some post-test refresher lessons with your driving instructor, just to go over a few things - this could do you the power of good.

OP don't worry about it. These things happen. The driver probably shouted in relief because you could have got hurt.
I wrote my car off 2 days after passing my test 30 years ago. I've never had an accident since.
You need to get back in the car and you'll be totally fine. Good luck

So refreshing to see a post on here where no one has been a prick! You’ve had lots of nice supportive posts here, OP, none of us are perfect, we all make mistakes. Get back on that horse. You’ll never make the same mistake twice when driving and I’m sure the fact I haven’t had an accident is more luck than skill! I’ve made some really poor errors of judgment that have made me cringe afterwards 🙈