New driver, I misjudged a gap. Shaken

[anxiousmumy]

Turning right at a busy junction.. I misjudged the gap. The car from the right honked me continuously. It was close, but I felt like they sped up rather than slowed down but still my fault . It's one of those horrible junctions where sometimes you have to edge out or you're sat there for 15 minutes. I had a car up my rear end gesturing angrily at me and jusr felt pressured. I feel so bad and wish I could apologise to the driver.
I am worried they might submit the dashcam footage and I could lose my license. Has anyone else ever done this? Did you get better?

It's fine, you just made a minor mistake, no one got hurt.

I've been driving for 30 years and this sort of thing occasionally happens. This morning I turned right onto a busy road and a car appeared out of nowhere, even DD in the passenger seat exclaimed "where did that come from!". I think it must have been parked on the pavement and suddenly swerved onto the road as it definitely hadn't come down the road towards us.

Again, no one got hurt, there was some angry gesturing but that's all.

That's a lot of drivers on the road, terrible driving around, p plates wouldn't change anything for anyone who would care about them anyway

Let them honk, wankers.

Or learn from it when someone points out that you've done something wrong.

No-one passes their test as a perfect driver and I'd argue that you only really start to learn properly when you drive on your own and there's no-one there to ask what to do or brake for you when you're about to make a mistake. But if you've pulled out in front of someone and made them sound their horn because they nearly went into the back of you, it's your mistake and not theirs.

OP, you're not going to lose your licence for a simple misjudged how big the gap was/how fast an approaching car was travelling. But it is important to learn from it. As long as you do that, don't beat yourself up.

The other driver was a twat. Even if you did slightly misjudge the gap (which happens), there was no harm done, and no need to give you any hassle. Unfortunately you do sometimes have to put up with drivers like this.

They probably did speed up, there are some absolute prize wankers out there. I've had people do it when I'm crossing the road as well, with plenty of space if they had continued at their previous speed.

All new drivers make little mistakes like that. It's how we get better.

Of course you won't lose your licence, there was no accident, was there? So no harm done.

Just take a deep breath, have a cup of tea and shrug it off. 🙂

Don't worry about it, OP. The most you can do is understand what you could have done better, and in that way you'll become a better driver, learning from your mistakes.

Once you've done that, try to forget about it. It's easier said than done, I know from experience, but I do know that from the other side, if somebody makes a mistake against me, I've already forgotten about it after a few seconds, even if it really annoyed me.

Not under the influence? Check.
Not speeding? Check.
Haven't caused death or GBH by driving recklessly? Check.

You'll be fine. You learn from mistakes.

The first thing you need to do is learn to ignore tossers beeping at you to hurry up. You are the driver of your car and you make the call about when you feel it is safe to go. Not them.

The second thing you need to do is ignore tossers who bash on their horns in anger. That's actually an inappropriate use of a horn anyway, so it makes them even more of a dumbass to use it to criticise others for driving errors.

The majority of drivers who do this, ime, are angry tosser men. Learn to be untroubled by them.

In Australia they are mandatory for new drivers, you get red one's which show you're provisional and green ones that you have to display until you're 20 or something like that.

I think it's not a bad system if it does mean others are a bit more forgiving.

In the UK where you don't really see them I doubt many people are looking for them

Ignore drivers behind you who try to intimate you. Be that with gestures, tail gating etc. Flick the mirror so you don't need to see them - flick it back after

You misjudged it, that does happen. I have seen cars speed up because they are pissed off someone has dared to pull out in front of them. I have also had to hit my breaks pretty hard because someone had pulled out in front of me. And I am sure I have pulled out a bit cheekily too - sometimes you need to.

You didn't misjudge too badly because a crash didn't happen.

It's very intimidating when arsehole drivers don't give you a bit of leeway.
They must have forgotten what it's like to be a new driver.
You won't lose your licence.
Take no notice of anyone behind you, the only time I look at anyone behind me is the occasional glance and when I'm about to manoeuvre.
It's all a learning curve, I always say you only really learn how to drive once you've passed your driving test and are out on the road on your own.
Don't let it knock your confidence, you'll always get drivers tooting and being dicks.
Keep going

Don’t worry these things happen sometimes. Do learn to ignore the driver behind you though, they can sit and gesture all they like it’s you that has to pull out not them.

Sorry to say that you'll do similar again and will pull out plenty of times in front of people who speed up/honk on purpose just to make themselves feel important.

Just shake it off, take it as a lesson learned and don't let it rattle you and affect your driving.

It's too easy to make the rest of your journey more dangerous because you're dwelling on something in the past.

Dont.

Exactly this.

Pressure is a lot easier to deal with than death.

You have to be able to focus on the road and the risk, not an inpatient person behind you

THIS!!!

Don't let somebody else's impatience affect you. I know that's easy to say, but it's an important lesson to learn.

You made a mistake, nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged. Forget about it and move on.

And don't get P plates.

An idiot filter? Charming. Someone who has passed their test should be competent on the road, that's the whole point. Yes, you gain experience and confidence the more you drive. I don't believe P plates are useful - they have no weight in the UK anyway.

Don't fret about it . Once your confidence builds these things won't bother you.
It's said that you only truly learn to drive after you've passed your test and by God its true!!!

@anxiousmumy Ive had people pull out in tight gaps and had to slam on the brakes and have honked my horn. Ive also made a mistake and done the same as you. People make mistakes when driving. It happens. The trick is to learn from them but a lot of that will come with experience when driving.

I wouldnt worry about 'getting into trouble'. If, from what you have said, the other drive made no attempt to slow down when faced with your car crossing his path and / or sped up, that will be evident on the dashcam fottage, if they have any. If they did submit that to the police they would also question why they were driving offensively, rather than defensively.

A lot of the time people forget that when you drive you should anticipate other road users making mistakes and factor that into your driving. Leave space. Dont tailgate. Be alert and slow down around junctions etc.

Do you have to use that junction? I have one near me but the roundabout is 3 minutes down the road. I drive and turn there- often coming back I see the same car waiting to cross, so the roundabout is quicker and safer.

In the nicest possible way, new driver insurance is expensive because they make mistakes.

keep going, it will get easier.

Don’t beat yourself up OP. I highly doubt they’ll submit any dashcam footage. It was a daft move but you didn’t cause an accident. The other car will have forgotten about it. We live and learn.

Put some green P plates on your car. Don’t let anyone behind you bully you and rush you. Take your time and try not to panic or get flustered in stressful situations.

You really start learning to drive properly after you’ve passed and you deal with the situations alone. Wait a few hours and go out in your car this evening when it’s quiet to build a bit of confidence back.

There are quite a few drivers who have zero patience with learner or new drivers. They purposely intimidate them, put them under pressure and behave angrily when they make a mistake. OP we are all capable of making mistakes on the road. Don't let this one put you off driving. Take it as a learning experience to take your time and ignore the wankers.

In an ideal world, yes, but the impatience displayed by other drivers is staggering as demonstrated by the OP’s experience.

The driving test is too easy to pass, so those that do are still novices, so P plates are a great idea (as is Pass Plus)