[ryukoposting]

I have a friend from southeast Asia who learned to drive as an adult in the US. He learned on a friend's car, receiving instruction from that friend. Here's some notes:

Having an instructor is nice, but a patient friend who you trust will also work.

The throttle is more sensitive than you'll expect at first. Automatic cars roll forward slowly unless you hold the brake. Old cars have less sensitive brake pedals - that's normal, not a sign of anything being worn out/broken.

Be confident. You will make mistakes, but you'll make fewer mistakes if you don't let mistakes get to your head.

When waiting to make a left turn, creep forward into the intersection. It will feel weird at first, but it makes traffic flow much more smoothly.

Take turns in counterclockwise order at stop signs. If people are going in clockwise order for some reason, do that instead. Just go with the flow. If you aren't sure when your turn is, wait for an awkward pause. The awkward pause means it's your turn (probably).

Use cruise control on highways. Nobody likes Lead Foot McGee and his magic fast-downhill-slow-uphill band.

Use your mirrors, and use your turn signals. This should go without saying, but I have to say it.

You're in New York. That's a hard place to learn to drive. But, if you become a good driver in New York, you'll be able to drive competently just about anywhere in North America.

[rconti]

| The throttle is more sensitive than you'll expect at first. Automatic cars roll forward slowly unless you hold the brake. Old cars have less sensitive brake pedals - that's normal, not a sign of anything being worn out/broken.

I think one thing worth mentioning here is that it's helpful to learn some of the limits of the car. Find an open space with nobody around and just crush the brake pedal to the floor. That's what it's meant for. Knowing how fast a car can (or cannot!) stop from 10 or 20 or 40mph will teach you a lot. Studies show some insane percentage of rear-end accidents occur while the rear-ending car was nowhere near maximum braking.

The fact that an older car might feel like it has a less sensitive brake pedal is just that -- sensitivity. It has nothing to do with ability to stop. You just have to adapt to each vehicle to get the behavior you want out of it.

[piptastic]

When at a 4 way stop, the order is who arrived at the stop first (until there are none remaining). If two or more vehicles arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the right should go first.

So when you get to the stop, just look at everyone there and know that when the last one there is gone it's your turn.

[aodonnell2536]

> Take turns in counterclockwise order at stop signs.

When I learned how to drive, we were taught right-of-way at a four way intersection goes to whoever pulled up first. I think it’s like this everywhere in the United States. Could be a regional thing, though, I suppose.

[seanmcdirmid]

It is rarely an issue, since you should always go in order of who arrived at the stop sign first, except if two people arrive at the same time...the one to the right should go first, if they are opposing each other, the one turning left should yield (if both left, or both non-left, go at the same time). Here are the rules for my state:

https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.180

[genman]

> creep forward into the intersection > Use your mirrors, and use your turn signals.

I would add this: turn your head, not only your eyes, always control the blind spot by turning your head.

[BuildTheRobots]

I'd go further and say that once you're committed, stick your foot down and get on with it.

There's quite a few junctions just on my semi-rural commute where you're turning onto a fast moving road (60mph limit) from a full stop stop where you can only see a few hundred yards or less of the road you're joining. People seem to recognise the danger, but a lot of drivers react to it by being overly cautious pulling out and getting up to speed which just increases the time you're in the danger zone.

edit: also, don't just turn your head, my truck instructor insisted I move my head forwards as it changes your view even more and can make things like motorbikes more obvious.

[genman]

Good point. Also worth noting that move your head forward to look around front window pillars, especially when moving slowly - it is incredibly frequent when a pedestrian is approaching exactly with the speed that will hide them behind the pillars when the car is moving forward. This one I had to figure out on my own.