[logmein]

Hi team,

I hail from Goa and came across this forum recently. An earlier attempt to enroll was rejected by the mods, apparently I must have come across as spam or non serious / novice material to them in that form. But luckily now am through. Happy.

Originally from Mumbai (Bhandup/ Thane), but settled Goa presently since a few years now for job reasons. The most interesting thing about me would have to be the fact that I learnt a two wheeler (non gear) very very recently at the age of 32. Ended up getting my 2 wheeler license.

Presently undergoing driving lessons, and have booked the Swift Vxi Facelift and expecting delivery in a few weeks time.

Perpetually scared of driving on the roads and the highways specifically but hopefully can overcome it the same way I got my two wheeler proficiency.

Hope to learn some, share and grow in my automobile knowledge which is currently at level 0/ ground, wait, it is probably underground at this point.

Help me out guys

Respect

P.S: I have ridden a cycle only once before in my life, so you can probably understand my relief to independently ride on 2 wheels.

[richie4u]

Welcome to Team BHP from a fellow Goan to another. Nice choice with the Swift, a very good car to start with. The only way to overcome your fear is to practice but please do that only on secluded roads and accompanied with a licensed friend who can teach you the right way.
Do familiarise yourself with all the rules of the forum.

[logmein]

Originally Posted by richie4u

Welcome to Team BHP from a fellow Goan to another. Nice choice with the Swift, a very good car to start with. The only way to overcome your fear is to practice but please do that only on secluded roads and accompanied with a licensed friend who can teach you the right way.
Do familiarise yourself with all the rules of the forum.

Thanks Richie, I will be practising on an old Maruti 800 of my trainer's, for a couple of weeks now before stepping on my new vehicle. Planning to have him around for another week or 10 days with me on my new vehicle till I get the confidence of being able to take it out on my own.

I am based out of Margao. And you?

[rohanjf]

Welcome logmein.

I think richie4u is from Margao too. I have spotted him there.

And don't worry about learning to drive. I love driving in Goa much more than driving in Bangalore. At least, most of the roads are in good condition most of the times. It's exactly opposite in Bangalore!

When I am in Goa, I drive a junk Indigo. It's far from fun to drive, but still I drive it because the roads are so good (except during peak hours inside Margao).

[suzuki san]

Welcome to the forum logmein.

I am also from Goa but in the North - Assagao. Split our time 80% in Goa and 20% in Bombay.

One of my main reasons for relocating a few years ago was the horrendous traffic and rubbish roads in Bombay. Here in Goa the roads are a delight to drive on - well, most of them! - and traffic is not really an issue. Cheap petrol as well.

However, the traffic is fast moving compared to Bombay so that's one point you must keep in mind. Good idea to keep your instructor with you for a couple of weeks after you get the new Swift - great choice by the way.

Regards,
SS

[humbleroadster]

Hello logmein!
Welcome to the forum. I'm based out of Porvorim. As Richie4u says its right to practice on the secluded roads first.
I learnt to drive on a fiat premier padmini(still my favourite!) and spent the next 5 years driving an 800.
Great start with a swift!
Drive safe.

HR.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

One of my main reasons for relocating a few years ago was the horrendous traffic and rubbish roads in Bombay. Here in Goa the roads are a delight to drive on - well, most of them!

Tell me about it mate!! I made the same shift four years back to Porvorim, and am loving every bit of it!

Wish you million peaceful miles ahead!
HR.

[TheLizardKing]

Originally Posted by logmein

Perpetually scared of driving on the roads and the highways specifically but hopefully can overcome it the same way I got my two wheeler proficiency.

Welcome to the forum. The wifey and I are coming to Goa in Feb next year to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

I understand your situation. I am 33 years old. Till April last year, the only mode of transport I could handle was the humble bicycle. All that changed when I met my soon-to-be-future-wife in Feb last year. She was to know that I couldn't drive. She has been driving forever, and is a great driver. So as a surprise, I enrolled for driving lessons without telling her. The idea was to wait till I got my license, but I couldn't help letting the cat out of the bag just before my final test. Without boring you further, I will cut to the present. I absolutely LOVE driving, and can't imagine how I managed for so many years.

So my advice is to not hold yourself back at all. Give it all you got, and love every moment of it. The first 2-3 months will be scary. In my experience, getting comfortable with "half-clutch" on inclines is THE scariest bit, but I guess Goa does not have so many flyovers. So you are pretty safe there. The next challenge is parallel parking, which just needs a lot of practice.

Good luck, and hope to see a lot more of you here.

[logmein]

Thanks Lizard, Humble, Suzuki and Rohan.

By the way, is there any section on our forum that teaches absolute basics of automobiles? I am still grappling @square one, making sense of most technical terms getting thrown around in the forum.

[dark.knight]

@logmein to start with, welcome to the forum and to the wheeling world.

As regards learning about the technical aspects of an automobile, its more practical to begin that real world once you have a car, & take it to service station to sort out minor niggles/routine service as & when the months pass. Also you will have a better understanding of engine sound-rpm-power correlation & tactile feedback of various controls like steering, gear, clutch holding ability etc when you drive. City driving in slower speeds in my view is the best way to truly understand the finer aspects of driving.

The absolute basics of automobiles are quite simple and can be learnt with a combination of actual driving and looking up the finer aspects in the forum.