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Original poster

Getting lost driving and panicking!!

29 replies

Jessie1995 · 15/03/2023 17:52

Does anybody else go into complete meltdown when your route is diverted etc and you have to go a different way around without being prepared!
I have driving anxiety and today got diverted a different way, I had maps on but it’s a very confusing road with different lanes! I was following people infront then all of a sudden everybody disappeared ahah!

after I came away worrying about that whole few minutes, did I get the speed limit right- it changed from 40-20-30-40 and I was concentrating so much about lanes etc I worry I didn’t do the right speed etc

i came away from that basically in tears! 🙈

OP posts:
BernadetteIsMySister · 15/03/2023 17:54

Next time that happens, find a safe place to stop and gather yourself. Look ahead on the map so you feel more prepared and set off when you feel ready.

I never worry im going to get lost, I know I will always be OK. You will too.

Greensleevevssnotnose · 15/03/2023 17:54

I used to get like this. My new car has satnav and I still went round a roundabout 3 times not so long ago. It did have 7 exits in my defence.

Original poster
Jessie1995 · 15/03/2023 18:03

BernadetteIsMySister · 15/03/2023 17:54

Next time that happens, find a safe place to stop and gather yourself. Look ahead on the map so you feel more prepared and set off when you feel ready.

I never worry im going to get lost, I know I will always be OK. You will too.

Thanks, it’s because it happened right infront of me ( a bridge closed ) so had to detour around so I didn’t have time to prepare- I was fine following everybody then everyone went different ways! I didn’t get lost to be fair, but afterwards I panicked about my speed etc because I guess I was so focused on where I was. Thank you though

OP posts:
Original poster
Jessie1995 · 15/03/2023 18:05

Greensleevevssnotnose · 15/03/2023 17:54

I used to get like this. My new car has satnav and I still went round a roundabout 3 times not so long ago. It did have 7 exits in my defence.

It’s the worst isn’t it! I had my maps on but there wasn’t really anywhere to pull in etc so I was following everybody then all of a sudden everyone went different ways! I did do it in the end without getting lost but afterwards all I could think was what did I do wrong, what speed was I doing was there a camera etc! Because I was so focused on looking at the road to not get lost! Thank you though!

OP posts:
cornflakegeneration · 15/03/2023 18:07

My mum always used to say, "Don't worry about getting lost, we live on an island" 😂

I've got lost driving loads of times, quite a lot back when there were no sat navs. I always made it home eventually 😊

cornflakegeneration · 15/03/2023 18:09

Are you quite a new driver? I don't really pay too much attention to my speed as I generally can "feel" how fast I'm going. But when I was a new driver I was very aware of constantly checking it.

MissyB1 · 15/03/2023 18:13

Yes OP that’s me! Can’t bear it if my route is diverted, I have no sense of direction anyway, I could get lost in my own town. If it does happen I try to find a side street, sit and study the map and if absolutely necessary I phone Dh / a friend!

Original poster
Jessie1995 · 15/03/2023 19:11

cornflakegeneration · 15/03/2023 18:09

Are you quite a new driver? I don't really pay too much attention to my speed as I generally can "feel" how fast I'm going. But when I was a new driver I was very aware of constantly checking it.

A new ish driver yes! I just have driving anxiety but drive for my job so never stopped driving but always have worries haha! I do get what you mean though you can tend to feel it but I still worry! Maybe it was a case of I didn’t constantly check so I feel like I sped? Even though I probably didn’t I just didn’t check 25 times!

thank you for your reply!

OP posts:
Original poster
Jessie1995 · 15/03/2023 19:13

MissyB1 · 15/03/2023 18:13

Yes OP that’s me! Can’t bear it if my route is diverted, I have no sense of direction anyway, I could get lost in my own town. If it does happen I try to find a side street, sit and study the map and if absolutely necessary I phone Dh / a friend!

Yes!! Same!! I had maps on but I’ve never been that way and there’s so many different routes down that one road, so many side roads etc and I was happy following everybody but then everyone seemed to go! Then I worried I wasn’t paying attention to my speed more so where I was! Sent me into a right panic!!

OP posts:
Bluevelvetsofa · 15/03/2023 19:23

I was once diverted from a road I knew well and the satnav gave an alternative route. I hadn’t realised that this was via increasingly narrow roads and tracks and I was traumatised because I couldn’t turn round and there was no room to pass if someone was in the opposite direction. I was in tears for miles.

pavillion1 · 16/03/2023 06:50

yes i hate it , i also hate it when my satnav cuts out at a crucial point .

BooksAndHooks · 16/03/2023 07:03

Yes but I don’t ever tend to be on roads like you describe. I usually pull in somewhere safe to see where I am and look at alternative routes to see which would suit me better. I hate the SAT NAV it never suggests the most logical route. Near me is a massive roundabout and it wants to route every journey via it even when it isn’t logical. So I never plan a route the SAT NAV suggests.

crew2022 · 16/03/2023 07:20

I totally understand this. I have no sense of direction. Last time I was travelling for work and I was taken down miles of icy lanes I was crying and felt I'd never get there. On the way back it was just main roads so I don't know why the sat nav did that.

Tockomtele · 16/03/2023 07:43

No. The only time I felt like this was before satnavs when I was lost in the Cotswolds in the dark by some corn fields. I tried to knock on some doors nearby where the lights were on but noone answered. It was freaky, I thought I came across some weird cult who were trying to kidnap me. 😁 Quickly drove off in a random direction where I found an actual village where someone helped me with directions. That was a scary experience. In a busy place, no.
I do get sweary scared when I'm stuck behind someone who is trying to join the motorway at 40 mph though.

GreyCarpet · 16/03/2023 07:57

My dad used to say that if you drive in one direction for long enough, you'll eventually reach the coast. So the worst that can happen if you get lost or divered is a day at the seaside 😁

It's not really that simple, obviously, but I often remember it when I've been diverted without notice driving through the city centre (which is constantly being closed and diverted) and a 17 minute drive home from somewhere that's off the single main route through the city becomes an hour drive around through the inner city areas. It can be really stressful. Especially when the diversion signs stop after they've directed you off the main route and you don't know where you are.

SunshineLollipopsAndRainbows · 16/03/2023 08:13

Yesterday! Just part of a road was closed on my way home & it caused so much chaos! I hadn’t realised just how much traffic goes through that particular village. I was doing quite well until discovering that the road I had decided to go down instead was blocked. I turned down a country lane which turned out to be EXTREMELY narrow & the cars coming the other way were clearly not going to move. It’s bloody hard to reverse quite a distance, especially with steep hedges either side, plus I’d been in hospital so still wasn’t feeling the best. In the end the guy in the front of the queue got out & did it for me, bless him. I was nearly in tears by then. Apologised to a woman who had pulled in & she said “ Nobody can reverse. You can’t. I can reverse any bloody thing”. Stopped myself saying “ Bully for you”! I can reverse fine but backing up lanes is not something I need to do very often at all luckily! Ended up doubling back & managed to find the alternative route DH had told me about. Incidentally the diversion signs were about as much use as a chocolate teapot!!

Justmeandthedog1 · 16/03/2023 08:30

I have a sadistic sat nav. Bloody thing tries to send me down farm tracks, unmade roads, will go off a main road, round in a loop and back onto the same road. Couple of weeks ago it zig-zagged across country I’d no idea where I was and was screaming at it ( alone so not scaring kids or anyone else). I did as pp said, pulled off the road and got my phone out to find where I was. I hate driving in the UK.

Oneborneverydecade · 16/03/2023 09:40

I drove back from the O2 late last night. Dark, raining, tired and DS2 asleep in the car. My slip road off (or onto, I have no idea at this stage) the M25 was closed. Thank heavens for Google Maps, I'm not sure if it was aware of the diversion or just rerouted but it saved the day. The diversion signs were useless and I have no sense of direction

beguilingeyes · 16/03/2023 10:06

I'm just glad that I learned to drive after SatNav was invented. How did people cope just using maps? Especially when alone in the car.
Driving home from Bath a few years ago, they'd shut the M4 for some reason. I ended up heading towards Oxford as I know that the M40 was around there somewhere. It's always worse at night.

Seeline · 16/03/2023 10:21

You say you had maps on, but did you actually have a route set?
I have been driving nearly 40 years so sat navs have been a recent addition - so much easier if you get diverted. Ignore the turn around where possible instructions and they will find a new route for you.

xogossipgirlxo · 16/03/2023 11:34

Even if you're lost, it's not the end of the world. Pull in, check on google maps where to go and reverse if you have to. I'm not great with finding new routes either😬

RatherBeRiding · 16/03/2023 11:38

I once got hopelessly lost in a big city because of diversions - sat-nav was useless. The diversion signs were useless and I literally drove in circles for about 40 minutes! It's a city that is very, very difficult to drive round if you don't know it, even with sat-nav - multiple lanes crossing and diverging. In the end I abandoned the sat-nav and the diversions signs and simply followed the road signs out of town and started again once clear of the city centre!

strawberryicecreamice · 16/03/2023 11:40

Completely understand OP. I've been there! It's horrible when that happens but you did it.

Somanysocks · 16/03/2023 11:50

I always used to get palpitations trying to get out of Lakeside shopping centre onto the right road. I solved it by never going there any more. 😁

Moon5 · 16/03/2023 12:15

Yes I did exactly this on Monday morning trying to get to an appointment. Ended up in tears!