Wow, I've never heard of the salesperson being in the car for a test drive, it doesn't happen in my part of the UK! I'll definitely be taking my dad or my partner when I get a new car. Not even necessarily as an anxious thing but just a second opinion and second set of eyes of someone you trust. Like taking your parents to a house viewing is how I see it!
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Maybe it depends how much the car costs whether or not the salesperson comes too. I think it might be an insurance thing .I've had them come with us before and not . I've also had them make me leave both our vehicle and keys on their premises whilst going for a test drive.
We've both driven them on test drives, we just pull over and swap.
We've both driven them on test drives, we just pull over and swap.
CCTV released after Audi stolen in Hampshire by woman requesting 'test drive'
Officers would like to speak with the woman pictured
Plus I imagine most dealerships have you on CCTV like this. I’ve never known a salesperson go with you, I’ve known them to request you leave them with a form of your ID for the duration, and/or your own car keys if you’ve driven yourself there. Seems these didn’t take any ID from her though as the police were trying to identify her.
I keep having dreams about cars being hit 
I’m very surprised that the most popular thing to do is check Google’s maps etc.
I find that if I put too much thought or planning into the journey it makes me worse and I will pull out and cancel. Now I don’t think about it until my key is in the ignition and by that time it’s too late to start worrying.
I find that if I put too much thought or planning into the journey it makes me worse and I will pull out and cancel. Now I don’t think about it until my key is in the ignition and by that time it’s too late to start worrying.
I’m the same now, I would spend hours before a journey looking at google maps, following the street views and it would just freak me out and I would cancel or put off my drive. Now I only check it if I know I’m going to be at a big roundabout so I can check the lanes before I get in the car so I’m not caught out and get confused.
I really struggled to learn to drive. My peers found it very simple and easy, and I just found it terrifying. It just would never click in my head as I felt like 99% of my brain power was taken up by dealing with the clutch and gear changes.
I finally learned to drive at 28 after switching to an automatic. It just made things so much easier . I would really recommend it for anyone who is nervous around driving as it is a much simpler way to do it.
I do still get nervous about driving. It took me nearly 10 years to get the courage to go onto a motorway. I only started because I started dating someone who lived in Manchester and I jept getting bus sick on the coach.
The 3 worst things about driving in my opinion
1) people who think it is their right to speed everywhere in the right lane, and act like a dick if someone wants to use that lane for its intended role of allowing overtaking of slower moving vehicles in the left. Eg driving really close behind to push people out of the lane and back into the left before they are ready, or deliberately speeding up to close a gap when someone is indicated that they need to move into the right to overtake.
2) people who are suprised by the fact that my tiny little car does not accelerate as fast as their big giant shiny audi/bmw/whatever that is.
3) people who think they know better than the driver in front of them at a roundabout or slip road and 'honk' the other car of it does not join the roundabout or road fast enough. This either makes the person in front panic and drive out at rhe wrong time and put themselves in danger or breaks their concentration and makes them pause even longer.
A driver once did this to me when I hadn't driven long and I nearly ended up in an accident. I was waiting to join a section of the A19 near Stockton-on-Tees. The a19 crosses above the road I was on, so I had to drive up a sliproad . There is a very limited view of the road until the very top of the slip. Some head honked me and I drove straight out onto the road and nearly got hot by a HGV.
I finally learned to drive at 28 after switching to an automatic. It just made things so much easier . I would really recommend it for anyone who is nervous around driving as it is a much simpler way to do it.
I do still get nervous about driving. It took me nearly 10 years to get the courage to go onto a motorway. I only started because I started dating someone who lived in Manchester and I jept getting bus sick on the coach.
The 3 worst things about driving in my opinion
1) people who think it is their right to speed everywhere in the right lane, and act like a dick if someone wants to use that lane for its intended role of allowing overtaking of slower moving vehicles in the left. Eg driving really close behind to push people out of the lane and back into the left before they are ready, or deliberately speeding up to close a gap when someone is indicated that they need to move into the right to overtake.
2) people who are suprised by the fact that my tiny little car does not accelerate as fast as their big giant shiny audi/bmw/whatever that is.
3) people who think they know better than the driver in front of them at a roundabout or slip road and 'honk' the other car of it does not join the roundabout or road fast enough. This either makes the person in front panic and drive out at rhe wrong time and put themselves in danger or breaks their concentration and makes them pause even longer.
A driver once did this to me when I hadn't driven long and I nearly ended up in an accident. I was waiting to join a section of the A19 near Stockton-on-Tees. The a19 crosses above the road I was on, so I had to drive up a sliproad . There is a very limited view of the road until the very top of the slip. Some head honked me and I drove straight out onto the road and nearly got hot by a HGV.
I think I know the section you mean. Horrible road design, you shouldn't need to join a fast road from a dead stop because you can't see.
Yep it will be the place you are thinking of. It is a miracle that people are not killed there on a regular basis imo.
I definitely agree with your last point. I’m at the junction/roundabout/whatever. It’s up to me as the driver to decide what is safe for me to do. I can see the junction, know my vehicle etc. the person beeping behind isn’t the one having to make the judgement call, or hold responsibility if anything goes wrong.
i honestly feel like the worst part of driving is other people. Specifically, there seems to be a lot of impatience and entitlement on roads. And from a similar demographic. My stomach sinks when I have a white van driving behind me in a 20 zone because you just *know* they are going to get pissy with you for observing the speed limit.
I’m pretty comfortable with all aspects of driving in terms of the vehicle and reading road signs… my clutch control is great, my gear changes are much better. but it’s other drivers that stress me out and make me make mistakes.
It's not just white van men in my experience, though I agree they're always up your backside.
I've moaned about it on here before, but I find most drivers don't observe 20/30 zones. I drive the same route to work on an A road - which is mostly 60 apart from when it goes through a couple of small villages and it drops to 30. Most of the time, the car behind me on the 60 part is a decent distance behind me, but when I drop to 30, it quickly catches up and then tailgates me.
Sometimes when I leave said villages and then accelerate back up to 60, the car drops further behind. So my theory is that many people just drive at a pretty constant speed - eg doing 50mph all the time - so they drop behind on quicker parts and then catch up in 30 zones.
Mind you, slow drivers are as annoying - ie those who do a constant 40mph on main 60mph roads. I don't tailgate them, but I do wonder if they should be on the road if they can't drive at the speed limit. I sometimes wonder do they ever see a 50mph sign and think "hmm even though that sign is telling me to slow down, I'd actually have to speed UP to reach 50mph". Probably not!
I do sometimes think speed limits are a bit off though, we live fairly rural and close to a huge area of natural beauty which oretty much covers the whole town. The speed limit through the whole roads is 60mph, but the amount of deer who are hit on that road is insane. The road is very windy with sharp bends and no street lights in the evening. I never go more than 40 on it but people always overtake me.
Yeah agree with some of the country roads, 60 is wild. I drive on a really bendy road when I go back to my mum and dads, it’s 60mph but I just don’t feel safe driving at that speed on it, particularly at night or bad weather. You then have folk up your hoop and at night their headlights absolutely beaming in your rear view mirror. These roads should definitely be 40.
This is a good point. We had some relatives over from Lithuania last year and they commented that our rural speed limits seemed high. It does seem odd that country lanes are usually national speed limit when you're outside villages. It's like they think no one would be mad enough to go 60mph on them.
But that said, I go on a lane fairly regularly and I slow up when there's oncoming traffic, but so many people fly by - almost taking our wing mirrors off.
hi everyone, hoping this is the right place for this post!
the other day, while stationary in traffic, the car behind me drove into me. we'd been stuck in traffic for a while so he wasn't going fast, but was enough of a bump for me to feel it and for there to be some marks left on my car.
I called the insurance company, as I know you're meant to report all incidents, and now I think i've made a claim - perhaps naiively I didn't realise this until after the call when I was getting lots of emails through about repairs to my car and getting a hire car etc. Also mention of physiotherapy as I said I had a headache afterwards (from the stress! and I only mentioned it cos the insurance person asked me if I had a headache after)
I was so shaken up by the whole thing, having to get out my car and talk to the man who was reluctant to give me his details as he didn't see it as a big issue as he 'hardly touched me' and now i'm doubting myself - should I retract the claim because it wasn't a big crash and the damage was very minimal? I'm feeling really guilty and anxious about the whole situation and i'm not sure what to do. Don't want to be seen to be making a big deal out of nothing - what do you think I should do?
the other day, while stationary in traffic, the car behind me drove into me. we'd been stuck in traffic for a while so he wasn't going fast, but was enough of a bump for me to feel it and for there to be some marks left on my car.
I called the insurance company, as I know you're meant to report all incidents, and now I think i've made a claim - perhaps naiively I didn't realise this until after the call when I was getting lots of emails through about repairs to my car and getting a hire car etc. Also mention of physiotherapy as I said I had a headache afterwards (from the stress! and I only mentioned it cos the insurance person asked me if I had a headache after)
I was so shaken up by the whole thing, having to get out my car and talk to the man who was reluctant to give me his details as he didn't see it as a big issue as he 'hardly touched me' and now i'm doubting myself - should I retract the claim because it wasn't a big crash and the damage was very minimal? I'm feeling really guilty and anxious about the whole situation and i'm not sure what to do. Don't want to be seen to be making a big deal out of nothing - what do you think I should do?
If you want to make a claim you're well within your rights to, but it will affect your insurance renewal quotes. Is there damage to the car, if so would the other person be willing to settle directly outside of insurance? I hope you're okay
Thank you! There is damage to the car but nothing major and nothing that affects how the car works etc. just feeling so conflicted between making a claim (and affecting the other person’s insurance payments as well as my own) or just leaving it, but living with the cracked paint etc. i could ask if they’d be willing to accept outside of the insurance, that’s a good idea. Otherwise thinking either leave it to the insurance or let it go.
Just having a word vomit on here to see if it helps. I've got to drive my son to a football game tomorrow. Its only 22 miles away, and will take me about 40 minutes. There's no dual carriage ways and it seems a fairly straight road journey, majority is on A roads, some country lanes but wide ones if you know what I mean.
When I read all that, its stupid that I am so panicky and thinking can I message another mum and care share
my mum has offered to come and I've said no - I need to do it on my own. So many of my friends drive further away with thier kids and I don't because of my nerves. I know it'll be fine, we'll get there fine and I'll spend the match panicking about getting back, then we'll be fine again. I'm so anxious though. I keep thinking at least there is no slip roads, no motorway roundabouts - its going to be so much easier than the last long drive I had to do with him. I just can't shake the nerves 
When I read all that, its stupid that I am so panicky and thinking can I message another mum and care share
my mum has offered to come and I've said no - I need to do it on my own. So many of my friends drive further away with thier kids and I don't because of my nerves. I know it'll be fine, we'll get there fine and I'll spend the match panicking about getting back, then we'll be fine again. I'm so anxious though. I keep thinking at least there is no slip roads, no motorway roundabouts - its going to be so much easier than the last long drive I had to do with him. I just can't shake the nerves It'll probably fly over and you'll wonder what you were worried about- let us know how you get onJust having a word vomit on here to see if it helps. I've got to drive my son to a football game tomorrow. Its only 22 miles away, and will take me about 40 minutes. There's no dual carriage ways and it seems a fairly straight road journey, majority is on A roads, some country lanes but wide ones if you know what I mean.
When I read all that, its stupid that I am so panicky and thinking can I message another mum and care share
I've found my driving anxiety has been improving just making sure I go for a long drive every few weeks. The idea of getting behind the wheel to drive across town no longer panics me. I did cock up a big roundabout the other week, but who cares? No one died, I went the wrong way, but safely. Life goes on!
Just having a word vomit on here to see if it helps. I've got to drive my son to a football game tomorrow. Its only 22 miles away, and will take me about 40 minutes. There's no dual carriage ways and it seems a fairly straight road journey, majority is on A roads, some country lanes but wide ones if you know what I mean.
When I read all that, its stupid that I am so panicky and thinking can I message another mum and care share
Not stupid at all, worrying about an unknown trip is pretty normal!
Some here, including me, find it helpful to go through the trip on Google Maps and use the streetview feature where available. I find it calms me when I recognize parts again and it’s not totally new,or when I can take a good look at a crossing from home and figure things out.