Words of Wisdom

Youth is wasted on the young.

Sunday 15 May 2011

First Lesson

Well, she has been driving with her dad, on his friend's farm, since she was 11 so I thought this driving stuff was all going to be straight forward. I thought traffic sense and road confidence and experience would be my brief as I waded into the 'driving lesson' thing.
Wrong.
She has mostly been driving an automatic.

Yesterday we spent half an hour at the netball field carpark (after a sound win I might add...so she was in good spirits) just driving round the lanes, doing right and left hand turns and learning how to change up and down from first to second and back. You forget how instinctive it becomes when you have been driving for thirty years.

She did ok for a first lesson. Steering, or rather over-steering is a common beginner's trait and the whole alternate foot action of accelerator and clutch are like learning to waltz I guess. Or not. Anyway, 'flipper foot', as we call it, was proving somewhat challenging yesterday and the engine on my little Corolla was getting a good revving out from time to time.

The main thing was, we ended up still speaking and we did not connect with any solid objects; and I am laying bets on who makes the the first comment which mentions my proclivity for doing just that!

My own driving instruction was a staggered, if not staggering, event.
I got my Learner's Permit at 16 just like the BA and my Dad and I duly did the whole father/daughter learn to drive ritual which ended, predictably, in dark brows and no one speaking to each other. He then handed the job over to Kindergarten Friend who taught me well but gave up on teaching me to parallel park (or maybe I gave up, I can't remember). Parallel parking also resulted in the infamous adventure with my mum's floorsweeper. One day I used it as a marker pole to practise my parallel parking. I ran over it. So I put it back in the cupboard.

Eventually dad forked out $$$ for 6 professional lessons and at 19 I finally became a fully fledged driver. And went through a red light on the way home from the test.

Let's hope the BA has more innate talent than I do.

6 comments:

LindaSalem said...

I was happy to read your post about the driving lesson. My granddaughter just moved in with us and she just got her learner's permit which isn't going to mean much if she doesn't learn to drive.

My dad gave me some lessons too and I had driver's education in high school which included actual driving. I got my license in 1962 and my son got his in 1986 so things have changed a bit since then. Now they give book stuff in school but not driving lessons. The local community college gives them for about $360 which is beyond our means.

We're hoping to bribe her uncle into teaching her to drive - lol. Keep is posted on how your continuing lessons go. It may give us some ideas or at least commiseration.

Susiej said...

OK.. this is coming up for us! I learned so much from this!

Arizaphale said...

Yes Linda, the whole paying for lessons thing is a little rich for my blood at the moment. I figure we'll gte her hours up and then turn her over to an instructor for a few lessons before the test. As it is, she can't get her full licence until she is 17 and has completed 100 hours of driving. Good luck with your granddaughter!
Susie: leave it to his dad! :-D

Stacy said...

Good for you two that you are still speaking after that first lesson!

We had driver's ed in school when I was growing up, but I'm sure those are getting cut out of the education ciriculum nowadays.

Jill said...

Oh my gosh this driving thing has been a big battle here. My Sweet Pea got her permit at age 15, but wanted nothing to do with driving whatsoever. She hates it. I try and force her to drive a few blocks at least two mornings a week, and she's stopped the constant complaining. But she still wouldn't do it willingly.

Good luck!!!!!!!! My high school boyfriend taught me to drive when I was 16, because it was too stressful to drive with my parents.

Jill said...

Oh and I see I left almost the exact same comment on a previous driving post! Oh well...what can I say? The battle continues.