I just got my driver's license! Congratulations/threats go here.

lws1984

lws1984

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Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
259
Location
New Jersey
Car(s)
2017 Volkswagen Golf
No more learners permit, no more parents in the car (well, actually, mine are ?berparanoid, but beyond that..) General happiness and freedom (kinda) currently reside in my head.

The road test was shockingly easy. My family in Norway has it much worse. All I had to do was drive around for a bit and go in a straight line whilst reversing down a street. I almost wish the test was more rigorous - inexperienced as I am, I know that my skills extend to more than just reversing in a straight line and making right-hand turns. Kind of feel bad for the person before me to take their road test, although when you're not entirely sure how to execute a turn without driving in the opposite lane for a significant amount of time, you kind of deserve another month or so of practice.
 
Congratulations, and if you feel as though you need it, take some high perf. driving classes.
 
You will have a near miss or (God forbid) an accident in the next 6 months - drive carefully - do not get cocky. Well done and congratulations.
 
Cobol74 said:
You will have a near miss or (God forbid) an accident in the next 6 months - drive carefully - do not get cocky. Well done and congratulations.
Click to expand...

Yes, but given the US statistics, it will probably be single-vehicle and low speed - with a high likelihood that it will be a parking lot incident. Statistically, he is highly unlikely to pull a British Teen Driver, which is best described as 'discovering yourself in a field, surrounded by sheep that were no longer living and bits of your mum's Audi' - most likely upside down on its roof.
 
Good. Now go find a track school, a couple hundred bucks and do it.

Off the top of my head, Lime Rock is up there - but they don't have any school events listed on their site. You may want to call and check that out.
 
SPECTRE

Umm my daughter has had two biggies - concerns one somewhat. She is not a bad driver - our roads are much much more crowded than most of yours and we drive faster. Just want to say that I hope he is careful and develops his threat perceptions - it will take time.
 
Congrats! Now go autocrossing - its cheap ($30-$50), doesn't beat on your car, safe (tell your parents that the ONLY thing you can POSSIBLY hit is just a small traffic cone), fun as hell, and honestly teaches you a good deal about car control. Here's a schedule with most of the regional events:

April
3: NE SVT autocross
10: Renegade Miata autocross
11: CARTCT autocross (members only)
11: NER autocross
17: FCSCC autocross
17: SVT Cobra Club autocross
18: CARTCT autocross
18: FCSCC autocross
24: NER autocross
25: NER autocross


May
2: CARTCT autocross
2: NER autocross
15: FCSCC autocross
15: NE SVT autocross
16: CARTCT autocross
16: FCSCC autocross
16: NER autocross
16: SCCNH autocross
29: Renegade Miata autocross
29/30: NER autocross
31: SCCV autocross


June
5: NER autocross
5: SCCNH autocross
6: CARTCT autocross
6: NER autocross
6: SCCNH autocross
20: FCSCC autocross
20: Renegade Miata autocross
21: SCCV autocross
26: SVT Cobra Club autocross
27: CARTCT autocross

Links
CARTCT (Connecticut Autocross and Rally Team): http://www.cartct.com/auto_schedule.shtml
FCSCC (Fairfield County Sports Car Club): http://fcscc.com/10schedule.htm
NER (Sports Car Club of America - New England Region): http://www.ner.org/solo
Renegade Miata: http://www.renegademiata.net/page2.html
SCCNH (Sports Car Club of New Hampshire): http://www.sccnh.org/autocross.html
SCCV (Sports Car Club of Vermont): http://sccv.org/cms/index.php?page=2009-events-schedule
SVT Cobra Club: http://www.svtcobraclub.com/mainpage.html#events

I can send you the list for the rest of the season, if you want, but that should get you stared :)


That said, I think my first "incident" was understeering into a curb :oops: Either that or getting rear-ended by a city bus, don't remember which came first
 
Congrats! Ditto on the accident warning. Heads up and don't get cocky. Fooling around is for parking lots and tracks! </dad>
 
Yay!!!! Now go do an advanced safety course- they are well and truly worth their weight in gold and some courses can lower your insurance premiums :cool:
take it slow as well- don't go and make your first drive some drive along a technical twisty road or taking 4 friends somewhere in peak hour traffic. It was actually rather daunting for most people I know first time they drove unsupervised, so perhaps do a 15 minute drive around your local area. I did that and it was more fun than anything :D
 
barrel-roll.png
 
Congratulations!

Now all you have to work on is getting a nice ride. :D
 
Thanks for all the good luck. :) Autocross sounds fun. Not sure how my parents would feel about it. They're annoyingly boring about this sort of thing. But, that's what college is for, eh?

As for the 'nice ride' question - I've been scouring eBay (Jag XJ6 is a surprisingly cheap option, as is a Volvo 240 - as well as Saab 900, kind of a dream of mine) - but I'll likely be inheriting my dad's Toyota Matrix. Which is annoyingly touchy and a bit small for my frame, but has the primary advantage of being free of charge.

In terms of 'incidents' - I already had a couple while I was on my permit. One in a wal-mart parking lot - clipped the bottom clip of mum's bumper (Quick kick to the plastic clips sorted that), and a second pulling into a gas station. (Just a little tiny scratch on the bumper. Only noticeable if you're really really really looking.)
Near-accidents happen every day, that's part of driving in Rhode Island. it's also part of driving in a school parking lot.
 
How tall are you? My friend is 6'7" and can almost fit into a miata... I bet he'd be fine with a race seat (he has one in his crx and its seriously low). As for autocross, like I said, just keep reinforcing the fact that its perfectly safe and doesn't beat up on the car - these things are 100% true, not just something you can convince your parents with
 
I'm 6'2" - My main problem isn't actually my frame. My legs are a bit longer than your average leg - torso-wise, i'm fine.

The problem in the Matrix is that the pedals are a bit awkwardly positioned for someone with big feet and long legs (myself).
 
congrats, now try keep it on the black stuff.
 
Congratsulations to your license! Five years from now, you might have learned how to drive :tease:
 
EyeMWing said:
Good. Now go find a track school, a couple hundred bucks and do it.

Off the top of my head, Lime Rock is up there - but they don't have any school events listed on their site. You may want to call and check that out.
Click to expand...

You find bad.

Can't direct link to a refined search. Do the High Performance or the Mazda Driving School at Lime Rock. Make sure you do 2 days.

Better yet, do a Formula 2000 racing school and an advanced car control class. It's drift school. Fun fun fun. Lime Rock would be a heart pounder. Insurance will love you.

I took 3 tries to pass my test. I'm danger stupid. You're not. Congrats.
 
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