New on the road.

Hi all

So recently I started driving a car on my own and all has been well for the large part however now on 2 occasions I have managed to hit the front left side of my car, the first time I was going forward and caught the side of another car (yes I did the right thing) and the second time I was reversing out of the drive. It's been minor damage scratches on the bumper but still I'm not overly impressed with myself for not being more careful.. Is it just a case of not being careful enough and developing my judgement or is there a chance I haven't got my seat set up correctly and not actually judging where the front of my car is.

My confidence is starting to take a bit of hit but I know that it isnt a huge deal.

Any advice would be welcomed

Khuz

Tigger

get lessons
have you a license

wonski

Deleted User wrote: »

Hi all

all has been well for the large part however now on 2 occasions I have managed to hit the front left side of my car, the first time I was going forward and caught the side of another car (yes I did the right thing)

:eek: Sorry I can't be more helpful, but don't kmow what to say really.

I passed my test middle of last year, I just hadn't been on the road for 15 months or more..

YbFocus

If you can't tell the width of your car or don't know your position when manoeuvring then you need lessons at the least, staying of the road until your lessons maybe might be an idea because it's possible that the rest of your driving isn't up to scratch either just you haven't caused damage.
You could be causing a lot of trouble for other motorists without knowing.

Tigger

Deleted User wrote: »

I passed my test middle of last year, I just hadn't been on the road for 15 months or more..

get lessons and try not to kill any pedestrians

slimjimmc

Not being careful enough I'd say, but make sure you're seated fairly upright while comfortably reaching the pedals. A laid back, almost horizontal position that some drivers assume is not a help.

wonski

Deleted User wrote: »

I passed my test middle of last year, I just hadn't been on the road for 15 months or more..

Apologies for my previous post then, as I (wrongly) assumed you are a learner doing it on your own, and didn't want to go into that kind of discussion.
If you have someone to drive with, who has more experience maybe it is worth to do kind of refresher test before getting back on the road. You were competent once, so you should pick up on the skills again...

ION08

Poor spatial awareness.

Women tend to suffer more from this.

Lenin Skynard

Head movement is underrated. Try to look at everything from every possible angle and in every mirror, don't move the car unless you are 100% confident in the manoeuvre.

Tigger and YbFocus thank you for your responses albeit slightly unhelpful.. I don't think lessons are an answer given that I have had plenty and can drive without causing problems for other motorists and pedestrians my only issue was minor scrapes I've had which slimjimmc was possibly the most accurate I need to be more careful. Wonski thanks for the advice but I think it is just a case of judgement and being a bit slower when manoeuvring so I don't hit anything and do some real damage to the car. ION08 my spatial awareness is fine and I'm a man.

ION08

Well it clearly isn't if you're hitting things with the corner of your car!

Do you struggle with parallel parking at all do you mind me asking?

Im not trying to be rude, im just saying some people have a less acute sense of spatial awareness than others, and women generally less so than men

YbFocus

Man your spatial awareness can't be great if your bashing stuff! Have you good clutch control etc.

ION08 I think the spatial awareness is fine and like I said it is a case of being a bit more careful.. I haven't actually parallel parked since I was taking driving lessons.. I just haven't needed to but admittedly I am a little nervous about it.. YbFocus my clutch control isn't bad but it has been 15+ months since I was regularly driving and even now I don't exactly manoeuvre as much as I used to when in lessons so it probably needs to be honed.. I've only been on the road for 2 weeks and even then I havent been driving for fun mainly to and from work which doesn't exactly help hone my driving skills or give me a huge amount of time behind the wheel.. But the 2 incidents have knocked my confidence a little bit.. Based on the posts from everyone I think it is a case of being a bit more careful when doing manoeuvres..

YbFocus

Ah yeah just be careful until the skills get going again, better do something slowly and get it right than trying to complete it fast and causing harm

zenno

Well you, and anyone else would be a bit rusty from not driving over a 15 month period, so when manoeuvring go extra slow as you judge the distance.

fifteen months in all honesty is a long time, and to just hop back in and drive at this stage will show a bit of rustyness for sure.

biko

Don't worry too much about it. I see cars all the time that have scrapes around the corner areas.
A. Reverse into parking spots, it's easier to do it that way (ever noticed how forklifts can turn easier - the turning wheels are at the back).
Yes, it'll take little longer to park but on the other hand you can drive off faster and safer.

B. If you're going around a corner, like in a parking building don't be afraid to reverse a little and try again if a corner is too tight. Don't chance it.

C. As said, seating position will help. Try to sit higher.

D. Practise.

What car is it OP? For new drivers smaller cars are better.

Tigger

Deleted User wrote: »

Tigger and YbFocus thank you for your responses albeit slightly unhelpful.. I don't think lessons are an answer given that I have had plenty and can drive without causing problems for other motorists and pedestrians my only issue was minor scrapes I've had which

i love my cars and if you drove into on that would cause me a serious problem
get lessons

mitosis

Get yourself a couple of traffic cones and an empty car park. Practice until you know where the limits of the car are. Then just take extra care in the real world. You'll get the hang of it.

djimi

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't think lessons are an answer given that I have had plenty and can drive without causing problems for other motorists and pedestrians

I beg to differ. If you dont know where the edges of your car are then you are going to cause problems to other motorists (you have already said that you have hit another car).

If you cant drive competently then get some more lessons; the fact that you have passed your test seems to be somewhat irrelevant here. If its a concentration/attention issue then you really need to cop onto yourself. If its something more serious, like a lack of spacial awareness, then you need to find a solution (again getting lessons may help with this).

mickdw

mitosis wrote: »

Get yourself a couple of traffic cones and an empty car park. Practice until you know where the limits of the car are. Then just take extra car in the real world. You'll get the hang of it.

Was going to post exact same thing.
An hour messing with cones only bumping you're own car will teach a bad driver more than a year guessing.

Thanks for all the responses.. Djimi like I said I'm quite certain I can drive competently and not cause problems to other motorist given the lack of horns that get beeped at me and the fact that I haven't caused an accident on a motorway or A road which I have been driving on a fair bit since flying solo..

My only concern is whether there may have been an underlying issue that I overlooked i.e. improper seat positioning.. The reason I know lessons isn't an answer is because my former instructors and test examiner have said that a person doesnt learn to drive until they are alone in the car ergo rendering lessons irrelevant to the point.. 99% of the time I have been fine these incidents fall into the 1% but I'm a perfectionist which is why I posted the thread.. Bikko to answer your question it is a Nissan Almera which isn't exactly a big car but it isn't a small car either.. More care and attention and road time are needed on my part..

Thanks again everyone..

This thread can be closed..

overshoot

An motorway with 4m lanes will not test your spatial awareness like parking in a 2.5m parking spot (or less for older spaces), narrow country road or just a generally confined space.

As someone said, get some cones and id also say planks of wood (so you know there your wheels are too), an empty car park and see if you have problems...

Maybe you have been unlucky, maybe your seat is wrong but you can't get that advice from an online forum from people who can't see you in person, so if you insist your spatial awareness is fine, you do need a driving Instructor!

dh0011

op if you have a yard get some cardboard boxes (if it is windy put a bottle of water into each one) and make a tight corner to drive through reverse through and a little road to turn around in.
Do it for an hour or two and you should see an improvement

_Kaiser_

I'm actually a little bit in shock here reading this..

We have an OP who is convinced that because they passed their test 15 months ago they're a competent driver - even though they haven't driven since then, have hit another car and can't judge the width/length of their own car.

Then they get offended because people suggest lessons to master these (and other) essential day-to-day driving skills??

I'm sorry OP, but in my mind you're NOT competent to be on the road alone with your current skillset and I certainly wouldn't be happy if *I* was the one you ran into while you're figuring it out. I don't care what colour your license is. You clearly haven't yet developed the skills to control you car.

Get lessons! Or find yourself a quiet car park (industrial estates at weekends are perfect) and get practising where you won't be putting others at risk.

challengemaster

Deleted User wrote: »

ION08 I think the spatial awareness is fine and like

You've hit 2 things, one being a car, and you think your spatial awareness is fine?


Sweet jesus.

Toyotafanboi

sounds like the OP needs a parking pole

Supergurrier

Oh here we go again.

1. OP makes thread looking for helpful imput.

2.Gets a reply that isn't "You were in the right laaad/shurre your the best driver ever never mind it"

3. Gets defensive.

If your spatial awareness is fine and you don't need lessons than you either needs glasses or a shunt big enough to change your opinion.

Hitting things when driving is not normal

Dord

It can't hurt to have a few refresher lessons with a good driving instructor to go through the things you're having trouble with.