Where To Practice Driving Near Me

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Maybe you just earned your shiny new license but are nervous to go straight into public roads,. or maybe you’re just gunning for a license with your learner’s permit. Either way, you might be wondering, “What’s the best place to practice driving near me?” There are a number of great places to practice driving out there, and we’re here to give you some advice on where to find them.

Before You Practice Driving

Before you start driving practice, keep the following things in mind:

  • Familiarize yourself with traffic laws and signs before hitting the road for real.
  • If you only have a learner’s permit for driving, you need adult supervision at all times, including during practice.
  • Certain permits, such as the student permit, only allow you to drive with a licensed instructor, not your parents or guardians.
  • Driving on public roads and highways is illegal without a permit.
  • If you don’t have a permit, you can only practice driving on private property with a licensed driver’s supervision.

Good Places To Practice Driving

When looking for a place to drive, you’ll want to search for an area that suits your driving level. If you’re completely new to being behind the wheel of a car, then you’ll want to start somewhere slow with little to no traffic. If you have a little experience under your belt already, perhaps from the private course at your driving school, you might be ready for a slightly busier street or parking lot.

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It’s best to gauge your own readiness and scout out an area either on foot, with the help of a parent or guardian, or on Google maps. When in doubt, start slow and work your way up. Here are some places you might want to check out first and the types of driving practice you can try while there:

Parking Lots – Low to Medium Difficulty

Parking lots are the quintessential driving practice areas. The big empty parking lots near college campuses, stadiums, and industrial parks can be excellent places to start when it isn’t peak season. Many above-ground garages will also have empty top levels that you can use. Meanwhile, busier parking lots come with a little more challenge but help you practice keeping an eye out for other vehicles and pedestrians.

Whether empty or busy, parking lots tend to have slower-moving vehicles, making them the perfect places to practice driving.

Things To Practice While Here: Braking, turning, accelerating, spatial awareness, and parking.

Suburbs and Small Towns – Medium Difficulty

The suburbs and small towns are also excellent spaces to practice for those drivers with a little more experience under their belts. While it can get rather busy in these areas, the speed limit tends to hover around 30 miles per hour (mph), which means it’s still pretty slow going. Drivers in these areas also tend to have a more relaxed mindset.

Things To Practice While Here: “Day-to-day” driving, roadside etiquette, and signage awareness and familiarity.

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Rural Highways – Medium Difficulty

Rural highways can help you practice more high-speed driving. The low traffic levels in these highways will give you some space to make small mistakes as you learn. You’ll also be able to learn how to share the road a little better with faster-moving vehicles.

Things To Practice While Here: Overtaking or passing slower vehicles, driving at night, and maintaining high-speed driving.

Interstates or Freeways – High Difficulty

Interstates and freeways are good practice areas for more experienced beginner drivers. It’s always best to have a more experienced driver with you if you decide to practice on these roads though. Interstates and freeways have a much more intense environment than many of the other areas on this list. But you’ll need to tackle them sooner rather than later, and having a mentor will always be a big help.

Things To Practice While Here: Driving in intense environments, navigating under stress, and crowded driving.

Cities – High Difficulty

Cities are another late-game practice area for beginner drivers. They contain a lot of pedestrians, a lot of traffic, and a lot of narrow and one-way streets. If you live in a city, you might end up tackling its streets sooner than other drivers, and that means you need to be extra alert when driving to your practice areas. If you live outside a city, you might want to make the trip to one just to practice more intense driving situations and get over the mental hurdle of seeing the city as an overly difficult place to drive.

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Things To Practice While Here: Spatial awareness in high-stress situations, one-way street driving, and pedestrian awareness.

Remember that these difficulty ratings might change depending on the driver. They’re meant as a guide, not a strict level-up system. Go at your own pace and don’t be worried if it takes you a while to get from suburban streets to a city highway. You’ve got this.

Beginner Driving Tips with Do’s and Don’ts

As a beginner driver it’s important to keep the following things in mind:

Do’s

  • Do check the weather before heading out to drive and follow proper procedure during inclement weather.
  • Do wear a seatbelt when driving.
  • Do be prepared for mishaps by keeping an emergency kit, a winter survival kit, and a spare tire in your trunk
  • Do keep your vehicle’s documentation in the glovebox.
  • Do stay focused on the road.
  • Do always follow traffic rules and speed limits even when no one’s watching.
  • Do periodically brush up on traffic and safety laws in your jurisdiction.
  • Do plan your route when heading on a long car ride.

Don’ts

  • Don’t drink and drive.
  • Don’t allow yourself to get distracted while driving.
  • Don’t succumb to strong emotions on the road like road rage.
  • Don’t use your cellphone to message, call, or play games while driving.
  • Don’t play music too loud to avoid compromising your ability to hear other vehicles’ horns, sirens, or train signals.
  • Don’t stop-and-go drive.
  • Don’t leave valuables in your car.

Being a newbie driver can be very intimidating, and finding the right place to practice is just one of those challenges you need to face. Keep your wits about you, assess your own abilities, and always have an experienced driver with you when you think you need one. When choosing places to practice driving, pick the ones that suit your needs, and continue to challenge yourself as you get more comfortable behind the wheel. You’ll be driving well in no time if you keep at it.

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