# How did you learn to drive?



## NancyNGA (Jun 11, 2016)

Do you remember who taught you, or at least went with you while you practiced?  Driver's Ed anyone?  

My mom taught me when I was 16, because my father was, well, let's just say "a perfectionist?"  She taught his brother, too, for the same reason.


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## jujube (Jun 11, 2016)

Drivers' Ed, the first semester of my junior year in high school.  The football coach was the teacher and he was tough!   He was always throwing us into situations where we had to make split-second decisions and I think he turned me into a good driver.


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## AprilT (Jun 11, 2016)

My sister tried, but, I gave up after two tries with her, I never really wanted to ever have to drive if I didn't have to, but, when I moved from Westchester Co NY where the transit system wasn't the best, but, it was easy enough to get to work by bus or rail system, but, my relocating to an area of NJ where the bus system was practically non-existent , I hadn't any choice but to learn to drive.  I used a driving school.  What a nightmare the first time the instructor took me into major traffic, for sure, I expected I would kill us both any minute.  

I failed my first driving test miserably.  They had a full course they used at our dmv, how was I two know it was a two lane road or that there were stops signs just beyond the bush that I wasn't paying attention for.  :dunno:For one, I just thought to myself I really appreciate the extra wide road I got to ride in the middle of with so much space on both sides of me.

When I knew better, I did better.  :bigwink:


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## NancyNGA (Jun 11, 2016)

Jujube: They had driver's ed at our high school, too, but I don't remember how you arranged to get into it.  Maybe there was a fee, 'cause very few took it.


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## NancyNGA (Jun 11, 2016)

AprilT said:


> ...I failed my first driving test miserably.  They had a full course they used at our dmv, how was I two know it was a two lane road or that there were stops signs just beyond the bush that I wasn't paying attention for.  :dunno:For one, I just thought to myself I really appreciate the extra wide road I got to ride in the middle of with so much space on both sides of me.
> 
> When I knew better, I did better.  :bigwink:



:lol:

There was a rumor going round that the they failed everyone who took the road test when they were 16.  It seemed to be true.  So many failed on the first try at 16.  

I never wanted to learn to drive either, and took it when I was 17 (and passed). The hardest part for me was the parallel parking.   I bet they don't even ask you to do that now.  Hmmph!!


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## fureverywhere (Jun 11, 2016)

The hardest part for me was the parallel parking.

I knocked over the cones, then I knocked them down and ran them over, I only passed by the goodness of the instructor.


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## Pappy (Jun 11, 2016)

Driving tractors and doodlebugs gave me an advantage at a young age. I did take drivers Ed, in school, on a standard 53 Chevy. Got my permit on first try.


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## NancyNGA (Jun 11, 2016)

Pappy said:


> Driving tractors and doodlebugs ...



Somehow I knew that would be your answer...


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## Guitarist (Jun 11, 2016)

My parents taught me, mostly my mother because my dad was at work during the day. I learned on an automatic when I was 15, then we got a stick-shift car and I learned to drive that when I was 16, but took my test in the automatic. I did have a couple of lessons with a guy from AAA who taught me how to enter and drive on the interstate.  One week one summer my mother took me out to a new subdivision every morning where the road was long and level with a circle at each end and taught me how to shift gears.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 11, 2016)

My Dad taught me. I know he was a nervous wreck when he took me out but he always remained calm and never yelled. When I first got behind the wheel we would go to the local cemetery because there were a lot of empty roads. lol. We had drivers ed in school which I flunked because the teacher seemed to think it was important to know the parts of a carburetor. I also couldn't get the hang of folding a map correctly. Had to repeat it the following year. My Dad had a big Plymouth with a stick shift. I used it for the test and did everything correctly,a fluke,I'm sure. When we headed out he told me to make believe we were out in town. The last thing he asked me to do was park. Which I did perfectly. I waited and waited for him to tell me to pull out when he put a notation on my test sheet that I didn't actually park because I didn't turn the car off. Not enough to flunk me though.He just had to say something. When I got my own car my Dad put a curb finder on. The greatest thing they ever made! No more chewed up tires.


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## Mrs. Robinson (Jun 11, 2016)

jujube said:


> Drivers' Ed, the first semester of my junior year in high school.  The football coach was the teacher and he was tough!   He was always throwing us into situations where we had to make split-second decisions and I think he turned me into a good driver.



Did you go to my high school Jujube? I also took Driver`s Ed the first semester of my Junior year. And the football coach taught it. Keith Bedford-wonderful man who just passed away recently. I did get my license at 16 and on the first try. I aced the parallel parking-to this day I amaze my husband at how quickly and easily I can park a Tahoe or even a Suburban. My backing up skills were not very good though-I think I must have missed that class lol. And no,they don`t make you parallel park for the driver`s test anymore-at least not in California.


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## Lon (Jun 11, 2016)

I did not learn to drive until I was 18 years old because no one would teach me prior. At 18 and in the Air Force I took a jeep out on a unused runway and taught my self how to drive. I think I might have stripped a few gears in the process.


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## NancyNGA (Jun 11, 2016)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> ...  When I got my own car my Dad put a curb finder on. The greatest thing they ever made! No more chewed up tires.



Yes!!!  I remember those! My dad put them on my car too.    I'd still like to have something like that, only sticking out the back on my old pickup, for backing up to loading docks.


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## Robusta (Jun 11, 2016)

I learned the same as Pappy. Tractors and Field Cars.  We had a '49 Ford truck that had a contraption we called a bale picker upper bolted to the running board. I wasn't even big enough to completely reach the pedals and Dad would put it in first, get it rolling , set the hand throttle and jump off. My job was to follow the row of bales and catching them on the pick up forks.Which would then lift them and throw them into the back. My instructions were if anything went wrong to pull the key!.


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## Butterfly (Jun 11, 2016)

My boyfriend taught me; my dad actually asked him if he would, because trying to teach me just drove my dad nuts.  Scared him to death, I think, when I'd miss a gear or  slide backwards on a hill or something and he'd yell at me, which made the whole thing worse.  Boyfriend had nerves of steel, and knew better than to yell at me when I made a mistake.  I did fine, and passed my driver's test at 16 on the first try.  I still can't parallel park worth a flip, though -- I avoid it like the plague.  it's OK if I have a lot of room, but a really tight space, nope.  Fortunately, around here there aren't too many places where you have to parallel park in tight spaces.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 11, 2016)

We had driver's ed in high school, then it was my mom who went with me on lots of practice rides.  Funny, I don't remember my father riding with me, but it may be because the year I got my license, we had moved to NH, but he couldn't find work in the union up there and stayed behind in NJ during the poor economy in the early 70s.  Where we were living in NH at the time was a good place to learn to drive.  Not as congested as NJ.


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## IKE (Jun 11, 2016)

I left home at around 15 and once ended up out in the country in the middle of nowhere one night at a small gas station. A older (60 or so) farmer with only one arm came in on his tractor for fuel and after a short chat he wanted to know if I wanted to go to work on his small dairy farm for him and his wife for room and board and a little bit of spending money........I was young, tough, broke, getting in a lot of trouble where I'd left, and with it now dark and chilly outside and with me having no place to sleep I said yes.

He taught me how to drive farm machinery and his pickup......I ended up staying there almost two years till I was old enough to volunteer for the Army.


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## jujube (Jun 11, 2016)

Mrs. Robinson said:


> Did you go to my high school Jujube? I also took Driver`s Ed the first semester of my Junior year. And the football coach taught it. Keith Bedford-wonderful man who just passed away recently. I did get my license at 16 and on the first try. I aced the parallel parking-to this day I amaze my husband at how quickly and easily I can park a Tahoe or even a Suburban. My backing up skills were not very good though-I think I must have missed that class lol. And no,they don`t make you parallel park for the driver`s test anymore-at least not in California.



My teacher was Mr. McCool.  No, really...that was his name.   He did teach us well and I did pass my test on the first try.


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## AprilT (Jun 11, 2016)

NancyNGA said:


> :lol:
> 
> There was a rumor going round that the they failed everyone who took the road test when they were 16.  It seemed to be true.  So many failed on the first try at 16.
> 
> I never wanted to learn to drive either, and took it when I was 17 (and passed). The hardest part for me was the parallel parking.   I bet they don't even ask you to do that now.  Hmmph!!



If they did ask me to parallel park, I probably just got out of the car to move the cones and well that's better now isn't it, not I can park without any obstructions.     Actually, I wasn't bad at parking, I mean, I would hang half way out of the car to look while doing it, but, I was decent when it came to parking.  Lies, who am I kidding, it's been so long since I drove a car, I don't remember.  btw, I was 26 when I took those driving lessons.  Our DMV had a private driving course where we took the road test.


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## Lynk (Jun 11, 2016)

I learned to drive when I was 26.  I did not want to but since we lived in a rural area my husband insisted I learn.  He was afraid that if one of the kids got hurt and he wasn't' home an ambulance would not get there in time.  I managed to pass my driver's test the first time.  I don't think I would have gone back if I hadn't.  I still don't like to drive but I am so glad he made me and he was a great teacher.


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## fureverywhere (Jun 11, 2016)

Crap, my middle boy is 21. I want him to find a driving school. Middle girl I taught her in rural PA. If you didn't run over a cow it was all good. Where we live now...they pass left, right, wherever they can terrifying.


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## Kadee (Jun 11, 2016)

I taught myself ,after buying a old bomb of a car ...I was a single mother of 3 children living 15 minuites drive out of a small town in a rented home on a fruit orchid ..so I drove up and back a long drive way ,500 mtrs long ..then out on the road ..when confident enough.... Thinking back now thank goodness I didn't have an accident ..


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## fureverywhere (Jun 11, 2016)

The middle boy, they give them insurance breaks now.


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## Capt Lightning (Jun 12, 2016)

It's always been 17 here in the UK.  My father tried to teach me, but we didn't hit it off.  Then my elder brother took over and I did OK, passing first time.  I remember the date because it was 29th Feb.  My wife was taught by an ex-police driver, and she learned to drive mainly in the city.  A totally different style of driving to mine - having learned on country roads.

Now in the UK, learners have 'theory tests' and hazard perception tests - I think it's just a way of getting more money as I'm not sure it improves their initial driving skills.


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## oldman (Jun 12, 2016)

My sister taught me to drive and that's all she ever taught me. She would have been wise to follow in my footsteps. She always thought (and still does) that she is smarter than everyone else.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 12, 2016)

AprilT said:


> I failed my first driving test miserably.  They had a full course they used at our dmv, how was I two know it was a two lane road or that there were stops signs just beyond the bush that I wasn't paying attention for.  :dunno:For one, I just thought to myself I really appreciate the extra wide road I got to ride in the middle of with so much space on both sides of me.
> 
> When I knew better, I did better.  :bigwink:



I too failed my first driving test.  I did well right up to the end of the test.  The guy told me to take the next left back into the RMV parking lot, so I did EXACTLY what he said, and I completely missed the fact that there was an island.  Drove on the wrong side of the island and that was an automatic failure.  Took it again in six weeks and passed just fine, but was mortified in the meantime that I'd flunked my initial test.


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## Jackie22 (Jun 12, 2016)

Drivers Ed in high school....I failed parallel parking.


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## dinahjune (Jun 12, 2016)

Yes, I took driver's ed....passed it.  Prior to taking my actual test I stayed up all night at a slumber party (remember those?), took my written test and FAILED!  Waited two weeks and passed it the second time.  In 1964 new drivers only needed to be 14 to get their license...much too young to be responsible.


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## HazyDavey (Jun 12, 2016)

I also had Driver's Ed my junior year in High School taught by the football coach. (Wow, I'm seeing a pattern here  )  Later on, I trained and got my Class 1 license at work.


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## ossian (Jun 12, 2016)

I bought a car when I was 17 and my brother in law gave me a few lessons. However, his standards were clearly not good enough since I failed! So I then took a handful of lessons from a proper driving school and eventually passed.


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## NancyNGA (Jun 12, 2016)

We had something called a Learner's Permit at that time in Ohio.  You got that when you passed the written test.  Someone had to be with you any time you drove if you only had an LP.


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## Falcon (Jun 12, 2016)

I had to drive the getaway car b/c the regular driver chickened out.

(Actually, Because my dad was @ work, my Mother taught me in her own car.  Then, one could get a permit @ age 14; which I did.

Got my 1st traffic ticket the same day;  Parking with left wheels to the curb. I asked the cop, "What's wrong with that?"

Re replied, "How did you get there?"

Then, I understood;  Driving on the wrong side of the street!   Never, ever did it again!  A lesson learned.....the hard way.


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## Ruthanne (Jun 12, 2016)

I would study how other people drove before I was of age and then when I was of age my bf taught me more and how to park.


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## nitelite (Jun 12, 2016)

I learned to drive before I was old enough to qualify for a driver's license. On Friday nights my girlfriend's Dad would come home with a few too many beers under his belt. We would ask to borrow his car and he was always willing think I had my license. Since my girlfriend was too scared to drive I took over the wheel and off we'd go. It was a stick shift but I got the hang of it pretty quick and off we'd go on Friday nights. We were lucky never to have been caught. I must admit we had fun. :drive:


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## Ruthanne (Jun 12, 2016)

nitelite said:


> I learned to drive before I was old enough to qualify for a driver's license. On Friday nights my girlfriend's Dad would come home with a few too many beers under his belt. We would ask to borrow his car and he was always willing think I had my license. Since my girlfriend was too scared to drive I took over the wheel and off we'd go. It was a stick shift but I got the hang of it pretty quick and off we'd go on Friday nights. We were lucky never to have been caught. I must admit we had fun. :drive:


That brings back memories!


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## debbie in seattle (Jun 13, 2016)

Lived in the country with lots of country roads and farms.   One of my girlfriends boyfriend was older than us so I'd practice driving his car while they were in the back seat making out.


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## jujube (Jun 14, 2016)

My grandmother used to tell a great story about how she learned to drive in 1918.  Her father had just bought a brand-new Model T and she announced that she wanted to learn to drive it.  Her brothers hooted and hollered and insisted that there was no way a woman could learn to drive, but her father (who never said no to her about anything) said he would teach her to drive.  

On her first day out by herself, she came home and asked one of her brothers to park it in the shed for her.  Her brother refused, saying that if she was so high-and-mighty that she thought she could drive then she could darn well park it by herself, too.  She attempted to park it but drove right through the back of the shed, damaging the front of the car.  Her brothers felt very vindicated about her mishap and were sure that their father would forbid her to drive again.  Her father said (and I quote from the story), "if Ruth wanted to drive the car through the shed every time, then that was OK with him" and went out and bought another car.   She said she lost her nerve for driving then and didn't drive for another two years, relying instead on a buggy to get around.


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## dearimee (Dec 14, 2016)

My dad taught me to drive his old (and it was very old but with a new paint job) 37 Chevy. Figured if I could drive it I could drive anything. That was when I was 16. I must have pulled over and started back up a dozen times getting used to the clutch and floor shift. The next week I took a chance on passing the test without ever looking at the book. Passed with flying colors. From then on I was the driver when he had to run his routes on weekends. I always loved driving. These days I hate riding with someone else driving. Guess you'd call me a pain in that case. I try not to look.


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## Timetrvlr (Dec 15, 2016)

We lived on a farm so my first driving was on a farm tractor at very low speed when I was 8. That taught me steering and the use of a clutch and gearshift. Then my mother started me road driving in our '29 Ford Model A pickup on the way home from church. I got my licence at 14 in New Mexico. No driving test, just 20 questions on driving rules. I'd earned enough money that year to buy my own car, a '29 Ford Model A sedan. Later, I took Driving in high school *but *​I really learned to drive in Los Angeles on the freeways. There it's survival of the fittest!


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## Don M. (Dec 15, 2016)

My Dad taught me.  He was a truck driver, and had probably witnessed everything that can possibly go wrong on the highways....when he retired he got an award for driving over a million miles with no accidents.  I grew up in Colorado, and Winter driving on snow and ice was the biggest challenge...so one Sunday, after a good snowstorm, he took me to a big open parking lot, and had me make every mistake he could think of.  In a couple of hours of that "exercise" I learned lessons that have served me well for the almost 60 years I've been driving.


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## aeron (Dec 16, 2016)

In my case I was taught how to pass the UK driving test by a really good driving school.  It was only when I started to go out on my own in a beaten up old Ford van that I learned how to drive.

In those days there was no vehicle inspection for cars and vans, if there had been there is absolutely no way it would have passed, but it's peculiarities including unpredictable brakes and steering not to mention a non functioning shock absorber, damper in other parts of the world, on the front near side wheel made every trip a learning experience but learn I did.

Eventually the rear axle disconnected from the van and that was curtains for it but it had only cost me £12 in 1962 so it didn't owe me anything.

Today I drive an elderly Jaguar S type that is like driving a sofa down a road but I still miss my old Ford van.  That thing took REAL driving skill!


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## OneEyedDiva (Jan 9, 2017)

I got my license at age 37. For the third time in 12 years, I was offered a position in the field by one of my supervisors, who said I was working below my capacity. I would go from unit secretary, a job that bored me silly to V.D. investigator. I hated being stuck in the office and had learned how to do the work the city and state investigators were doing, including talking to doctors and nurses about the diseases.  I knew I had to get the license to be get the position. My supervisor took me driving a couple of times, another co-worker did also. We were like family in our office. Anyway, I also took lessons from a driving school. I made a mistake while parallel parking but calmly pulled out and tried again. I was so happy when she told me I passed.


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## bluesunflower (Jan 11, 2017)

NancyNGA said:


> Do you remember who taught you, or at least went with you while you practiced?  Driver's Ed anyone?
> 
> My mom taught me when I was 16, because my father was, well, let's just say "a perfectionist?"  She taught his brother, too, for the same reason.



My father taught me to drive when I was 12, we had a large property so there were plenty of drive ways. I took my driving test at 17 as soon as it was legal for me to drive on the road.


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## Pookie (Jan 11, 2017)

Dad was the world's worst driver, so he taught me to drive. I learned real fast what NOT to do and passed my driving test at 16 with flying colors.


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## Wilberforce (Jan 11, 2017)

Actually I taught myself, on private roads in a large van. I shudder remembering how bad I was but there you are and that was almost 60 years ago.


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## Jandante (Jan 12, 2017)

I was in a country town and 17, long time ago.  Things were pretty easy those days.
I also got a motorbike licence. When I was learning (on a motorscooter) I dropped hubby off at his work which was next door to the police station, and when I went for the licence they said they had seen me various times and didn't actually give me a test.


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## Iodine (Jan 24, 2017)

I paid a driving school $12 an hour and it seems like it wasn't too long before I was able to get my license.  I wanted to make sure I got it before my 30th birthday.  I have never cared much for driving and I still don't like to.  The night before I took the test my husband went out and bought me a new car (remember the Chevettes?) and came home and handed me the keys and said "I know you will pass your driving test tomorrow."  I did pass the test and then I got a job so I could help make the payments on the car.  I think it was only 6 or 7 thousand.  Wish I could buy a new car for that now. Oh, my husband did give me my first driving lesson and that lasted about 1/4 of a mile and then I pulled over and told him I thought driving lessons would be cheaper than a divorce.  He agreed.


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