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[Nega]

Well, that magical part of everyone's lives is finally happening to me: Driving! 

So far, I'm good a stopping smoothly, steering alittle bit, and actually staying on the road. My parking...eehhh.... not so much.

Any good tips for a starter on the rules of the road? 

[LordBucket]

Any good tips

 * Just because you know how to parallel park doesn't mean you have to. Sometimes it's worth the extra 10 second walk to find a wider parking space.
 * Only putting $5 in gas in your tank at a time doesn't actually save you money. It just compells you to fill the tank more often.
 * Backseat sex is uncomfortable. It can be very worthwhile to rent a hotel room instead. If you ask for a corporate discount, they'll usually take 10% of your bill without caring whether or not you're actually on a business trip.
 * Be forewarned that if you do this regularly, they'll remember you. Which is not a problem, but it can be damned awkward when the hotel clerk calls you by name in front of a girl you're taking to the hotel for the first time.

[nenjin]

Any good tips for a starter on the rules of the road? 

Before you turn right, look left. Then look right. Then look left again BEFORE YOU TURN.

Do it the opposite for left turns.

I literally almost had an accident 30 minutes ago because someone failed to do this and decided to pull out in front me. They didn't even look at me once, they just looked right and turned.

Don't be that driver. Or you're going to be tasting someone's front end.

And pay attention to your surroundings. The only reason I avoided that accident is because I watched that driver pull up to turn as I started my turn and I mentally said "Don't you dare turn out in front of me, don't you dare......"

Situational awareness. Your greatest enemy on the road is other drivers. Because they suck.

[ed boy]

Remember that you are an inexperienced driver.

Even when you've passed your test, you will still be an inexperienced driver.

It takes a lot more driving to be a good driver than most people think until they reach that point.

[Zrk2]

Stay out of my way - I'm late for drivers ed!

[zehive]

Any good tips

 * Just because you know how to parallel park doesn't mean you have to. Sometimes it's worth the extra 10 second walk to find a wider parking space.
 * Only putting $5 in gas in your tank at a time doesn't actually save you money. It just compells you to fill the tank more often.
 * Backseat sex is uncomfortable. It can be very worthwhile to rent a hotel room instead. If you ask for a corporate discount, they'll usually take 10% of your bill without caring whether or not you're actually on a business trip.
 * Be forewarned that if you do this regularly, they'll remember you. Which is not a problem, but it can be damned awkward when the hotel clerk calls you by name in front of a girl you're taking to the hotel for the first time.

brilliant

[sneakey pete]

Um, ask the person who has to be with you at all times?

I mean... there is someone, right? you don't just sit a written test and go from not being able to drive to being able to drive on your own... do you?

edit: I feel i have to add some suggestoins too;

Get a crapbox as your first car, seriously. If you hit something in your first few years of your driving, it'll be a cheap learning experience, if you don't, well sweet! Then move onto something nicer.
If you can, get out onto a skidpan or something. Learn how your car reacts to loss of control etc. You want to be able to do the correct action when you find yourself in a suboptimal situation, and sometimes just mashing the brake pedal can only make things worse.

Oh, and spoilers on FWD cars are eugh

[DJ]

I second getting a crap car. Not just because of possible collisions, but also because you won't be driving really smoothly (you have to develop a sixth sense for potholes) for a couple of years and constant bumping and shaking ruins a car.

[Jopax]

Wait, you have your permit but you are still learning how to drive?

How exactly does that happen?

[forsaken1111]

1. For god's sake don't change lanes in front of me and then proceed to go slower than I was going. If I am currently going faster than you are comfortable with, wait until I pass and then get behind me.

2. In bad weather, such as when it rains, you should do several things. Turn on your lights, keep your wipers going at a speed which lets you see out the windshield, and pay attention to what is going on rather than what your girl of the moment just texted you on your phone. These may seem common sense but you'd be surprised at how often people neglect them.

3. If you have a stop sign and the cross traffic does not, you DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. I don't care how long you've been waiting, I am not expecting you to pull out in front of me because you have a stop sign.

4. I don't want to hear your music. Keep it low or keep the windows up.

5. If people in front of you are going too slow and you need to change lanes, fine. Don't keep bouncing between lanes over and over because you think you will get there marginally faster. The difference in arrival times for going 10 miles an hour faster is marginal at best, but the safety factor drops dramatically especially while changing lanes. Your destination will still be there 10 minutes later.

[ed boy]

Also, another point:

Don't drive in a hurry. When people drive in a hurry, and try to get from A to B as soon as possible is when bad things happen.

[nenjin]

I was just coming back to say something like that.

Don't let other drivers pressure you into driving stupid. Turning left across two lanes of busy traffic is a big one. Even though they may not be honking their horn or being obnoxious, knowing you're at the head of 10 cars all waiting to get the hell out of there can tempt you to drive more recklessly. Don't do it. You have all the time in the world, and if you really can't take it or it's just taking way too long....just turn right instead, go around and find a less intimidating traffic route. Lots of accidents happen because people feel rushed, don't judge speeds right (especially on 45mph+ roads) and get t-boned.

When you have been driving for a while and you learn to judge distances and speeds and timing...you can squeeze in safely through a small gap in traffic. As a new driver, it's very dangerous. Especially if you lose your nerve once you start to go for it.

And if you're going to turn into a fast moving traffic lane....try and get into the lane that's not the one of the person coming up directly behind you. That tends to scare people or piss them off because they usually have to slow down for you.

On the other hand, it's technically illegal to turn into an "outside" lane....you're supposed to always turn into the lane closest to you, and signal to change lanes to the outside lane. When you're on a 45 mph road though...I've seen accidents almost happen because people were following the letter of the law when everyone else around expects the rule of the road.

[LordBucket]

Wait, you have your permit but you are still learning how to drive?

How exactly does that happen?

Permit = Learner's Permit

In the US, a driving "permit" and driving "license" are different things. A permit requires a written test only, and allows one to drive only with a licensed driver in the vehicle with you, and in some cases with other restrictions: only during daylight, etc.

The license removes these restrictions, but requires passing a driving test in addition to the written test.

[Jopax]

Ah that makes sense, pretty much the same system as here but you don't get a permit of any sorts, it works more like driving lessons with an instructor.I found the whole thing a bit overblown as far as difficulty goes, the only problematic bit was city driving but that goes away once you learn to pay attention to a million little things.

[Svarte Troner]

Don't piss anyone off. You never know who's going to pull out a gun and shoot you. Yes, insane people do drive and a car automatically makes someone think they're an invincible badass.

This doesn't mean speed when someone is tailgating you to appease them though, just go the speed limit and if they ride your ass it's their problem.