Driven to Distraction

[khaosworks]

Today I had my first driving lesson. I also had my first driving accident.

We began by driving around a parking lot in ladyat's Plymouth Voyager. It was harder than I expected, and I didn't realize the gas pedal was so sensitive. It's going to be difficult to try to get used to just gently resting on the pedal rather than gunning it, not to mention figuring out when to brake and how much to brake when going into a turn.

Anyway, while trying to turn into a parking space, I didn't brake hard or fast enough, and we went over the curb and nearly down an embankment. The car was balanced in an awkward position, resting on a pine island barely an inch away from a tree in front of it, with the rear wheels in the air. Having no possible traction, we had to call AAA to tow it out of that position. Thankfully, the damage was minimal - no damage to the bumpers, just this thing called the air dam that was under the bumper - probably dinged when we went over the curb.

I wholeheartedly apologize for almost killing ladyat, and in the same breath thank the Universe as usual for saving my ass but giving me just enough rope to see what a disaster it could have been. If the tree hadn't been there or I hadn't braked in time, we would have probably rolled down the embankment, or worst case, the car could have flipped completely over lengthwise.

It's going to be a long haul to learn. Precision isn't my strongest point.

Comments

[eviltofu.livejournal.com]

Don't do wheelies until you've had more experience!

[swisscheesed.livejournal.com]

Aiyo, careful lah.

[maedbh7.livejournal.com]

Have faith, friend, it does get better with practice. If you can, drive a little bit every single day, and then increase the amount of time you drive each day. That seems to help the most. -H...

[playingpossum.livejournal.com]

mom says: "you must control the car, not let the ca control you."

she also added lots of things about you having to be more careful in_that_voice...

you're a silly. but i hope you're okay.

[yong-mi.livejournal.com]

Oof! Minivans aren't the best learning vehicles.

At least for me I found it easier to learn to drive on small (and crappy!) cars. My father tried to teach me in his big ol' Buick and it wasn't working well - I couldn't get a physical sense of the car, that is, how what I was doing was affecting the car's movement. Then we switched to my mom's Chevrolet Cavalier and things went quite a bit smoother (they also got me a professional driving instructor at this point).

I still prefer driving smaller cars. I find that even a Toyota Camry is too big for me, I don't have a good sense of the car around me.

[gingicat]

That's actually a very good idea. kitanzi's car is the perfect size, so go for something like that if you can. (I'm not volunteering her, for obvious reasons. :b)

I'm very glad both you and B are okay.

[cellio]

Good point. When I was learning to drive, my parents had two cars. One was an automatic, but huge -- a Ford Country Squire station wagon, the big ones with room for kids in the rear behind the second seat. We referred to it as "the boat". The other was small -- a Pinto (yeah, the ones with the exploding gas tanks, but we didn't know that then), but it was a standard shift. I decided that learning standard sounded like a fine idea. :-)

[plaid-dragon.livejournal.com]

Be grateful most American cars are automatics. Once you get the hang of the go-faster and slow-down pedals (who was it referred to them as "whee" and "screech" pedals?) you just have to aim the thing. If you have to worry about de-clutching (that's the gr-r-r-i-i-ind pedal!) and stick-shifting as well, it gets *very* interesting!

I hope the next lessons go better; take care, you wouldn't be nearly so much fun as a squished khaosworks!

[weirdsister.livejournal.com]

Holy Moly! I'm so glad to hear that the two of you are alright! It does get easier with practice, but driving still scares the hell out of me sometimes, especially in Atlanta traffic. The only place that scares me more is Chicago. They truly want to kill you there. :P

And I agree that a mini van is not the easist vehicle to learn to drive in. Hmmm. Something smaller. Perhaps Bill's Miata? *ducks to avoid the objects Bill is undoubtedly throwing her way*

[wildorchids.livejournal.com]

hehehe, now i positively feel better about being a passenger among my driver friends, cos i'm not the only one! :) i've yet to get my licence too, but i've experimented on my friend's ford explorer. neato. i was in a big enough empty parking lot that it wasn't possible to run into/over anything.

glad you're alright!

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

eeek. And I echo what others have said about minivans--they're huge and don't handle well and it's really hard to tell where the corners of the vehicle are. You're best off learning in a vanilla sedan like a Toyota Corolla or something, then stepping up to something bigger. (Although knowing how to handle LARGE vehicles is a Good Thing--I learned to drive in vintage 1960s and 70s American land yachts that were big as a house; now I can drive anything with fewer than three axles.)

Please don't let this scare you--I know some people who are totally phobic about driving. If you fall off a horse, you have to get right back on.

Hey, maybe once you've mastered the car, maybe we can start you on motorcycles. You'll be a wheelieing and stoppieing squid in no time. *evil grin*

[cellio]

Eeek. I'm glad you're ok.

I agree with the person who said you have to get right back in and try again. (Though perhaps in a different vehicle. :-) )

Aiyoh

[logam.livejournal.com]

Oh boy ... Like I keep telling you:

Real life is NOT like Grand Theft Auto!!!

Be careful, and try to make it out of your driving lessons alive!