Motorway advice

[Minxy]

Use the M40 rather than the M1 as it tends to be quieter. If you are travelling on a Friday then go as early as you can. For some reason Friday mornings are the quietest morning of the week. Anytime from lunchtime onwards and you are going to get stuck on the M25 particularly between J14 and J10 and then again past J6 where you pass Clacket Lane Services. It always gets clogged in those two areas on e Friday afternoon.

If you are that concerned then get a couple of hours in with a driving instructor first. Don’t sit in the middle lane unless you are overtaking, leave a reasonable distance between you and the vehicle in front and keep your wits about you especially when joining any motorway. With the journey you are making you get loads of warning when a junction is coming up so don’t worry about that. You’ll be fine, not all women are worried about motorways and if you keep calm then you’ll be the same.

 

[Dave M]

Do you have dual carriageways near you, with sliproads to get on/off? If so do you use them or avoid them? The getting on/off is exactly the same as a motorway.

I use Google maps now (with a screen mount phone holder - you'll need a charger too), but when I first went on the motorway I didn't have such things. I planned the route on the map and wrote out the motorway names / junction numbers as a list and left it on the passenger seat.

These days you can even hit up street view on Google maps so you will know what your exit looks like in advance!

I suspect if you are confident in the navigation it will be one less thing to worry about - prepare using Google maps, list your junctions, then you just have to concentrate on driving.

P s. If you stick to lane 1 that's fine, just slip stream a truck - but bear in mind if you're going less than 60 eventually a truck will tailgate you then overtake in a huff. I was limited to 50 once due to an overheating engine and my god do they not like it!

 

[norm]

Relax, you've passed your test you're safe to drive. Take each bit of the journey one bit at a time. If you miss your junction no big deal, turn around at the next one or pull into the services, get your bearings and continue, there really is nothing to worry about.

 

[BUDFORCE]

For some reason Friday mornings are the quietest morning of the week. .

III believe it's weekly commuting.

So, people who have gone somewhere to work for the week will go on Monday morning return Friday afternoon, so those 2 times are far the busiest.

I also think there is a bit of the fact Friday afternoon everyone just wants to get out and go home.

Also Friday mornings are quiet I believe that is just because less people work on a Friday in general, so the lighter morning commute.

This is just my theory not backed up by any facts or statistics

 

[tom_e]

Like others have said Motorways are the easiest roads to drive on, it's very much point and squirt. If you're nervous just chill out in the left hand lane then you don't have to worry about getting across for your exits which is the most pain in the arse bit if you leave it a bit late.

Use a decent satnav or something like Google maps which will show you exactly which lane you need to be in when you're leaving.

 

[garnett]

You've not said whether you drive on dual carriage ways.

If so, then (as others have said) that experience will carry straight over. Try to spend a bit more time on them as practice.

Also I wouldn't wait until your big trip to get on the motorway. Find a local stretch of motorway you can practice on during a quiet time of the day/week.

I'd agree with others who said the biggest stress is missing a junction or similar - make sure you are fully prepared to just drive on to the next junction and get back on track from there.

Satnav will be a big help - and making sure you understand it. Whichever one you use, make sure to get used to it and its way of working. Sort out its notifications. I use Waze and rate it highly, but there are plenty to choose from. If you're using your phone, make sure it's in a decent robust holder, in a place where you can see it easily without having to shift your gaze too far from the road. (True for all driving, not just motorways)

Tracking how long to go until your exit is a big stress-saver. Remember - at 60mph each mile is taking you a minute, so if your Satnav says your junction is in 5 miles, that's about 5 minutes time. (Sorry if that's obvious)

Motorway driving is daunting at first, but it quickly becomes the least-stressful part of the journey after you've done it a bit.

You'll be fine!

 

[Bald-Eagle22]

Keep left unless overtaking .

Treat it as a big dual carriageway .

Get some lessons if your really anxious .

Having driven in motorways for over 35 years I have seen the decline of lane discipline to a nigh in non existent level , middle lane hogging is absurd. Mainly Uber drivers and single women.

 

[Semple]

Are you close to a motorway? You could go out of a late evening say 9pm+ and jump on at one junction and get off at the next one.

My missus was similar, absolutely fine in the car but having never needed to use a motorway, she had a bit of a worry when it came to needing to drive somewhere a bit further away. We went out early on a Sunday morning, and just drove a couple of local junctions. After that she was absolutely fine.

 

[Hades]

Get some lessons.

Completely agree with this. Back in the 1980's when I passed my test, my instructor gave me a free motorway lesson after I got my license. Nowadays I would advise people to pay for a lesson if they dont have that experience. I am sure any instructor would be happy to do it for the price of a lesson.

I would also suggest a few short solo motorway runs before the main trip so you get used to it.

 

[Gav_r26]

I did a days Pass Plus course with my instructor after I passed my test. It covered motorway driving and night / bad weather driving I think. Didn't do the bad weather driving bit as my lessons had been through winter so had already covered that. Was basically just plan a route around some motorways and then drive it. Was quite good, although I found it a little basic for me but it depends what you've done in lessons and how confident you are. Was also supposed to make your insurance cheaper but don't think I ever noticed. it was worth doing it though.

https://www.gov.uk/pass-plus

 

[Datamonkey]

Good afternoon everyone
I’m after some advice if that’s ok , so I passed my driving test three years ago and just missed the new regulations for learners driving on motorways so because of driving anxiety I haven’t driven on motorways before but in September I’m having to drive from Northampton down to Kent I’m freaking out about this trip I have been told to use the M40 then the M25 then M26 M20 then someone else said to use the M1 I will be travelling on a Friday and thought maybe early morning would be better as I’ve never driven motorways before but any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you

Im surprised no one has asked for the exact day yet?

This is motors right?

I dont want to be on the road at the same time

Can you post your entire route on here so that we can plan around it



I am of course joking, as others have said i am sure, see if you can do a pass plus. It will boost your confidence and also include some motorway driving