Tips on understanding how to drive in real life?

So I'm currently taking driving lessons, never having driven before in my life, not even with a racing wheel in a video game. What I'm probably having the most trouble wrapping my mind around, is understanding how much the car turns baed on how much I move the wheel. I can't tell if I'm over steering or under steering and it's tough because aside from the lessons I'm taking, I don't have a car to practice with outside of that. I'd really appreciate any wisdom you could bestow upon me that you think helps one learn to drive better. Thanks so much!

Edit: Thank you everyone who replied with helpful information, much appreciated, and definitely got better as I calmed down and took my time, it's not a race.

Practice makes steering second nature. The biggest trouble I had when first learning to drive was the clutch, but it's same there. Practice a lot and it'll be no trouble

find someone to help you practice. When I was 16 my dad would take me to an abandon parking lot and practice, we eventually just did donuts but its pretty much all the same.

@barit14: Honestly I did the same thing as you where I only got practice during my driving lessons. TBH I regret not getting any outside practice since I failed the hands-on driving school test but the guy let me pass anyways. After that I practice with my dad and friends car for 2 weeks and took the test and aced it!

All you can really do to improve is to practice, I know that's probably shitty advice to you but it's the only way.

Have you ever had the pleasure of teaching someone how to drive stick? My little brother wanted to learn and even though I've been doing it since I was 16- putting into words what you simultaneously do with three peddles, two feet and your hands and the stick is pretty tough.

But yeah, it's all about practice. Steering seems like something you could wrap your mind around by driving around in a parking lot for awhile. Maybe ask if you can stay after class.

@barit14: unfortunately with the steering wheel it's just practice. I can't even think of what tips to give for steering - with time you'll pick it up.

@barit14:

Well every car is different. I would try practicing on the car you'll take your driver's test on.

As for what to do to help only practice helps honestly. The big thing is to check your mirrors, your blind spots, and look where you want to drive (it sounds dumb but your eyes will direct your hands). If the vehicle your driving is big and long just turn wider then you think you should.

I learned to drive in an old Cadillac, which taught me to consider my vehicle's size when maneuvering. Get a sense for how wide your car is, and when you look out of the passenger side mirror (which you should adjust while in a driving position), make sure you can see the white stripes separating lines going by and stay in that position while moving, making sure your tires don't ride on it.

Set up two garbage cans, set them up in an open area of a parking lot and practice parallel parking between them. Move them closer every time you get it right. Then, move them next to a curb. Spend a while practicing this, parallel parking is probably the most difficult part of the test.

@barit14: Must cars these days have hydraluic (sorry if I misspelled) systems which makes steering a piece of cake. Always do it slowly and with the least amount of turning the wheel .... honestly in only rare instances you would need to steer it to the max. Usually though for a 90 degree turn 1 turn of the wheel will suffice , but as I said you can do it slowly and never do the motion in 1 go .... you adjust as you turn and as said doing it slowly and gently will do the trick

No matter how much you are in a hurry, never drive like you are in a hurry. If you ever drive like you're in a hurry, that's a great way to kill yourself and other drivers.

Also, keep cool and practice, read up on the rules of the road, know your signs, and don't drive and text or talk on the phone at the same time. Have your music and GPS (if you have one) preset before you drive so you have as minimum distractions as possible. If you want to flip the bird, don't take too long to do so, just long enough for it to be noticed.

Good luck!

This. So much this. My Dad took me to a large church parking lot that was completely empty over most of the week and I just drove all around that. Steering a car well isn't something that can be explained, you just have to keep practicing and practicing.

Also, every car is different, so it might be a good idea to drive one for a little while, and see if someone else won't let you drive theirs.

As for the road, well, you've just got to keep your eyes peeled and you've got to stay calm. Never panic. Never, ever rush to your destination - being late is better than being dead or knee-deep in insurance bills. My driver's ed teacher told us to assume that everyone else is an idiot. I'm not entirely sure what to make of that advice, but it's always stuck with me and I've always tried to stay aware and wary of all the other cars around me.

Finally, driving eventually becomes second nature. Most of it is paying attention to the stuff going on around you.

On that note, practice giving the finger. Most drivers I've seen are terrible at putting any oomph behind it. You've really got to mean it.

Just practice. It becomes very natural pretty quickly.

This instructional video might help:

If you don't have a car to practice with, which means you don't own a car, why are you learning how to drive?

Just drive as often as you can. It'll all come naturally to you as you learn.

@barit14: You'll get used to it really fast. Just always watch others, and I say after a few hours or so you'll get used to how turning and everything should be.

Well, to help boost your confidence level... it's been almost an entire year since I started driving. When I was first getting into it, I was quite terrified. Even when I received my actual license, I was clutching the steering wheel so hard my knuckles would turn white. Fast forward 3-4 months afterwards is when I started to actually feel confident. Just know, that there are some REALLY stupid drivers out there. If they can drive, you can too... 100x times better. The nervousness will go away fast.

About the actual steering though, like people have said... it basically becomes second nature. After at least 6-7 hours of practice, you'll have it down.

Driving can be pretty simple. Once you get used to cars in general and how they steer, driving can be as simple as just going in a straight line and making sure that you're going the speed limit just braking at appropriate times.

For me, the hardest thing about driving is changing lanes, especially in high traffic conditions. A good rule to learn is called "SMOG".

Signal your car to change lanes (this can be a change of lanes or a turn).

Check your side mirrors and rear-view mirrors to see that it's clear - also check for fast moving cars.

Look back over your shoulder and look at your blind spot to make sure that no one is there.

Then go. Just make sure you aren't looking over your shoulder AS you turn, your eyes should almost always be to what is ahead of you.

Signal, Mirror, Over-the-Shoulder, Go.

Of course, once you pass your driving test you can just buy blind-spot mirrors and relax.

For the love of god don't use the handbrakes to get around corners! But seriously though, don't do it. Also, steering becomes really easy once you get enough practice. There aren't any strategies that you could use really. Just practice, practice and practice.

Seems legit

Aw c'mon. That's terrible. This is much better.

I've been driving 30,000 to 50,000 miles a year for the last ten years and I've never had a single car accident. The best thing I can say in a few short words is to drive defensively. Always expect everyone on the road to be an idiot ready to pull out in front of you, come into your lane, or run a stop sign.

Everyone listen to this: ALWAYS look both ways when you are going into an intersection right after a light has turned green. This has seriously saved my life at least twice that I can remember. All you need as that one asshole not paying attention to miss that red light change and plow into your driver side door at 50 MPH. I just avoided this exact thing about a year ago. It's a sobering thing to know you almost died. I almost didn't look left, because I had other shit on my mind. Always pay attention.

Don't crash.

What I like to do is pick one car that drives pretty fast. Then I pass them. Then I let them pass me. Then I pass them again. And this goes on for a long time, depending on how far I'm driving, sometimes up to a few hours. It's fun. Usually they get in on it. Sometimes they just think I'm crazy.

OMG this is the worst.

If you take a turn. always use the gutter to turn fast^^

This is the worst.

Don't listen to this horrible, horrible man.

@live2brighteous: Thank you, I'm also pretty nervous and end up gripping the wheel tighter than I should.

@jouseldelka: If it's why I'm learning to drive, it's so I can have my license. It's not like I can go buy a car and drive it off the lot without a license, right?

@tireyo: Thanks for that, not driving like I'm in a hurry is good advice. I think it's because I feel nervous that I'm rushing to swing the wheel all the way as much as I can instead of taking my time.

@aetheldod: Thanks for the info with the turning, I feel like it's my nerves and I'm always rushing to turn the wheel as fast as I can.

@irrelevantjohn: What makes things tough is that I don't really have a means of practicing outside of my lessons since I don't have a vehicle available to me, which sucks... I'd love to be able to spend time practicing till I was comfortable but unfortunately that's not the case. Thanks for the help regardless.

Thank you to everyone who were kind enough to reply! I'll have to work on my nerves and just practice as much as I can in the limited way that's available to me.

There's also what I like to call 'the blockade'. This is where you drive at the same speed as the vehicle in the slow lane immediately beside you. It makes things nice and consistent. None of those speederbugs driving about.

Everything you need to know.

From a driving test standpoint it does not matter how well you drive but how safely you drive, and how well you can read the road. (road signs and such, intersections, lights)

Except for parallel parking. That matters a lot.

When it comes to turns in particular I was taught to visualize it as if the car is attached to pole via string as you turn. When you approach the turn you spot where the pivot point would be then smoothly turn as if you are being attached it. This also helps for speed at turns, you slow down and brake as you approach the turn then once you are past the apex of the swing you accelerate out of the turn.

In more general stuff just try to stay relaxed and drive defensively. Being a few minutes late is nothing when compared to being in an accident. Driving aggressively is bound to piss other people off and pissed off drivers are what often cause accidents. If you feel yourself getting worked up(anxious or angry or whatever) just take a few breaths and try to calm down.

Also don't be one of the those assholes who only drive in the left lane on a high cause it's "the fast lane", it's a fucking passing lane and you should move back into the right once it is safe to do so.

Practice. Only thing that will help. You eventually get to know the feel of your car and what it can do. The first little while will be scary but eventually its as easy as breathing.

If GTA taught me anything, it's that driving is like bumper bowling. If you oversteer, just use the nearest car to straighten you back out, and you'll be fine.

Every car feels slightly different. So just practice and you'll get the hang of it.

Don't tailgate. Do not. If you cannot see the bottom of the rear wheels of the car in front of you over your hood and some of the street as well if you are traveling at highway speeds, you are tailgating. Do not do that. If someone taps their brakes in front of you because you are following too close, do not drive even closer as some sort of macho challenge. Tailgating will not help you reach your destination faster. It will not make the person you are tailgating speed up and/or pull out of your way. Driving a large and/or lift-kitted monster truck jobby does not give you the right to be a motherfucker. It makes you a motherfucker, yes, but does not give you the right to exercise your motherfuckery on others. D:

If you wanna be a race car driver; drive race cars, on race tracks, with other race car drivers driving actual race cars on actual race tracks. Your Subarubaru Impreza with the too big chrome rims is not a race car. The residential street you live on is not a race track.

Dont jam on your brakes in the rain/snow. It may seem like the thing to do but you are actually taking control of the vehicle away from you when you do that. Leave plenty of space between you and the car ahead of you, even in a traffic jam. That cushion actually multiplies its self backwards and if enough people could understand that, then jams would clear themselves up. And no, there is nothing up ahead stopping traffic. When you finally reach the point where the congestion eases, there will be no wrecks/dead bodies/traffic stop. Its still a mystery.

Alsao, I dunno where you live, but around me there are dozens of awesome country roads to drive on. I have driven them several hundred times. I know each and every turn, low spot, intersection and fence line. But, BUT I never trust said road. You never know if someone up ahead has spilled oil or gravel on the road. Or that recent storm has washed away part of the road or even flooded it. You can know a road, but never trust it.

http://www.pyongyangracer.co/

It's the most realistic simulator out there.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who replied with helpful information. I had another driving lesson earlier today and did sooooo much better compared to last week. Just stayed calm and didn't try to rush and spin the wheel as fast as I could to make a turn, just slowly took my time turning the wheel. Still some kinks to be worked out as I get more practice but much more improved. Thanks everyone.

@jouseldelka said:

Why would you buy a car if you don't know how to drive?

Every car's going to behave differently.

If you're going to drive slow, do so in the right lane.

If you're coming off a major street onto a side street, I always signal well in advance and slow down well in advance. It's easy for commuters to go into a trance on their way home.

Make it a habit to use your turn signals.

Apex of a turn. Learn it. Love it. Live it. Maybe it's just confined to the Midwest of America, but people can't turn left for shit. Instead of turning, most people do this weird diagonal where they cut through a large portion of the left turn lane. Don't be one of those folks.

If you see a bike rider on the street, assume they are -not- going to follow the rules of the road. Assume that bike rider will -not- stop at a stop sign. Assume a bike rider will gladly ride into your blind spot. Assume a bike rider will ride past you as you're making a turn.

If you're in the middle of an intersection waiting to make a left turn and the light turns yellow, evaluate the oncoming traffic. That SUV racing down the oncoming lane doesn't care that you should be making a turn. Fuckin' Honey Boo Boo is comin' on in twenty minutes and they need to get home NOW. They also need to update their facebook status while driving. Unless you -know- they're coming to a stop or -know- you'll be able to clear the turn, don't make it.

That exact scenario happened a few years ago, right in front of my eyes. A kid in a mustang was making a left turn at an intersection on a yellow light. He was halfway through the turn, the light had turned red, and a SUV ran the red and plowed right into him. Not only did the Mustang get torn in half, the SUV continued on its new course, hit the curb, went airborn, over the fence of the corner house. Had the back not caught the fence, it probably would have punched through the house. As it was, it tore the fence from the ground and put a hole in the house.

Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. But the lady driving the SUV came storming out crying, "Why did he turn!? Why did he turn!? I'm going to miss my show!"

Which leads to my last point.

Never be in a rush! Getting pulled over, or getting into an accident just means you're going to be even later.

@zelyre: Thanks for replying with those tips. That woman is seriously terrible. I'd like to think I fall on the cautious side of things, my rushing was mainly, oh no I've got to turn, let me spin the wheel quickly and not evaluate how the car is moving and be nervous. I feel like I got a lot better today as I relaxed my mind and just let the car do it's thing. I'm not 100% perfect yet, but leaps ahead of where I was last week, just need to be more fluid.

You shouldnt really be oversteering or understeering on the street, unless your damn good driver. Otherwise you will end in a hedge. Oversteering or understeering only occurs if your driving a car at the limits of adhesion. If you actually want to learn how to drive well on the limit affordably get a mazda miata or a brz/frs/gt86 and get a track membership. A good car will telegraph its limit through the steering wheel. Its way more than just the force feedback on a racing wheel. Of course if you plan on driving a front wheel drive econobox, nothing I just said matters at all, those are just appliances and should be used as such. Just dont get distracted on the road, DONT text and drive or look at your phone, its sad to think how many people have been killed from this. Be aware that not everybody is a good driver, pay attention.