Feel very shaky - just avoided crashing the car, totally my fault

8 replies

BooMama · 15/10/2004 15:27

Feeling rather sick and shaky. Just nipped out to friends house to pick something up with my 2 children in back of car. Parked outside her house which is on the right hand side of the road, facing against the traffic. When I went to leave I planned to pull into a lane on the right to turn around to go home. This lane was about 50 yards up - for some reason, I kept on the right instead of pulling onto my side of the road. Only realised as a car was driving straight towards me. He swerved to his right just as realised and swerved to my left but we were both going quite slow and did not hit each other. He then motioned for me to pull away which I did.
Feel really, really sick and shaky. I only passed my test in April and am not a very confident driver. In fact I avoid it most of the time and let my dh drive. Was just thinking am never going to get any more confident if I don't get out there and now I do this.
I just don't understand how I could be so stupid?!
I really don't trust myself anymore.

OP posts:

cat82 · 15/10/2004 15:32

Oh sweetie, poor you People make mistakes sometimes, accidents happen. Sit down, take some deep breaths, have a cup of tea.
Try and focus not what could of happened, but what didn't happen. Everyone's safe, and you'll learn from this.
{{{hugs}}}

xxx

Yorkiegirl · 15/10/2004 15:32

Message withdrawn

secur · 15/10/2004 15:33

Message withdrawn

kalex · 15/10/2004 15:34

Boomama,

We all have near misses, and yes it is very frightening, but it's like riding a bike, the more you do it the more confidence you will get.

Try not to think about it too much, and try and let yourself drive more when DH is in the car, it will give you more self confidence over time.

HUGS

Original poster

BooMama · 15/10/2004 15:37

Thanks all for the hugs and support! Don't quite trust myself to boil the kettle yet but I'm going to give it a go!
You're all right - I must get back in the saddle soon and not hide behind (figuratively) dh.
Thank you!!

OP posts:

jamiesam · 15/10/2004 15:38

BooMama
Sorry you've had such a horrid experience. Unfortunately, as you've learnt, passing the driving test doesn't mean that you are a good driver - just that you were a good driver on the day. I had an experience very much like you, except I hit another car and wrote mine off. I didn't have the excuse of two young children in the car to distract me - I was a poor driver all on my own! You will feel shaky but you just have to get back in the saddle again, as it were, and realise that you are still learning to be a good driver. You will get there. After run of bad luck/bad driving, I now have (touch wood) a full no claims bonus and consider myself a reasonably good and confident driver (better than dh especially). Probably most drivers can tell you stories about lapses of concentration or errors of judgement like yours. Listening to those stories might make you feel better about yourself. We're all stupid drivers sometimes - but really stupid drivers don't learn from their mistakes.

Original poster

BooMama · 15/10/2004 15:40

You're right, Jamiesam. I remember before I took my test a friend saying they don't expect you to be the perfect driver, just good enough to be allowed out on your own - the rest comes with experience. Think I better get some of that...!

OP posts:

dolally · 15/10/2004 15:44

I have been driving for 20 years and only the other week I pulled straight out of a junction, having looked both ways once but not the first way again. Straight into the path of the poor guy coming along.... his reactions were so quick he managed to avoid me by swerving to the other side of the road, but what an idiot/nutter/criminal I felt. Don't worry we all do stupid things, and I doubt your mistake had anything to do with how long you've been driving, just a momentary lapse in concentration.

Flip