Emergency stops...

...scare the hell out of me!

My driving test is on Friday...I'm looking forward to it even less now.

I remember my first road test. It was in a manual-transmission car. For the emergency stop I jammed on the brakes and forgot to put in the clutch. Of course, the car stalled...

The tester did not kill me.

Thanks for replying, pachderm. That's good your examiner didn't mind too much about you stalling the car.

I don't know why I'm so scared of them, but it was the first time I'd got so freaked out in a lesson that I actually started crying. I guess if I wasn't scared then it wouldn't be realistic - it is an emergency stop, after all - but I don't like it! And what if I get scared again on my test?

As you say, it is an emergency. I don't think an examiner is going to care about whether you're scared or cry or what emotion you show as long as you "perform" correctly? Everyone is going to be scared/upset during an emergency.

I had my car stall at a light (big Mercury) and I put on my flashers and emergency brake, etc. and went back to the nearby gas station to call a tow truck (and I had a formal dinner to go to that I was late for so had to call my husband to come get me, etc. big mess) and while I'm at the gas station someone is enquiring does anyone know who the Mercury belongs to, etc. and I overhear and finally get connected with it. A little Toyota had not SEEN it stopped at the light, with flashers on, etc., still daylight, and had barrelled into it and pushed it (emergency brakes on and stalled) through the intersection! The emergency people couldn't find the driver of my car (obviously, since I was at the gas station :-) and were looking down in ditches along the side of the road, etc.

My car was totaled and a couple people in the little Toyota were taken to the hospital, etc. (and they had no auto insurance, of course) but I had been on the way home from my T when this happened. My T and I had to talk about it for several of my next sessions, how "calmly" I did things at the time but then fell apart and was crying, shaking, and the post trauma for me just driving by the site for a long time was through the roof! And I hadn't even been "there" when it happened. I kept expecting my new car to stall, someone to hit me, etc. My T explained that we're sort of built to deal with emergencies and to fall apart after they're over and it is "safe" to. But I can see how "practicing" them would be just like the real thing!

Good luck Rio. Driving tests can certainly make you nervous! I took my driving test when I was 17. Failed twice, then passed the 3rd time. When I finally passed I was so ecstatic that I jumped out of the car and ran across the street to hug my mom, only I was so excited I forgot to check the road before crossing the street and almost got hit by a car!

Thanks, Perna. I hope not! I did another few in my lesson today and they weren't so bad, luckily.

That would have been so scary! That's great you managed to keep calm at the time, though. What your T said makes sense...it's not exactly an emergency, but I've found that with violin exams I often didn't worry about them until after they were actually over (with the exception of Grade 8, but that's the hardest one).

I asked my instructor today if anyone else had had the same reaction to emergency stops...he said it wasn't common, but it wasn't unheard of, either. So at least I'm not the only one!

Thanks, pinksoil. One of my cousins had to take her test three times as well, you're not the only one! Yikes!

Well, I passed...by the skin of my teeth, apparently. I'd almost rather have failed than only passed because I didn't quite make enough mistakes for him to fail me! Feels like I've been given my licence on a technicality. And now I have to drive by myself and I'm really not looking forward to that at all.

I wasn't expecting this reaction.

((((rio))))) i know exactly how you feel. i had problems at the beginning, but did ok. of course, being almost totally deaf and one-eye-blind added to the stresses of driving. i drove for 5 years and had to stop because of mounting stresses of crazy drivers who don't realize that i'm a disabled driver! i don't regret it, though. i'm so much better off not driving, anyway. but, just to let you know that your situation is not unusual. i understand how the emergency stops can be traumatic. believe me, i've had my share of it, too. keep practicing. i believe you can make it through.

(((wickedwings))) Thanks. That's good you did ok driving, especially with your disability! Sorry you had to stop, though. Thanks. Well, I've made it so far - passed my test, and survived my first two trips out! I haven't gone on any roads faster than 30mph since passing my test, though.

Congratulations, Rio!

(((((((((((((( Rio )))))))))))))))

Way to go girl!!!! I don't care if you only just barely passed....you still PASSED!!!!! That is totally awesome!!!

Of course we would all love to be able to ace every test we have to take, but in reality, life just doesn't always go that way. You didn't get your license on a technicality hon...you earned it by passing the exam. With more time on the road and maturity, your skills will improve and soon you will look back on this as another rite of passage into adulthood. You did just fine my friend.....


sabby

Thanks, pinksoil!

(((((sabau))))) Thanks! That's true, and I'm doing pass plus lessons anyway now, which should help. It covers things like motorway and town driving, plus driving at night - should be useful!

Thanks again.