Author Topic: Small talk: Driving (Read 1768 times)

AllThatJazzZ · « **on:** July 28, 2021, 11:00:07 pm »

How old were you when you learned to drive? How did you learn? Where did you learn? How old were you when you got your driver's license? When were you allowed to take the car out without parental supervision?

roamer_1 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 28, 2021, 11:14:24 pm »

Quote from: AllThatJazzZ on July 28, 2021, 11:00:07 pm

How old were you when you learned to drive? How did you learn? Where did you learn? How old were you when you got your driver's license? When were you allowed to take the car out without parental supervision?

Drive... what? I was driving tractors and hay trucks as soon as I could reach the pedals.
Got my license at 14 1/2 yrs old, and owned my own car (a 63 chevy pickup) before I was licensed. So as soon as I could legally drive the county road, I went where I wanted... So long as I had the fun tickets to put in the tank. I had my first trapline afield the winter I was 15 (down in the Swan range, 50 miles away or so), and I drove my first grain truck to the grain elevators that same summer. Didn't get to drive big trucks (anything with air brakes) for a couple more years... And even then was illegal because I was not old enough for a CDL, but I rode shotgun on 18 wheelers about then and drove water trucks up on the forest fires, and dump trucks off the pavement...

Driving something goes all the way back as far as I remember. It's just part of life in the country.

sneakypete · « **Reply #2 on:** July 28, 2021, 11:20:08 pm »

Started driving when I was about 12. The state road ended not far from me,and I didn't even have to get on the state road because there were sand dunes behind my house,and I could use them to get to the beach.

PeteS in CA · « **Reply #3 on:** July 28, 2021, 11:58:49 pm »

I think I was driving my Dad's Ford tractor on county roads when I was age 8 or 9. I never got to drive the flywheel John Deere, but I think I did operate his Cat D4 some.

As for cars, I did Driver Training in high school - a few weeks instead of PE - soon after I turned 15 1/2. My parents had to urge me to practice driving. I was 16 when I got my license and my first car (I used it to drive to my summer job between my junior and senior years). I was still 17 when I moved, driving my car and my parents in theirs, from Central California to Phoenix, AZ.

My parents car at that time was a 1969 Dodge Polara, which had a trunk that could sleep 3. My first car was a 1967 Plymouth Valiant (225 cu. in. slant 6).

jmyrlefuller · « **Reply #4 on:** July 29, 2021, 01:05:13 am »

I didn't get my driver's license until I was almost 30. It was a combination of a bunch of little issues: my parents seldom had cars growing up, I didn't get my learner's permit until age 21 (and only then so I could buy a beer if I wanted to, though I didn't drink at the time and still only drink minimal alcohol), and for some odd reason—I think it was related to my mental issues—I simply could not pass that road test. Three failed tests, two of whom humiliated me so badly that it made me literally cry, I was so bad. Eventually the fourth time, I barely passed. The instructor turned out to be the guy who had flunked me the second time, but he was more understanding than the other two.

I'm still not a great driver, though my record is clean.

Elderberry · « **Reply #5 on:** July 29, 2021, 02:14:33 am »

When I turned 14 they changed the age to get a license to 16. Damn. I took Driver's Ed at school. My instructor was one of the coaches. For our driving instruction, we drove him to other schools, so he could talk with other coaches. If he took too long and we were late coming back, he just had us run all the red lights. When I took my test, I just skipped Parallel Parking. Passed without it. I got my grandmother's 60 Chevy Biscayne(283) at 17. She hadn't driven it herself for years.

libertybele · « **Reply #6 on:** July 29, 2021, 02:17:12 am »

I took drivers training in high school which was craziness (a whole story in itself). My Dad finally took me to get my licence when I was 18. I wanted a car so he told me I had to get a job to save money and pay insurance. I got a job and walked to work. When I had money to pay for insurance he lent me money to buy a car. I saved and saved and that Christmas I paid him back every penny. He cried and couldn't believe I paid him back. It wasn't a lot that I had borrowed but I was making a whopping $1.75 hr. and I had made him a promise to pay him back. He taught me well.

Smokin Joe · « **Reply #7 on:** July 29, 2021, 02:25:29 am »

Drove tractors and vehicles on the farm as soon as I could reach the pedals. Also had my first boat when I was 5, two more after that, but that's another story. Didn't get my license until I was 17, but managed to get around on the water pretty well. Motorcycle license some years later. Passed the auto tests first try, parallel parked in 15 sec., took the motorcycle test on a 74 cu in. (1200cc) Harley. Never got the license for the bigger trucks (air brakes, Class A), although I would not mind having one.

Gefn · « **Reply #8 on:** July 29, 2021, 12:36:40 pm »

16 1/2 for driver’s license.

Couldn’t use the car without parent’s permission until my Sophomore year in college. At that point I moved out Of the dorms and became a commuter.

Cyber Liberty · « **Reply #9 on:** July 29, 2021, 05:52:47 pm »

I was living in Michigan at the time, in a farming community. A Driver's License was vital, and a "Rite of Passage." The age for a License was 16, and you could get a Learner's Permit after taking drivers ed at 15.

I got my real License on my 16th birthday, like almost everybody else. It came with a one-year probationary period, where one ticket would result in a license suspension.

Before that, I'd been driving a lawn tractor for several years.

Elderberry · « **Reply #10 on:** July 29, 2021, 06:03:31 pm »

I got a speeding ticket during my probationary period and had to go to Teen Court. All the kids before me had a lawyer and had reasons why they shouldn't loose their license. Every one of them lost their license for several months. Then it was my turn with no lawyer. I was asked if I had received any more tickets and I admitted I had gotten Another Speeding Ticket. When asked if there was any reason I shouldn't loose my license, I just said "No your Honor". I lost my license for a much shorter period than those lawyer-ed up fools.

Bigun · « **Reply #11 on:** July 29, 2021, 06:09:26 pm »

Quote from: roamer_1 on July 28, 2021, 11:14:24 pm

Drive... what? I was driving tractors and hay trucks as soon as I could reach the pedals.
Got my license at 14 1/2 yrs old, and owned my own car (a 63 chevy pickup) before I was licensed. So as soon as I could legally drive the county road, I went where I wanted... So long as I had the fun tickets to put in the tank. I had my first trapline afield the winter I was 15 (down in the Swan range, 50 miles away or so), and I drove my first grain truck to the grain elevators that same summer. Didn't get to drive big trucks (anything with air brakes) for a couple more years... And even then was illegal because I was not old enough for a CDL, but I rode shotgun on 18 wheelers about then and drove water trucks up on the forest fires, and dump trucks off the pavement...

Driving something goes all the way back as far as I remember. It's just part of life in the country.

Pretty much the same for me. I think I had to wait until I was 16 to actually get a DL but it didn't matter much around here in those days whether or not you had one. In HS I could fill the car up with gas, buy some burgers fries and drinks, and pay our way into the drive in movie for around $5.00. Not necessarily in that order.

I've still never taken a drivers ed class.

Elderberry · « **Reply #12 on:** July 29, 2021, 06:23:02 pm »

5 Bucks?

We'd go to the Friday Nite 1 Dollar a Carload at the Telephone Rd Drive-in.

Bigun · « **Reply #13 on:** July 29, 2021, 06:31:32 pm »

Quote from: Elderberry on July 29, 2021, 06:23:02 pm

5 Bucks?

We'd go to the Friday Nite 1 Dollar a Carload at the Telephone Rd Drive-in.

$5.00 covered the entire evening @Elderberry including filling the car up with gas for all the cruising.

Restored · « **Reply #14 on:** July 29, 2021, 06:56:20 pm »

Learners at 15, license at 16.

Elderberry · « **Reply #15 on:** July 29, 2021, 07:10:24 pm »

One morning driving to school, I was way below empty and really didn't think I'd make it to school and back. I had no money. I pulled into a gas station and dug all thru the floor boards and found a dime. That ten cents of gas got me to school and back home.

Weird Tolkienish Figure · « **Reply #16 on:** July 29, 2021, 07:11:20 pm »

Learned on a 1981 Volvo in 1992-3? Got my license at 16.

Kamaji · « **Reply #17 on:** July 29, 2021, 07:15:26 pm »

Started learning when I was 13 or 14 - driving my grandmother's gigantic Lincoln Mark IV around her Florida retirement community - actually a pretty good place to learn as the roads were wide and smooth, and there was almost no other traffic around.

roamer_1 · « **Reply #18 on:** July 29, 2021, 07:52:05 pm »

Well... there's driving, and then there's DRIVING!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BNwA4WfXHQ

roamer_1 · « **Reply #19 on:** July 29, 2021, 08:03:14 pm »

Quote from: Bigun on July 29, 2021, 06:09:26 pm

Pretty much the same for me. I think I had to wait until I was 16 to actually get a DL but it didn't matter much around here in those days whether or not you had one. In HS I could fill the car up with gas, buy some burgers fries and drinks, and pay our way into the drive in movie for around $5.00. Not necessarily in that order.

I've still never taken a drivers ed class.

That's pretty much right... Nobody got very uptight once you were off the county roads, which pretty much means pavement around here - there's plenty of county gravel, but it meant pavement. Like I said, I drove dump trucks and water trucks off road with no CDL... Heck, I would wonder if some of them trucks were even legal - MANY things ran around with no plates back in the day - If you weren't on pavement, it wouldn't matter.

But I will say I am a touch younger than you... So my weekend was cheap at $20-25... Not counting the judge on Monday morning, which was not rare, and providing I stayed out of the honkytonks and stuck to keggers and bonfires...

Weird Tolkienish Figure · « **Reply #20 on:** July 29, 2021, 08:39:13 pm »

My first car actually had a choke. :D

I'm sure that's nothing to you old timers.

Cyber Liberty · « **Reply #21 on:** July 30, 2021, 12:53:11 am »

Quote from: Weird Tolkienish Figure on July 29, 2021, 08:39:13 pm

My first car actually had a choke. :D

I'm sure that's nothing to you old timers.

Low/High Beam switch on the floor, near where the starter foot button was. No, I never had a crank start car.

Smokin Joe · « **Reply #22 on:** July 30, 2021, 01:08:45 am »

Quote from: Cyber Liberty on July 30, 2021, 12:53:11 am

Low/High Beam switch on the floor, near where the starter foot button was. No, I never had a crank start car.

I have one pickup with the optional electric starter (6 volt)--and the crank is kept behind the seat.

Elderberry · « **Reply #23 on:** July 30, 2021, 01:08:58 am »

My 56 Chevy truck still has the foot stomper starter. I was going to upgrade it, but it works fine, so I left it as is.

Elderberry · « **Reply #24 on:** August 02, 2021, 12:15:51 am »

Back around 89 to 92 my daily driver was my 53 Willys Jeep. No turn signal lights. Only headlights and one stop light. Who had to use hand turn signals? I got a kick out of driving my jeep and ending up next to troops in their Humvees driving over to Barbours Cut, to ship out during Desert Storm.