Another driving anxiety thread

[crypticpotatoeye]

Hello!

So I'm 28 years old, relatively new to Australia, and just got my green P license a week ago. As I'm over 25, I went straight to green P instead of having to go through red for a year. I've been taking driving lessons since July and I was absolutely sure I wasn't going to pass my practical driving exam on the first go but I did so I was thankful for that. Having passed the test, I started driving on my own to and from work immediately the next day, and I was successful.

Yesterday, however, I made the mistake of going straight through a roundabout as someone was making an exit. I didn't expect he was going to make a U-turn and I failed to see his signal because of the sun's glare, but nevertheless, I was in the wrong and he tooted his horn at me once. I panicked and had to pull up just to calm myself down.

Just earlier tonight, on my way back from work, I was stopped at a traffic light and was a little over the pedestrian line so I reversed just a bit noticing that the oncoming car behind me was a fair bit aways. When the light turned green, I realized I failed to put my gear back on drive (good thing I didn't crash onto the car behind me!) I panicked and exited out of the intersection cursing myself for my mistake. Immediately after, a block away from the intersection, I slowed down because of a road hump just before a roundabout, and again, made the mistake of going straight through as someone was turning. I held my hand up at the window so the driver knows I'm apologetic but this isn't helping me sleep. The entire scenario keeps playing over and over in my head, and it's making me terrified to go back on the road.

I'm realizing that the more anxious I get after making a single mistake, the more likely I am to make another. Do you guys have any similar experiences? What are some advice you can offer for a new learner?

[Neil_1]

Hi there CPE (interesting name by the way)

Welcome to Beyond Blue and thank you for coming and providing your post.

Congrats on getting your P’s – that’s always a fair achievement and milestone for all of us who’ve gone through that process.

I think the main thing you could concentrate on the moment is that – has there been an accident involved?  I believe there hasn’t been;  or not that I could read anyway, which is a huge positive.  Ok, some may have been close calls, but I think you would be very surprised to know just how many close calls would happen on the roads every day.

I congratulate you also on pulling over when you got the chance to get yourself calmed down – and then from that, you were “ok” to drive on home without further incident.  So I think you may be giving yourself a bit of a hard time over this;  perhaps moreso than you possibly should.  That’s just how I read it.

From what I can gather, you’re doing your main driving through the peak hour times;  ie:  to and from work, so that means there’s a hell of a lot more cars around than at other times of the day.  So perhaps you could do one of two things, if you feel this sounds like an ok thing.

First could be to try and get out behind the wheel at less busy times – just to get some more experience driving and perhaps when the traffic is a lot lighter, than when you normally drive.

The other thought I had was for you to get a friend to sit with you – someone who you trust, so that they can possibly give you some advice about certain situations that you have encountered.  Again, just thoughts, but I hope this helped a little.

Kind regards

Neil