Driver's license

[Ripper666]

Sometimes you see Xander or Buffy or Oz driving a car! I had to think about this pictures very often in the moment! That's becasue I make my license at the moment. But I have to addmit that I have really big problems with the car. Does somebody has some tipps for me which help me to look more around to see more street signs? I have also problems with cross over a street. Any tipps? How many drive lessons did you need?

A resigned car-drive-learner...🙁🙁🙁

 

[Abbeycat]

You have to focus/pay attention a lot. You can't get distracted or let your mind wonder.

I practiced driving for like 3 years before I got my driver's license.

 

[Ripper666]

I practiced driving for like 3 years before I got my driver's license.

Wow, so with car trainer or with your parents or friends! You gave me some encourage.
Am I allowed to ask you what you had payed for your lizense.(Just to have a comparison)

 

[Chosen Enemy]

I don't drive, because I understand what you're talking about. I just don't trust myself because there are so many things to pay attention to while driving.

Plus, I'm super short, I can barely see the road in front of me 😀

 

[xaphania]

I passed my driving test earlier this year. I had my first driving lesson about three years ago, but for various reasons - living abroad, money, time - I didn't seriously start taking lessons until about March of this year, and I then passed in June.

I love the freedom being able to drive gives me. No more relying on public transport! Always having the car there whenever and wherever you want to go.

The downside is the cost of driving... it's so expensive to run a car.

My advice if you're learning: drive as much as you can, not necessarily always with an instructor - go out driving with your parents in the car with you, or friends who have passed and are able to sit with you. The actual driving lessons are important of course, but you can learn so much more if you go out and experience driving outside of the lesson environment.

Also getting a good driving instructor is important but that's difficult, unless you have recommendations - you don't know who you'll get from the driving school. I was lucky and my driving instructor was fantastic, really changed my perspective on being a driver.

Good luck for whenever you take your test!

 

[Ripper666]

I don't drive, because I understand what you're talking about. I just don't trust myself because there are so many things to pay attention to while driving.

Well have a little bit more self-confidence. you see, maybe it doesn't work well but at least it works. (Even without a child seat 😀). Trust yourself you're not the first one who think this thoughts.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

Ripper666 agrees: Well, I don't reach the 170 cm(66.93 inchs). So don't tell me something about beeing to short to drive !! I know exactly what you mean. ;D

How about 5'0 tall (me)? 😛

 

[Ripper666]

Ilove the freedom being able to drive gives me. No more relying on public transport! Always having the car there whenever and wherever you want to go.

The downside is the cost of driving... it's so expensive to run a car.

Yes that's my incentive to make the lizense. To be free, but of course you're right it's very expensive to own a car. And right now have to learn how to drive, on the one hand it's exciting on the other hand it's very ... hard.

How about 5'0 tall (me)? 😛

Hope you mean 50 inchs 😀 Well ok that's a little bit more difficult but not impossible. Ask in a driving school, they will tell you the same thing. Or don't you ever want to drive a car, going ouut by bus and walk?

By the way, my friends always tell jokes about me, my size and driving a car, but I know they mean it in a friendly way and then it's ok. I imagine them in some years making their license and then I will make the jokes ;D

 

[Chosen Enemy]

Oh how I wish I could drive! Getting to the school (fashion school) last year was pain! Too many buses, too much walking, in the heat! I woke up at 4:30AM just to get there by 9AM. If I had a driver's license, I would have probably had more hours to sleep lol. It was only a hour away from my home, you know if I had taken a car instead of buses. So yeah, my life would have been easier this way 🙂

I get height jokes all the time, especially from my family, who are also short. Ironic.

 

[Abbeycat]

Wow, so with car trainer or with your parents or friends! You gave me some encourage.
Am I allowed to ask you what you had payed for your lizense.(Just to have a comparison)

my parents. Mostly, my stepdad.I think it was 7 dollars. I can't remember exactly.

 

[Enemies]

I passed my driving test 5 years ago. At the time I had 20 hour long lessons and my provisional licence cost £40. The theory test cost £21 and the driving test cost £52, but thats all gone up now. I was lucky and passed my test first time and I love the independence it gives me. I would encourage anyone to learn to drive purely for the freedom. I always thought I'd never drive because I hated the responsibility but public transport is rubbish so I learnt to drive 🙂

 

[BuffyElevated]

Driving is definitely intimidating, and it takes a bit of multitasking to be able to be a good driver. You have to be able to pay attention to the road in front of and behind you, as well as know how to operate the car without hurting yourself or others. It's definitely stressful when you go in to take a driver's exam, no matter where you are.

 

[Enemies]

In the UK they tend to put the prices of the actual test up almost every year by a pound or two. They've also started changing the format of the lessons as well. My driving lessons were £17.50 an hour but I know the same instructor charges £20 now but that has been 5 years 🙂

 

[arabella]

How about 5'0 tall (me)? 😛

I'm 4'11" and have been driving since I got my Learner's Permit at 15 and then license at 16.

I think that the thing that helped me become more confident and competent as a driver was experience. The more I drove, the better I got and the less I had to think about what I was doing and therefore became more able to focus on driving safely despite all of the distractions on the road. So, practice, practice, practice!

 

[xfivebyfive]

I love driving. I've been driving for a year now. Basically I decided to just go down to the dmv one friday took the written test and walked out with my permit. I started driving around that day lol and then I got my license 6 months later. I dont walk I run lmao....of course 4 days after I got my permit I was in a major car crash but not because I'm a bad driver but because I was stupid lol. Tip, dont make uturns. Ever. Just dont. But especially not in manhattan.

 

[ticonderouga]

I love driving and I generally find it relaxing. However learning to drive can be very stressful, but you'll find that all the things that you have to think about now will become automatic and second nature to you very quickly. The most important thing to remember is to give yourself time to react to things that are happening around you. That means not only looking right in front of you but also looking farther out so that when another driver does something dumb your ready for it. Other then that, just paying attention to whats going on around you and how fast your going and you'll be OK.

 

[MandaMeena]

I got my license a little after I turned 16. I definitely agree that you just have to keep driving and learn (quickly) from your mistakes. We just got a new car recently and it's a manual, which I never learned, so I haven't been driving at all lately, which sucks. I really miss it!

 

[sisterofmercy]

It's way too expensive and bothersome to learn to drive for me at the moment. Plus my eyesight is rubbish so I'm not sure I'd be allowed. I guess in terms of passing the test and any tips, don't look to Grand Theft Auto games for info and stick to textbooks is probably a good one 😛 It's always best to learn from professional instructors though or you'll risk picking up other people's bad habits.

 

[Willow My Love]

I've had a lot of friends that are terrified of driving. I'd take them to a parking lot, and let them just sit in the driver's seat. Car off, keys in my hand, just sitting there until they felt more comfortable. (This can take months.) Then, you just let them drive through an empty parking lot at any speed they're comfortable, working up to about 25 MPH. Next, you work on streets that aren't populated, and that may put them back to the parking lot, but that's okay. Eventually (it can take years) they develop their confidence and learn to drive.

Just be patient. Don't rush into anything if you're not ready. You need to feel comfortable driving, or you're going to cause accidents.

 

[Willow My Love]

Ripper666 agrees: I totally agree with your last sentence. But in Germany you are not allowed to drive a car without a lizence. Not even at a parking lot or empty streets.

Seriously?! So the first time you are allowed to drive a car, even with a licensed driver supervising, is on the day of your test? That doesn't sound right to me.

You can't drive a car here without a license, but you can get a temporary license so that you can drive with another licensed driver over a certain age.