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 ?

It was an accident. They happen all the time.

One thing I will say is that if I’m going to ‘push myself out of my comfort zone’ I think it can be done in careful and considered ways. So I wouldn’t say ‘ok, an unfamiliar route with a huge roundabout that I’ve never navigated before… I’ll go st 8.45 on a Monday morning.’ If I was new to driving I’d practice at quieter times so I’m familiar with the route. Most accidents I’ve seen with new drivers are from panicking - oh is that my exit I think it is I better merge oh no crash. Whereas if you’re prepared that’s less likely.

I swerved to avoid a car coming round a corner on the wrong side of the road and scraped the side of a car on my left whose driver was sat in it. Thought I was going to throw up as I parked safely up the road and walked back to him, but he was ok about it and just took some cash for T-Cut or whatever. It was dark and I should have waited where I was when I saw lights approaching round the corner, but I’d not long passed my test and lacked night driving experience.
Get back in your car asap!

26% of drivers have an accident within 2 years of passing their test (and that's just those that are reported, the real number is likely to be far higher). I reversed into a van on a petrol station forecourt about 3 weeks after I passed my test. still driving 15 years later.

Learn from this and move forward. If you give up now, you will lose all the work you have done to get to this point, and that will be a huge shame. Get back in the car and conquer that roundabout as PP have said, and you can look back on this as an important learning experience.

My driving instructor told me that learning to pass the test is one thing, but once you're on your own there is a whole new learning curve to driving and he was right.

Mistakes happen, but make sure you get back behind the wheel before your brain has a chance to scare you too much. It doesn’t matter how many years you drive for, an accident will shake you up.
I nearly hit the back of another car last month. It stopped suddenly due to something occurring ahead, and I had to emergency brake…in those milliseconds I was convinced I couldn’t stop in time but did, thank goodness. I had to go and park up to take a walk and calm down again cause I was shaking and I was nervous driving the rest of that day. It’s human nature to be scared. I’ve been driving 15 years and this was my first near miss…it’s not just beginners who have them!

As others say, it’s not uncommon to have a “ bump “ as new driver. Both my DS did within 4 months of driving. Luckily car park things so slow speed. It was actually a good lesson (albeit expensive 😱) and made them more careful

my first accident was sadly a dog. Only been driving 5 months. It was dark and stood on a dark country lane in middle of nowhere with its back to me. By time it turned its head and its eyes caught in my headlights it was too late. It was horrible. I remeber the poor policeman on phone when I reported trying to calm me down as I was sobbing fairly hysterically - I was 18 in fairness

but it did teach me one painful lesson - when I had run over it I didn’t want to get out and look. Luckily someone else had stopped and did the looking. I realised at time that if that had been a person could I have really got out and helped them? It instantly made me more aware of that my instinctive emotional response was to flight/freeze, and that I needed to be prepared to have to deal with that fear and get out the car. Years later, I still know this- that if it happened, god forbid, I will have to force myself through that fear. It’s not going to be instinctive for me to jump out and look at what has happened. It Sort of does make me realise why some drivers might hit and and then run though. Sorry, bit of downer tale

oh,actually it taught me another lesson too, I did try to avoid the hit by swerving into opposite lane ( just slightly). Despite everything you’re told not to do. Again realised after, how instinctive that was, but how dangerous it could have been - luckily no cars coming from other direction .

bottom line: you’ll be a better driver for this.

Thank you truly to each and every one of you for all your kind words, support and advice.

It really means a lot and has really comforted me.

I’ll not give up, I’ve looked at the car and in all honesty it’s not actually that bad so not worth a claim. I think my pride is more dented and am just very embarrassed !. You are all right, no one was hurt no major damage done and it will certainly be something I won’t do again !!!

Ha! Uber drivers are far from "experienced". Their the worst drivers I've seen! Aside from the ones I see on a daily basis driving around cluelessly the one I was in earlier this year almost swiped some poor motorcyclist off his bike as he just drove across the lane he was in!

Just wanted to say I've wrote two cars off one two weeks after passing my test the second around 3 months. Now I have been driving for over ten years and had only little minor things happen. This will only make u a more aware driver get back on the horse and do not be afraid of your car just be extra careful this time. It is all about practice and you will learn to react much faster to other people.

Quite clearly - you passed your test far too early.

I would have thought your insurance would have been so prohibitively expensive you would have been prevented from driving anyway

@Feef83

I don't think you can just jump to that conclusion someone ran a red light on a filter which I had a witness for and then second terrible weather conditions and a double roundabout. My point was sometimes shit happens and it is best to get your mind refocused. I had my bad luck early on and now I'm a very competent and confident driver. I am just saying making mistakes early on at least helps you to become more careful. Why do you think we have insurance because we are all not infallible to bad driving days or adverse weather conditions or car failures. Recently my breaks went driving I was able to remain calm in that situation because I am very competent. Why such negativity on here all the bloody time.

Chances are the lorry was in your blind spot so you couldn't see it in the mirror. It does take a while to get used to having to look in several different directions and still move with the traffic so you could look at having some more lessons with an instructor to get your confidence back. Get back driving soon, in less busy times otherwise the fear of something happening will stop you from driving.

second terrible weather conditions and a double roundabout.

and you wrote off your car?

Why do you think we have insurance

2 destroyed cars in first three months of driving

i am honestly surprised that you found an insurer willing to insure you! That’s all I was saying on the insurance point

Doesn't everyone have some sort of bump accident when first driving .. I know I did but don't let that put you off driving ..

I went into the back of someone not long after passing. Doing that taught me more than I learnt on all my driving tests.

You will get better. I was 15 when I got my licence (overseas). I had so many minor accidents when I was a new driver. The ones I remember included clipping a wing mirror of a parked car, scrapped the entire side of the car in a multi-storey car park, drove into the car in front my at the lights, bumped into another car going into a roundabout.

I don't think anyone is a good driver when they got their licence. It takes practice. I think I'm ok after a year on the road.

You will get better.

Oh and I got off lightly. A friend of mine flipped her car on the motorway and the car was written off.

I am in the process of starting to train as a driving instructor. The trainer told me that 1 in 5 new drivers have a serious accident in the first six months, shocking stat but shows it’s a very common thing. I don’t know if that makes you feel any better.

If you’ve lost confidence then it might be an idea to pay for a couple more lessons in busy places so you get that extra help.

Personally I recall getting onto a motorway for the first time ever at 17. I didn’t have a clue, but didn’t realise it, there’s probably a need for additional training for certain scenarios.

Passed my driving test in the May, was driving my brother to a football match (we both lived at home and he was feeling lazy).

He woke me up out of my bed on a Sunday, and I couldn't be arsed to change so I took him in my pyjamas. Dropped him off, and on the way back crashed my car at the top of my road. Managed to hit the right hand side of the car, in a panic put my foot on the accelerator (instead of the brake!) and then crashed the left hand side of the car. Completely writing the car off.

Stood at the top of my road crying, in my pjs....that was 20 years ago and I can safely say my driving has vastly improved!!! I have also made sure I am properly dressed whenever I go out!!!!!

You have to get back in the saddle x

Oh to add, it was 2 parked cars I hit. God knows how on earth I did it!!

Please don’t let this put you off. I doubt there’s a driver on the road who hasn’t either had a very near miss or actually had a badly judged bump.

I’ve been driving 12 years now and passed in my late 30s. Where I live it’s very rural and often you’ll drive for an hour and never see another car but even I’ve had a few scary moments. The worst - someone went into the back of me at a roundabout when I stalled 🙈 it ended up being judged as his fault as he should have realised I stopped and left enough room but I can see it was my fault as well as no one expects someone to stop just as they’re about to enter a roundabout. I felt like a right idiot, he really shouted at me and my car was a write off! I had to keep driving as we have no other transport and now I’m fine about it all. These things happen!

Something my instructor told me that really helps me and has stayed with me since was to always drive as if you’re looking at the car one in front of you - I mean obviously you watch the car directly in front of you but what it means is people often don’t look far enough ahead. If you look at the traffic way up ahead and pay attention to what’s going on you’ll be able to predict your speed / when to stop / brake etc far more effectively and safely than just focusing on what’s right in front of you (which is apparently what most new drivers do).

Put P Plates on. My instructor told me to keep mine on until I was 100% confident with everything as some diversions near my Mum’s house go via the M1. 2 years later I still have them on but am still building my confidence & drivers def give me more space and room because of them.

OP - you must report this to your insurer even if you are not going to make a claim (or the other person doesn’t want to claim either)

failure to do so could mean your insurance is invalid and you would then be driving around uninsured.

here is a solicitors website which discusses why it’s important (I’ve nothing to do with them, but I thought it set the issue out quite well). www.beckettandco.co.uk/notifying-motor-insurers/

it does sound like a very traumatic experience and I hope you are ok and get regain your confidence to drive. But please please report it.

Get back in as soon as you can and dont avoid certain roads or motorways you need be able to drive anywhere

i know 2 people who refuse to get on a motoroway the merging freaks them-dont want advanced lessons either so will only drive to a certain point-waste of time i feel