To ask for tolerance towards learner drivers?

[Ohtobeskiing]

Dd is learning to drive and as well as her lessons she is now practising in my car. We were out this morning and experienced some awful behaviour from other drivers. For example - turning right out of a side road into a main road the driver behind her beeped their horn several times to get her to hurry up. This of course just made her anxious and she stalled. The car is clearly marked with 'L' plates. Is it so difficult to be considerate to an inexperienced driver?

I don't mean that Learners should never be out in rush hour, just that if they aren't experienced yet then they should wait a bit. OP has clarified that her DD is fairly experienced so that is fair enough. I wouldn't beep or harass a learner or P plater. they need to learn and become confident before having to deal with the dicks that seem to be multiplying all the time. All the beeping teaches them is that it's apparently okay to be a dick.

I am usually very patient with learner drivers and always leave a huge gap if I'm behind one.
A couple of weeks ago I was driving off our estate and a learner pulled out of a drive-way straight in front of me causing me to brake sharply. There was nothing else coming behind me so no reason she couldn't have waited five seconds for me to pass first. She drove down the road at 10mph, on the wrong side of the road, then refused to move past a bin lorry even though the men were waving her through the gap.
I was still patient up until the point her car started rolling backwards towards mine, I had to beep the horn because both she and her passenger seemed oblivious. At that point she did manage to move off but she probably thought I was being unreasonable beeping and just wanting her to shift rather than the fact I thought my bonnet was about to be stoved in.

Well Yabu if you are taking her out during rush hour, what do you expect ?

People not to be such dicks? We all have to learn.

I followed a learner during the evening rush hour for miles last week, through the tail end of a very busy town and for about a further 20 miles. I always hang back because I do remember what it was like, although it was years ago, but there was a massive tailback behind us. Most of the time, there was no overtaking, so no chance of making a move.

The problem was that the driving was erratic- slowing to 15 mph and then speeding up. Yes, there were speed restrictions, but this was not helpful to smooth driving. I agree that inexperienced learners are best going out outside rush hour if possible.

YANBU about the honking. Although to give the other driver the benefit of the doubt maybe it was an emergency or he/ she was trying to get somewhere urgent. Living rurally where most roads are single carriageway I can empathise with the frustration of being stuck behind a slow or unconfident driver in an emergency, although I would never beep the horn, just hold back and look for a space to overtake safely.

I do think though that too many learner drivers are taken out onto busy main roads before they are ready. Generally, it isn't professional instructors who do this but when learners are practicing with family members and merrily continue their whole route without consideration and pulling over for people who don't have all day to bumble along. It must be stressful for the learner too. When I was learning to drive, my instructor kept me on quiet side roads until I was much more confident and competent. The next step was turning onto a main road, then turning off again shortly afterwards so other drivers weren't inconvenienced. It was never a case of 'we are driving to destination X come hell or high water, and sod everyone behind us.'

I was only beeped at once while I was learning to drive (which really knocked my confidence!).

And why on earth should I put the L-plates on and off? Surely it's obvious if I'm on my own that I'm not a learner

No it's not and I think you are meant to take them on and off

And as for "learners shouldn't be out in rush hour" - when should they learn to drive in rush hour then?

when they have experience and the confidence

Everybodyhatesatourist that sounds like appropriate use of the horn, I think most people would have done the same in the situation you describe.

I really don't want my dd to get to the point of taking her test without experiencing different road conditions -wet, dry, busy, dark etc. I don't think it is helpful to her or other road users to let her loose on her own without a certain level of competence in different conditions.

Op of course she should have experience and I am sure you have made a decision that you feel is right.

I am talking about drivers that clearly can't cope with driving gin those conditions.

The girl I referenced earlier was in tears after stalling and not being able to negotiate the traffic. No one was honking and giving her room. But she clearly wasn't at that standard yet.

and to add, I would rather an over cautious learner than an overconfident or careless one. I'd rather sit behind one taking their time to do a right turn through traffic even if they missed a couple of opportunities that I would have taken (safe) than one that turned without properly assessing whether they had time (unsafe) clearly there is a happy medium but that has to be learned.

I always try and make allowances for Learners. Sometimes they can wind me up but I try to never let it show.

I dont like bullying in any way shape or form and intimidating a learner falls into that bracket I'm my view.

Yanbu. You shouldn't beep anyone to hurry up when they are waiting to come out of a junction. I'd much rather spend an extra 10 seconds waiting at a junction than crash into someone who has pulled out rashly because someone sat behind them was beeping and distracting them. Learner or not, that's dangerous behaviour.

YANBU at all, people are such twats to learners. They seem to conveniently forget they weren't born with the ability to drive and were once (hopefully) learners themselves.

Anyone in a learner vehicle is potentially in the middle of their driving test so it's just knobbish behaviour to panic or intimidate them.

Conversely though, it's not helpful to let learners pass, flash them to let them out at junctions, etc, as they could fail their tests for accepting (voice of bitter experience).

DP took me out one evening last summer to practice and it started to rain lightly so we were heading home. I wanted to have a practice in mildly wet weather, the roads were pretty clear and I had L plates on so it seemed okay.
About five minutes after we got onto the road to his village a 4x4 sped up behind us, almost touching the back of our car, and proceeded to honk/flash/swerve around apparently to try and make me go faster. I had to pull off the road in the end it was so scary. I was shaking.
People can be horrible!

Well Yabu if you are taking her out during rush hour, what do you expect ?

People not to be such dicks? We all have to learn.

Not at rush hour when you're inconveniencing people trying to get to work on time, you don't. Do it when the roads are quieter, please.

I agree consideration should be given & I would certainly never beep my horn at someone in a junction if they had L plates on.

We do live in a test area & somedays I can be stuck behind numerous learners. I keep my cool because as you say, we've all been there!!

Everybody had to learn at some point - a little consideration goes a long way. And getting someone all stressed and flustered only makes them more likely to stall. Not to mention that cramming yourself behind someone is really stupid if you want to overtake - far better to sit back, give yourself a better view of the road, then accelerate before you pull into the other lane.

So no, YANBU, not at all.

There's no excuse for being arsey with learners. Although I do tend to judge the experienced driver with them if they take someone who is clearly not ready out in heavy traffic or national speed roads when the driver isn't yet capable. It not only disrupts everyone else but is a waste of time for the learner.

Re pulling out in front of learners, yes some drivers are twats. But the general rule for pulling out is that you can do so without interrupting the flow of traffic. And lack of experience sometimes causes a learner to think a car pulling out ahead is too close, when actually it's not.

Ah you see the problem here is that you are asking cunts to stop being cunts.
Audis will drive right up your arse, cutting you up, pulling out in front of you etc if you are learning or have been driving 30 years.

I think my P plates just make people more impatient with me. I've had honking when I've been waiting for a gap at junctions, lots of hand gestures, dangerous overtaking etc. Luckily it does mostly stop drivers from tailgating, apart from white vans! I don't drive during rush hours or on motorways yet either. I've had this shitty behaviour on Sundays.

People just get the rage behind the wheel. They act in ways you wouldn't act while on the street. (Well, most of the time)

My first driving test was at 8.40am, I got stuck in gridlock and he ended up saying just to go back to the test centre because we didn't move for almost 15 minutes.

I passed in September and didn't bother putting P plates on because I've heard stories about people acting like total arseholes around newly passed drivers.

Not at rush hour when you're inconveniencing people trying to get to work on time, you don't. Do it when the roads are quieter, please

if being stuck behind a learner fir a few mins makes you late then it's you that hasn't factored in enough time.

when traffics bad doesn't matter who's in front of you as your not going anywhere anyway.

YY Giles. if you haven't factored in enough time for a couple of minutes hold up on the way to work then that's not anyone else's fault.

YANBU.
I am a learner, and have had this a lot. When I had got a little bit of confidence and was doing well with the basics my instructor decided to take me on a road through town during rush hour as the traffic is busy so it involves a lot of stopping and starting.
We were waiting on a large busy road coming up to some traffic lights and started moving, but I stalled the car as we pulled away. I was doing fine until this. The driver behind me immediately honked and started waving her arms around with impatience. The pressure made me go into a flap and I panicked so it took me even longer to start the car again. In the space of this 10 seconds she had enough and a space had formed in the lane next to us so she pulled into that, but the lights in that lane went red before she could go. My instructor wound the window down and shouted "Did you ever learn to drive or were you born with the ability?!" she wouldn't look in our direction after that.

There really is no need for it. Even if you are an 'experienced' learner, you're still learning and will make the odd mistake. I have been shocked by people's impatience and rudeness.

YANBU.

I had to re-take my test in the UK after 10+ years of driving in Johannesburg and Nairobi. I took a few lessons to get the parking maneuvers etc right, and during each lesson some wanker BMW driver person would cut me up, honk, rev aggressively etc. Even though I probably had as much / more driving experience than they did.

The L plates make some people behave like fools.