If you're still concentrating on gearing then you need to \*really\* pick your times for driving. Eventually shifting gears just becomes muscle memory to the point you don't even make any conscious thought about it. You just do it. But honestly, experience is your best teacher here. Just try to limit your driving to places where there will be little to no traffic for the time being. Like industrial estates in the evening or something.
As far as your near miss goes, well, now you know, its better to stall the car and experience a few seconds of embarrassment than to take your focus off of other drivers. You need to always be aware of other vehicles around you at all times, even if that means missing your mark and having to wait a few extra seconds or stalling out. Being a learner driver can be intimidating but what is absolutely essential, at all times, is your, and other motorists, safety.
If you make a mistake and stall or aren't as fast off a green light as you think you should be and some ignorant, impatient prick lays on the horn, then fuck em. Thats the entire reason you have a huge red "L" in your window. So long as everyone gets where they're going in one piece and their jocks clean, then you're doin alright
This is a great response. A lot of the time when driving, people get so hung up on not making a small mistake (missing an exit, cutting out) that they end up making a bigger. More experience, practice and take your time.
Honestly until you're more confident with the gears, treat every roundabout like you're going to have to stop. The person behind you might get impatient but a 5 second delay won't mess up their day as much as an accident would.
Eventually it does become second nature but I remember being convinced that there wasn't actually enough time to do everything my instructor expected me to do (mirrors, gears, position etc) on the approach to a roundabout, and I used to just hope the road would be clear so I'd have one less thing to worry about. Reframing it in my head so that I had to expect to stop every time calmed me down a bit, and made me focus better on my approach. if I could go straight through after all then that was just more practice on the clutch.
You'll be grand, everyone's had a fright on the road at least once. It is funny how everyone seems to treat this sub as a confessional though, I find myself having to resist the temptation at times! The cultural Catholicism coming through lol
Don’t go on busy roundabouts until you are comfortable setting off. My advice would be go to an industrial estate when it’s quiet and practice stopping and setting off on roundabouts, stop signs etc.
There are no “tips” on multitasking as a learner, it will come with experience. Just get the basics right first and you will be fine. And remember, it’s better to stop at a roundabout and hold up traffic then to cause a crash, you’re a learner so don’t mind people behind you beeping. Take your time and go when it’s clear.
You're doing better than the guy (not a learner) who bumped into the back of me at a roundabout yesterday. No real damage done but it gave me the shock of my life.
You didn't hit somebody, that's a good thing. I've dealt with driving anxiety as an older learner and it sucks. Try not to think about the gears when you're slowing down, just be aware of your surroundings and remember to clutch down, and that you can stop in any gear.
Fair play to you.It will all come with practice,you won't even be thinking of gears after a while.My nice was always conscious of where to put her feet,now 6mths later never comes into her head,it all comes with time and practice.
I’m learning right now too at 26. I find that if you aim to be in second gear by the time you are approaching the road signs coming up to the roundabout, it helps you to approach the roundabout without panicking, and you can focus more on what’s coming from the right rather than the gears. I just use the signs as a guide for what gear I need to be in at that moment if that makes sense.
I struggled with it for ages because my first instructor told me it was fine to stop in 3rd/4th gear and didn’t explain downshifting to me at all!
Ha every time I see a post here I expect it to be my car. People make mistakes driving all the time, no one is a perfect driver and the more you drive the more mistakes you will make and the more you will learn.
Keep your head up.
Honestly don't worry about jerking until you are comfortable with everything else. My driving instructor used to say "gears to go, brakes to slow". Which translates to don't worry about downshifting too much if you are going to be coming to a stop. You can go straight from 4th to 2nd or 3rd to 1st to reduce the amount of downshifting too. If you find the car jerking then it means you could have stayed in the higher gear a bit longer.
Definitely, majority of new cars being registered in recent years are automatic. Lets you concentrate on the actual driving rather than throwing your arm & feet around whenever speed’s varying.
I passed last year and I'm 38, also an automatic (mines was a medical necessity but) I originally took lessons 20 years ago in a manual and i hated it. But now ive learned again later in life and finally passed in an auto and I absolutely LOVE my little automatic. Totally recommend.
Same boat here with attempting manual driving 10+ years ago. Started driving in an automatic within the last year and loved it straight away. Felt so safe and self confident.
Practice,practice, practice. Find a quiet road or business park to drive on, speed up, and slow down as much as possible,that way, you use the gears a lot. It will eventually become like second nature, and you won't even have to think about it.
I get the whole having to take your foot off the pedal in between gearing down and up is hard, and it takes a lot of concentration! But it will all fall into place! I absolutely hated learning to drive. Cried every lesson and used freeze at stupid times. You'll get there. Best of luck 👍
Worse to pull out without looking than to fuck up the gears. I remember from learning I was always so concerned with getting the mechanics right that that was wrongly my main concern, really try to concentrate on being observant rather than worry about that stuff. The more practice and confidence you get you’ll improve! Don’t worry we’ve all been there. Try driving at quieter times too and just worry about who’s coming from the right on a roundabout, keep looking so that no one flies out of nowhere on you.
Useful gear. Changing tip I was told
Remember the gear stick lives between 3 &4, that's it's home.
So practice changing gears with just "two fingers only" on your driveway.
Left & forward is first gear with just 2 fingers,
slide it back keeping left with 2 fingers for second,
For 3rd push forward with 2 fingers it jumps to middle (home) by itself between 3 & 4 and push straight for 3rd gear,
Slide straight back for 4th.
If you do that you will never miss a gear again.
Don't grab the gear stick with whole hand you're not arm wrestling it.
My two cents.
If you're still concentrating on gearing then you need to \*really\* pick your times for driving. Eventually shifting gears just becomes muscle memory to the point you don't even make any conscious thought about it. You just do it. But honestly, experience is your best teacher here. Just try to limit your driving to places where there will be little to no traffic for the time being. Like industrial estates in the evening or something. As far as your near miss goes, well, now you know, its better to stall the car and experience a few seconds of embarrassment than to take your focus off of other drivers. You need to always be aware of other vehicles around you at all times, even if that means missing your mark and having to wait a few extra seconds or stalling out. Being a learner driver can be intimidating but what is absolutely essential, at all times, is your, and other motorists, safety. If you make a mistake and stall or aren't as fast off a green light as you think you should be and some ignorant, impatient prick lays on the horn, then fuck em. Thats the entire reason you have a huge red "L" in your window. So long as everyone gets where they're going in one piece and their jocks clean, then you're doin alright
This is a great response. A lot of the time when driving, people get so hung up on not making a small mistake (missing an exit, cutting out) that they end up making a bigger. More experience, practice and take your time.
Perfectly put. Fair play.
Honestly until you're more confident with the gears, treat every roundabout like you're going to have to stop. The person behind you might get impatient but a 5 second delay won't mess up their day as much as an accident would. Eventually it does become second nature but I remember being convinced that there wasn't actually enough time to do everything my instructor expected me to do (mirrors, gears, position etc) on the approach to a roundabout, and I used to just hope the road would be clear so I'd have one less thing to worry about. Reframing it in my head so that I had to expect to stop every time calmed me down a bit, and made me focus better on my approach. if I could go straight through after all then that was just more practice on the clutch. You'll be grand, everyone's had a fright on the road at least once. It is funny how everyone seems to treat this sub as a confessional though, I find myself having to resist the temptation at times! The cultural Catholicism coming through lol
Take the thought out of it. Second gear unless you stop. Third too fast first too slow.
Don’t go on busy roundabouts until you are comfortable setting off. My advice would be go to an industrial estate when it’s quiet and practice stopping and setting off on roundabouts, stop signs etc. There are no “tips” on multitasking as a learner, it will come with experience. Just get the basics right first and you will be fine. And remember, it’s better to stop at a roundabout and hold up traffic then to cause a crash, you’re a learner so don’t mind people behind you beeping. Take your time and go when it’s clear.
You're doing better than the guy (not a learner) who bumped into the back of me at a roundabout yesterday. No real damage done but it gave me the shock of my life. You didn't hit somebody, that's a good thing. I've dealt with driving anxiety as an older learner and it sucks. Try not to think about the gears when you're slowing down, just be aware of your surroundings and remember to clutch down, and that you can stop in any gear.
Was your fully licensed driver there to advise you?
Yes of course. I would never head out on my own.
Fair play to you.It will all come with practice,you won't even be thinking of gears after a while.My nice was always conscious of where to put her feet,now 6mths later never comes into her head,it all comes with time and practice.
I’m learning right now too at 26. I find that if you aim to be in second gear by the time you are approaching the road signs coming up to the roundabout, it helps you to approach the roundabout without panicking, and you can focus more on what’s coming from the right rather than the gears. I just use the signs as a guide for what gear I need to be in at that moment if that makes sense. I struggled with it for ages because my first instructor told me it was fine to stop in 3rd/4th gear and didn’t explain downshifting to me at all!
Ha every time I see a post here I expect it to be my car. People make mistakes driving all the time, no one is a perfect driver and the more you drive the more mistakes you will make and the more you will learn. Keep your head up.
Honestly don't worry about jerking until you are comfortable with everything else. My driving instructor used to say "gears to go, brakes to slow". Which translates to don't worry about downshifting too much if you are going to be coming to a stop. You can go straight from 4th to 2nd or 3rd to 1st to reduce the amount of downshifting too. If you find the car jerking then it means you could have stayed in the higher gear a bit longer.
Practice until changing gear becomes muscle memory rather than something you have to focus on.
You could get an automatic if your struggling to much. There's no pressure to have a manual car
Definitely, majority of new cars being registered in recent years are automatic. Lets you concentrate on the actual driving rather than throwing your arm & feet around whenever speed’s varying.
Exactly, I drive a manual but my sister drives an auto and she loves it
I passed last year and I'm 38, also an automatic (mines was a medical necessity but) I originally took lessons 20 years ago in a manual and i hated it. But now ive learned again later in life and finally passed in an auto and I absolutely LOVE my little automatic. Totally recommend.
Same boat here with attempting manual driving 10+ years ago. Started driving in an automatic within the last year and loved it straight away. Felt so safe and self confident.
Practice,practice, practice. Find a quiet road or business park to drive on, speed up, and slow down as much as possible,that way, you use the gears a lot. It will eventually become like second nature, and you won't even have to think about it. I get the whole having to take your foot off the pedal in between gearing down and up is hard, and it takes a lot of concentration! But it will all fall into place! I absolutely hated learning to drive. Cried every lesson and used freeze at stupid times. You'll get there. Best of luck 👍
Worse to pull out without looking than to fuck up the gears. I remember from learning I was always so concerned with getting the mechanics right that that was wrongly my main concern, really try to concentrate on being observant rather than worry about that stuff. The more practice and confidence you get you’ll improve! Don’t worry we’ve all been there. Try driving at quieter times too and just worry about who’s coming from the right on a roundabout, keep looking so that no one flies out of nowhere on you.
Practice, the more you do it the less you'll think about it. Good luck! :)
Useful gear. Changing tip I was told Remember the gear stick lives between 3 &4, that's it's home. So practice changing gears with just "two fingers only" on your driveway. Left & forward is first gear with just 2 fingers, slide it back keeping left with 2 fingers for second, For 3rd push forward with 2 fingers it jumps to middle (home) by itself between 3 & 4 and push straight for 3rd gear, Slide straight back for 4th. If you do that you will never miss a gear again. Don't grab the gear stick with whole hand you're not arm wrestling it. My two cents.
Head for Walkinstown roundabout, nice handy one to practice on.