Old Dominion Heather Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 My grandmother started letting me drive her 1973 Duster when I was about six or seven, but we lived in the country. How old were you? (True confession: My three boys had there first lesson last week. They are nine, six and almost three. I did the pedals for the six and almost three year old.) ETA: Why can't you go back and edit the title? Phooey! ETA: I just realized I left off an option for anyone who doesn't drive and never learned. I have never lived in a place where that would be an option, but if I lived it the city, I wouldn't have a car... But it would have to be a very big city! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I had no desire to drive. Cars are expensive. Insurance is expensive. Gas is expensive. As a teen I had no problem spending $140 on a shirt but there was no way I was going to waste my money on a car :001_huh: I used public transport or walked. Dh finally taught me how to drive when I was 19. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 City girl, here. Typical driver's ed schedule: Permit and driver's ed at 15-1/2 and license at 16. I failed one of my tests on the very last thing -- I was so excited (knowing I'd done pretty well) that I parked more than the allowed number of inches away from the curb when I parallel parked. Drat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 1973 Cadillac and drive through the cotton field like Bo and Luke Duke. We were a couple of Daisy Duke want-a-be. I haven't remembered that in years. Thanks for the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakitty Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Not including when I would sit on a lap to drive...I was about 12 I think...maybe younger. But, we also lived out in the boonies and I drove the farm truck, aka "Pumpkin Truck" (it was bright orange), a 1950's or 1960's Ford...to feed the horses. We boarded horses so there was usually around 50+ head to feed. And my kids complain about THEIR chores....LOL A funny story... This was before I had ever really driven by myself....I was around 10 years old....a friend of the family was staying with us and I had missed the bus....so he volunteered to drive me in to school. In what I can only explain as a bout of 'very poor judgement'....he asked me if I wanted to drive to the end of the gravel road. I, of course, was THRILLED with the idea and so agreed! And all was going nicely, mostly I was just idling down the road really and our gravel road was maybe the length of around 8 city blocks...but at the end...where the gravel road met up with the paved road....there is a long row of around 10 mail boxes...as is common if you have ever driven through the country. And as I approached the stop sign...at which point I would relinquish control of the car...I mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal and GUNNED it! Right through the row of mail boxes and down into the very deep ditch behind them. ACK! We were fine...the car was fine....the mailboxes....not so much. :auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I was 16. I was the only person in my driver's ed class (20 students or so) who had never driven before. This was in a small town, where all the farm kids drove trucks around I think from birth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 My grandmother started letting me drive her 1973 Duster when I was about six or seven, but we lived in the country. How old were you?! On the other end of the spectrum, I learned to drive at twenty. I never have had a driver's license, though. I like to bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 And we survived -- 20 years so far! (And it was on a standard transmission. I can still recall the "don't ride the clutch" line (with as much patience as humanly possible for a then 26 yr old man) just as if it happened yesterday! lol!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina in WA Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 A car... 15. A motorcycle, much younger. Under 10. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetfeet Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I took driver's ed at 17, but didn't really care much about driving. I had a horse to support and couldn't afford the car insurance. I was very close to 20 before I got a license and car. My younger sister drove before I did.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I was 26. Seriously. I didn't have the lifestyle or money to support a car before then. Once I was with my dh and relatively stable, I finally went for my license and he bought me a cheap car. Shortly after I was pregnant with dd. I cant imagine not having a car with kids, but I managed just fine before that, and I was very fit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyatHome Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 My dad started giving me lessons when I was 10, but I can't say I really learned until I was 15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 That was the law, so that's what my parents did. Needless to say, I showed incredible improvement in my driving skills over the course of driver's ed. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I started learning at 17. Then I got married and went overseas. I couldn't get a licence there unless I already had an American one. So it was put off till we got stateside again. But then we lived in Southeastern Pennsylvania and I was mortally afraid of driving there. After 3 years we moved to Millington, Tennessee, where it seemed as if there was nobody on the road most of the time. That is where I finally got my license. I was 23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 We didn't have driver's ed in our school. My mother and I took drivers training together. I was 16, got my license at 17. My dad did not have the time or patience to teach us. My mom still rarely drives, she can but doesn't like to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 I did the same thing backing the car up for my mom when I was about 14. I knocked down my aunt's chain link fence. It was pouring rain though and the ground was soft, so I fixed the fence (mostly) before I went back and told anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I took drivers ed at age 15 - got permit at 15.5....then did not need to drive, and so did not review skills with Dad and get license until just before community college at age 18. I mean, gas had gone UP to almost a DOLLAR by then - who could afford to let a teen drive!!!;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Me Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 My dad would take me out to parking lots and let me drive when I was about 13. He would make me practice parking, and turning smoothly. One day, when I was 14, he let me drive to my friends house to pick her up. She lived a few doors away from the lot we were practicing in, and I thought I was big stuff when we got to her house. I was just telling my dh yesterday that he needs to start taking our boy out driving. I think the practice was invaluable to me when I finally legally started driving. I was much less nervous than I would have been with no practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beansprouts Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I had never been behind the wheel before my first driver's ed class. Everyone else in the car had some driving experience. It was very embarrassing. DH has taught my 9 year old dd how to drive the lawnmower. I am not sure how I feel about this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaZ Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I learned to drive when I was 12. I had a car at 16. However, I didn't get my license until I was almost 18. My dad made me go get my license. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I lived in the country so I was taught very early to drive. I started mowing when I was 6. No kidding!!! This was a big kubota hunker of a tractor then when I was 9 dad taught me to drive his s-10 stick shift truck on the farm roads. :D I wouldn't teach my kids that young. We do not even let them mow either and the oldest is 13 years old. :D I think kids back then were more focused, paid attention more (we didn't have video games or instant entertainement). Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I was 15, but my oldest ds started driving at about 11 or so. He is 15 now and can back up a dually pickup and hook to a gooseneck trailer!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 And we survived -- 20 years so far! (And it was on a standard transmission. I can still recall the "don't ride the clutch" line (with as much patience as humanly possible for a then 26 yr old man) just as if it happened yesterday! lol!) That's so funny! Dh taught me before we were married and I'm not sure how we survived it. I remember one particularly heated argument where I insisted I could turn my head to look at the Christmas lights and he strongly felt that I'd better keep my eyes on the road. I disagreed;) It wasn't pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 drove the school bus when he was 16yo!! Probably about half of the passengers were his siblings and cousins, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janna Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I think I started learning to drive at 13, and had my permit at 14. My step-daughter on the other hand, had absolutely no desire to learn how to drive, even in college. She finally learned and got her license when she was 22. She's 24 now. I can't even imagine that. I wanted to drive soooooo badly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlotteb Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I got my permit when I turned 16, not too long after my birthday. But I didn't get my license until almost 4 years later! We didn't own a car when I was growing up- my mom had epilepsy and she couldn't drive. So I really didn't have anyone to teach me. I didn't start to learn until after I met dh and we got married. We got married when I was 18 and I finally got my license and almost 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in OK Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I started driving around the neighborhood with my dad at about 13. I got my license at 15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalom22 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I learned to drive in a hay field, driving a one dually (with manual transmission, you know 4 in the floor) pulling a gooseneck trailer. We hauled hay during the summer, so my dad had me drive the truck and trailer around the field while the menfolk loaded the hay on the trailer. I had to be very mindful and not run over the hay and had to drive down the rows so that the hay would go right alongside of the trailer so they could grab it with the hay hook. I was about 14 or 15 at the time. Funny::lol: I had a cousin who was much older than me that did not know how to drive, so one day out in the hay field her dad had a great idea of letting her younger (goofy) brother teach her how to drive. They had an old chevy pickup with 3 speed stick on the steering column. Her brother told her to let off of the clutch and press on the gas. Well, lets say she left a stretch of bare ground of about 6' before the truck died. When the truck came to a stop, her brother jumped out of the passanger side with his hands on his chest, gasping for breath, saying "Never again, I will NOT EVER teach HER how to drive!" Thankfully we were in the middle of a hay field, so she didn't hit anything. I could only imagine what could have happened if she had been on pavement. She would have done a burnout that would have been impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorna in the boonies Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I was 22. We lived overseas (Turkey) when I was in high school, and we didn't have a car. When I came back to the States for college, I lived in the dorm and hung out with other people who didn't have cars, either. The summer after I graduated, I went home to stay with my parents while I looked for a teaching job (they were back in the US by then). I enrolled in Driver's Ed at the local community college. My mother drove me to all my teaching interviews. (Pitiful, isn't it?) And then in August of that year, I got my license and bought my first car on the same day. The next day I moved out of my parents' house to a new town for my first teaching position. Three days later, I met my husband. Busy week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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