...On my 17th birthday in August.

I know *how* to drive a car but I've never actually done it... Does anyone have any advice or useful pointers?

Cheers

Works just like in LFS. Floor it when the light goes green, brake as hard as you can just before the corner, and then take the corner as fast as possible. Really simple.

If nothing else it'll scare them into giving you a license so he/she doesn't have to get in a car with you again.

But in all seriousness, the main thing about driving on public roads is situational awareness. The actual operation of the car is the easy part.

Your driving instructor should teach you everything you need to know.

Anyway, my advice/pointer would be - Try not to crash...

My advice - don't rush! Take your time with everything, and let your brain cope. Once you've got controlling the car sorted (i.e. not stalling, or swerving, and braking smoothly etc) then use part of the brain to be aware of stuff around you, like traffic, signs, road markings.

There is no real shortcut to learning, some people have a knack, other people take a bit of time. Don't get stressed and try to learn too much too soon.

Finally, a little trick that I think only about 1% of the population in England know: When braking to a standstill, keep braking normally until JUST before you stop, then relax on the pedal a bit so that the final 'coming to a rest' is nice and gentle. Adds a lot to the passengers experience when not being jerked to a stop.

Hint2: Don't heel and toe on your first few lessons

Hint3: Forbins advice is perfect, but again dont do it when your instructor is awake/alive.

tristan i do your tip number 1. good innit.

and, this next one may sound silly to u but i did it... dont take racing lines around roundabouts/corners. when i started driving i LITTERALLY couldnt help it, i think im out of the habbit now tho.

Quote from ayrton senna 87 :

tristan i do your tip number 1. good innit.

and, this next one may sound silly to u but i did it... dont take racing lines around roundabouts/corners. when i started driving i LITTERALLY couldnt help it, i think im out of the habbit now tho.

i still take racing lines round roundabouts only when it is clear though, and i never drive on the other side of the road to cut a corner unless i am 100% sure it is clear.

Cheers guys Racing lines... roundabouts... hehe I know someone who does that!

Quote from tristancliffe :

Finally, a little trick that I think only about 1% of the population in England know: When braking to a standstill, keep braking normally until JUST before you stop, then relax on the pedal a bit so that the final 'coming to a rest' is nice and gentle.

I got this taught on the very first lesson; starts and stops Poor driving schools you must have there

one thing i found is LFS is bad and good to go by i found that after playing lfs for a while i couldent drive a manual car smooth unless i was going hard and driving on the limits. if its a manual car u learn in re learning to drive smooth and sensable is the hardest part for me so like others said take or time and try not to crash

your instructor will teach you how to PASS your test.

once you have done that you will learn to drive.

be respectful to others, but treat every other driver like a complete idiot.

for example, if someone is at a junction, expect them to pull out in front of you.

good luck.

Quote from mr grady :

be respectful to others, but treat every other driver like a complete idiot.

thats an extremely usefull piece of information, dont treat that as a joke, you really do have to expect the unexpected on the roads, cause there are idiots out there (and i admit being one of them a couple of times in not so good situations :shrug

im guessing its a requirement to parallel park in the UK? it should be there lol i always see parallel parking from all the pictures i've seen there; get some cones and one weekend day just go practice parking parallel and perpindicular, because that takes quite the amount of time to do it ..okay.. it takes many many years to become someone thats good at parallel parking lol, its not exactly easy

ill be in the same boat in september! looking foward to it! my dad said that no-one seems to stop the 'kangaroo' effect when first pulling away when they first start. So im gonna try and prove him wrong....somehow...

kangaroo effect? like.. the braking hard and gas hard?

i dont think i know anyone that does that

and i cant imagine why anyone would do that in the first place :S

thats what i thought.....i dunno what he's going on about tbh, i think my brain shuts off when it hears my dads voice.

i wonder if he's going on about bad clutch control? i dunno....i cant say that im the most clued up on cars at the moment....trying to learn though

Quote from XCNuse :

kangaroo effect? like.. the braking hard and gas hard?

Loading the clutch too quickly, so it sends a shudder through the drivetrain. Beginners do this all the time because they aren't used to the feel of the clutch, specifically where its "bite point" is.

Kangarooing has nothing to do with pressing the brake and the throttle - clearly some of you need to practice your driving

This is when accelerating away from a standstill. As you begin to slip the clutch and increase the throttle the car accelerates. This causes the car to jerk a bit, which throws your foot off the throttle a bit, causing you to slow down, which makes you press the throttle, which makes you.... and so on and so forth.

The effect is more noticable in cars with excess drivetrain shunt (i.e. play between loaded and driven). With practice you learn to adjust for that, by pivoting your feet in a different way, and being aware that the quickest way to deal with it is to let up on the clutch pedal more quickly and keep the transmission loaded more evenly.

well i am just waiting for my provisional to arrive so i can start some lessons.. any ukers know a good company for lessons?

woo! i was right about something atleast :P

Franky: BSM/RAC is a popular choice. Have a look at your yellow pages and see if theres any companies in there?

The cheapest is the best, as long as the car works. Get driving your folks' car if you can, you'll grow more confident with every hour you have behind the wheel, you won't be paying 15-20 quid for the pleasure and your parents will (eventually) enjoy being driven everywhere all the time
I had 2 lessons and drove nearly 1000 miles with my father in the couple of months it took me to get my license.
Oh, and book your theory test on your birthday, do it asap because it's an annoying hurdle and you will be annoyed once you get confident that you'd pass your practical test, if you can't take one right away.

yeah, im going to have lessons with my brothers old instructor, he used to work for RAC, but hes started up on his own, so ill give him a bell! or a honk....

Thanks for the encouragement so far guys

Bensons are my choice if you're in the Southeast. Cheap student rates.

BSM... are apparently good at getting you through the test but maybe this is because they seem to never exceed 20mph every time I see one...

Private instructors are a mixed bag so call 'em and ask them their pass rate.

well.. tristan, when you live in a country in which way over half of the daily commute cars are automatics, you dont really hear much about manual cars

i've had 2 chances to drive a manual car, both being VW golf 3s... the 2nd time (in a different persons car from the first) i got it after about 15 or so minutes but.. was on pretty good hills so it was kinda hard)

you haven't seen like movies where the little kid is trying to drive and they floor it, then slam on the brakes and repeat... multiple times?

So in the US you can get a full license from doing your test in an automatic?

Quote from tristancliffe :

Kangarooing has nothing to do with pressing the brake and the throttle - clearly some of you need to practice your driving

This is when accelerating away from a standstill. As you begin to slip the clutch and increase the throttle the car accelerates. This causes the car to jerk a bit, which throws your foot off the throttle a bit, causing you to slow down, which makes you press the throttle, which makes you.... and so on and so forth.

The effect is more noticable in cars with excess drivetrain shunt (i.e. play between loaded and driven). With practice you learn to adjust for that, by pivoting your feet in a different way, and being aware that the quickest way to deal with it is to let up on the clutch pedal more quickly and keep the transmission loaded more evenly.

That's the first problem I had when I first drove a car. It's fairly easy to pick up everything else but kangarooing makes you feel like a real novice.

It's just confidence with the clutch / throttle.

Quote from ajp71 :

So in the US you can get a full license from doing your test in an automatic?

of course lol, is it a requirement in the UK to get your license in a manual car?

the only manual (street legal) car we've ever owned during my life time that runs is a ferrari daytona