Advice needed please...

remembering

Hi everyone

I have a problem and I will probably get slated for this big time, hope not though! :mad:
I am also wondering if anyone else here has ever had the same problem and what they did about it? :rolleyes:

So here goes:

I passed my test about a year and a half ago, passed first time but that doesn’t really make you a great driver apparently either as you will find out below

Anyway I’m still really scared of roundabouts/driving long distances and routes I’m not familiar with etc. I’m fine plodding along to the shops and routes I know but that’s about it?

So what do I do? More lessons I know is the obvious one but is there anything else I can do like driving courses etc?? I’m just getting sick of avoiding big scarey roundabouts and I still don’t really understand them, I know its explained here but I need to actually drive around them to understand them..

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

lily lou

I felt a bit the same when I first started driving and the only way to get over it is to keep pushing yourself. Get a friend who is cofortable on roundabouts to go out with you and just get lots of practice in.

I used to hate driving places I'd never been before, but I promise you it does get easier, the longer you are driving the more confident you get and before you know it you'll be driving on roundabouts and on long distances without even thinking about it. Just practice, practice practice!!!

cynder

I was like that for a while, roundabouts dont bother me (dont like the double roundabouts in the uk).

The more you drive the more confident you get. its when you have no other choice but to drive a long distance that you realise is isnt as bad as it might seem.

I hired a car in the uk and drove around brimingham and up to alton towers and back again. I did fine.

I have only drove through limerick city twice but i do travel on the outskirts of limerick, been to cork and galway , tipperary and dungarvan. i even wanted to drive onto the ferry to the uk but my husband wouldnt let me cause my dad had just died in the uk - he thought i might crash, so i flew.

I used to dread getting into the car to drive, i love it now and i like doing longer trips. I found that once i did the bad road to kilaloe that i could drive anywhere.

dermothickey

Only advice is to practice..but with the roundabouts it may be a good idea to do them early in the morning or at night when traffic isn't so bad. The more you do them the easier it will be for you...go to an industrial estate with lots of roundabouts in them..or if you live in limerick give me a pm and I'll go help you out with it..best of luck

ha-ya-said-what

Most big scary roundabouts have signs & road marking for which exit you take for your route & which lane to be in, look out for them on approach, know where your going what lane & exit, do all your checks & get into position in the lane you should be in etc for me what made roundabouts scary was all the traffic on them.

I did lessons & covered roundabouts in them, but were still some issues I had so I'd get a sheet of paper & draw a roundabout on it & some lines off it for the exits, sit with the OH & ask "right if I want to take this exit .. I'm in this lane.. right??" "And what about this exit here at 1 o'clock". That was grand I understood what lane I'd to be in so we went on a practise run at night where there was a load of roundabouts & the roads quiet so there wasn't loads of traffic around & I could get the hang of them. If you want to get loads of roundabout practise & a good spin drive around Naas at night. .......... (provided it isn't too far from you)

Third_Echelon

Honestly, the only thing you can do is to practise..... quite simple.

as others have said, try it out in industrial estates or at non-peak times to get the technique perfected, then start doing it in the day time when there is actually traffic on roundabouts, as that's when you need to know the rules. Its easy with no traffic...

remembering

hi everyone

A huge thanks for all your replies, it was great advice, simple but true, so i need to get out with my sister or a friend now and start again i guess.
the only thing is i will be a bit embarrassed having to ask them after all this time but i guess its the only solution for me, its either that or more lessons .:mad::mad:
i can get to naas alright so i must start copping on or I will never get far.
i did go to roscommon though on my own a few times from newbridge and one day there was a diversion and i hadnt a clue where i was going and i ended up all over the country and it was pouring rain but i found my way back so i was proud of that!! :D I guess I have maybe got a bit lazy when it comes to the driving, like taking the train for long distances instead so I am going to do a long journey again very soon.
im glad im not the only one that was like this.
i do actually like driving, its just i get nervous again!!!
thanks again.

greenie

remembering wrote: »

one day there was a diversion and i hadnt a clue where i was going and i ended up all over the country and it was pouring rain but i found my way back so i was proud of that!! :D

Lol I was forever getting lost..I still do (no sense of direction!!) but I think that helped me in a way..I became confident driving on roads I didn't know...but I remember everytime I found my way back home I was so proud too!!
Best of luck...you'll get there:)

remembering

greenie wrote: »

Lol I was forever getting lost..I still do (no sense of direction!!) but I think that helped me in a way..I became confident driving on roads I didn't know...but I remember everytime I found my way back home I was so proud too!!
Best of luck...you'll get there:)

thanks greenie. Im so bad with directions also. :D id get lost in a paper bag im that bad. dont know how i found my way back that day and didnt end up back in roscommon again is beyond me!! lol :D