Driving, Scariest. Thing. Ever.

[TehCookie]

I was never scared of driving til I had to drive to the city everyday for college, and no I hate/fear it. I'm cautious and passive like most country drivers so I freak out when surrounded by a bunch of aggressive assholes. I regularly have to hit my brakes for people who just are coming into my lane on the expressway without looking (if they use thier turn signal I let them in since I know what they're doing), people are constantly tailgating me when I'm going 5 over (I don't want to get pulled over for speeding) and I'm not familiar with the area and don't understand one way streets so I often end up wrong way on a one way street and have no idea how to get to where I want to go because the road leading to where I want to go is one way. Not to mention it's not the safest city in America (actually as of 2010 the 4th most dangerous) so I hate getting lost because a few wrong turns will lead you to the ghettos.

All my friends and family agree that I attract idiots when I'm in a car, I don't even have to be driving. If I'm in the passenger seat with a friend even they find the bullshit level of other cars rise.

 

[DesiPrinceX09]

It's always scary at first, my sister was absolutely terrified of driving when she first started and now she's an awesome driver. I to am slightly phobic of driving but I am getting much better because I am driving more and more, once you drive for a while it becomes as natural as walking.

 

[Andalusa]

Driving is so much fun. Being a passenger is more scary for me as I'm not in control of the vehicle. Prefer bikes to cars as well.

 

[WOPR]

Okay, i have an confession to make.

I'm 18 and today i tried my hand at driving for the first time. I don't think i have been that scared since i was a pre-teen. I felt so powerless. I didn't crash or anything, and the teacher told me i did alright but despite that i was mortified.

2 years ago i stood on a podium talking to 200 people, wasn't even 1/10th as scary as this was. Neither was the time i was chased by a large dog when im my mid-teens.

Was it this terrifying for anyone else? Admittedly the ground was quite icy and you had to manually change gears on the car, but still.....

It is to me

I was forced against my will to practice driving when I was 15

haven't been able to even sit in a drivers seat sense (I'm 18½ now)

I should mention that I don't have a license/permit either
I've finished the writing half no problem, but I'm too afraid (and luckily too poor to afford the license/training courses)

 

[Sovereignty]

Instinctual? Second Nature bah.

I've always hated driving. Started when I was 11 and have never found a great enjoyment of it. EXCEPT when I've been able to tool around a race track. THAT is fun. But with all the rules regulations and crap? It's not fun, it's just miserable. I've been doing it for 12 years and I still have to think about it. Especially with the idiots on the road out here.

It's the lack of control that I dislike so much. Never know what that idiot in the red SUV is gonna do. swerve into my lane without your blinker ever coming on? GENIUS!

 

[Kwaren]

I learned to drive in a F-150 in 8 inches of snow with 40 mph winds. I didn't get scared. When I do get scared it is when someone else is driving.

 

[Aetera]

I feel your pain. I HATE driving. It scares the crap out of me. I can't stand it. I'm 23, and I still don't have my license. Driving terrifies me. D:

 

[Hero in a half shell]

In my very first lesson I had never driven a car before and the instructor let me drive a few miles along a windy country road and back again just to get a feel for it. It was a really windy county road and it was terrifying, I was totally focused on just staying between the hedges, and then I had to drive around this really difficult hairpin corner that dropped about 10 metres until the middle of the bend and then rose 10 metres again, and I missed the gear change, ended up coasting out of control into the corner in neutral going AAAAAARRRRGGGH! because I had no clue what to do so I just braked until the car stopped.

It is terrifying the first time, but soon you will get used to it, and you'll find as you learn more complicated things you master the earlier stuff and changing gears becomes second nature to you.

 

[Mahha]

Well... Yes it was scary at first. I never drove a car before my first hour in driving school and it took me 40 bloody hours to get my license (and 4 tries with the driving test - first time I drove excellent and then I drove through a red light at the very end of the test). I only crashed once (garage door jumped in front of my). I have it for 2 years now so hurray for me.
The scariest thing that included driving was driving in UK (because I learned to drive in continental Europe and these British pricks drive on the other side of the road), oh and they all drive like pillocks especially Scots.

 

[ChaoticKraus]

It is to me

I was forced against my will to practice driving when I was 15

haven't been able to even sit in a drivers seat sense (I'm 18½ now)

I should mention that I don't have a license/permit either
I've finished the writing half no problem, but I'm too afraid (and luckily too poor to afford the license/training courses)

Wow, forcing you to do that is assholish to say the least. And yeah, add the fact that it costs the equivalent to a used car to actually get your damn permit and driving seems more of a hassle than anything else.

 

[creothes]

i can learn how to use any tech in a short time so driving is going to be easy

 

[Sexy Street]

My first driving experience was being with my mom at 15 and she made me drive 60 in the middle of a highway, and I got pulled over by a cop. That was pretty fucking scary, but the cop let me go seeing as how I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

well the first time i drove yeah, considering my mom signed me up for drivers ed and i hadn't driven before in my life and the guy took me on the interstate during rush hour =\ that was pretty fucking scary trying to merge into traffic being stuck going 55 while everyone else is going 75 and less than 20 feet apart. i was pretty scared there because in the middle of all this he's barking at me "CHECK ALL YOUR MIRRORS! LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER! BUT KEEP CHECKING YOUR MIRRORS! DONT GO TO FAST! (repeating all this while im trying to merge for the first time did nearly make me poo a little)

but ever since that first time i've been perfectly fine, i can be a safe driver when i want to(which i always am) but i nearly always am doing 4 different things while im driving( food/ipod/talking/etc..) so im probably not the best example.

oh and another time going downhill (black ice) this light turned yellow when NO CAR was there, and i braked and my car did a 1080 while hitting the curb and i ended up perpindicular in the middle of the intersection, the dude across from me heading south had the exact expression "HOLY SHIT!" on his face.

 

[PurkinjeFiber]

Starting to drive on an icy road, driving a car with a manual transmission is definitely not the place to start driving. Try an empty parking lot or a suburban area of your town for some initial practice, and then move up to the busier roads.

 

[Sexy Street]

i can learn how to use any tech in a short time so driving is going to be easy

HA! I as well, but you are not in total control when driving. You only control your vehicle, while 50 other people try to get by you, pass you, and otherwise scare the living piss out of you. First time driving is never a fun experience.

 

[Jellly]

Nope, for me it was/is boring, bit hard with a manual first time but once you get the clutch stuff worked out it becomes monotone. I feel in control all the time, even when my parents are yelling to slow down etc.

 

[Mimssy]

My suggestion is just to remain as relaxed as possible and drive in low traffic places for a while (like an empty parking lot) and just practice. Death grip on steering wheel makes driving that much worse.

 

[OldAccount]

I've always been fairly comfortable behind the wheel. That said, my first few times where just driving around an empty parking lot so that probably helped.

 

[unoleian]

Strangely, I never found driving an automobile daunting.
The vehicle that made me nervous at first was a counterweight forklift. I felt like that damn thing was just going to fall right over onto its side at first, when I just started driving it.
I was going along bouncing on a gravel lot, slow as shit, one hand on the wheel, the other gripping the 'ohshit!' bar on the rollcage with a white-knuckle death grip.

Dunno why that thing was so unnerving at first, now its nothing. But damn that thing was scary as shit at first! I guess maybe it something to do with being seated so high up on such a narrow vehicle.

 

[Skorpyo]

My first time driving was slightly frightening, but I got used to it fast. Always did have a hand for racing games...

After driving 120 miles a day for 2 years now, driving is an extremely dull routine. You'll get used to it.