Cereal Packets

[Tak]

Well great start - got the car out of a (to me) small space without bumping anyone

I had allowed myself plenty of time but forgot that no school = no traffic so I'm now sat waiting for the vet to open in 20 minutes.

Tiffany isn't talking to me because she knows what is happening, but she doesn't seem distressed by the journey.

Had to have the radio off - gonna be a few months before I can have music on I think.

I'm going to be driving to work - the problem will be parking - even the manager has problems around there. There is a car park around the corner - I might see how much that is for the day ... Least until I get more parking practise.

[vix]

You'll find that if you have to do it, you will get better at it. I was rubbish at it til I moved down here as Phil lived on a main road at the time - I quickly got decent - although i did drive a smart car at the time!! Now im rubbish again because I just don't have to do it. You'll get used to how to angle the car and which spaces are possible.

Oh and if anyone honks whilst you are trying to pp, get out, hand them the keys and ask them to do it... They'll either do it for you and it will save time or they will fail and realise how hard it was

[Tak]

Past two nights getting home I've had to call mic from the car and get him to come out and give me directions.
The road is just always packed and there always seem to be people driving down it :/ I'm getting really annoyed with myself now

[Kitten]

Don't get annoyed because that's massively counter-productive. It's a new thing, you need to take time and stop being so hard on yourself or you really will just get worse. Matt and ( have both been driving a LOT longer than you - I don't even wish to THINK about how long I've had my licence) and we both do the same when it's a tricky spot. We live on a very small road with lots of cars, and no parking other than on-road. There are always cars coming up and down and it's much better to ask for help and direction than bump the car and dent your confidence!

[Mark]

Well, given the quality of some parking I've seen around here, I guess it can be tough for anyone. Stick with it, and don't feel guilty about asking if you need to ask.

[Garp]

I've seen your area... no way I'd have been wanting to park there just fresh after passing my test.

About a year, maybe year and a half after I passed my parents sent me on an advanced driving day run by the local Driving Standards Agency. We did skid pan time and a few other bits, and part way through they looked at our parking and getting a feel for our vehicle. I overestimated the size of the Corsa on every test by about a 1/3rd. I maneuvered confidently into the parallel parking but made it umpteen dozen times more steps than was necessary because I thought the car was bigger than it was
I'll confess to getting lazy these days, our Civic has sensors on the buffers that help me gauge how far away I am from stuff.

[Tak]

Well this morning was completely crap. Managed to get the car out of a really tight space and that was about the only good thing. Stalled 3 times and couldn't even drive into a parking space properly. Nearly ended up in tears without a clue what to do

[Kitten]

it's very hard for me because :

I'm female (may as well pre-empt it)

I cannot do things in 'mirror image' so I find it very hard to figure out instantly which way the wheels will turn when I turn the wheel. It's just not instinctive to me.

I'm 5'2" so I can't see either the front or the back edge of the car because I'm too low down (if you think thats not an issue, sit right low down in your seat next time you try to pp) ~ my visibility ends somewhere mid bonnet / mid boot so I have a whole lot more guesswork going on than someone taller.

[volospian]

Originally Posted by Takhisis

Well this morning was completely crap. Managed to get the car out of a really tight space and that was about the only good thing. Stalled 3 times and couldn't even drive into a parking space properly. Nearly ended up in tears without a clue what to do

Don't worry about it. It'll come with time. Stalling is just one of those things. I never stall my car.... because it's an automatic, so I can't but when I drive Sue's car, if I'm distracted by something I quite often forget to change gear or stall the car at junctions until I've been driving it for a while.

Remember, it's nothing to do with your capability, you're still just getting used to the mechanics of the vehicle, so don't think you can't do it. It's a bit like playing a guitar or something, I suppose. You may be able to play the notes individually, but it takes practice to be able to put your hands in exactly the right place, at the required speed, to make the overall tune sound right.

And as for pp, well, again, that's just practice. I used to live in a terrace in Leicester with on street parking and had to pp every day, sometimes several times a day as we nipped out for various reasons. I soon got fine at it, and could stick the car in any old gap perfectly. Now I live in a house with a drive, work in an office with a works car park and even when we go to town there's only spaces in the main car parks, so I rarely have to pp, and I now suck at it.

[Haly]

Originally Posted by Takhisis

Well this morning was completely crap. Managed to get the car out of a really tight space and that was about the only good thing. Stalled 3 times and couldn't even drive into a parking space properly. Nearly ended up in tears without a clue what to do

Easier said than done but try not to worry too much. I think everyone hates parking! I despise parallel parking or anything vaguely fiddly. I think nothing of driving a few hundred miles across motorways yet thanks to being out of practice with parking, that's the bit I get unnerved by.

Keep trying but don't stress too much. Not worth the worry and it'll only dampen the fun of being independent and no longer reliant upon public transport at last!