Learning to drive is a super stressful and challenging time, regardless of your age. However, for a lot of fresh drivers, the stress doesn’t end there as those first few independent drives for a recently passed driver can be really intimidating and downright scary.
Passing a test demonstrates that you’ve mastered the basics of driving and are now road safe, but there’s still a lot to learn and experience throughout your driving journey. Here are a few tips to help you excel as a new driver and better manage this new chapter in your life: the chapter where you are behind the wheel.
Adjust your driving for bad weather
New drivers need to quickly understand that driving in different conditions is really challenging and requires different techniques and things to focus on to be both effective and safe. You need to be able to maintain traction when steering and also take into consideration that the stopping distance increases when driving on wet or icy roads. You also need to factor in that visibility can be an issue in foggy, windy and rainy conditions, and all of these call for alterations to your driving habits. As a new driver, it’s important to gain experience in these situations so that you know how to deal with them sooner rather than later.
Turn off the radio
New drivers still need to concentrate a lot when they’re on the road, so they need to ensure that there’s nothing in the car that can break their focus. This means that they need to put away all driver distractions such as putting their phone away or turning the radio off, which can be an effective way of boosting your concentration. This is because the lack of music will help you tune into the sounds of the road more and better engage with driving. This is really useful if you’re still not confident when driving, and you should only turn the radio on when you feel that you’ve developed into a competent driver.
Get a used car
Being a first-time driver can be expensive, due to how your insurance will be a lot higher to reflect your inexperience. Furthermore, you’re more likely to get into minor collisions during the first year of driving than you are any other time, so to save costs on repairs and lower the overall price, it’s a good idea to get a used car from AutoUncle, especially now that AutoUncle has entered the UK. Buying used can save you money on car expenses and also reduces the financial impact if you are involved in an accident.
Don’t offer friends lifts just yet
New drivers can sometimes feel pressured into becoming a taxi service for their friends. However, it’s a good idea to hold off on this. This is because having more people in the car means more distractions, which can dangerously affect your driving. Furthermore, a collision with multiple people involved is far worse than if there is just one, so make sure to drive with at most one passenger who can give guidance until you’re more experienced, and even then, only offer lifts on a selective basis.
