AIBU?
First solo drive ...
Lostinthewood · 13/12/2019 07:59
Posting here for traffic .
At the grand old age of 34 I passed my driving test first time yesterday with 4minors and now today I get to do my first solo drive with absolutely no where to go , full of nerves that maybe I was passed by mistake , scared I will totally screw up, but knowing I have to get out there ...
Just looking for inspiration or stories of where you went on your own first solo drive ?
DowntownAbby · 13/12/2019 08:04
I went somewhere quiet, OP.
Might not be a choice if you're in a city, I know, but it helped me a lot to be somewhere I could just drive calmly and steadily until I got used to not having anyone else in the car.
I remember it seemed very odd being alone in the car!
GiveHerHellFromUs · 13/12/2019 08:06
Congratulations!
Two days after I passed my test I went and bought a car with DP. My first solo drive was home up multiple dual carriages and round 4 lane roundabouts with no tax or insurance so that was fun.
Do little trips. Pop to the supermarket or local shopping centre. Go and see a friend. You'll be fine!
Lostinthewood · 13/12/2019 08:09
Downtown I think that’s it, not having someone there beside you, no one to turn in your seat too and just check your doing it right. I am in the city , got to get past some pretty busy roundabouts and notorious traffic hot spots to get to some quieter country lanes , but the countryside does sound more appealing .
Witchofzog · 13/12/2019 08:10
I passed this year at 41 and remember how scary the first drive was. We collected the car and then I drove back from town as h3 needed to collect his car. I put music on that I liked to calm me and was really proud when I did it. From there I built it up. I am still rubbish at parking though!
Lostinthewood · 13/12/2019 08:12
Thanks everyone . Tbh I booked the day off work assuming I would wallow in self pity, I genuinely thought my nerves would destroy my chance .
However, I read in some old threads on here about bananas , and ate two an hour or so before and I’m sure that’s what did it , even parallel parking on a busy road at 3:25 with the school run traffic I held it together .
FormerlyFrikadela01 · 13/12/2019 08:14
I passed this year at 33. My first drive out was over to my mums and back through the town centre, a good 45 minute drive, I was with my partner and it was a disaster, i stalled about a million times and cried when i got home.
The day after i went to tesco on my own, much better, very calm and listening to music helped. Took me a good month or so to feel properly comfortable. I passed in may, still havent been on the motorway though.
Lostinthewood · 13/12/2019 08:21
@FormerlyFrikadela01 did your instructor give you many motorway lessons ?
Thanks All for the reassurance , my DP who has been driving since he was 17 cannot seem to grasp why I’m so nervous now when I’ve been badgering on about being fed up of having to have someone with me .
MereDintofPandiculation · 13/12/2019 08:27
Don't drive far the first time. Choose somewhere you can either park or turn round, so you can tell yourself that you can drive that far, park and then walk home. Even half a mile would be fine.
You can go out for a second, longer, drive later in the day.
DisplayPurposesOnly · 13/12/2019 08:27
I did my first solo drive before I passed my test 
I loved it but it was scary too - all the responsibility is yours.
(I was living in a rural area so it was quiet country lanes and a quarter a mile of dual carriageway. I probably didn't see more than three other cars.)
Boxerbinky · 13/12/2019 08:33
My first drive was miles on motorways following my DH home after picking up my car. 
The car he bought me couldn't possibly have been from the garage round the corner! I wasn't half as nervous as when I first drove my ds around the block in his car seat
You'll be fine!! Good luck Xx
Lostinthewood · 13/12/2019 08:35
@MereDintofPandiculation that actually is a great idea . Takes a bit of the pressure off then.
@MIdgebabe I was with a dinosaur of an examiner, we were getting close to a roundabout and the end of a dual carriageway With very specific lanes , he still had not given me a direction, so I nervously said “which way would you like me to go?” And he actually told me to “shut up and wait for his instruction,” my instructor was gobsmacked and I didn’t dare say a word after , so I was very shocked with the congratulations I’m pleased to to tell you at the end .
welshladywhois40 · 13/12/2019 08:41
Think about an easy place to park. I remember my first solo drive and then suddenly going - where are I going to park! To start parking is the hardest until you get to practice more of it.
Pick an easy car park - head to a supermarket - normally lots of nice easy spaces
thatwasMauijustmessingaround · 13/12/2019 08:47
My first solo drive was to work (a route I'd done with my instructor lots).
However I got stuck behind a bin lorry and kept stalling. After regaining my composure, I made it to work and drove that route every day for about a year and was so confident in the end. I loved driving and knowing each bit of the road like the back of my hand.
So my tip is to drive to a supermarket or other place you'll need to go regularly. Supermarket to buy some car accessories? Bottle of de-icer and an air freshener?
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