Hello All!

[jen01]

Hi, I am a new member from Oxfordshire. I actually passed my test a year ago but have only been in the car on my own once. I need to build my confidence and have joined the forum in the hope that it will give me the bosst I need!

[lordgrover]

Welcome. New here myself but they seem a friendly bunch - they hardly ever bite.

[Gareth]

I need to build my confidence

One thing that might help is to give lifts to a variety of people, including non-drivers! I'm thinking aged relatives, for example. Although you won't be alone in the car, you will have sole responsibility for safely completing the journey.

[jen01]

I agree about offering lifts etc. I do often drive my mum and her neighbour. The funny thing is that most people assume that passing your test gives you all the confidence in the world! I think I'm so paranoid of getting it wrong without the guidence of instructor I'm finding the next step really hard.

[fungus]

My advice to new drivers is to drive in areas that are familiar, and not at a busy time, with no complicated junctions if at all possible until you start to gain confidence in your car and your ability to cope with busier traffic.

Gareths advice about driving relatives is good, but if you are a young driver, I would avoid driving friends until you are more confident, and can shut out the possible distractions of having teenage friends in the car.

I noticed your post on roundabouts. With the roundabouts in question it might be a good idea to get an experienced driver to take you round to notice how they do it and if it causes conflict.

[jen01]

I am considering taking a few post-pass driving lessons. I have been going out in the car with my mother and my father to help me. However, when it comes to roundabouts they seem to have conflicting advice for me. Perhaps instructor advice would be better!

[fungus]

Unfortunately highways authorities and highway engineers seem to think that if you engineer in confusion, traffic will slow down and everything will be safer. In the not so dim and distance past roundabouts were simple. Going left of, or 12 o clock, left hand lane and keep to that lane. Anything right of 12 o clock, right hand lane and keep to it until you wish to exit. Now we have spiral roundabouts where you start off in one lane and as you progress around the roundabout you gradually move out a lane. Worse still are hamburger junctions, where no one seems to know where they are going.

This roundabout used to be a conventional roundabout and,although busy at peak times, it was not confusing. The link shows the roundabout after becoming a spiral roundabout, It is now a hamburger junction as shown by the green lines, with the A31 going through the centre. It apparently is controlled by seventy sets of traffic lights, although I haven't personally counted them. The whole thing is a complete shambles.

https://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=50.802173 ... 0,44.998,0