60+ mile journey as a new driver?

I've been driving on the roads for about 3 weeks now, safe to say I'm more than comfortable driving anywhere tbh.

I was thinking of driving around 70 miles to go and visit a friend, the majority of these miles will be on motorways.

Would you guys say this is a good idea or would you suggest getting use to motorways first? (Yeah I havent actually been on a motorway yet)

Reply 1

shawtyb

i dont drive but id start small with motorways to begin with

Reply 2

dean01234

It depends how confident you are, if its possible maybe go out with a family member on a motor way to build your confidence. But tbh motorway driving is actually very easy, if you can go when there isn't much traffic it should be fine.

Reply 3

CptConnor

Original post by shawtyb

i dont drive but id start small with motorways to begin with

Yeah I may go out for a few short journeys on motorways to get the hang of it.

Original post by dean01234

I'd say im pretty confident, I think I might ask my parents to come out with me a few times first before tackling a 70 mile journey on them. It will be on a Friday so the traffic will be horrendous :biggrin:

Reply 4

username2269391

Original post by CptConnor

There's really nothing to it on a motorway, if you feel like going fast use the right lane.. If you feel like going slow use the left lane or be like Goldilocks and choose the middle lane because it's just right...

Honestly, if you wanna make that trek then you'd be better off on a motorway than an A-road because Motorways have no stopping for anything (except traffic) whereas smaller roads will have a roundabout every 5 or 10 miles along with traffic lights and loads and loads of merging lanes.

I once rode from London to Sheffield on a 125cc Motorbike on A-roads
It was not easy

Reply 5

FXX

Original post by JavaScriptMaster

Hope you're not being serious!

Reply 6

dean01234

Original post by FXX

Hope you're not being serious!

While the post may have over simplified things a bit, I don't think there is really much more to motor way driving than on a busy A road.

The only real differences are that if you're in a middle land you should be watching whats going on either side of you, and you have to be more careful changing lanes because people tend to break the speed limit more than on A roads.

Reply 7

dean01234

Original post by FXX

What are you on about? On a motorway you stay in the left lane unless you're overtaking.

'Technically'. But realistically thats just not the case. It might vary on different motorways, but I've driven on a few and my experience is that on any busy motorway the first lane is taken up with slow moving trucks / lorries. If you're in a car looking to drive at the speed limit its unlikely that you'll drive in lane 1, because you'd be in and out every other minute (if you're lucky) which is far more dangerous than being in a constant state of overtaking.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 8

mcgreevy1993

I drove a 4 hour journey down the m5 the first week of driving. The motorway is more a hurdle in itself to just get used to and the longer you leave it the scarier it gets.

My partner didn't drive on the motorway until 3 years after driving. Safe to say, it took him longer to adjust.

Like people have said on here, get a more experienced driver to do a stretch of motorway with you before hand, just to get you used to the lanes and speed ect.

Leave after 6 so you avoid the traffic. Check your oil and water and have you sat nav ready for when you eventually arrive in town/city of your destination. (That's when things get tricky tbh)

Reply 9

InadequateJusticex

Original post by CptConnor

You'll be fine. I passed my driving test in August 2015 and didn't drive after - I borrowed the company car in January and drove from Bristol to Eastbourne and back within two days (400 miles). You'll no doubt be more comfortable than I am so go for it.

Reply 10

Joinedup

imo practicing joining motorways with a family member or friend might help - joining motorways and getting used to the speed and distances feels pretty weird the first few times you do it. (also normal roads can seem really slow when you leave a motorway)

they're actually the safest type of road but some people give themselves a complex about driving on them.