Lack of Driving Common Sense

superflyninja

Howdy all,
Ive taken about 14 driving lessons and have been going out in my own car with the instructor for the last 5 or 6. The driving itself seems fine but when the unexpected happens i dont have any common sense. For example I had been told if in doubt stop. So rounding a corner one evening the sun blasted me in the eyes and I couldnt see a thing so i went to pull in and stop, much the opposite of what i needed to do.
Things like that, or pulling through tiny gaps between cars too fast etc. Its really setting me back. I just dont trust my own judgement. Any advice or anyone have anything similar?

Leeg17

superflyninja wrote: »

Howdy all,
Ive taken about 14 driving lessons and have been going out in my own car with the instructor for the last 5 or 6. The driving itself seems fine but when the unexpected happens i dont have any common sense. For example I had been told if in doubt stop. So rounding a corner one evening the sun blasted me in the eyes and I couldnt see a thing so i went to pull in and stop, much the opposite of what i needed to do.
Things like that, or pulling through tiny gaps between cars too fast etc. Its really setting me back. I just dont trust my own judgement. Any advice or anyone have anything similar?

I was like that after that many lessons (had about 20 total before I passed my second test). It's all about confidence and practice. The more practice you get the more confident you become dealing with situations that you encounter in everyday driving.

When coming to a tight gap, and say you're in third, drop down to second, but remember to stop if it's only wide enough for one car and the obstruction is on your side! You need to be able to drive in most weather conditions. If you normally drive say 80 kmph in a 100 kmph zone, and it's lashing rain/sun is blinding you etc, slow down even more if you need to. Most important thing is not to feel pressured by other drivers who may beep/flash/overtake.

Common sense is developed over time through practice. It's not sometime that just "appears" from nowhere. Best of luck driving OP.

**Timbuk2**

I was like that when I was new to driving. Believe me, you will increase your judgment and common sense through experience. As long as you practice, you will be surprised how quickly you become experienced.

I used to hate driving around the town, as I was always asking "Should I go?", "Should I let him out?", "Should I pull up ahead of the junction or wait behind it?" but now it comes easy. Just ask yourself what will your intended action cause other road users to do.

An example of where I lacked common sense is on those small tourist roads, which aren't really wide enough for a car and a bus to pass side by side, and when I met a bus I had to quickly analyse where to pull in to give the bus maximum room.

Oh and if you are dazzled by the sun, stopping is ok. Sometimes when I drive off my road in the morning, I round a corner and the sun dazzles me. Often I'd slow right down or stop, so as to accustom myself to the light, and then move forward to the Stop line - it would be unsafe to keep going when my visibility is impaired.

If you constantly read the road and anticipate what other road users will do, you should have no difficulty. A few common things are when a car ahead of you has just paralell parked, he/she might open their door without looking. If a car is going slowly and has their left indicator on, they are probably looking for a parking space and you should stay well behind as they might reverse in and you don't want to block the space. On multi-lane roads, you can often anticipate when people want to change lane by judging the speed of traffic in front of the car, and also the head movements of the person in the car (although I may be reading a bit much into it!).

Hope this helps!

MascotDec85

superflyninja wrote: »

Howdy all,
Ive taken about 14 driving lessons and have been going out in my own car with the instructor for the last 5 or 6. The driving itself seems fine but when the unexpected happens i dont have any common sense. For example I had been told if in doubt stop. So rounding a corner one evening the sun blasted me in the eyes and I couldnt see a thing so i went to pull in and stop, much the opposite of what i needed to do.
Things like that, or pulling through tiny gaps between cars too fast etc. Its really setting me back. I just dont trust my own judgement. Any advice or anyone have anything similar?

If you become blinded by the sun the correct thing to do is to pull over in a safe place until your eyes recover. However with experience you'll learn to anticipate that just before your turn you'll need to pull the visor down to stop yourself getting blinded. These are all wee tricks that you learn as time goes on. You can't be expected to get everything right from the start.

Can you explain what you mean about "pulling through tiny gaps between cars too fast etc" a bit more? Is this like stationary cars parked either side of the road? If so, this boils down to driving at an appropriate speed for the conditions/surroundings.

What you need to do is think, in advance, "what if?" What if, just before I drive through that gap and someone opens the car door, can I stop safely, am I driving slow enough to stop?

There are certain things you can't legislate for but using effective observation all around you will allow you to think about what if and do something to prevent an accident or near miss or whatever.

starlit

yes I am still in that category! have poor judgement, poor decision making in the sense that I take for ever to make my mind whether its the right or wrong thing, I don't know if I am doing to right/wrong safe thing like yet my observation is quiet good. Its amazing though when I practice going through the theory test cd rom to recall what I learnt from when I was preparing for the theory test which I passed with flying colours to this day I always seem to faulter on the judgement and decision making aspects of the questions on the cd where I can assess my performance for each section. My biggest thing is my nerves can get to me or that I either lack confidence or I get too cocky when driving!

Still havent fully mastered the basics! I have difficulty pulling out on a hill, often conk out when either in traffic or at a junction(very dangerous) my accomapany driver has to take over if I can't pull out. Sometimes I am jerking when I stop and pull in or often or not I conk out as per usual. Yet I don't have the bad habits i.e. crossing my hands or coasting thank goodness I never developed them. Took me nearly a year to get used to the gear changing like! I was learning how to get the car going for about two months befor I even got on the road. I have had 10 professional driving lessons with two different driving instructors. One I had 3 lessons with the other 7 lessons along with 20-30+ driving lessons with my accompany driver and yet haven't made much progress in the two years I've been learning! Iv just got my 2nd permit and tis either sink or swim within the next two years! seriously considering changing instructors and go with the ISM crowd.

daveharnett

This will come with time OP. You're still at a stage where observing the road around you and operating the controls takes a significant percentage of your "processing time". You will find that as you spend more time behind the wheel, you can dedicate more of your attention to making the right decisions, and the execution of those decisions become almost automatic.

As to the decision making itself, time in the passenger seat can help too. Take advantage of any excuse to go on drives with family, friends, OH, whoever. The driver doesn't have to be brilliant (you can learn from their mistakes too ), but somebody who's competent, confident, and happy to give a running commentary would be ideal.

The really encouraging thing is that you are aware that you are having problems in this area. As long as you can recognize your mistakes, you're making progress.

superflyninja

thanks for all the advice/encouragement.i guess its just a matter of time/experience