I'm a pretty good driver. I can judge braking distances and I can stay in my proper lane, but I have trouble when it comes with parking/stopping.
When I come to a red light, I always stop so that I can see under the wheels of the guy in front of me. But I even think that's too close. But when I get out of the car to check, I realize that I'm actually really far (9 feet) from him.
Same when I'm parking. I'll pull into a parking spot in a grocery store, and I'll come into the spot perfectly, but when it comes to judging how close I am to the guy in front of me, I'm horrible. I'll keep saying to myself that I'm going to hit him, but I'll keep creeping forwards because I know that I'm actually pretty far. I'll eventually get to my paranoia limits, and I'll stop and get out of the car, only to realize that I'm like 3 feet away from him. It's not as bad when I'm backing up, but I'm still pretty bad.
I've been driving for 8 months now, but my problem is that I've probably only driven a total of around 15 hours, and that's including 10 hours of driver's ed.
My other problem is that I keep alternating between different vehicles. I started out driving a '95 Dodge Caravan, went on to driving a '98 Dodge Caravan, then an '01 Oldsmobile Alero, a '94 Pontiac Grand Am, an '01 Pontiac Sunfire, and a '98 Honda Civic. I don't have any say in what I'm driving, and I never know what I'll drive next, and I just can't get used to all the different sizes of the cars. Especially in only 15 hours.
And I can't take it out to a parking lot to get used to everything, because I'm only allowed to drive with an accompanied adult, and my parents are never willing to give up their time for something like driving in circles in a parking lot.
Are there any suggestions or reference points you can give me?
When I come to a red light, I always stop so that I can see under the wheels of the guy in front of me. But I even think that's too close. But when I get out of the car to check, I realize that I'm actually really far (9 feet) from him.
Same when I'm parking. I'll pull into a parking spot in a grocery store, and I'll come into the spot perfectly, but when it comes to judging how close I am to the guy in front of me, I'm horrible. I'll keep saying to myself that I'm going to hit him, but I'll keep creeping forwards because I know that I'm actually pretty far. I'll eventually get to my paranoia limits, and I'll stop and get out of the car, only to realize that I'm like 3 feet away from him. It's not as bad when I'm backing up, but I'm still pretty bad.
I've been driving for 8 months now, but my problem is that I've probably only driven a total of around 15 hours, and that's including 10 hours of driver's ed.
My other problem is that I keep alternating between different vehicles. I started out driving a '95 Dodge Caravan, went on to driving a '98 Dodge Caravan, then an '01 Oldsmobile Alero, a '94 Pontiac Grand Am, an '01 Pontiac Sunfire, and a '98 Honda Civic. I don't have any say in what I'm driving, and I never know what I'll drive next, and I just can't get used to all the different sizes of the cars. Especially in only 15 hours.
And I can't take it out to a parking lot to get used to everything, because I'm only allowed to drive with an accompanied adult, and my parents are never willing to give up their time for something like driving in circles in a parking lot.
Are there any suggestions or reference points you can give me?