close call

whoknows

hi im just back from a lesson with my dad and i had a very close call, just have to get it off my chest..think im in shock. i was down near the beach and there was a cliff and i was trying to stop but pressed the clutch instead of the break and only for there was a grass bank there id prob be dead right now along with my dad......i cant stop shaking and am on the verge of tears....

jackdaw

Ouch !!!

Well just keep to open spaces when you are learning the basics,

Alanstrainor

How fast were you going? Did you get close to the edge?
Everyone has those scary moments when they first start out, best thing to do is to get lessons from a professional rather than your dad. There's always the handbrake/emergency brake:). I think the best thing to do now is to get a lesson asap, and put all this behind you, nothing bad happened, you're all okay, so just keep driving!

whoknows

i know what your saying but i nearly killed my dad

ImDave

Try not to let that sort of stuff get you down. Its easy to panic when you are doing anything thats new to you. I had a friend who was on his first ever driving lesson, confused the brake and clutch, and ran the instructors (new) car into a car park wall.

Wishbone Ash

EI-DAV wrote: »

I had a friend who was on his first ever driving lesson, confused the brake and clutch, and ran the instructors (new) car into a car park wall.

Dual controls?

NotMe

Don't practice near cliffs I guess! The first (and last) time my dad let me drive his car was on a narrow country road and I got confused about the clutch/brake/accelerator and went straight into the ditch. I wasn't going very fast anyway but that was the end of the lesson

Holsten

Not very smart practising near cliffs.

Just use an empty car park, lots of open space without the risk of death.

I wouln't be taking any more lesson from Dad if i was you.
He should have more cop on than to bring you to a cliff to practice and why didn't he pull the handbrake?

chris85

Op, sorry to hear bout it. You went to brake with your right foot i presume? How did your right foot get over to the clutch??

seaner

instead of hitting the break she got confused and hit the clutch (with her left foot).

Op, learn from it. Move on and thank your lucky stars!
Try learning in a nice open area, where you're not pressured by any boundaries.
You'll soon get the hang of it!

Wishbone Ash

seaner wrote: »

instead of hitting the break she got confused and hit the clutch (with her left foot)

"he" and "his".

seaner

oops. Sorry....

RoseBlossom

*Hug*

I had a close call with my Dad and a stone wall once - I was turning a corner and tapped the accelerator instead of the brake... I then proceeded to slam on the accelerator to slow down! I eventually(!) found the brake and we stopped a few inches from disaster. We were both shaken but it took a longer time for me to get over it - like you said, it's the fact that you were at the wheel when something terrible nearly happened.

Don't forget though - it nearly happened - you're still here and I bet you'll never make the same mistake again!

Sangre

Get your next few lessons in a dual control car. After some practice in this it would be very rare that you confuse the two again.

I don't think you should stop driving. The longer you leave the harder it will be to go back.

eth0_

whoknows wrote: »

i know what your saying but i nearly killed my dad

Yes but you didn't!

I'll be harsh here - it sounds like you are crap at driving, which is understandable as you are new to it. Please get lessons with a proper instructor in a dual control car. It is dangerous for a complete beginner to be driving a normal car, IMO. If you'd been with an instructor he/she would have braked before there was any danger of you going over the cliff.

Don't let this put you off driving though!

ninty9er

eth0_ wrote: »

Yes but you didn't!

I'll be harsh here - it sounds like you are crap at driving, which is understandable as you are new to it. Please get lessons with a proper instructor in a dual control car. It is dangerous for a complete beginner to be driving a normal car, IMO. If you'd been with an instructor he/she would have braked before there was any danger of you going over the cliff.

Don't let this put you off driving though!

+1

Best advice is go professional. You'll only pick up bad habits otherwise, to which you'll add your own in time and be a crap driver. Went for one drive with my dad, had a similar braking incident (didn't brake hard enough) at a roundabout on a closed dual carriageway....if it was open would have been carnage:(. Lessons after that and no other driving until the test. Passed first time 2 green/minor faults.

At least you only pick your own up along the way if you get lessons as opposed to just driving with your dad.