Driving On Your Own For The First Time after Passing!

by Panzer
You’ve had driving lessons, improved your driving skills, and finally passed your Driving
Test! You’re excited to enjoy the independence that your new Driving Licence can give you
- but you haven’t driven on your own yet. This can feel a little strange at first, so
in this video we will share a few tips to help you while you gain experience. We have
a few general tips to get you started, then some more specific advice to help in more
challenging situations. Before we get started, please subscribe to our channel and click
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about this video, then please comment below and we will reply as soon as we can.
To start with, here are a few general tips to remind us of the basics.
Before getting into our car, we consider if we’re fit to drive. Of course we would never
drive whilst under the influence of drink and drugs, but even driving when tired or
emotional could result in doing something dangerous. Remember that we are in charge
of a ton of metal that could be lethal if out of control.
We always make sure our seat and mirrors are correctly positioned before setting off - as
adjusting these whilst driving would be a distraction. We always wear our seat belt
and if we have passengers we refuse to move the car until they are wearing theirs.
We try not to speed, even if we are being pressured by drivers behind us or passengers
in our car. Remember that if you get 6 points on your license within two years of passing
your test, you will lose your full licence and need to pass another theory and practical
test!
We need to concentrate when driving, as danger can surprise us at any moment. Using our mobile
phone handheld is of course illegal, but even making calls with a hands-free kit can be
distracting so we are careful when we accept or make calls. Even eating or drinking while
driving can lead to danger, so we never multi-task when driving - it is far safer to pull over
before doing anything that might distract us.
Once you are out driving you will start to experience different and more challenging
situations. You may have some fears about certain things, and these are perfectly normal.
Next we will talk about some of these situations and how you can manage them so as not to let
your fear affect your driving.
We have learnt how to drive safely, and have demonstrated this by passing our driving test
- but what about those drivers who even though they know what they should do, choose not
to do it. They might drive while on their phones, drive too close to the rear of our
car, or act aggressively towards us. We can’t control what other drivers do but we can do
things to help us cope with these situations. We don’t let other drivers intimidate us
to drive faster, instead we try to stay calm and ignore their aggressive behaviour. If
someone is following too close behind, then we just pay extra attention to the road ahead,
and allow more distance between us and the vehicle in front. As long as we drive smoothly
and don’t brake suddenly there won’t be a problem.
When learning to drive you may have experienced driving in heavy traffic. If you did, then