Wife fearful in Class A

othertonka wrote:
Most of the fear comes from the fact that new class A drivers have a tendency to drive too far to the right of the lane and that makes the passenger feel like she is going off the side of the road. If you don't believe it, try riding in that passengers seat and Have a new driver drive while you experience what it feels like. So to make it more comfortable for her, try and hug the center line a little more, which will in turn give her a better feeling that you are not going to run off the road on her side. The feeling is worse if there is guard rails on either side and no shoulder. practice and maybe have her ride on the couch for a few times until she gets used to it.

This is spot on... I'll tell you what NOT to do...we were driving from MEdford, OR over to the coast...anyone who has driven via Grants Pass to Crescent City, CA through the redwoods will know the highway I am talking about...let me put it this way, we'll only get to the coast via the Winston/Coos Bay route now. The Grants Pass Redwood Highway route goes through a canyon that just plain sucks! When we were coming back home to Medford, the canyon is on the passenger side...its VERY steep and windy, the lanes are incredibly narrow(again, we won't be over this hwy again) At some curves, I was getting down to 5-10mph, focusing on staying on the center line because there's no margin of error on the other side to the guardrail(which you can't see sitting in the passenger side, only the canyon!) You're also focusing on oncoming traffic, wide loads, etc. So, my wife was freaking out! She decides the best thing was to close her eyes...We have 3 little kids, my wife wasn't enjoying this part of the trip worrying, etc...So, in some stupid moment of thinking...I decide the best thing to do when she has her eyes closed is to yell "aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"....bad move... She almost killed me...and threatened my manhood several times... I enjoy telling the story now, but I guess we all somehow like to recount near death experiences...

Again, probably what not to do...but it did make my wife loosen up a little after we got through it and I told her what I was focusing on...staying in the center, slow speed, etc...