Long distance motorway driving after passing test?

I just want some advice on whether it is a good idea for a person who has recently passed their driving test to do long distance driving (around 4 hours) around a month after passing their test? I would usually take the train but unfortunately there are lots of rail works on at that time which makes my journey twice as long with 4 changes!

I am a confident driver, and would personally feel okay with doing this distance, but is it actually a good idea, or should I just wait until I have been on the road for longer?

How long did you leave it after passing your driving test before you did a long distance journey (including motorways)?

Any advice is much appreciated.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

BullViagra

I did an 84 mile motorway journey a month after passing test, with no anxiety or mistakes at all. Around 6 months I did a trip to cornwall and back which was like 600 miles, again it was completely fine.

I think the biggest fear in the motorway is when a car brakes in front of you, and you sort of panic for a bit. So just make sure to keep a big nice distance. Other than that I usually feel safer in a motorway than in other roads. Statistically they are the safest roads too.

Try do some small motorway journeys in the meantime to get a feel for it.

Reply 2

Puddles the Monkey

Original post by shmelissas

I would get a more experienced driver to go out with you on the motorway at least once before you try. If you've been on some bigger dual carriageways which have slip roads you will probably feel more confident - merging on to the motorway is a bit confusing the first time you do it & it's really important that you match your speed to the speed of the traffic. It's also really important that you check your blind spots when you change lanes.

I was super nervous about motorways but around Brighton we have some dual carriageways that turn into a three lane dual carriageway which then turns in to a motorway so that really helps. If there's something like that near where you are I'd try and get some practice on them as they're really helpful :biggrin:

Reply 3

The_Stig

I bought my car on my own the day after I passed and drove it on the motorway for around 2 hours back home. If you've been driving regularly - then you'll be fine.

Reply 4

It's****ingWOODY

If you can take someone experienced in the passenger seat that'll help no-end.

Reply 5

Aardvark1998

Do a couple of short motorway trips at various times of day (including rush hour) to get an idea of how it all works first.

I think you''ll be fine, I didn't do any long motorway drives (3hrs+) until I'd been passed for a year, but that was just because I didn't need to rather than because I didn't want to.

Getting onto the motorway is the hardest part; just don't come down the slip road too fast, stick your indicators on early (people will usually change lanes to let you on) and stay calm. It's worth remembering that the motorway traffic is going to be travelling at around 70mph, so the size of gap you need to merge is much bigger than normal; if you're in any doubt about the presence of a suitable gap, just slow things right down, you absolutely don't want to put the car somewhere where there isn't enough room. There's nothing more stupid than bombing down the slip road, running out of runway before you find a gap, and having to slam the brakes on.

Once you're on it's easy. Just keep a big gap between you and the car in front, be aware of other drivers doing stupid stuff and take a break if you start feeling sleepy or your concentration starts lapsing.

Once you've done it a few times you'll be bored of it, it's a pretty dull form of driving to be honest. You'll be fine, good luck!

Reply 6

Gr16R

motorways are easy and relaxing, that is until you go on some bad road and think one of you tyres is about to burst.....

Reply 7

melrosepetal

Thank you everyone for the responses, I have decided to wait a bit and keep going on the motorways for shorter distances until I feel like I could cope with being on them for 4+ hours! Need to get my driving stamina up a bit first! But thank you all for the motorway advice - I will definitely be putting it all into practise and every bit of advice is really appreciated :smile:

Reply 8

accno1

Original post by bad_moose

It's more dangerous to go down the slip road slow than fast, I'd say try and be at least on 50-60 coming down the slip road, anything below 40 is dangerous as you may need to wait to get on, that can cause cars following you to suddenly.
have to break.

Whereas if you're doing 60-70 and put your indicators on early, cars on the motorway, in the left lane, more often than not, will slow to 50 to let you on.

Reply 9

Laomedeia

Original post by BullViagra

Couldnt agree more. However it is common practice to be a complete buttf****er when driving along motorways, especially if you drive a van. The goal here is to drive as close to the vehicle in front as possible. Try to imagine that your vehicle is having buttsex with the one in front. The slipstream you get will save you 40p for every 120 miles on fuel bills. It is also a very effective bullying strategy for getting people out of your way.

Reply 10

XMaramena

Original post by shmelissas

After I passed my test, I remember I went out on little journeys that got longer and longer over the course of a month. I drove every day, eventually I ended up doing about 100 miles up the M1 and around beds and bucks. I wouldn't recommend you taking a long journey on the motorway just after passing though, especially for that period of time. You need time to develop that instinct, because you can't be concentrating and right on the ball 100% of the time like you are on your driving test for 4 hours straight.