I'm teaching one of my friends to drive. She's 20 and has her temps. She seems to know most of the basic rules of driving, as in stopping at the appropriate place at a stop sign, signaling, etc. I pretty much let her have control when we practice, i just interject when she makes a minor mistake, or to clarify something i said earlier.
She's not bad at it, really, just a little skittish. Stop lights, other cars, and pedestrians/bicyclists tend to make her panic a little.
I should probably mention that she hasn't been on the freeway, and we're going to avoid it for a while.
what i'm asking for is suggestions to help her feel more comfortable on the road, or maybe some exercises we can do to improve her skills more.
I realize that practice is key, and she's been practicing every day this week. I'm just wondering if there's anything else we can try, or if there's other ways that i can help her feel more comfortable on the road.
Thanks!
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She may want to try some small breathing exercises b4 she starts the car up. This way, she'll be more calm and relaxed when she starts down the road. Especially whenever ya'll get to the highway.
Try to take steps that would let her enjoy herself while driving. I think that being skittish and a little panicky can be a little dangerous while driving, and she might be focusing too hard at the task at hand.
Whatever it takes to keep her from overreacting to red lights and the like.
I was like that too when I first started driving. It didn't help that our Driver's Ed teacher was a paranoid psychopath. But now driving feels natural, after I've had my license for about 5 years. I think the fear will pass in time. But I agree with Shaharazad, find ways to make it more enjoyable. Maybe listen to some music (keep the volume low, though, so she can hear you if you need to say something), or just keep up a steady conversation to keep her mind off her nerves.
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parallel parking is something we haven't attempted yet--there's not many places in my city to do that. [mostly because the people who live here park in driveways/garages all the time]
breathing exercises might work, i'll have to try that.
She seems to enjoy herself while she's driving, she just has a few moments of panic. But I'll see what else I can think of to make it easier for her.
Music is a good idea, thanks! I'm so used to driving with music on, but i tend to turn if off while she's driving, or else we both get distracted.
thanks!
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You definitely have to teach her to do parallel parking.
Ive been driving for 4 years and except for the one time i had to do it in driver's ed. i have NEVER had to parallel park once. Frankly id rather drive a bit farther then have to deal with parallel parking
Ontopic: I was teaching my friend to drive about 2 months ago and i did everything that everyone has said so far cept i used a makeshift pointer (A straw), made her laugh and feel more comfortable
I know that I can't drive worth a damn. I consider what went horribly wrong may have been over protectiveness. So my advice is to continue what you're doing. d(^-^)b
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Invites for mee?! 69 posts at 7:23PM, June 1st, 2007, Eastern US. YaYa!!
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Jace on the other hand gives you card advantage for no life cost. On the contrary, Jace can actually take some damage for you. I'd think that makes him better than Arena.
Start in a quiet neighbourhood, one with a few cars but not too many. She won't learn anything driving in circles in a parking lot, but putting her on the freeway or interstate will probably cause a stroke.
Take her to an empty parking lot on a weekend, when nobody works. Thats where I learned from my father. Only one lesson, then I was driving on the street. (Im 14 by the way [You can get your permit very early in Kansas])
I just tried some breathing exercises, and it made it a lot easier. It gets easier as you go on. You can also practice parallel parking in a parking lot and just setting up some cones. thats how I learned, and Im not to bad at it.
Right of way probably is the hardest thing to learn, so you might want to go over it if you havent already.
is it possible to take her out of the city at all? To some quiet back roads where there isn't much traffic and she can concentrate on being comfortable with the car than having to think about other drivers?
when i was learning a few years ago, driving gave me panic attacks.
my dad took my out to the country where i didn't have to worry about other drivers and where people didn't really mind that you stalled the car in the middle of the road(stick shift). i think some of them used to watch my progress. stop signs were the first step to comfort. major freak outs happened at stoplights.
freeways were a bit of a challenge, merely the merging part. i had gotten comfortable with the country roads speed limit (55ish) so the speed wasn't an issue, it was getting gradually comfortable with the other drivers.
i'd drive the same freeway section (past two or three off ramps then off again. got me comfortable with merging and exiting and with being near trucks and crazy drivers with the option to exit if it got too bad.
My car, which my friend is using to learn to drive, is an automatic. [though i'll keep the tips on stick in mind when i learn to drive stick. ;)] So shifting and whatnot isn't really a problem.
here's another question:
when reversing, my friend has a problem remembering which way to turn the wheel to go X direction. [aka, "i want to go left, which way do i turn?"] To me, it's second nature, and I don't have an accurate way to describe it.
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I think all of your friend's issues stem from a lack of experience (and therefore a lack of confidence). Just keep her practicing and eventually she'll be more confident behind the wheel. Unless she's one of those people who are just incapable of learning how to drive properly, in which case nothing you can do will sort her out anyway.
i just got my permit 2 months ago and im still having a lil bit of trouble remembering which way to turn the wheel when i go backwards. i live in KY where we don't get our permits until we are 16 and we don't get our actual license until we are 17. yeah kentucky sucks.
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when reversing, my friend has a problem remembering which way to turn the wheel to go X direction. [aka, "i want to go left, which way do i turn?"] To me, it's second nature, and I don't have an accurate way to describe it.
I still don't have it memorized and have to stop and think about it. The only way I remember it is just that going reverse means I turn the wheel the other direction.
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Invites for mee?! 69 posts at 7:23PM, June 1st, 2007, Eastern US. YaYa!!
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Q: Will America's missile shield over Europe affect prices of foreign cards? A: It will. WotC will use its Magic Online programming team to hack into the missile shield control center. This will cause the control center to crash frequently . One of those crashes will lead to the bombing of every distributor in Europe. I'm afraid the effect on card prices will be catastrophic.
I just think of turning as "bending the car" in a particular direction - like on a bike, when you turn left, the bike kinda folds in half towards the left. So going backwards, you still want to have the same bend, so you turn the wheel the same way.
Granted, I have a lot of trouble actually making my hands turn the wheel the way my brain is telling them to, but that'll come with practice. It certainly helps to have it clear in my mind though.
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She's not bad at it, really, just a little skittish. Stop lights, other cars, and pedestrians/bicyclists tend to make her panic a little.
I should probably mention that she hasn't been on the freeway, and we're going to avoid it for a while.
what i'm asking for is suggestions to help her feel more comfortable on the road, or maybe some exercises we can do to improve her skills more.
I realize that practice is key, and she's been practicing every day this week. I'm just wondering if there's anything else we can try, or if there's other ways that i can help her feel more comfortable on the road.
Thanks!
I know it seems that I don't care,
but something in me does I swear.
[gaymers]
founder of the MTGS Forum Pirates
'tar/banner by R&Doom.
Whatever it takes to keep her from overreacting to red lights and the like.
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parallel parking is something we haven't attempted yet--there's not many places in my city to do that. [mostly because the people who live here park in driveways/garages all the time]
breathing exercises might work, i'll have to try that.
She seems to enjoy herself while she's driving, she just has a few moments of panic. But I'll see what else I can think of to make it easier for her.
Music is a good idea, thanks! I'm so used to driving with music on, but i tend to turn if off while she's driving, or else we both get distracted.
thanks!
I know it seems that I don't care,
but something in me does I swear.
[gaymers]
founder of the MTGS Forum Pirates
'tar/banner by R&Doom.
Ive been driving for 4 years and except for the one time i had to do it in driver's ed. i have NEVER had to parallel park once. Frankly id rather drive a bit farther then have to deal with parallel parking
Ontopic: I was teaching my friend to drive about 2 months ago and i did everything that everyone has said so far cept i used a makeshift pointer (A straw), made her laugh and feel more comfortable
Have her take you to McDonald's or similar. And to the gas station, etc.
69 posts at 7:23PM, June 1st, 2007, Eastern US. YaYa!!
(Especially considering you get to skip those jackasses that forget to look behind them when pulling out.)
I just tried some breathing exercises, and it made it a lot easier. It gets easier as you go on. You can also practice parallel parking in a parking lot and just setting up some cones. thats how I learned, and Im not to bad at it.
Right of way probably is the hardest thing to learn, so you might want to go over it if you havent already.
when i was learning a few years ago, driving gave me panic attacks.
my dad took my out to the country where i didn't have to worry about other drivers and where people didn't really mind that you stalled the car in the middle of the road(stick shift). i think some of them used to watch my progress. stop signs were the first step to comfort. major freak outs happened at stoplights.
freeways were a bit of a challenge, merely the merging part. i had gotten comfortable with the country roads speed limit (55ish) so the speed wasn't an issue, it was getting gradually comfortable with the other drivers.
i'd drive the same freeway section (past two or three off ramps then off again. got me comfortable with merging and exiting and with being near trucks and crazy drivers with the option to exit if it got too bad.
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My car, which my friend is using to learn to drive, is an automatic. [though i'll keep the tips on stick in mind when i learn to drive stick. ;)] So shifting and whatnot isn't really a problem.
here's another question:
when reversing, my friend has a problem remembering which way to turn the wheel to go X direction. [aka, "i want to go left, which way do i turn?"] To me, it's second nature, and I don't have an accurate way to describe it.
I know it seems that I don't care,
but something in me does I swear.
[gaymers]
founder of the MTGS Forum Pirates
'tar/banner by R&Doom.
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and look around every once and a while you could miss it. - ferris bueller
I still don't have it memorized and have to stop and think about it. The only way I remember it is just that going reverse means I turn the wheel the other direction.
69 posts at 7:23PM, June 1st, 2007, Eastern US. YaYa!!
Granted, I have a lot of trouble actually making my hands turn the wheel the way my brain is telling them to, but that'll come with practice. It certainly helps to have it clear in my mind though.
I know it seems that I don't care,
but something in me does I swear.
[gaymers]
founder of the MTGS Forum Pirates
'tar/banner by R&Doom.