Near Miss-How to get over it.

hattoncracker

Hi everyone,

I had a near miss of an accident while driving home today. I was turning right out of a carpark, the light turned green and I went to move off, and as I was halfway across the road, a horse and card with 3 young boys ran a red light, the horse was flying along, and I almost hit them.. I had to break really hard to stop myself from hitting them, I wasn't going too fast but they just came out of nowhere, and I was in the middle of the city so it wasn't something I was expecting to see.

I didn't miss them by very much, but I was shaking and now I'm a bit terrified to get behind the wheel again. At the start of learning to drive I used to have nightmares about running people over and it took me a long time to get over that. I had to get my bf's mother to drive my car home.

I have done all my EDTs, and booked my test at the end of June so it should be coming up soon and I don't want to fail on hesitation because I'm going to be very nervous now. Have you any tips on how to get over this?

Thanks.

bbsrs

hattoncracker wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I had a near miss of an accident while driving home today. I was turning right out of a carpark, the light turned green and I went to move off, and as I was halfway across the road, a horse and card with 3 young boys ran a red light, the horse was flying along, and I almost hit them.. I had to break really hard to stop myself from hitting them, I wasn't going too fast but they just came out of nowhere, and I was in the middle of the city so it wasn't something I was expecting to see.

I didn't miss them by very much, but I was shaking and now I'm a bit terrified to get behind the wheel again. At the start of learning to drive I used to have nightmares about running people over and it took me a long time to get over that. I had to get my bf's mother to drive my car home.

I have done all my EDTs, and booked my test at the end of June so it should be coming up soon and I don't want to fail on hesitation because I'm going to be very nervous now. Have you any tips on how to get over this?

Thanks.

It wasn't your fault that three idiots and a horse ran a red light , to your credit you avoided them , that should give you confidence that you are capable to drive and react to whatever you meet on the road. Well done you. Get back in your car and continue to do as you are doing and you'll grow in confidence every time you drive.

hattoncracker

bbsrs wrote: »

It wasn't your fault that three idiots and a horse ran a red light , to your credit you avoided them , that should give you confidence that you are capable to drive and react to whatever you meet on the road. Well done you. Get back in your car and continue to do as you are doing and you'll grow in confidence every time you drive.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

The problem I have now is that I know if I'd hit them it would have been totally my fault. The youngest was about 8 and the oldest was no older than 14, so I don't know if I could have handled it if something worse had happened, and I am just so focused on the 'what ifs' atm. And it's not like I could take their reg number and go to the gardai.. :rolleyes:

I know it's irrational, and I would probably never be in a position of my own design where something like that could happen, but it's really knocked me for six.

bbsrs

hattoncracker wrote: »

bbsrs wrote: »

It wasn't your fault that three idiots and a horse ran a red light , to your credit you avoided them , that should give you confidence that you are capable to drive and react to whatever you meet on the road. Well done you. Get back in your car and continue to do as you are doing and you'll grow in confidence every time you drive.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

The problem I have now is that I know if I'd hit them it would have been totally my fault. The youngest was about 8 and the oldest was no older than 14, so I don't know if I could have handled it if something worse had happened, and I am just so focused on the 'what ifs' atm. And it's not like I could take their reg number and go to the gardai.. :rolleyes:

I know it's irrational, and I would probably never be in a position of my own design where something like that could happen, but it's really knocked me for six.

It would not necessarily have been your fault , you did all you could and that was enough , no one can expect any more. Give yourself a break . Worrying is a pointless exercise , learn and move on. Your reaction to the situation you found yourself in was adequate and avoided an accident.

Mister Jingles

hattoncracker wrote: »

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

The problem I have now is that I know if I'd hit them it would have been totally my fault.

No it wouldn't of been. They (the 3 kids) ran the red light. Should kids even be allowed in control of such an animal ?

Osborne

I feel sorry for you as learning to drive is a nerve wrecking experience at the best of times.

What you have to understand is, that on Irish roads, we have a huge amount of people that really have no idea of how to drive properly. I meet them every day and have had numerous near misses.

The incident you have described is obviously not your fault and please do not let this stop you driving. Use it as a catalyst to improve your own driving, especially your observational techniques. You stopped in time for the little rascals showing that you ARE a safe and considerate driver already.

hattoncracker

I know it wasn't my fault, and I was very careful, but it took me a good many years to get the confidence to learn to drive, my mum was in a bad accident when I was very small kid, a lorry driver fell asleep at the wheel behind her and as she was indicating right he plowed into her and she was thrown onto the road.

She survived, has a bad arm because of it, and she always drummed it into me about being careful when driving, etc. and how dangerous it is so I didn't really have the greatest of confidence starting out.

I know I should just get back on the horse, but there's no one to come out with me for two weeks so I'll just have to use that time to get over it.

Thanks guys, keep the positivity coming, tis helping!

Osborne

hattoncracker wrote: »

I know I should just get back on the horse,

Don't do that! The horse is the reason you started this thread. Stick to the car.

johnayo

Everyone learning to drive has a close call at some stage. A good quick reaction and a little bit of luck is required to avoid anything serious. You learn from your experiences and become a better driver from them.
You now know that a bad situation presented itself today and you dealt with it satisfactorily. Your observation skills will be even more sharp in the future as a result.
Try not to leave two weeks pass before you get out again. As you suggested yourself already, you need to get back up on the horse.

Well done you today.

MascotDec85

Seems like you reacted impeccably to the unexpected hazard.

Take that as a +ive and good luck with your test!

clanpiper

I've been driving for many, many years both here and in the UK. Ive been driving as a profession and socially. This incident is absolutely new to me so I would take it that it will be a one off. The positives to take out of this are that it will have heightened your observational abilities and your anticipation of hazards.

You have a great story to tell people regarding being aware of whats happening all around you.

Most importantly DO NOT dwell on any negatives of this incident. There are too many positives here.

Those kids are able to feed their horse today because of your awareness. You have to be applauded for this.

WELL DONE YOU.

Keep up the great work by continually setting the right example.

But, most importantly of all, get behind the wheel as soon as possible and get back down to where that incident took place.
Put it in the past and don't let it eat away at you.
Good luck.

ADIDriving

hattoncracker wrote: »

Have you any tips on how to get over this?

The only solution is ( with a really bad pun ) to get back on the horse. As in get back out there driving. You reacted well and did nothing wrong. But stuff like this can happen. Remember that you have the ability to deal with a random situation like this.

Bobsammy

You could maybe see about some advanced driving courses? I had a nasty accident a few years ago and was really nervous driving after it even though I'd been driving after few years at that stage. My dad made me do some more driving lessons even though I'd passed my test ages ago and it just gave me my confidence back - 5 years on I like to think my driving benefited from the whole experience.