Discussion
Hi
my names Aidan
im 18
i drive a vauxhall astra 1.6 petrol
i passed my test last April with 5 minors (not that this has much relevance as the emphasis is only on the mechanics of driving and not observation and safe driving)
i took my pass plus a few months later with very positive remarks...
and im driving like a complete C**t
I’ve read most of road craft, my main flaw with driving seems to be the overtaking, i seem to get stupid there.
its like i get fixated, i've got the plan in my head of what to do, so when it comes to the straight im already in gear i have a look and i go, what i seem to be bad at is calculating the risks. Obviously im not overtaking badly all the time, by there are the times.
Example would be tonight when i was coming home, i have to go along a road referred to as the down, its basically a country road with no white lines and NSL. most of it you can fit two cars down easily.
the bit where i over took is a long straight with a slight curve, but at night u can see cars coming the over way. There is enough room for a car to pass another along as the car you overtake is over sufficiently. Tonight he was not and he did not move either and I ploughed straight into a grass verge, almost into the ditch witch runs along the side of the road, somehow i kept control of it and got past.
other examples being not have an exit strategy when overtaking.
How have i become so impulsive in my driving?
im not what you would call a boy racer. i don’t have a body kit on my car and i don’t do do-noughts in car parks. i look at driving as a art and am keen to learn and stop driving like this otherwise im going to get myself killed, or worse someone else.
Am i maby not aware of the limitations of my vehicle?
Should i retake lessons?
Are there any advance driving places in Devon?
someone help please
my names Aidan
im 18
i drive a vauxhall astra 1.6 petrol
i passed my test last April with 5 minors (not that this has much relevance as the emphasis is only on the mechanics of driving and not observation and safe driving)
i took my pass plus a few months later with very positive remarks...
and im driving like a complete C**t
I’ve read most of road craft, my main flaw with driving seems to be the overtaking, i seem to get stupid there.
its like i get fixated, i've got the plan in my head of what to do, so when it comes to the straight im already in gear i have a look and i go, what i seem to be bad at is calculating the risks. Obviously im not overtaking badly all the time, by there are the times.
Example would be tonight when i was coming home, i have to go along a road referred to as the down, its basically a country road with no white lines and NSL. most of it you can fit two cars down easily.
the bit where i over took is a long straight with a slight curve, but at night u can see cars coming the over way. There is enough room for a car to pass another along as the car you overtake is over sufficiently. Tonight he was not and he did not move either and I ploughed straight into a grass verge, almost into the ditch witch runs along the side of the road, somehow i kept control of it and got past.
other examples being not have an exit strategy when overtaking.
How have i become so impulsive in my driving?
im not what you would call a boy racer. i don’t have a body kit on my car and i don’t do do-noughts in car parks. i look at driving as a art and am keen to learn and stop driving like this otherwise im going to get myself killed, or worse someone else.
Am i maby not aware of the limitations of my vehicle?
Should i retake lessons?
Are there any advance driving places in Devon?
someone help please
Cerberosa said:
Hi
my names Aidan
im 18
i drive a vauxhall astra 1.6 petrol
i passed my test last April with 5 minors (not that this has much relevance as the emphasis is only on the mechanics of driving and not observation and safe driving)
i took my pass plus a few months later with very positive remarks...
and im driving like a complete C**t
I’ve read most of road craft, my main flaw with driving seems to be the overtaking, i seem to get stupid there.
its like i get fixated, i've got the plan in my head of what to do, so when it comes to the straight im already in gear i have a look and i go, what i seem to be bad at is calculating the risks. Obviously im not overtaking badly all the time, by there are the times.
Example would be tonight when i was coming home, i have to go along a road referred to as the down, its basically a country road with no white lines and NSL. most of it you can fit two cars down easily.
the bit where i over took is a long straight with a slight curve, but at night u can see cars coming the over way. There is enough room for a car to pass another along as the car you overtake is over sufficiently. Tonight he was not and he did not move either and I ploughed straight into a grass verge, almost into the ditch witch runs along the side of the road, somehow i kept control of it and got past.
other examples being not have an exit strategy when overtaking.
How have i become so impulsive in my driving?
im not what you would call a boy racer. i don’t have a body kit on my car and i don’t do do-noughts in car parks. i look at driving as a art and am keen to learn and stop driving like this otherwise im going to get myself killed, or worse someone else.
Am i maby not aware of the limitations of my vehicle?
Should i retake lessons?
Are there any advance driving places in Devon?
someone help please
Simple, IAM, discount at your age.my names Aidan
im 18
i drive a vauxhall astra 1.6 petrol
i passed my test last April with 5 minors (not that this has much relevance as the emphasis is only on the mechanics of driving and not observation and safe driving)
i took my pass plus a few months later with very positive remarks...
and im driving like a complete C**t
I’ve read most of road craft, my main flaw with driving seems to be the overtaking, i seem to get stupid there.
its like i get fixated, i've got the plan in my head of what to do, so when it comes to the straight im already in gear i have a look and i go, what i seem to be bad at is calculating the risks. Obviously im not overtaking badly all the time, by there are the times.
Example would be tonight when i was coming home, i have to go along a road referred to as the down, its basically a country road with no white lines and NSL. most of it you can fit two cars down easily.
the bit where i over took is a long straight with a slight curve, but at night u can see cars coming the over way. There is enough room for a car to pass another along as the car you overtake is over sufficiently. Tonight he was not and he did not move either and I ploughed straight into a grass verge, almost into the ditch witch runs along the side of the road, somehow i kept control of it and got past.
other examples being not have an exit strategy when overtaking.
How have i become so impulsive in my driving?
im not what you would call a boy racer. i don’t have a body kit on my car and i don’t do do-noughts in car parks. i look at driving as a art and am keen to learn and stop driving like this otherwise im going to get myself killed, or worse someone else.
Am i maby not aware of the limitations of my vehicle?
Should i retake lessons?
Are there any advance driving places in Devon?
someone help please
Your vehicle is quite capable, driven in an appropriate manner.
Which an IAM course will show you.
So, do it.
Aidan,
The IAM would cost your £65 - and to be quite frank will be the best money you can spend.
More details here: http://www.iam.org.uk/eshop/membershipshop/sfl.htm
And I have to say - your honesty is truly admirable
K
The IAM would cost your £65 - and to be quite frank will be the best money you can spend.
More details here: http://www.iam.org.uk/eshop/membershipshop/sfl.htm
And I have to say - your honesty is truly admirable
K
It may also be helpful to bear in mind a saying that the RAF had (and may well still have).
"The superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid situations where his superior skills may be required".
Looking forward to reading your updates re the IAM training. It will be the best thing you will have done, driving-wise.
regards
Nick
"The superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid situations where his superior skills may be required".
Looking forward to reading your updates re the IAM training. It will be the best thing you will have done, driving-wise.
regards
Nick
Kinky said:
Aidan,
The IAM would cost your £65 - and to be quite frank will be the best money you can spend.
More details here: http://www.iam.org.uk/eshop/membershipshop/sfl.htm
And I have to say - your honesty is truly admirable
K
Agreed.The IAM would cost your £65 - and to be quite frank will be the best money you can spend.
More details here: http://www.iam.org.uk/eshop/membershipshop/sfl.htm
And I have to say - your honesty is truly admirable
K
Aidan - it's good that you're aware that there's a problem here, and that you are anxious to overcome it. It is often said that overtaking is one of the most dangerous aspects of driving, and with the possibility of a collision with an oncoming vehicle it certainly is, so it's important to get to grips with this as soon as possible. It will take some time to get the feel of judging these situations and establishing a reliable way of dealing with them, but you'll get there. Just try to be patient.
In the meantime may I suggest you remember the primary advice about overtaking, i.e. "If in doubt, don't!" I know it may not be easy at your age, but having recognised the problem and the dangers, perhaps you can slow things down a bit, and not try to grab every overtaking opportunity that appears. Don't worry about missing a few. What you might do, having decided not to do a particular overtake that might have been OK, is continue to assess it and understand how it might have worked out. While continuing to follow the vehicle ahead, watch what happens to the changing hazard scene and judge whether it would have been OK, or not. Don't worry about the ones that you could have done, but didn't. That's far less of a problem than going for one, and then finding it goes dreadfully wrong.
I do hope you'll go with the IAM option, and I'm sure you will find that very helpful.
Keep chatting to us, and let us know how you're getting on.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
Edited by p1esk on Friday 1st February 11:57
I had a similar problem with a similar attitude and I can honestly say that no amount of advanced driving tuition helped with it. Advanced tuition such as IAM and RoADA focus mainly on the mechanics, advanced mechanics mind, but you can easily pass with, still, the wrong attitude. You will be able to see more clearly what you're doing wrong but you know this. Still a productive thing to do but may not be the complete solution for you.
I believe it's the attitude you need to change and that can only come from yourself. The great thing is that you DO seem to realise this. Many people drive like complete
s on the road but believe they're Alain Prost. You do not seem to be in that category at all.
So what I did to change my mindset was to step back and look at what I was actually doing:
I found often that no matter how many overtakes I did on the space of a 2 hour journey all it would take is for a p1ss stop for granny and grandad in their Volvo making steady progress at 50mph to catch up with me.
A while back just for a wee experiment I put the cruise on at 50mph on 2 or 3 occassions and sat at that speed, mostly, for 40-60 miles along NSL roads and never overtook anyone, or was overtaken. Which showed me that my previous manic desire to make progress, regardless, was a pointless and utterly unproductive exercise that only got me worried and stressed.
So now what I do is less overtakes but put the time and the planning into making them as textbook and as clean as possible and that gives me a good incentive for the next one. In fact I know I now do them well as I caught up with an unmarked plod beemer the other day on a country road and after he started to kept pace with me behind (as he had pulled into a layby ahead when I got stopped at some temporary traffic lights) with me for over 10 miles I completed 4-5 overtakes at 55-65mph and never got pulled
And if that waffle doesn't work, read this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Which really should be a sticky at the top of this board.
I believe it's the attitude you need to change and that can only come from yourself. The great thing is that you DO seem to realise this. Many people drive like complete
s on the road but believe they're Alain Prost. You do not seem to be in that category at all.So what I did to change my mindset was to step back and look at what I was actually doing:
I found often that no matter how many overtakes I did on the space of a 2 hour journey all it would take is for a p1ss stop for granny and grandad in their Volvo making steady progress at 50mph to catch up with me.
A while back just for a wee experiment I put the cruise on at 50mph on 2 or 3 occassions and sat at that speed, mostly, for 40-60 miles along NSL roads and never overtook anyone, or was overtaken. Which showed me that my previous manic desire to make progress, regardless, was a pointless and utterly unproductive exercise that only got me worried and stressed.
So now what I do is less overtakes but put the time and the planning into making them as textbook and as clean as possible and that gives me a good incentive for the next one. In fact I know I now do them well as I caught up with an unmarked plod beemer the other day on a country road and after he started to kept pace with me behind (as he had pulled into a layby ahead when I got stopped at some temporary traffic lights) with me for over 10 miles I completed 4-5 overtakes at 55-65mph and never got pulled
And if that waffle doesn't work, read this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Which really should be a sticky at the top of this board.
Edited by naetype on Friday 1st February 23:52
Cerberosa,
Condratulations on making the first step, i.e. recognising that there is room for improvement in your driving.
We all suffer from "the beast within" at times. It's easy to get fixated on an overtake, or getting out of a junction, or going round that bend that little bit quicker than last time. But in your case it sounds like your judgement is being clouded a bit.
It also affects young lads more (IMO). A competative streak, along with freedom for the first time and the belief that your are invincible all contribute to making young males very high risk drivers!
A few pointers that may help you:
1) Do the IAM. It's the best tutition for very little money.
2) Examine your own attitutes to driving.
3) Search for R_U_locals? posts on here. Especially "A question of speed".
4) Avoid overtaking on single lane roads for now. I think I am right in assuming that you will have had no, or very little formal tution in the art of overtaking. It is a potentially dangerous manouver, and there are a number of techniques that you need to have learned and practiced to make sure you do it safely. In a 1.6 Astra you're not going to be able to go much faster than most traffic anyway.
I'd offer to take you out for a drive, but Devon is a bit of a trek. Get in touch ith your local IAM group ASAP and get them to take you out for a drive. It'll be the best thing you ever do for your driving, and a skill for life.
Condratulations on making the first step, i.e. recognising that there is room for improvement in your driving.
We all suffer from "the beast within" at times. It's easy to get fixated on an overtake, or getting out of a junction, or going round that bend that little bit quicker than last time. But in your case it sounds like your judgement is being clouded a bit.
It also affects young lads more (IMO). A competative streak, along with freedom for the first time and the belief that your are invincible all contribute to making young males very high risk drivers!
A few pointers that may help you:
1) Do the IAM. It's the best tutition for very little money.
2) Examine your own attitutes to driving.
3) Search for R_U_locals? posts on here. Especially "A question of speed".
4) Avoid overtaking on single lane roads for now. I think I am right in assuming that you will have had no, or very little formal tution in the art of overtaking. It is a potentially dangerous manouver, and there are a number of techniques that you need to have learned and practiced to make sure you do it safely. In a 1.6 Astra you're not going to be able to go much faster than most traffic anyway.
I'd offer to take you out for a drive, but Devon is a bit of a trek. Get in touch ith your local IAM group ASAP and get them to take you out for a drive. It'll be the best thing you ever do for your driving, and a skill for life.
thanks for all the feed back guys!
i agree with naetype i think it is very much a mindset situation alot of the time, the iam will obviously be a huge help tho.
i've already read R_U_Local's forums, and watched his videos on youtube.
i've always worked on my driving since i passed,i take it very seriously, trying to make my driving as smooth as possible, double-de-clutching on downchanges, make gear changes up slower to lower the revs to match road speed the best i can, thinking about weight transfer, positioning on road, looking as far as possible recognising hazards and limit points.
there dosnt seem to be a instructor in devon, but a group in barnstaple..does anybody know how the instructor thing works are they sent to ur area?
also what do u learn with the IAM?
thanks again for all the replys
Better to do IAM before RoSPA! But see the RoSPA contacts in your area in case one of them is nearer.
http://www.roada.org.uk/groups/southwest/index.htm
BOF.
PS - Don't NOT do it because of location...many IAM Observers are happy to meet you halfway...
http://www.roada.org.uk/groups/southwest/index.htm
BOF.
PS - Don't NOT do it because of location...many IAM Observers are happy to meet you halfway...
Cerberosa said:
i agree with naetype i think it is very much a mindset situation alot of the time, the iam will obviously be a huge help tho.
there dosnt seem to be a instructor in devon, but a group in barnstaple..does anybody know how the instructor thing works are they sent to ur area?
also what do u learn with the IAM?
You're right about the mindset. It's very easy to get hung up on "techniques" when you talk about advanced driving, double de-clutching, feeding the steering wheel, Thumb up/thumb down gear changes... But none of these techniques actually help turn a bad driver into a good one.there dosnt seem to be a instructor in devon, but a group in barnstaple..does anybody know how the instructor thing works are they sent to ur area?
also what do u learn with the IAM?
You need to focus on your observation skills, planning your drive and anticipating other road users. You need instruction on what is safe, and how to read the road.
After that you can start using and practicing a few techniques that might smooth your driving out a bit and prevent you from making errors because of ham fisted use of the controls.
IAM should do all of this for you. You'll be able to tell your instructor what you want to focus on, and they will probably indentify a few issues too, and help you work them out.
Edit to say: Get in touch before you assume where the groups are. I thought my nearest group was in oxford 30 miles away, but when I got in touch I found that it was actually only 8 miles away, and wasn't advertised on the website at all. IAM are a bi backwards at times.
Edited by WeirdNeville on Saturday 2nd February 16:44
""Edit to say: Get in touch before you assume where the groups are. I thought my nearest group was in oxford 30 miles away, but when I got in touch I found that it was actually only 8 miles away, and wasn't advertised on the website at all.""
I would edit to say "get in touch before you assume where your nearest OBSERVER is"...you might have one in the next street to you...there is NO requirement to go to Group meetings, though it is nice to collect your Pass certificate in person and thank your Observer.
In the meantime, consider investing in a copy of the Roadcraft DVD just to get a flavour of what is involved...AND, as suggested above, next time you consider an overtake, ask yourself... WHY BOTHER?
BOF.
PS - On re reading this thread, one thing I maybe should have suggested to Aidan...as I do with my Associates...
On a B road (non dual carriageway) you are normally looking for a speed differential of 15MPH between you and the target...so in a 60 zone, if the target is doing 45 or less, and you have CLEAR vision of the road ahead and any junctions, it might be on.
Anything less than 15MPH differential, unless you have a LOT of power and some training...don't bother.
I would edit to say "get in touch before you assume where your nearest OBSERVER is"...you might have one in the next street to you...there is NO requirement to go to Group meetings, though it is nice to collect your Pass certificate in person and thank your Observer.
In the meantime, consider investing in a copy of the Roadcraft DVD just to get a flavour of what is involved...AND, as suggested above, next time you consider an overtake, ask yourself... WHY BOTHER?
BOF.
PS - On re reading this thread, one thing I maybe should have suggested to Aidan...as I do with my Associates...
On a B road (non dual carriageway) you are normally looking for a speed differential of 15MPH between you and the target...so in a 60 zone, if the target is doing 45 or less, and you have CLEAR vision of the road ahead and any junctions, it might be on.
Anything less than 15MPH differential, unless you have a LOT of power and some training...don't bother.
Edited by BOF on Sunday 10th February 17:33
Edited by BOF on Sunday 10th February 17:34
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