To only drive places I know?

[Lis1992]

So I am driving around two years now. Passed my test first time and while I know I am a competent driver; I am still nervous. It’s others on the road who make me worry- if that makes sense. Like tailgaters,I try to ignore them but it’s a horrible feeling. I think it’s disgusting that irresponsible people do this just because you are driving safely. Anyway, I only drive when I need to- to work daily and local shops/appointments, I drive the dog to the local park or whatever. All routes I know and I have practice on.

If there is any kind of roadworks diversion etc I feel instant panic set in. I stick to routes I know and don’t drive anywhere else. Is there anyone else like this with driving? I’m happy I have the skill but I do only use the car when it’s essential.

Same, as soon as I could drive I was straight out and exploring - never occurred to me not to, that’s the point of learning to drive, surely.

You're a good driver, but get in a blind panic......

Really?

OP tailgaters are arseholes who think they can bully other drivers and despite what some might say they. Many of them will tailgate you no matter how fast you go, it's just a fact of driving.

Either learn to ignore them and only let them pass when it's safe to do so or get a front and rear dashcam and report every single one of the shits. There are plenty of police online portals where you can upload footage.

I do alot of driving and I report every single one if they dont like it stop breaking the law it's illegal and enjoy your 3 points.

Everyone has equal rights to the road as long as your sticking to the limits and not intentionally putting people out learn to ignore them.

I am inclined to agree with this.
You have to follow a sat nav on your test these days don't you ?

I 'get' that when you first past your test, you will be nervous and you need to build up your experience (I presume I'm not the only one who was told that I had so far only learned to pass my test and now I needed to learn to drive??).
However, what YABU about is the fact you aren't then working to overcome that.

All these ‘you can’t be a safe and confident driver if you have anxiety around driving’ is nonsense. I am a safe and confident driver precisely because I make sensible choices about which routes I drive and which ones I’ll use public transport for. I’ve never had an accident in ten years and even just driving short familiar routes I’ve still done around 30,000 miles without an accident or speeding ticket. So I really don’t think drivers like me are a particular danger on the roads.

How about taking a different route to the shops or drive somewhere else to walk the dog? Just once a week, say? Just go down a different road, bit of a detour, bumble about. Slowly build up your confidence and grasp what you've learned by putting it into practice.

Like anything, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

You can do this. Yes, there are always twats on the road but ignore them, breathe, bumble on in your own time as long as you're 'making progress' as my IAM instructor told me!

I am sorry but bumbling along at your own pace is bloody idiotic
You should drive to the road conditions
Bumbling along is not an acceptable way to drive!
Get off the bloody road if you cannot drive to the conditions.

Who said anything about ‘bumbling’?

The post above mine, bumble at your own pace!

Apologies, I’ve just seen the post where bumbling was mentioned. I’m sure that posters driving instructor was not implying that she should go 10 mph in a 40 zone or anything ridiculous like that. But there is something to be said for allowing plenty of time for journeys and not feeling obliged to rush everywhere. My grandma recently had to be driven to hospital as no ambulance available, my dad took her and drove much slower than normal as she was in a fragile state after a fall. Unfortunate and an ambulance would have been better but the point is the car in front of you may have a valid reason for not driving at max speed.

I'd suggest the OP bookmarks this link

nextbase.co.uk/national-dash-cam-safety-portal/

When you meet drivers like @Iwillhavealargeone

Use it... 😉

You have absolutely no idea how I drive or to what standard so kindly, do one.
If someone cannot drive to the standard required they should not be on the roads.

What about panicking because of road works, does that make you save and confident?

What about getting in a blind panic?

Do one, you say 😂.

Ohhhh aren't you scary 👻.

Not particularly
But you have no idea how I drive do you?

OP I want to read all of this before replying properly. But this is me.
It's an anxiety thing, although I'm confident in other areas of my life.
However, no one is affected by this(just me) . I do not ask for lifts and never have .
In fact, I bloody love walking , something most car drivers can't comprehend and try and insist on giving me lifts. (Decline always).
Im not dangerous either, for sticking to the speed limit.

In my experience (which as I admit is limited to short local journeys) it’s quite rare to come across unexpected roadworks, they are generally signposted in advance and/or announced on local Facebook groups. So I will study the map in advance, familiarise myself with the diversion and allow more time for the journey. If I’m really worried I’d just get public transport or a taxi until the roadworks go. I’ve only ever had one unexpected diversion due to a crash, yes it made me highly anxious so I pulled over in a safe space, looked up an alternative route on my phone, waited until my anxiety had settled and then set off again. The advantage of driving in a familiar area is you really know all the roads so even following a diversion is not as anxiety inducing as it would be in a strange area because you generally know all the local roads.

I totally get this. I used to be the same. It was only when I had to drive to uni that I forced myself to drive on the motor way and even then I’d have my sat nav on for months! I’m more confident now but this is an anxiety issue and you shouldn’t be made to feel bad about it. Your anxiety is justified- people crash and die all the time, drunk drivers etc but the chances of that happening to you are low and obviously you can reduce the risk by driving safely etc so it’s balancing the risk/ benefit I guess

I passed in September last year and I am very similar to you. I am very confident on roads that I am familiar with but panic with new roads/areas. I believe it is just a matter of learning and experience, which will come with time. I am honestly baffled by the mean comments on here. Don't listen to any of them. Your feelings are very much valid 🤗

@dogdaydown i do agree by the way that if I was driving somewhere unfamiliar I would not be confident and arguably that lack of confidence might make me a less safe driver. That’s exactly why I won’t do it. People like me generally have a very heightened sense of the risks/dangers of driving and as a result I will not ever drive anywhere if I don’t feel it’s safe for me or other road users. Even though all the feedback I get from passengers is that I’m a very good driver, I just will not take any risks.

Sorry, but I think YABU.

How did you get somewhat comfortable driving the roads you do know?

By driving on them.

You pushed yourself out of your comfort zone then. So drive on more roads.

You don’t have to head straight for a motorway. Start small and build up.

Explore back roads and build your confidence.

Honestly, I get it. Nobody (well, very few people) are genuinely confident when they start out with something. Especially something big/risky, like driving.

But if you’re willing to get comfortable on the roads you know, then you know you can do it.

And it’s win-win. The more you drive and explore, the more comfortable you get. The more comfortable you get, the more you drive and explore.

Start small and build up. You can do it. Good luck.

I also know loads of very competent & confident drivers who panic driving in central London

I was like this for the first 2 years, never went anywhere outwith my home town, never done motorway etc. I had an appointment I had already rescheduled twice and really needed to attend, pushed myself to drive the 35 min journey motorway and all and i've never looked back since!

I would say download Waze and use it on your local journey's to get used to how it describes things then just go a little further afield to visit somewhere, but only a little outside of your comfort zone. Keep expanding. I'm a confident driver but when going somewhere completely new I will investigate the street view on Google Earth to check where an entrance is or what the road looks like at the junction I need. This really helps with the last bit of a journey, particularly on country roads so I don't worry about missing a junction, plus I'm less likely to have to pile on the brakes to avoid missing a junction so it's a safety thing too.

I think this is good advice, but for me how I got confident on local roads was doing them repeatedly with someone else driving, and then me driving with their support before eventually doing it alone. Also I grew up here and had been walking these roads for 20 years before I started driving them so already knew the layouts/routes etc. so really hard to replicate the experience further afield.

also the journeys I do were born of necessity…I had to learn the route to my job because there’s no public transport. I had to learn the route to the supermarket and my grandmas house so I can do a big shop for her. I had to learn the route to the train station so I could go further afield 😂.

but if there’s no need for me to learn a journey then I just think why spend my limited time and money pushing myself out the comfort zone when the comfort zone really works for me?