Remember these tips on your first day behind the wheel.
By Susan Quinn
Fasten your seat belts, everyone. Today's the day.
It's your first day behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle. Exciting, yes, but not the easiest thing you've ever done.
When I learned to drive it was a pitiful experience at first. My early attempts were a source of laughter to friends and family alike. Even the neighbors got into the act with jokes and anxious looks as I backed out of the driveway.
I'm not sure if it's possible to learn to drive a car without some of these experiences. But to help you get safely on the road to driving success, I have put together a few points that I hope will make your first days of driving at least a little more humorous than painful.
When you practice in an empty parking lot, make sure it is absolutely, completely empty.
When I drove for the first time, I used the parking lot at my high school. It had seemingly miles of open space with nothing for me to hit, smash, maim or mutilate. Ideal conditions.
Learning to drive a car can be exciting, challenging--and humorous!
What a thrill it was to drive for the first time! And I was doing well at it, too, until I decided to try going in reverse. What happened then defies all mathematical odds but is completely in line with Murphy's Law of Driving in Empty Parking Lots: If there is even one small object in an empty parking lot, you will find and hit it, and in the process put several dents in your car.
Our parking lot had small movable signposts for marking off no parking zones. When I shifted into reverse gear, I backed into the only signpost in the entire lot. It fell back. But I went so far over it that the concrete base got stuck under the car. When I stopped and pulled forward again, the sign came with me, crashing down onto the truck where it bounced several times, leaving several nice dents.
That brought my first driving lesson to a quick end.
Avoid driving with an overcautious parent.
Many parents get worried when teaching their teenagers to drive. Folks who under ordinary circumstances react in a fairly normal manner suddenly begin to do strange things.
You have surely seen your parents ride in cars before, sitting relaxed, perhaps talking or listening to the radio. But the first time you are the one operating the car, be prepared for a radical challenge.
A friend of mine described her normally calm father teaching her to drive. Heading down a deserted country road, during an otherwise quiet and uneventful drive, Dad suddenly yelled "WATCH OUT!!!" She slammed on the brakes immediately, nearly sending her father head first through the windshield.
"What's wrong?" she asked in surprise. Her father explained, "There's a little child right there! Didn't you see him? You might have hit him!"
She looked around in confusion. "I'm sorry, Dad, but I just don't see a child here."
Practicing driving with a parent can make both of you nervous wrecks. Remember to keep your cool because your parents are having nightmares like these.
"Well, he's right there on the porch of that farmhouse, plain as day," was the reply.
When she looked closer, she saw that indeed a child was on the porch of a house well back from the road. "Oh, you mean that little boy there, holding his mother's hand?"
She conceded that it was possible she might have hit the child, but only if she had run off the road about 50 feet (15 meters) and driven directly onto the porch.
Her father, who had nearly suffered whiplash, after some consideration saw the extreme unlikelihood of this event and let her drive on.
So beware. Even the most calm parents can become overcautious when their teenagers are driving. But give them time. They'll probably grow out of it.
Don't use other motorists as an example of how to drive.
A couple of weeks into my driving lessons, my mother thought it was time I learned how to put gasoline in the car, and in the process I could have the experience of driving through the gas station car wash.
Knowing my driving abilities better than my mother did, I was a bit apprehensive. But, with a great show of bravery, I went ahead and filled the car, spilling only a small amount on my shoes. That was the easy part.
I then drove toward the car wash, where several cars were waiting. My mother was confident. "This is going to be really easy," she said. "Just watch the people in front of you carefully, and do exactly what they do."
So I watched carefully, noting exactly how the driver in front of me positioned his car. Then the unbelievable happened. I watched as he completely missed the conveyor belt, his wheels going over the metal bars that were supposed to guide them directly into the car wash. The car ended up in a flower bed.
As if this wasn't enough, he had to back up and try again, this time heading in the opposite direction and going over a concrete island back toward the gas pumps. Finally the station attendant came out to help.
I looked at my mother. "Just do what the people in front of you do? Right." It was several weeks before I ventured near a car wash again.
Keep this in mind next time you try to use the example of other drivers. There are some strange people out there.
Don't practice in a truck with an open tailgate while your brother is sitting in the back.
Most of you will never be in this exact situation, but I'll relate the story so you'll know to avoid it.
A friend told me about his sister's driving practice sessions. They lived in a neighborhood where there was a communal garbage dump everyone had to take his or her trash to. My friend's sister used these "garbage runs" as a time to practice her newly acquired driving skills. As her brother sat in the back of the truck near the open tailgate, making sure the garbage stayed inside, she would drive through the neighborhood, heedless of bumps and potholes.
One day as she sped over a particularly large bump, her brother lost his grip and flew out the back of the truck, landing in the middle of the road.
When his sister arrived at the dump site, she called to him to unload the trash. She went around to the back only to find that the garbage was there and her brother was not.
"I knew it! It's just like him to skip out at the last minute and leave me to unload the trash by myself." She emptied the trash bags, annoyed at her brother and plotting revenge.
Halfway home she realized her mistake when she saw him limping beside the road. When she stopped, he carefully got in the front seat and securely fastened his seat belt, glaring angrily the whole time.
So unless you feel like injuring your little brother (which I realize may be a tempting idea at times), avoid this mistake.
Seriously, though, driving is a lot of fun, but a real responsibility too. Enjoy yourself, but don't get carried away. If you are able to avoid the things I have mentioned here, maybe your first driving experiences will turn out a little better than mine. I sure hope so.
If not, at least you'll have plenty of funny stories to tell your kids. (Just remember to go easy on them when it's your turn to teach!)
Taken from Youth 90 magazine
When I learned to drive it was a pitiful experience at first. My early attempts were a source of laughter to friends and family alike. Even the neighbors got into the act with jokes and anxious looks as I backed out of the driveway.
I'm not sure if it's possible to learn to drive a car without some of these experiences. But to help you get safely on the road to driving success, I have put together a few points that I hope will make your first days of driving at least a little more humorous than painful.
When you practice in an empty parking lot, make sure it is absolutely, completely empty.
When I drove for the first time, I used the parking lot at my high school. It had seemingly miles of open space with nothing for me to hit, smash, maim or mutilate. Ideal conditions.
Learning to drive a car can be exciting, challenging--and humorous!
What a thrill it was to drive for the first time! And I was doing well at it, too, until I decided to try going in reverse. What happened then defies all mathematical odds but is completely in line with Murphy's Law of Driving in Empty Parking Lots: If there is even one small object in an empty parking lot, you will find and hit it, and in the process put several dents in your car.
Our parking lot had small movable signposts for marking off no parking zones. When I shifted into reverse gear, I backed into the only signpost in the entire lot. It fell back. But I went so far over it that the concrete base got stuck under the car. When I stopped and pulled forward again, the sign came with me, crashing down onto the truck where it bounced several times, leaving several nice dents.
That brought my first driving lesson to a quick end.
Avoid driving with an overcautious parent.
Many parents get worried when teaching their teenagers to drive. Folks who under ordinary circumstances react in a fairly normal manner suddenly begin to do strange things.
You have surely seen your parents ride in cars before, sitting relaxed, perhaps talking or listening to the radio. But the first time you are the one operating the car, be prepared for a radical challenge.
A friend of mine described her normally calm father teaching her to drive. Heading down a deserted country road, during an otherwise quiet and uneventful drive, Dad suddenly yelled "WATCH OUT!!!" She slammed on the brakes immediately, nearly sending her father head first through the windshield.
"What's wrong?" she asked in surprise. Her father explained, "There's a little child right there! Didn't you see him? You might have hit him!"
She looked around in confusion. "I'm sorry, Dad, but I just don't see a child here."
Practicing driving with a parent can make both of you nervous wrecks. Remember to keep your cool because your parents are having nightmares like these.
"Well, he's right there on the porch of that farmhouse, plain as day," was the reply.
When she looked closer, she saw that indeed a child was on the porch of a house well back from the road. "Oh, you mean that little boy there, holding his mother's hand?"
She conceded that it was possible she might have hit the child, but only if she had run off the road about 50 feet (15 meters) and driven directly onto the porch.
Her father, who had nearly suffered whiplash, after some consideration saw the extreme unlikelihood of this event and let her drive on.
So beware. Even the most calm parents can become overcautious when their teenagers are driving. But give them time. They'll probably grow out of it.
Don't use other motorists as an example of how to drive.
A couple of weeks into my driving lessons, my mother thought it was time I learned how to put gasoline in the car, and in the process I could have the experience of driving through the gas station car wash.
Knowing my driving abilities better than my mother did, I was a bit apprehensive. But, with a great show of bravery, I went ahead and filled the car, spilling only a small amount on my shoes. That was the easy part.
I then drove toward the car wash, where several cars were waiting. My mother was confident. "This is going to be really easy," she said. "Just watch the people in front of you carefully, and do exactly what they do."
So I watched carefully, noting exactly how the driver in front of me positioned his car. Then the unbelievable happened. I watched as he completely missed the conveyor belt, his wheels going over the metal bars that were supposed to guide them directly into the car wash. The car ended up in a flower bed.
As if this wasn't enough, he had to back up and try again, this time heading in the opposite direction and going over a concrete island back toward the gas pumps. Finally the station attendant came out to help.
I looked at my mother. "Just do what the people in front of you do? Right." It was several weeks before I ventured near a car wash again.
Keep this in mind next time you try to use the example of other drivers. There are some strange people out there.
Don't practice in a truck with an open tailgate while your brother is sitting in the back.
Most of you will never be in this exact situation, but I'll relate the story so you'll know to avoid it.
A friend told me about his sister's driving practice sessions. They lived in a neighborhood where there was a communal garbage dump everyone had to take his or her trash to. My friend's sister used these "garbage runs" as a time to practice her newly acquired driving skills. As her brother sat in the back of the truck near the open tailgate, making sure the garbage stayed inside, she would drive through the neighborhood, heedless of bumps and potholes.
One day as she sped over a particularly large bump, her brother lost his grip and flew out the back of the truck, landing in the middle of the road.
When his sister arrived at the dump site, she called to him to unload the trash. She went around to the back only to find that the garbage was there and her brother was not.
"I knew it! It's just like him to skip out at the last minute and leave me to unload the trash by myself." She emptied the trash bags, annoyed at her brother and plotting revenge.
Halfway home she realized her mistake when she saw him limping beside the road. When she stopped, he carefully got in the front seat and securely fastened his seat belt, glaring angrily the whole time.
So unless you feel like injuring your little brother (which I realize may be a tempting idea at times), avoid this mistake.
Seriously, though, driving is a lot of fun, but a real responsibility too. Enjoy yourself, but don't get carried away. If you are able to avoid the things I have mentioned here, maybe your first driving experiences will turn out a little better than mine. I sure hope so.
If not, at least you'll have plenty of funny stories to tell your kids. (Just remember to go easy on them when it's your turn to teach!)
Taken from Youth 90 magazine
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