I need to learn to drive a car

[Str8 Jacket]

I can drive a car up around an empty piece of land and I can change gears etc but I just wouldnt be comfortable on the road. I am gonna get my L sometime in the next few weeks. Once I have, what is the best way to learn to drive confidently on the road, not using an expensive driving tutor person?

I kind of like my partner so I am trying my best to not ask him to teach me so that we can keep the relationship intact!
Any advice would be helpful....

[Taz]

Christ how hard could it be??

[Mom]

I can drive a car up around an empty piece of land and I can change gears etc but I just wouldnt be comfortable on the road. I am gonna get my L sometime in the next few weeks. Once I have, what is the best way to learn to drive confidently on the road, not using an expensive driving tutor person?

I kind of like my partner so I am trying my best to not ask him to teach me so that we can keep the relationship intact!
Any advice would be helpful....

Go and get yourself a couple of lessons from the fancy pants instructor mate. You will learn good habits. After that all you have to do to learn how to drive is to actually drive, it is practise that teaches.

I am sure that lovely man of yours will be happy to supervise you while you practise your skills and this way no stress on the relationship while he yells at you and you yell at him, for yelling at you.

[Str8 Jacket]

Christ how hard could it be??

I am a female and that was not the question!

[Nasty]

I can drive a car up around an empty piece of land and I can change gears etc but I just wouldnt be comfortable on the road. I am gonna get my L sometime in the next few weeks. Once I have, what is the best way to learn to drive confidently on the road, not using an expensive driving tutor person?

I kind of like my partner so I am trying my best to not ask him to teach me so that we can keep the relationship intact!
Any advice would be helpful....


Chook might be able to help you there :):)

[Str8 Jacket]

Chook might be able to help you there :):)

Hey, now there's a plan! :)

[Genestho]

What Mom said!!!! The only way to learn after lessons, is to do it, everyday a situation will arise that's different, and you will have to deal with it.

I can remember, kicking my then partner out of my datsun 180b? Bunny hopping down the road, furious:argue:!!!

He had to walk home:cool: I was a teenager though...:rolleyes:

Parallel parking my old XY ute was a palm sweating inducing incident, but once I completed that once, I never had a prob again!

You can do it, everyone goes through it :niceone:

[Nasty]

Hey, now there's a plan! :)

You might want to use your own vehicle .. or even mine ... cos hers is a tank!!

[Str8 Jacket]

You might want to use your own vehicle .. or even mine ... cos hers is a tank!!

Yeah, finer details can be sorted. I really dont want to get my car licence but there are times when you just really need it, damnit! I guess I am trying to tell myself that it cannot be that hard to do in the grand scheme of things!

I really cant afford to pay anyone for lesson's. Getting the bloody licence to start with is in excess of $100. Putting things in perspective, that's the entry fee for one day's racing at Manfeild! :eek:

[NDORFN]

Start with country roads with no traffic and gradually work into busier roads as you feel confident to do so. Take your Mum, NOT your Dad.

[Str8 Jacket]

Start with country roads with no traffic and gradually work into busier roads as you feel confident to do so. Take your Mum, NOT your Dad.

Well that would mean that I would have to travel all the way to Rotorua from Wellington just to learn to drive a car. Bit extreme me thinks! ;)

[Number One]

Geeze chick I'll let ya drive the Honda tank! You won't even have to concentrate on gears while you are getting to grips with just being in the traffic in a car.

On that note I find it increasingly harder not to consider lane splitting in it :pinch:

Anyway we can hook up and you can chauffuer me somewhere perhaps?

[Str8 Jacket]

Geeze chick I'll let ya drive the Honda tank! You won't even have to concentrate on gears while you are getting to grips with just being in the traffic in a car.

On that note I find it increasingly harder not to consider lane splitting in it :pinch:

Anyway we can hook up and you can chauffuer me somewhere perhaps?

Sounds good, once I get the learners licence. As I am over 25yrs of age, (though not by much) I could easily sort insurance for when I drive too, if you're worried at all...

[NDORFN]

Well that would mean that I would have to travel all the way to Rotorua from Wellington just to learn to drive a car. Bit extreme me thinks! ;)

No you wouldn't.

[p.dath]

I know it seems expensive, but using a profressional instructor a couple of time really is the bext way to go. They'll teach you the "right" way of doing things for the test that you'll need to be doing.

Otherwise you'll probably go to do the practical test, and fail it, several times, and then come to the realisation that the instructor would have been cheaper in the first place.

[Number One]

WIll be sweet I am sure - will check my insurance but shouldn't be too much of a worry. We can take it slow if we have to but I doubt it will be as difficult as you might imagine feck you can get around on a bike - you'll piss in :sunny:

[Kendog]

Head down to Port road on a Sunday. Wide roads that are really quiet, would be good cornering, parking etc practice.

[PirateJafa]

Sod paying for an instructor.

For the same price, you could take Number One's Volvo to a trackday and learn how to drive there. :niceone:

[Mully]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qdhbkTko4

[Blackshear]

My dad's pushing me to buy a 1987 Honda legend, 2.7L V6 DOHC, so about 170~hp in its hayday. Electric seats, windows, Auto with a dodgy trans, but for $400 I really don't give a shit.
I had a drive in it, and it has some pretty good low down power. Problem is, I almost gave up and cried when it came to passing cars on a narrow road, I WANT MY HANDS ON HANDLES TO GAUGE DISTANCES :weep:

[PirateJafa]

My dad's pushing me to buy a 1987 Honda legend, 2.7L V6 DOHC, so about 170~hp in its hayday. Electric seats, windows, Auto with a dodgy trans, but for $400 I really don't give a shit.
I had a drive in it, and it has some pretty good low down power. Problem is, I almost gave up and cried when it came to passing cars on a narrow road, I WANT MY HANDS ON HANDLES TO GAUGE DISTANCES :weep:
Why bother? It'd cost more to rego each year than the car would be worth.

You've got a bike, what more do ye need?

[Ixion]

Not much point in an instructor. You already ride a bike, so it's well nigh certain you know more about roadcraft than the instructor would (and my observation of driving instructors is that most of them shouldnt be out on the roads themselves let alone "teaching" others).

Think back. How'd you learn to ride a motorbike ? Same deal .

Get access to a car. A manual one (cos if you start in an auto you'll never really learn to drive properly, and you already undertstand gearbox and clutch stuff).The older bigger and more gutless the car the better, cos it'll be harder to drive. Then just go practice. When you come to take the test, take it in a nice small modern easy to drive automatic. It'll be a doddle.

Remember, but. YOU CAN'T LANESPLIT IN A CAR. And don't do what I was doing and try to countersteer them , that doesn't work either

[fatzx10r]

Any advice would be helpful....

DONT look out for bikes

[YellowDog]

I can drive a car up around an empty piece of land and I can change gears etc but I just wouldnt be comfortable on the road. I am gonna get my L sometime in the next few weeks. Once I have, what is the best way to learn to drive confidently on the road, not using an expensive driving tutor person?

I kind of like my partner so I am trying my best to not ask him to teach me so that we can keep the relationship intact!
Any advice would be helpful....
Get a Lotus Elise. They drive well (except over the bumps).

Don't let your partner give you lessons (unless you want to call it a day).

If you can ride a bike, you can drive a car.

Whatever cat you get make sure it is not Auto gear change, 'cos it will piss you off.

BTW: Lane splitting is a no no when driving a car.

[Blackshear]

Why bother? It'd cost more to rego each year than the car would be worth.

You've got a bike, what more do ye need?

My Dad is under mothers pressure to get me a vehicle with 4 wheels. The plan is, buy car, get next 6 months WOF, reg runs out in a year. If it breaks, just call the wreckers, problem sorted.

[scracha]

Sounds good, once I get the learners licence. As I am over 25yrs of age, (though not by much) I could easily sort insurance for when I drive too, if you're worried at all...
Will give driving lessons for food.

You don't want a kiwi instructor as any fule kno' Kiwi's can't drive for toffee.


If you can ride a bike, you can drive a car
Umm... I rode bikes for years before becoming a $hit car driver, lessons from a pro made a big difference. There's a lot of different techniques in a car and the road positioning is different.

Top tip Hels (and I learn't this the hard way)....leaning harder into the corner in a car doesn't make it turn faster.

[Ixion]

Perhaps it might be pertinent to ask WHY you need a car licence. There is a difference between wanting to have a class 1 because a lot of jobs expect it, even though they don't actually involve driving, and wanting a class 1 because you intend to travel by cage instead of bike in future (shame! - but sometimes lifestyle changes predicate a car for a while, especially for chicks). In the former case, all that you need to do is learn enough to get through the test - which is trivial, you could probably pass right now. In the latter case you need to be able to actuallY DRIVE. WHich is not so easy (though much easier than riding a bike)

[Max Preload]

And don't do what I was doing and try to countersteer them , that doesn't work either

Tell that to the WRC drivers using the "Scandinavian flick"...


You don't want a kiwi instructor as any fule kno' Kiwi's can't drive for toffee.

Yeah. Much better to get one of those FOB Somali, Chinese or Indian driving instructors... :rolleyes:

[Patch]

Head down to Port road on a Sunday. Wide roads that are really quiet, would be good cornering, parking etc practice.
just chuck her in and give directions to Carterton - by the time you get there, she'll deserve the coffee and muffin.


Like Ixion said etc etc blah blah and besides she isn't your ordinary "learner".


She just lacks the confidence - time behind the wheel, and knowing which side the fuel flap is on :niceone:

[davebullet]

It's a pity large malls open on sundays. When I learned (back in the 80s) they were closed on a sunday and you could at least change gear, fool around in reverse etc...

Get your partner to drop you off in a quiet suburb, then drive around. I can't think of any large unused tarmac type areas around suitable for a car going up to 3rd / 4th.

You know the road rules with a bike, so its just the mechanics of gear changing and co-ordinating feet. Start with pulling out, driving up the road through the gears, then back down through them pulling over. You can then confidently follow other traffic and slow down appropriately.

Also get used to emergency braking. Literally lock the basrard up (since it can't fall over). I do this just for fun sometimes and to test whether one side of brakes are pulling more than the other (and just to test they work).

[Kendog]

I can't think of any large unused tarmac type areas around suitable for a car going up to 3rd / 4th.
Port Road.

[Pixie]

I know it seems expensive, but using a profressional instructor a couple of time really is the bext way to go. They'll teach you the "right" way of doing things for the test that you'll need to be doing.

Otherwise you'll probably go to do the practical test, and fail it, several times, and then come to the realisation that the instructor would have been cheaper in the first place.

Just look in the cereal box - that's how real kiwis get their licenses

[Danae]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qdhbkTko4

I LOLD

Yeah I got my learner's when I was 15, 18 now and still no restricted. But riding around on my scooter really helped me get used to other road users. I'm learning in a manual car, and should probably go for my restricted soon. :slap:

[scracha]

Also get used to emergency braking. Literally lock the basrard up (since it can't fall over).
Lock up...FAIL. Still, they've all got ABS now so just hit the pedal as hard as you can and keep steering.

Most important is to learn all the controls and buttons before you move off. If you're female, that means more than the location of sunvisor's mirror. :done:

[Mschvs]

First car I drove was a mini all over a farm ... next thing I know I was stealing my brothers car (albeit Automatic) and driving to go pick up my friends. Got busted when I crashed it tho. Then my brother and his mates got pissed one day and asked me to drive up the road in his mates manual car and get fish and chips, I went all 1-2kms up the road in 2nd gear! Haha

Basically I am saying, monkeys can fly spaceships ... driving is a piece of piss, just don't be scared of it, and get one thing at a time right. Drive around the farm with someone, and let them see how you drive, and then they can just give you some pointers!

You'll be swet man, have confidence in yourself!