When Sarah was around sixteen, we asked if she was interested in taking Driver’s Ed.
She replied rather unequivocally that she was not. At that point in her life, the very thought of even sitting behind the wheel of a car gave her a severe case of the of heebie-jeebies which was a pretty clear sign to us that anything driving-related should be delayed.
Every few months we would ask her if she wanted to just try driving around a large empty parking lot just to see how she felt about it. And the answer was always, “No, I’m not ready.” (Which I thought showed maturity and wisdom on her part, that she didn’t try to rush into something she wasn’t ready for, even though many of her friends were driving.)
But about a week ago, The Moment arrived and Sarah said she was ready to give ‘er a whirl. She donned her festive new red hat and scarf and posed for a Before the Driving Lesson picture.
When we got to the deserted high school parking lot, I went to the backseat, Steve went to the passenger side and Sarah got behind the wheel. For the first time. And sat there. And felt the heebie-jeebies subside. And said, “Okay. I’m really going to try it.””
With Steve at her side giving instruction, she very capably drove ‘round and ‘round the parking lot for about twenty minutes. And did great!
At the end of it, she posed for a celebratory picture while I wiped a furtive tear, knowing that a new era in her life–in our lives–was beginning.
A child getting his or her driver’s license is probably the biggest steps toward independence there is. I could so easily picture her driving off to college and to faraway places, leaving her little girlhood (and her sniffling mom) behind.
I was tempted to say, “Sarah, maybe you should just wait another twenty years to get your license. I think 17 1/2 is a little too young to be thinking about it.”
But I zipped my lip and wiped my tears and when we got home, I gave her a big hug of congratulations.
Since she still has to take Driver’s Ed and get her permit, she will be at least 18 before getting her license which is kind of funny because I was 18 when I got mine and so was Nathan. I guess we Smiths are just (slightly) late bloomers.
Can you remember when you first started driving?
Who taught you?
Was it a stick shift or automatic?
Did you have power steering?
Were you out in the country or in town?
Do you have a funny driving story to share?
I know Sarah (and all the rest of us) would love to hear YOUR first “behind the wheel” experiences.
I got my license at the age of 17, a year after I was allowed to, because I didn’t see the point in getting it earlier — it wasn’t as if obtaining a license would automatically get me a car with which to use it. Both of my parents, at different times, worked on teaching me to drive, and I also took driver’s ed. Both of our vehicles had power steering, but they were also both stick shifts. At my parents’ insistence, I even took my test with a stick shift, despite many offers from friends’ parents to borrow their automatic vehicles for the day.
The funniest story I have is probably the day of my driving test… it was AWFUL. The woman administering the test was horrible. She started snapping at me about everything I was doing wrong the instant I pulled away from the curb. By the time we got back to where my mother was waiting on the sidewalk, I was in tears, certain I would fail.
The woman snapped at me, as tears streamed down my face, about all of the things she could mark off to make me fail. Before I could even register her point, which was that she was actually passing me, she’d exited the car, leaned back and sneered “you’re WELcome” [because I’d yet to draw enough air to say anything], and slammed the door.
My mother got in, and I was sobbing. She asked me if I was too upset to drive, and I shuddered out “N-n-n-n-no, I can do it.” A few seconds later, she said “Can we go schedule you for a retest right away?”
“M-m-mom, I p-p-p-p-passed.”
. . . silence. And then “Well, honey… then why are you crying?!”
“She was so m-m-m-MEAN!”
Mom then suggested that the tester was either a genuinely unhappy person, or else taking her little slice of power way too seriously. I can’t repeat exactly what she said, as this is a family-friendly blog, but it was the first time I’d ever heard her swear. Now that I’m thinking about it, it remains one of the only.
To this day, Mom looooves to tell this story!
Kristina,
Good for your mom for standing up for her poor, overwhelmed and intimidated new driver! 🙂 That instructor was obviously in the wrong field but you did well to pass the test DESPITE her!
I was 18 when I learned to drive and I only learned because there was a possibility of me doing my last year of high school away from my parents and they would have left me a car to use. I was taught by an instructor on an automatic through my schools Driver Ed. My dad taught me to drive stick at the same time or else I would not have been able to practice. I learned in an 88 Dodge Caravan. If I remember correctly, that van went through a clutch for each of my siblings and I. It finally died with over 700,000km on it, 3 clutch replacements and an engine rebuild.
A funny story: To teach me, my dad took me to the industrial area in my city. One day I asked if I could drive to the industrial area. He said yes, so off we went. We stopped at a stop sign…. it was on a slight slope. I looked both ways, it was clear, I started the process to get going, looking down at the clutch and gas pedal. I start moving, I look up and step on the brake as I see a car going by… We missed by inches. I was a little rattled but managed to get through the lesson. Dad learned to watch the traffic while I was driving…. The worst part…. A friend of my dads was turning left at the same intersection and saw the whole thing. We were teased mercilessly until that friend ran into a post with their car while backing up. There was nothing blocking their view of said post.
Angela, I’m glad on your behalf that your laughing friend ran into you a post so that you could tease HIM for a change! 🙂
I remember the night my dad took me out — it was the night before I started driver’s ed. I was terrified! It was easy though to get going in an empty parking lot – although I clearly remember that just “coasting” (no accelerator) was plenty fast for me. And then, to my terror, he told me to drive home. Eeek! We made it home in one piece but it was so scary to learn. I made it through driver’s ed and got my license without issue. And then my dad tried to teach me how to drive his stick shift – terror all over again! I only eventually learned when I bought his old stick shift car and had him leave me in a parking lot by myself. 🙂
Nancy, I think that’s the secret sometimes, in learning to drive a stick shift. Just get in the corner of a parking lot and figure it out yourself! Congratulations for accomplishing that!
I may be the oldest driver in the comments list that began driving at the youngest age from that age. I expressed an interest at the early age of 6 years old. So I sat on my Auntie’s lap and ‘DROVE’ her brand new 1947 Chevrolet through the gate at the lower ranch all the way to the main gate (a distance of 200 feet probably). I had keep the car in the lane that was two trails that the wheels fit inside.
How I BEGAN DRIVING mother’s car (A BRAND NEW 52 Oldsmobile), I do not remember. I do know I was only 12 years old…and she allowed me to drive from our house to my grandmother’s house all of two blocks…however, I DROVE THOSE TWO BLOCKS EVERY CHANCE I COULD GET! Then when I was 13, my Dad worked out of town and we would go visit him when I had a school holiday… So it was Friday night and after the football game we left. (I was also in the high school band at age 13 as many of my 7th grade classmates also were)…Anyway, Mother SAID SHE HAD A BAD HEADACHE, and did I think I could drive to the next town…naturally I said yes….lol..so I took the wheel and Mother sat in the passenger seat….and I drove to the next town. ,Mother was sleeping nicely so I continued to drive…to the next town, and then the next town until we were on the NW outskirts of the largest town we had to go through with two more towns to go though before we got to the little town where my dad was working. My mother was horrified that I had driven so far without asking for directions…she made me describe to her every town and turn I had made…lol… I asked her if her headache was gone and she looked at me. grinning, said YES !
From, that point on I pretty much could drive anywhere in town I wanted to as long as I stayed off the main highways or where the cops were…I had to use a pillow to see over the steering wheel…I guess if you were behind the car, it looked like a driverless car going down the street…lol…Amyway, the day after my make believe 14th birthday, I drove over to get my driver license…and I DID NOT PASS THE WRITTEN TEST. I MISSED ONE QUESTION TOO MANY….So I had to call MOHTER TO COME GET ME AND THE CAR…THAT WAS SO EMBARRASING.
ANYWAY., I studied that book and all it’s little idiosyncrasies…(I knew it forward and backward…lol…) So I went back the next Tuesday and passed the tests…both of them…. AT14 YEARS, ONE WEEK AND TWO DAYS OLD I was a licensed driver. On March 8th I will celebrate the _59TH_ Anniversary of that event. And Kenneth was also 14 when he passed his test…so he has 60 years driving experience…he also was 12 when he began driving…the difference was he was almost 6 feet tall…
Wow, Fran, you’ve got some amazing driving stories to tell; I loved reading them. You may be our oldest commenter and our youngest, first time driver! Hard to believe you and Ken have 119 years of driving experience between you.
I didn’t have to take Drivers’ Ed because the insurance discount for taking the class was the same as the good student discount. I just practiced with my older brother because my parents stressed me out too much. I read the manual once and winged it for the permit test. I passed (barely because if I missed one more, I would have failed) and haven’t looked back since.
I wasn’t a whiz kid by any means, driving just made sense to me. I’m 30 something now and have never caused an accident nor have I ever gotten a ticket!
I couldn’t imagine HS in a big suburb without a license. I suppose in a smaller community it wouldn’t be so difficult. I never would have been able to manage sports practices,work, and school without driving myself.
Good luck Sarah!
Anonymous, you have a good point about it being a lot harder for a kid to get along with a license if they lived in a big city. Sarah can walk or ride bike to most places in our small town and getting her to and from events (if the weather isn’t conducive to her riding) is not much trouble at all. Thankful for small towns! Thanks for your comment.
I learned to drive when I was 16. I took Driver’s Ed at school (which used an automatic) BUT at home I had to practice on a BIG old standard transmission station wagon which I also had to use when I took my driver’s exam. Hmmmm, the first time I took the test, I didn’t pass . . . didn’t do so great on that parallel parking!! After that, I did a lot of parallel parking practicing . . . . we used big cardboard boxes and every time I “bumped” one of the boxes, my dad or older brother would say . . . “there goes another car!” I did pass the second time I took the exam 🙂 These days I can usually parallel park in all but the smallest space in just one try!!!
Sarah, I think as with most things in life, you know when the time is right for you . . . and you were smart enough to wait until you knew the time was right for you! Congratulations!!! Both on your intelligence and your (soon to be) new driving skills!
Linda in Pittsburgh
Linda, switching back and forth between an automatic and a standard transmission would have driven me crazy! You did well to manage that. And I love the parallel parking with cardboard boxes. Since I have never parallel parked in my life, those boxes would be just the thing for me!
a classmate’s aunt and uncle started a business teaching driving. Schools didn’t offer Driver-Ed then, and I’m thinking that Driving School was rather unique. I was 16, and my lessons would be after school, making it rush hour. ugh! One time when I was trying to learn to drive a stick shift (I never succeeded), I was stuck at a busy intersection with the car not co-operating, and the instructor unable to help. I don’t remember if I killed the engine, or if I just couldn’t get it into gear, but it seems we went through SEVERAL cycles of the traffic lights before I got through the intersection. Fortunately, Road Rage wasn’t a factor in those days.
Did Summer help with Sarah’s first Drive?
Mrs. Pam, no, Summer sat out Sarah’s first drive. 🙂 Hard for believe there was a time when schools didn’t provide Drivers Ed; your classmate’s aunt and uncle were brave souls!
I learned to drive when I was fifteen– my dad took me to the parking lot of our local university and had me drive around and around, and practice parking. On one of these occasions, a campus police officer pulled me over and said I couldn’t drive there without a permit, so that was the end of that.
I ended up taking driver’s ed through a local company, and I was really not very good at it for a while. Once I got my permit, my parents had me drive them everywhere, on all our road trips, to my flute lessons, to the grocery store, to school…you name it, I drove to it.
Once my mom tried to teach me stick shift as well as automatic, but…let’s just say that lesson ended quickly.
I got my license at sixteen, on my second try. The first time I’d forgotten to twist all the way around in my seat when I was backing up. I practically broke my spine making sure to do that the second time!
No real funny driving stories of my own, but I’m quite relieved my dad was the one who primarily taught me. My mom lived in New York City for most of her life, and didn’t learn how to drive until she was twenty-nine and had moved down to Richmond, VA…She did not take to it well. I think she has backed into something solid every other year since I was a toddler. I don’t blame her, though– I guess if I lived in New York City, driving would be the very last thing I’d ever want to learn!
Dina, I loved the line,” I think she has backed into something solid every other year since I was a toddler.” Too funny! And I’m with you; I would NEVER want to drive in New York.
Sarah (and Becky – also Steve). I was 30 before I had my very first driving lesson!! On New Years Day (around 16 years ago) I woke up and went “right, now’s the time, let’s do it” and I did. Two months later I sat for (and obtained) my driver’s license. I had the best driving instructor, not because of his superior driving instructor skills but because he had the BEST Scottish accent (I love a good accent).
The first time I drove on my own I drove to the beach. I remember sitting on the sand thinking, how did I get here, I can’t drive, what am I doing!!!! I had to give myself a stern talking to.
Good luck with the driving lessons both to you and your Mum and dad lol.
Bec (from Sydney, Australia).
Bec, yes, I agree that a driving instructor with a Scottish accent would make learning a joy. Good for you for learning to do it at the age of 30!
I TOOK driver’s ed when I could, which in my province is 15 1/2 (but with our graduated licensing system, you will not be a ‘full’ driver until at the earliest something like 17 1/2. BUT…I am 22 now, and still don’t have my ‘intermediate’. I tried once in 2011, which was just after I had started on the uncomfortable road of symptoms that led to my eventful Dec 7/8th and what-not. I haven’t tried since, and to be honest, I’m not sure if I’ve even driven during that time frame. I’m just not very interested, and being only 4’9, it really is more dangerous. I’m going to admit that it was quite hard for me to learn, which frustrated me then, and probably still does! My bus system works pretty well (okay, besides today where I waited 40 minutes for a bus in -25 degree weather to get to my flute lesson when there should have been at least 5 (7?) during that time frame) and I like to think of it as doing my bit for the environment as well…plus, the bus is so much less expensive…
MusicGirl, you waited for a bus in -25 degrees weather for 40 minutes to go to a flute lesson!!??! My hat is off to you. I would certainly have given up after ten minutes or less! Even with the inconveniences involved in using the bus, it sounds like you’re making it work. And I agree–it is MUCH less expensive than owning a car.
The day I got my learner’s permit, my dad took me to the high school parking lot to try driving for the first time. We lasted about 10 minutes before I accidentally hit a “No Parking” sign. At that point, my dad decided our first lesson was over. So Sarah is already a step ahead of some of us!!!
Laura, well, at least you managed to make it ten minutes before hitting the sign! 🙂
I first drove my dad’s pickup truck (with my dad beside me) on the long straight dirt road in the vineyard on the family farm when I was around 14 or so. When I actually had taken driver’s ed my dad took me, again in his pickup truck, to the local cemetery to drive around on a more winding road. I guess he figured that was a good starting point because I couldn’t kill anyone!
Dear Whitney, you really made me smile! 😀
Whitney, I’m with Trine. The cemetery line made ME smile pretty big, too!
I was 15 when I started to learn to drive. My mother taught me in her 1976 VW Rabbit. I had my first lessons in the parking lot at the beach, off season. The Rabbit was automatic with power steering. I learned to drive a stick on a boyfriend’s car in college. I got Driver’s Ed classes for my 16th birthday and my license when I was about 16 and a half. My Grandfather gave me his “old” car, a 72 Malibu, after which I was expected to drive my brother and a neighbor to school daily.
Lin, I admire anyone who can drive a stick! And you sure had some interesting cars to drive back in the day. 🙂
Hey Becky !!
Guess who taught me????Any guesses?? That’s right YOU!!!! On a dirt path behind your apartment. I was 15 and you were 20. Wow such along time ago. LOL!!! Remember I alomst went into the ditch??? Fun times!!! Miss the good ole days!!! Anyways congrats Sarah on being ready to drive. Wish you welland be safe.
Oh and Becky both of mine have there permits. Scary and exciting at the same time.But they are both doing well in this area. Driving that is.LOL!!
Catherine, if you wouldn’t have reminded me I never would have remembered that great experience in life. Those were the days! 🙂
I waited until June to get my learners permit (I turned 16 in Feb).. that’s not all that long, but considering how much I wanted independence I’m surprised I waited that long. My parents made me learn how to drive a stick shift and I’m glad they did because it means I can drive any car -> including my own. I hope they keep making standard because that’s what I hope to drive for the next 30-40 years (I’ve been driving for 23.5 years), or however long I am able to continue driving. My first car was a Volkswagen Bug, with kayak racks on top for my boat. I’ve totaled one car – because my ma said “yeah, you can take the cat to the vet without a carrier.” :P. I’ve driven all over the east coast and across country once.
Brooke, okay, let that be a lesson to all of us. NO taking the cat to the vet without a carrier! 🙂
My first time behind the wheel was in the middle of the night, pitch dark, pouring down rain, on an old country road! We used to travel at least once a month to visitmy grandparents. My dad worked second shift and got home from work about midnight. We would have all the bags ready to toss in the car and we could climb in. He was not yet ready to go to sleep and the rest of us would sleep in the car. Perfect way to travel with kids! Anyway, one night, he pulled ot the side of the road and said “Get up here and drive.” It was a station wagon, no power steering and a stick shift. My mom about had a heart attack. But, he accomplished what he set out to do. My mother, from the beginning of her days of driving on the farm, was always scared to drive. And, if it was predicted to rain before she thought she would be back home from any trip, even to church, or might get darkbefore she got home, she just stayed home. Would never, ever drive on a major highway. If she could not get there on side roads then she did not go. My dad said he wanted me to always be confident that I could drive any car in any conditions. Sometimes I wonder if his point was taken a little too well! But, almost 35 years later, I have never allowed a fear of driving keep me from going anywhere, nor was I ever stuck because I could not drive whatever car was at my disposal. While that night I was a bit terrified – especially after a state trooper pulled up bhind and followed me for about 5 miles! – I do not regret my initiation into driving at all.
Sarah has many years of road trips ahead of her!
Janet, wow, that’s quite a story! You must be a very, VERY fast learner to drive a stick shift on your first try. I’m still not very good at it. Sounds like your dad gave you a big booster shot of confidence, though, in letting you know that you could drive any car you put your mind to. (And I’m glad the state trooper didn’t pull you over.)
We had drivers ed in school, and there would be 3 of us that allwent in the car together with the instructor. One girl drove us right into a snowbank, just plowed us right in, My gosh, the instructor told her if we were stuck she was shoveling us out too. Thankfully we were able to back out of the snowbank. All 7 of us kids in my family learned to drive a stickshift first, dad’s rule, as well as we had to know how to check and change the oil and how to jack up the car and change a tire before we were allowed to go alone with the car. My first car was a 1970 Chevelle, oh how I loved my car, but it was a stick shift, 3 on the tree as we called it then, and it would stick between 1st and 2nd gear and then I would have to stop the car, open the hood and wiggle the shift bar under there to let it loose again, It was fine when we were by the cute boys at a corner, ha! Good Luck Sarah, you will do great, Wendy
Wendy, kudos to your dad for making you know all that helpful stuff before you could drive alone. Excellent idea! And I know you used that sticking gear problem to your advantage when those cute boys were around. 🙂
I have a couple funny stories about early driving. I was about 16 1/2 when I got my license. My mom had a Ford LTD (automatic) and my dad had a 1950’s Chevy pickup (standard on the column). My dad had taught me to drive the stick but had neglected to tell me if I couldn’t get up a hill in 3rd, I should downshift. One Saturday a friend and I had gone with our younger brothers’ Cub Scout troup to some function. Fortunately it was just she and I in the pick-up. The function was out in the country somewhere and included a pretty long hill. I started up the hill the first time and you guessed it – the pickup died in 3rd gear. So, I coasted back down the hill and got a running start so I could get over the hill in 3rd gear.
The second story was one Spring day my senior year in high school in Missouri. Another friend and I were out driving on country roads and the pick-up died. This was before cell phones (1973). We walked to a house, don’t remember how far but it seemed like a ways, and asked a very nice woman to use the phone. I called my dad and told him the truck had died. It just happened that my aunt and uncle were visiting so they and my parents and my cousin drove out to see if they could get the pick-up started. My dad opened the hood and he or my uncle discovered the coil wire (don’t ask me what that was) had fallen out. They plugged it back in and the pick-up started right off. To this day my uncle teases me about the time my coil wire fell out.
Phyllis, I’ve had days that FELT like my coil wire fell out! 🙂 Funny you still get reminded of that all these years later.
And I’m very happy that when you had to back up and make a running start to get over the hill in 3rd gear that there was no one behind you. That would have been awkward!
OK, here’s something embarassingly funny to tell you. Ready????
OK, when I gave my oldest son Jimmy the wheel for the first time at the age of 16, in a parking lot…….for practice…..I made him sit …….on my lap!!!! Bahahahahahaha. My second son, John, laughed hilarioulsy in the back seat.
There. Can’t beat that!
Lesley, oh shoot. I should have thought of doing that with Sarah! 🙂 I can certainly imagine why John would laugh so hard!
Well, we certainly have a lot of driving stories here! I got my license when I was 16 1/2. I was so nervous for the driving part of the test. After I got my license I would drive so slowwwwww on the roads, it took a while to me to feel comfortable enough to drive the pace of the other drivers.
I was very much overly aware of what other drivers on the road ‘might’ be thinking of me, so that made driving more scary. I had to get over that. It took a while.
I had to sit on a pillow in order to see over the steering wheel! I was a small girl. The car was the family Ford LTD Country Squire wood-sided station wagon. Green. Power steering. The only car in the neighborhood that took unleaded gas. Leaded gas was the usual in 1976.
We lived in a small quaint sea-side community in Massachusetts, much like yours.
It took me a long time to venture outside my little hometown. I was a very hesitant driver.
However, saying all this, it was the BEST feeling when I passed my road driving test. I drove the car home, picked up my little brother and said to him “Where do you want to go?” It was an awesome, freeing feeling. Woohoo! Independence!! I didn’t ever crave independence(mama’s girl here ), but when I had it, it felt unexpectedly great. I remember that moment to this day.
Interesting note about stick shifts. Neither my sister, nor I, can drive one. We have been taught by the most patient of drivers over the years and it is quite clear that it will never happen for us. It must be genetic 🙂 🙂
Lesley, I’m glad I’m not the only non stick shift driver. Yes, let’s blame it on genetics. (Although I think I COULD drive one in an emergency.)
Umm, I didn’t mean the officer was actually “struck” by the tools in my dad’s car – just mentally and emotionally “struck” by the noise and distraction of it all and, I am sure, my SKILL at driving in spite of the noise, etc. Just thought I should clear that up.
I took Drivers Ed in high school. That was an experience in itself. I took my driver’s test in my dad’s big old station wagon with all his carpenter tools sliding and rattling around the back end. When I tried to parallel park, the officer asked if I was trying to perpendicular park and I said to just fail me on that part – I passed the test – it was a wonderful day but the officer was struck by the sliding, clanging tools in the back.
I was the one who taught both my girls to drive. We too used Kirkwood High School’s parking lot that had an alley that connected two different parking lots for the school. Both my girls learned on automatic transmission and that was a challenge enough. I did later teach my younger daughter how to drive a stick – she wanted a Jeep Wrangler and didn’t want to be a whimpy girl that drove one of those as an automatic. We rolled back down many a hill before she got the feel for it but loves driving a stick shift to this day.
I just remember my younger daughter practicing parallel parking for what seemed hours in that high school parking lot because, once again, she was not going to be a whimpy girl that couldn’t pass that part of the test. Needless to say, I was of little help learning that skill. I just sat there and watched her bang into orange cone after orange cone until she GOT IT – she is an expert at parallel parking to this day – as is her sister – that was not inherited from their mother. I also remember my younger daughter shouting out the window as we first attempted to LEAVE THE PARKING LOT and drive a short distance on the street – she was shouting and pleading for everyone to know she was on the road and they were not safe!
I will also remember with both girls standing in the driveway as I watched them drive down the street for the very first time WITHOUT ME in the car. I had to keep myself from launching towards the back bumper and holding on to said bumper with dear life, shouting encouragement and advice to my baby girl driver. They did both return, unscathed from that first trip out in the world and have many, many times since. I do not miss the white knuckled, panicked driving lessons at all. It is a right of passage and I am just thankful we have that passage completed.
Have fun, Sarah. You will do just fine – better than mom and dad, probably!
Mary, loved all your stories but the one about your daughter yelling out the window to everyone that they were not safe took the cake. Thanks for the smiles!
Well my moms rule was you had to pay for it and get it yourself. so i actually was like 20 when i finally got my license. And i got it because the family i babysat for kinda made me because they were planning a bunch of trips and it was easier for them to have me drive the kids around then fly one of their mothers in every time a trip happened.So she would keep half my pay to pay for the neighbors Volvo station wagon. I learned to drive by paying a place and had 10 lessons and then the test. I failed the first time because when doing a 3 pt turn i let the car go by instead of making him wait for me to finish…boy did i get upset and cried on the way home. Got to do it again and passed. I live in a suburb area and thankfully every time i drove it was sunny and nice and did not have to do the highway. Now see my advice is if you can drive through to be able to pull out awesome. i dont like backing out and i also agree with what the one writer said you never know if a bigger car will park next to you. So i will park far from the store just so i can pull through a spot. i drive a mini van and love it and actually have always wanted one, and i still struggle with the fact that i have no front end and wont hit anyone,lol. so i will do the a 10 pt turn just to make sure i dont hit no one,lol. and ive only had my license like 11-12 yrs.
Becky, love the 10-point turn! I’ve done a few of those myself. 🙂
I don’t have a drivers’ license and will never have one. With my visual impairment I just don’t feel comfortable driving a car. I have absolutely no perception of depth, so I fear I’d hit other cars in front of me and I wouldn’t be able to keep the minimum distance. So, while I’d likely pass the eye doctor exam, I better stay away from the steering wheel. Of course I sometimes yearningly look at others just hopping in and out of their cars, but luckily public transport is pretty good in Germany, the railway network is great and bus service, too.
But great for Sarah and yeah for her taking that step! I wish her always safe travels!
best wishes Nadine from Germany
Nadine, so glad to know you have good public transport in Germany. I’ve always wanted to ride a train so I think it’s fun that you get to ride one all the time!
I was 9. My dad used to take me out in his delivery van (full-size mid-70s Chevy van) and let me drive on backroads, many of which were gravel. That was an automatic transmission. At 11, I started driving backroads in my mom’s 1977 Buick Electra 225. GINORMOUS car. Again, automatic. That’s the car I used to learn how to parallel park! Yikes!
When I turned 14, I got my learner’s permit, and my full license at 14.5 (with a restriction of having a licensed adult with me until I was 16). At 14.5, my dad taught me to drive a stickshift.
My dad, and my granddad both taught me my driving skills. They were both excellent racecar drivers, so I’ve had instruction from the best-of-the-best. 🙂
Since the first car (a Chevette!!! with a 4-speed manual tranny!!!), I’ve had 25 cars, and only four of them have been automatics (Neon, Thunderbird, Ford Ranger, Mercedes Benz). I just took delivery of a brand new Hyundai Veloster Turbo with a 6-speed manual. It’s a blast!
Funny story? Not really, except I can say in the 32+ years since I got my learner’s permit, I have never had a speeding ticket, and have never had an at-fault wreck (I’ve been rear-ended twice, t-boned once, and backed-into once in a parking lot). (Knock on wood! LOL)
Oh wait – this is kind of funny: When I took the “road test” part of my driving test for my permit, the state trooper who rode with me later won a Dave Thomas (Wendy’s hamburgers founder) look-alike contest. 🙂
I guess I should add: I was driving racing karts from age 8…. 🙂
Stefanie, amazing that you got your learner’s permit at age 14! Wow! It sounds like you have had some way above average drivers/teachers in your life which I’m sure made a big difference in your rapid progress. Keep having lots of fun behind the wheel!
I do not drive due to my vision. I did take in driver’s ed in high school, the first semester of my sophomore year. I went as far as I getting my learner’s permit. But I knew I could not really drive. But I gave it a try!
Kristi, good for you for giving it a try. And good for you for accepting your limitations and not continuing to drive when you don’t feel comfortable with it. My hat’s off to you!
The rule in my Mom’s house was we couldn’t drive till we graduated from High School. I got my license when I was 19 years old. My Mom was trying to teach me to drive (stick shift) but stressed me out to where I refused to drive because I was scared. There was this one time we were driving up to the farm (my Mom rented land for her 2 horses). I was doing fairly well and had to stop because there was some traffic on the main road. Well I stopped and heard sirens. I had no idea where they were coming from because I couldn’t see the vehicle. My mom tells me to make a left into the Wawa (convenient store) since I was nervous. Well, I still didn’t know where the sirens were coming from. I got upset because I was scared, made the left turn into the parking lot and said “that’s it, I’m done driving for today”. My Mom, tried to calm me down and told me that I was doing good. I was just having a hard time gauging the clutch and gas all together. We get to the farm and the family that lived there I was a Nanny. So my Mom tells the lady of my driving experience and was like can I teach her in my car. So for about 2 weeks before my test, she taught me in her small station wagon, it was an automatic. I passed my driving test in her car 🙂 The car I would be driving was a 2003 Honda Accord that had just about everything except for a sun roof and a remote to unlock the doors. Thank goodness because I was starting Community College two weeks later. Between my sister and my step-dad, I learned how to drive stick shift. It was a bumpy couple of weeks because I had a hard time gauging the clutch and when to press the gas. So I would either stall or the car would start to jerk a bit. I have to say that I miss driving my first car but I do love my 2010 Chevy Cobalt.
Advice for Sarah…if you can, always back into the parking spaces. You never know when a big truck is going to park beside you and obstruct your view. Also, when I drove a mini van for work I found that parallel parking was so much easier than a car. Of course, I avoid parallel parking because I’m afraid of hitting the car behind me more than hitting the curb.
Good luck Sarah!!
Michelle, you did really well sticking with the hard lessons of learning to drive a standard transmission. Congrats for learning it! And that’s great advice about backing into a space to make leaving easier and more safe.
I learned to drive in a high school parking lot, too. At about age 14 or 15 my best friend’s older brother decided to teach us how to drive. A stick shift no less (which has served me well ever since). I got my license when I was 16 yrs and 8 months old.
My one interesting story has to do with driving a stick shift … I learned on a stick but never really drove standard much. Fast forward to five years later I was buying my own car for college. I couldn’t afford the $1200 Toyota Tercel I wanted so badly. The guy who owned the used car lot took pity on me and let me work off about $400 worth of car by driving for him over the summer. He needed someone to go to auctions and drive the new (used) car back to the lot. Well, one of my proudest memories was when this car dude told me that I drive a stick shift better than almost anyone he’s seen. Wow. That was back in 1986 and I still carry that recognition around with me :).
Congrats Sarah. Safe driving!
Paige, I have to agree. Getting stick shift kudos from a car dude is something to be very proud of!
I learnt to drive when I was about 17 1/2 too….I really didn’t want to, but my partner moved to another town so it was either a case of getting the bus or learning how as he didn’t want to be my taxi forever! my dad took me out in a carpark in his automatic but I hated it, anything over 20 miles an hour and I was terrified, so after that I stuck with my instructor in his manual Renault Clio. It took me about 8 months to pass my test and I failed the first for clipping a wing mirror on another car (oops)! I used to really struggle how to get the car into 5th gear, no idea why, as soon as I passed it was like the problem never existed. Funnily enough, fast forward 7 years, I now drive an auto everyday and sold my manual car last week. I don’t know which I prefer to be honest, auto is easier in a lot of ways but now as good in the snow, which we have a lot of at the moment over here across the pond!
Rebecca, yep, that would be a big “oops” to clip a mirror on another car during your driving test! 🙂 I hope you’re enjoying your snow; would love to get a little here!
I’m afraid the answer to that is negative. We are snowed in and having to walk to the shops to carry groceries back in rucksacks. I’m afraid us Brits just aren’t cut out for snow!
Ooopsie, I forgot to say I learned to drive a stick. Dad rolled the rock away from the front of our cave, and out I drove in our Flintstones model T. 😉
My father taught me to drive (brave man!). We lived in northeastern NJ, opposite the NY skyline. Before he let me behind the wheel, Dad taught me to change a flat tire. The day I was supposed to take my behind-the-wheel test, we had a heavy snow fall, so no test. I rescheduled for a week later, and because there was so much snow on the test roads, I didn’t have to parallel park!
I’m so happy for Sarah that she’s learning to drive now. It’s such a major step to independence. I’m still trying to figure out how she got to 17-1/2, though…wasn’t she just 10? Or 13?
Jan, I’m wondering, too, how in the world Sarah got to be 17 1/2. We’ll be having an 18th birthday party before long!
Loved your line about driving your Flinstones Model T out of your cave. Made me laugh!
I don’t remember my first behind the wheel story but I do know that I had to learn to drive stick before my parents would let me get my license since all we had were stick shift cars. I had already taken drivers ed through the school and my mom gave up on trying to teach me so I did a several hour course through Sears. My daughter is 22 and doesn’t have her license either. For quite a while, she was like Sarah in that she didn’t want to and I sure wasn’t going to force her! Now she is closer to being ready but because of health issues, she can’t currently drive. Who knows, maybe this summer she will do it. I am still going to send her to driving course of some sort to learn-I don’t teach her well at anything!
Nicole, I think it might be true that most kids learn better from someone who is not their parent. I think a driving course would be a great idea for your daughter–best of luck to her on that new adventure!
I took driver’s ed a month before my sixteenth birthday. We had a straight shift, no air, and the funny part was we practiced in the cemetery which had hills. We would drive up to the stop sign at the top of the hill, have to stop, and then we would roll back down because of the clutch. Again, back to the top, stop, and roll back down. I don’t know how many tries it took to get through that stop sign. Our teacher was the most calm person around because he had a set of brakes. I wanted to get my license before going on vacation but I was not 16 until vacation and could not do it. When I went to get them finally after vacation the examiner told me to roll up the windows, turn on the air, and use the signals not my arm for turns. It was in July and he wanted to be comfortable. We practiced in the school yard driving in figure 8 around 2 large trees at each end. There were 3 girls and our instructor. What a time we had.
Ann,if I were a driving instructor, I would DEFINITELY be more calm with a set of brakes on my side. I think it’s funny that you were used to signaling your turns with your arms and had to use blinkers instead. That sure doesn’t happen any more!
I forgot my funny story. During the driver training class, one day was on Signal Hill, a small hill in Long Beach CA area. One task was to know what to do on a hill if the car stalled. I was watching from the backseat as my friend tried this and I was the instructor push a button with his foot to stall the car. When it was my turn, as soon as I saw his foot move, I hit the breaks before the car actually stalled. He looked at me oddly, but fortunately didn’t say anything!
Patti, boy, you were quick on the draw to out think your instructor. Love that!
Sarah, what a big girl you really have become! I enjoyed about your first driving experience and the picture really say more than 1000 words.
Trine, yes, Sarah has done a lot of growing up, hasn’t she?
I was fortunate to have a dad who worked at a public school bus yard where the driver training cars were parked. The first time I drove was there with my dad. My school had both driver ed and driver training classes so it was just a thing everyone did at 16 or 17. Now you have to find a class and pay more so I think more kids are waiting, at least in the city. My friends grandson is 20 and still has not taken either class. He bought a car last year, but still can’t drive it.
Patti, interesting that the young man who mentioned has a car but doesn’t have a license! Usually it’s the other way around. 🙂
My memory is not so much in the learning prior to getting my license, but in my Dad’s trip with each of his 3 kids after we were legal drivers. We left the DMV with our shiny new license and with each of us (I am the middle kid), we headed to I-285, the perimeter interstate around Atlanta. We had to drive the entire perimeter and make several exits/entrances along the route. That was his way of giving us a good initiation to interstate driving and driving in/around Atlanta (We lived about 30 minutes outside the city. Oh, and it was with a stick shift and I was TERRIFIED for at least my whole first year of driving, of having to stop on an incline.
Heidi, what a brave dad you had! I can’t imagine taking Sarah to drive an interstate the very day she gets her license. But I guess it’s the equivalent of throwing someone in the pool to help them learn to swim. You just do it!
my dad tried to teach me to drive when I was 15 or 16, but he made me so nervous I just couldn’t do it. so.. I married at 19 and moved to a farm, where everyone learns to drive as soon as they can see out the windshield. (or before)I told them I didn’t know how but they just sent me off in the car to run errands and so forth. had lots of small mishaps, but luckily nothing to bad. at 22 I decided I better get a license so off I drove to town with two little toddlers STANDING in the back seat as I took my drivers test, This was in a small town in South Dakota, they had two barrels set up for me to parralel park between. I said oh I cant do that have no idea how, so the guy giving the test said thats ok living here you will never need to any way. so he passed me. of course that was way before seat belts too, in 1962. Can you just imagine even taking your child along now? let alone driving to town with them to take the test and having them stand in the back seat while you do??? and driving for several years to and from town and all over the countryside without a license…… OH how times have changed.
Sharon, yes,times really HAVE changed, haven’t they? I loved the instructor’s line about not worry about parallel parking because you wouldn’t have to do it anyway. Too funny.