Scariest part of driving?

[Roadgeekteen]

I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.

[J N Winkler]

I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.

I doubt it will seem scary once you have done it multiple times and become accustomed to the give and take.  This is true of other critical maneuvers such as permissive left turns and moving out to overtake on two-lane roads.

The things that are still scary even to experienced drivers tend to have more to do with ice/low-traction conditions in general (if not encountered often enough to rehearse skills), expectancy breakdowns due to design failures, and roads not maintained to a minimum level of good repair.

[SectorZ]

I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.

Are you talking scariest in the generic sense or the direct sense?

Your example I would consider a generic sense. More direct would be, say, a car approaching you head-on in your lane (or their lane, that's probably scary as well), a large animal running right into your path, being at a stop and realizing the knucklehead behind you isn't choosing to stop.

In the generic sense for me, I'd still say extreme weather, such as torrential rain or moderate to heavy snow.

If we want to talk about "fears", then mine is getting into an accident far from home that disables but doesn't total the car. Adjusting auto insurance claims, that was the single biggest pain in the ass for someone to deal with it.

[nexus73]

A distracted driver crossing the center line worries me the most.  There was quite a spate of accidents like that in SW Oregon.  Now not so many.  Perhaps the message is getting through about driving the vehicle being Priority One.

Wish I was the one teaching you how to drive Roadgeekteen.  My youngest brother as a child never paid attention to cars, highways and how they worked.  Despite that, my training of him resulted in his becoming a superb driver who never got a ticket or in an accident during his early years of driving.  Just like in D&D, you need to build up experience points with the first few levels being where it is easy to be killed.  Once the experience level is up there, finding ways to get into trouble when driving lessen considerably. 

Rick

[Max Rockatansky]

When a hill is so steep that 1st gear barely does anything to slow your descent.  That's not a normal day to day thing but it can be unnerving if you haven't experienced how to preserve brakes on some massively steep mountain road before. 

[Ketchup99]

As a fellow sixteen year old, the scariest part of driving is passing on a two-lane road. Merging onto a freeway is fine IMO, and I actually find it fun to merge into heavy traffic. Passing on two-laners is terrifying though, I hate it. If I can see far enough, I'm fine with it, but the problem is that PA (can't speak for other states) dashes the center line when you have NOWHERE NEAR enough room to pass. Because of that, you really have to judge for yourself, and misjudging that is my biggest fear on the road.
I don't know if that will go away with time, though... I've only had a full license for about three months.

[gonealookin]

The highest-risk maneuver I have to make routinely is backing out of a space in a crowded parking lot.  It's not "scary" as far as personal injury to me, but the possibility of hitting another car or, worse, somebody who's walking whom I fail to see, makes that pretty risky.  When practical, when spaces are head-to-head without any barricade in between, I'll pull through to the second one so I can exit the space by going forward.

[webny99]

Hardest: parallel parking

Scariest at first:
(1) Freeway merging - but this gets much easier with time, as mentioned.
(2) Turns, especially the first few sharp ones. You'll learn the play of the steering wheel quickly, but it does vary from car to car.

Scariest long-term: winter weather, especially when it's snowing while roads are completely snow-covered. Make sure to leave lots of extra distance, because having to stop quickly is not a good recipe.

As for passing on 2-lane roads, it is inherently a bit dangerous, but just don't do it unless you're double-triple-extra sure you have the space, and don't be afraid to hit the gas while passing.

[1995hoo]

Encountering people driving without headlights at night or in bad weather.

[Brandon]

I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.

Hint: Merge at speed, say like 65-75 mph, and you'll slip right in.  Merge at 35-40 mph, and of course it's gonna be scary.

[Bruce]

Scariest situations are always those involving other drivers.

Merging onto a freeway is fine, until the car in front of you is barely hitting 40 and no one has left the right lane open for a big line of merging cars.

Being stopped on a steep hill is fine until the car in front of you starts rolling backwards while trying to accelerate. And of course the car behind you has pulled up so far that they've left no room for a roll.

Some drivers love to weave in and out of traffic at very close distances solely to get a car length or two in front of you at the next traffic light. Risk-reward is not taught in driver's ed.

[Ned Weasel]

Worrying about where the 53-foot trailer you're pulling goes when you make a turn or take a curve.

Oh, if you're just driving a car?  Waiting at an unprotected crossing of two-way traffic (usually cases where you're at the end of a driveway or at a stop sign, and traffic on the intersecting road doesn't have a stop sign or traffic signal).  The general rule is to look left, then right, then left, but sometimes you'll feel like you're waiting forever for a good gap.

Maybe that one isn't the scariest for everyone, but you wouldn't believe how many times I've thought to myself, "Dammit, I should have taken that one" when I thought the cross-traffic was going faster than it actually was.  Better safe than sorry, though, so it's better to get a good sense of how traffic is moving than to just take what might at first glance seem like a good chance without having checked both directions thoroughly.

Oh, another piece of advice that hasn't been covered yet: never follow too closely!  If you do follow too closely and the vehicle in front of you suddenly brakes, you might be able to brake in time to avoid hitting it, but the driver who's following you too closely will have even less time to brake, and you should expect that people will always follow you too closely.  So don't get into the habit.

[michravera]

A distracted driver crossing the center line worries me the most.  There was quite a spate of accidents like that in SW Oregon.  Now not so many.  Perhaps the message is getting through about driving the vehicle being Priority One.

Wish I was the one teaching you how to drive Roadgeekteen.  My youngest brother as a child never paid attention to cars, highways and how they worked.  Despite that, my training of him resulted in his becoming a superb driver who never got a ticket or in an accident during his early years of driving.  Just like in D&D, you need to build up experience points with the first few levels being where it is easy to be killed.  Once the experience level is up there, finding ways to get into trouble when driving lessen considerably. 

Rick

You haven't known terror until you see someone coming head on at you in the wrong direction on a freeway!

The first question that I ever answered on a DMV practice exam (I think that I first saw it when I was about 10) was "Your are driving along and your right wheels get off the roadway onto a soft or depressed shoulder. You should:" The answer is "Steer straight ahead while slowing". OK, fast forward about 20 years and I get my left wheels off the road onto a soft median. What do I do? Do I steer straight ahead while slowing? Nope, I brake and turn the steering wheel to the right and spin 105 degrees. Fortunately, I was mostly in the median during the turn, didn't hit anything, and nobody hit me. But, I needed a change of clothing afterwards.

I agree with others, the scariest part of driving is the sort for which you haven't prepared. Both my mother-in-law (probably got her license before I was born) and step-daughter (just got her license a year ago) avoid driving on the freeway, if they can. I live in the Bay Area of California, so I don't particularly like to drive in snow and ice. I'll guess that there are some East Coast people who are afraid to drive in high winds. My Ex- was afraid to drive on two-lane roads where passing was permitted. My wife isn't afraid of driving in any conditions that I am aware of (she'd probably avoid volcanic dust and lava, but I think most sane people do).

[noelbotevera]

I got my permit today; freeway driving is going to be fun (not!). This is also a person who's never driven a car before, never even a go-kart. I can't wait to encounter the countless idiots who somehow passed their tests.

Tricks I've learned from this forum and personal observation are:
-Never, ever follow too closely; it's okay if someone slips between you because you can react to them. You can't react if the guy in front of you brakes out of nowhere.
-Avoid cities as a new driver, if possible. Learn freeway rural driving; there's no need to hone your chops on the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
-Snow and ice sucks, especially if you slide. Oddly enough the best way to stop sliding is to turn in the direction of the slide.
-Stay with the flow of traffic, even if that flow is 80+ mph. You're going to get caught faster if you don't follow that flow.
-Four way intersections suck. If you're unsure, let the people who arrived before/at the same time as you go first.
-Never trust people who wave you through. Always, always check your surroundings.
-Pass on a two lane road if you are absolutely sure you can completely pass.

I'm still unsure on how to deal with short merges or stop sign merges - those sound like death wishes.

[webny99]

I don't have a license quite yet, but merging onto the freeway seems the scariest.

Hint: Merge at speed, say like 65-75 mph, and you'll slip right in.  Merge at 35-40 mph, and of course it's gonna be scary.

Well, that's just it. New drivers aren't used to driving high speeds, so it's inevitably going to feel either scary slow or scary fast until you get the hang of it.

[sbeaver44]

As a fellow sixteen year old, the scariest part of driving is passing on a two-lane road. Merging onto a freeway is fine IMO, and I actually find it fun to merge into heavy traffic. Passing on two-laners is terrifying though, I hate it. If I can see far enough, I'm fine with it, but the problem is that PA (can't speak for other states) dashes the center line when you have NOWHERE NEAR enough room to pass. Because of that, you really have to judge for yourself, and misjudging that is my biggest fear on the road.
I don't know if that will go away with time, though... I've only had a full license for about three months.

PAian here
I agree with you on PennDOT and passing zones too short in general

[qguy]

After all of these what-you-REALLY-need-to-be-scared-of posts, the OP is never going to want to drive! 

[webny99]

I got my permit today; freeway driving is going to be fun (not!). This is also a person who's never driven a car before, never even a go-kart.

I was in the same situation. It takes some getting used to, but it will all become instinctive before you know it!

I'm still unsure on how to deal with short merges or stop sign merges - those sound like death wishes.

My recommendation would be to practice on long, lightly used ramps first. Once you have some experience with merging in front of/behind other drivers, and adjusting your speed as needed, you'll get used to it, and able to do it with less space.

As for stop sign merges - that's where you need a lead foot! But fortunately there are not too many of those around.

[Ketchup99]

As for passing on 2-lane roads, it is inherently a bit dangerous, but just don't do it unless you're double-triple-extra sure you have the space, and don't be afraid to hit the gas while passing.

True story. I was coming up behind a car doing 47 (limit 55) on a two-lane road, parents in the car. I pulled out and had plenty of space, and pushed it to around 65 - not even that fast - and my parents freaked out - "drive the speed limit!"
Pretty sure if I ever drove the speed limit while doing a pass like that, I'd either die from another car's grill or from all the electric impulses yelling "faster!" being ignored while I toodled along at 55.

[Max Rockatansky]

After all of these what-you-REALLY-need-to-be-scared-of posts, the OP is never going to want to drive! 

Could be worse.  My Dad used to beat it into my head every conceivable thing that could go wrong driving when I got my license...or how I would kill someone.  Oddly he was chill as could be when he taught me to haul materials and pull stumps with the S10 when I was 9. 

[Roadrunner75]

Scariest part of driving?  Suddenly noticing the black Dodge Charger sitting in the median break when you're tooling past at 85 in the left lane.

[Ben114]

For me the scariest part is changing lanes on a busy highway, especially to the right. This requires looking at the right side mirror, the window over your right shoulder, and in front of you (so you don't crash if anyone slows down).

Getting on a highway seems scary at first, so practice on a diamond interchange, where all you gotta do is step on the gas until reaching about 60 - 70.

[gonealookin]

As for passing on 2-lane roads, it is inherently a bit dangerous, but just don't do it unless you're double-triple-extra sure you have the space, and don't be afraid to hit the gas while passing.

True story. I was coming up behind a car doing 47 (limit 55) on a two-lane road, parents in the car. I pulled out and had plenty of space, and pushed it to around 65 - not even that fast - and my parents freaked out - "drive the speed limit!"
Pretty sure if I ever drove the speed limit while doing a pass like that, I'd either die from another car's grill or from all the electric impulses yelling "faster!" being ignored while I toodled along at 55.

Yeah, I was taught the other way, get out of the "wrong lane" as fast as you can.  I had a 1996 RAV4 4-cyl which I generally liked, but when I moved to Tahoe and had to drive on mountain roads a lot I felt like Fred Flintstone when trying to accelerate.  The 2012 RAV4 is a V6 and that thing responds instantly when I hit the gas pedal.  35 to 90 in a couple seconds, which you need when you want to pass an RV and only have 1000 feet to do it.

The driving on ice and snow some have mentioned:  I had almost never done any of that until I moved here.  It's quickly and easily learned and isn't scary with a little experience.  The most important part of that is, leave plenty of space ahead and never have to stop quickly.  If you try to jam the brake pedal through the floor the only thing that will happen is your antilock brakes telling you you're an idiot.  Slower speeds and gentle taps on the brakes deal with the worst winter conditions.

[corco]

Scariest part of driving?  Suddenly noticing the black Dodge Charger sitting in the median break when you're tooling past at 85 in the left lane.

Yes.

[wxfree]

The part right before the crash