Comments on: License to Drive

By: jennifer

jennifer — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:44:49 +0000

Hollis did that? Pretty outrageous!!! When the cat’s away, indeed. I hope she had at least had a little bit of practice before undertaking this stunt.

By: penrise

penrise — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 01:17:47 +0000

don’t think I told you that a certain Goddaughter of yours decided to drive to the pool for work 3 weeks ago as we were away driving her brother to college. Age 15. No permit. No license. what was she thinking? who knows… but every neighbor was on the phone to us that the car was missing, had we loaned it to anyone…? within the half hour!
(yes, she’s still grounded!)

By: kevinlar61

kevinlar61 — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:10:34 +0000

I actually learned to drive in rush hour traffic in Manhattan. My instructor would pick me up at 8 and we’d take an hour to get me to work two miles away. Come to think of it, that’s when I learned to curse, too.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:31:07 +0000

I remember the bloody driver’s ed films, of course, usually featuring Ohio State Troopers which only served to make us want to stay the hell out of Ohio. Those people can’t drive worth a damn, we concluded. The steep and curvy drive down Hog Hollow Road to the Missouri River bottoms was our final driving right of passage. Can’t imagine you girls putting up with all of that PLUS the harassment!

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:16:14 +0000

My driver’s ed. teacher was lecherous, too. So that’s three…anyone else?

By: jennifer

jennifer — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:17:29 +0000

So true. During our practice drives with first Ian, now Hugh, I try to extract promises never to text while driving. Good idea on keeping the cell in the glove compartment, since God knows we are not keeping any gloves in there.

By: chris r

chris r — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:15:20 +0000

And I’m telling Hugh to use his brakes BEFORE he gets to the curve, then to ease off as he starts to actually turn the wheel. This is especially important in slippery conditions. Trail braking: it’s not just for racing any more.(Oh yeah, and also to put the phone in the console as Linda suggested.)

By: lindacopy

lindacopy — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:03:56 +0000

The major difference these days? Cell phones and other electronic distractions in the car. Even we experienced drivers are fooling ourselves to think we can stay focused and text/talk/etc. while at the wheel. But new drivers shouldn’t even have a cell phone turned on. Maybe keep it in the glove compartment for emergencies?

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:51:21 +0000

Learning to drive with a stick shift IN THE CITY just adds complexity to the whole fraught experience! What a great description of your father’s reaction. We are on the verge of getting a new car – Chris wanted a manual transmission but he has caved on that – too much stress for Hugh at this point.

By: MomKat

MomKat — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:44:57 +0000

My father always sat white-knuckled while I maneuvered his new stick shift Chevy with sweeping rear fins through the narrow streets of Philadelphia. Those sweeping fins soon wrinkled when I backed into the sycamore tree in front of the house in a vain attempt to parallel park as he gently laid his head on the dashboard and silently pointed at me to get out of the car. It was not my best performance.