So i drove a car for the first time, what was yours like?

[dmr727]

I used to sit on my Dad's lap and work the steering wheel when I was very little, but the first time I actually drove was out on an old country road in Ohio. I was probably 11 or 12 at the time, and it was my grandma's 1986 Mazda 626, like this one:

There was nothing for me to crash into out there - even if I went off the road I'd just drive into an empty corn field. So my Dad decided to let me give it a try. I remember it being pretty awesome.

 

[justinhasnohops]

Thats how it starts, on the lap of your parents.

 

[brax.j]

My first time driving was December 2000 coming home from the DMV after getting my permit when I was fifteen. I was driving my dad's brand new 2000 Mercedes Benz E55 I wasn't very nervous and I thought I was the coolest kid in the world. That night I decided to sneak out and show off my driving skills in the Merc.

At one in the morning I was driving on a back road taking my girlfriend home and a deer ran out in front of me. I swerved to missed the deer (I still hit it) and ended up in a ditch. My dad wasn't to mad but my mom looked like she was going to kill me.

I ended up not being able to drive for six months and I had to pay $2600 to get the car fixed. My girlfriend got in really big trouble and wasn't supposed to talk to me anymore I still ended up getting my license at 16 because my dad was chill about the whole thing and said I had to learn from my mistakes on my own not by his punishment.

 

[ErikCLDR]

The first car I ever drove was a 1999 Mercedes E300 Turbo Diesel. I was 11 and was so excited. It was just up and down my street but I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

The first car I drove legally was my dads 2003 Land Rover Discovery to home depot to get something for our house. It was fun but also scary since I was actually having to drive 50mph and I was bad at maintaining a constant speed.

 

[creator2456]

The first time for me was eventful. I was maybe 5 or so and snuck into the drivers seat of my dads VW Golf (or something like that). I managed to get the parking brake off and down the driveway I went...right into the open garage and part way through the back wall.

As for really learning to drive, it was in a Honda '04 CR-V and a mid-90's Lincoln Towncar. Neither of them were difficult nor intimidating.

 

[erickkoch]

I was 10 so I don't remember the make, it was some kind of "muscle car" as I recall. The older brother of my best friend sat us on his lap and let us drive in a parking lot. I was too short to reach the pedals anyway, I just steered.

As for actually driving (pedals and all) it was a 1973 Ford Pinto (the kind that explode when hit from behind). The experience was uneventful and I survived.

 

[Consultant]

Had plenty of driving experience on games.

First time driving was as expected. Actually drove before I had any "lessons".

 

[Reventon]

I remember when I was little my dad would let me sit on his lap and let me drive around the neighbourhood. Going forward to the first time I actually drove myself, the experience was nerve racking, oth for me and my parents who taught my to drive. The first car I learned to drive on was my mother's 1984 Plymouth Reliant, like this one:

I think I was about 14 or 15 at the time. With a 2.2 litre engine producing a mighty 82 hp, we really didn't have to worry about me speeding. Looking back, it probably wasn't the best car to learn to drive on. The brakes were terrible and the handling was even worse and with those vinyl bench seats, there was alot of sliding around as I tended to turn sharply alot. I also didn't realize how sensitive the brake and accelerator pedals were, or that the wheel turns automatically back into position.

I also tended to use both feet for the brake and accelerator which sometimes led me to mix the two pedals (accelerator instead of brake and vice-versa). I had been pretty lucky though, in not hitting anything during my driving lessons other than the occasional curb and haven't hit anything major since. Hopefully.. it stays that way *knocks on wood*

 

[0098386]

If sitting on my dads lap whilst he was driving then yea, probably around 7-10 or so. Used to steer around empty carparks for fun.
Heh. Kind of daft that I was literally behind the wheel quite young but I'm 23 and still not bothered with driving lessons.

 

[Str8edgepunker]

I remember my first driving experience. My dad took me to a big open parking lot for me to practice. I think I was in an automatic GMC Jimmy. I was scared as all get out and my dad had to keep telling me to press the accelerator pedal. And then I was doing left foot braking, which made for some abrupt stops. Didn't stop me though.

 

[Melrose]

First time I drove (outside of the driveway sort of thing that every teenager does at some point) was on the way back from the hospital after mum broke her wrist. 10, 20, 30MPH! OMG! I was white-knuckled all the way home. I never thought I'd get used it or, for that matter, enjoy it..

'89 Grand Caravan (in Black Cherry colour). That thing was also like a sheet of plywood when the wind picked up.

 

[todd2000]

Wow I guess Im the only one who didn't drive at all until it was legal? Anyway my first time was after I got my permit, my Mom took me to my school parking lot. I was a little nervous, but excited. It was a 1995 Dodge Neon. So she parked the car and we switched seats. I checked the mirrors etc..., and then let my foot off the brake, and immediately slammed the brake back down. Nobody bothered to tell me the the car would move WITHOUT pressing the accelerator. Kinda scared me So driving in the parking lot went well, and we went to the road, where I proceeded to drive in the wrong lane, and almost hit a Mailbox on another occasion. That was 11 years ago, and I admit I have had 3 accidents since then that were my fault, but I still think I'm a good driver, I just made some stupid mistakes with the accidents.

 

[robbieduncan]

and then let my foot off the brake, and immediately slammed the brake back down. Nobody bothered to tell me the the car would move WITHOUT pressing the accelerator.

A manual car wouldn't.

 

[todd2000]

A manual car wouldn't.

Yeah well Im American I like my Automatic Though I did drive a manual for the first time a few months ago. Just around a parking lot, but I think I could drive one a short distance if the need arose.

 

[robbieduncan]

Yeah well Im American I like my Automatic Though I did drive a manual for the first time a few months ago. Just around a parking lot, but I think I could drive one a short distance if the need arose.

See that frightens me: you passed your test having never driven a manual transmission which is orders of magnitude more difficult than driving a manual but have a license to driver either? I prefer our approach: pass in a manual and you get a license for either, pass in an automatic and you only get a license for automatics.

 

[Erwin-Br]

First time was with my dad on an empty parking lot. A year later I started following my first lessons.

After having had 3 or 4 lessons I got over-enthusiastic and offered my nephew to park his car. It was a brand new BMW, and you can guess what happened. I still cringe when I think about it. It was so stupid of me. I never forget the look on his face.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

My first time was in the spring of 1995, the car was a barely driven 1994 Camaro Z28. I was 14 and had just met the owner of the car the day before through a school friend. We went up to the grocery store and half-way there he stopped and had me drive the rest of the way. I did fine on my way up there and parked in the parking lot just fine. While shopping my new friend said I was a natural. He then had me drive back home, it went really well.

I was doing so well that he had me park it in the garage, and so I did. I put it in park and for some stupid reason hit the throttle. The next thing I knew I was hearing tire squealing and we were flying backwards out of the garage. It wasn't in park! I slammed on the brakes but the damage was done. The driver side mirror was now laying on the ground and I was clenching the steering wheel saying, "Oh &#!^, Oh &#!^"

My new friend calmly put the car in park and told me to get out. He nonchalantly tossed the mirror into the back seat and parked the car in the garage. He told me to follow him then he went to the kitchen, fixed a drink then went to the basement and started a fire. He told me to have a seat. I was petrified. He took a few drinks then looked at me, shrugged, chuckled a little then said, "After its fixed you are gonna drive it back home from the dealer"

That guy is one of my best friends to this day.

-------------

My first time behind the wheel of a big truck wasn't a big deal because we were in the school's yard. The first time on public roads was downright frightening. Cars cutting me off, honking at me and flipping me off. By the time my two hours were up I was visibly shaking.

The same things still happen almost 10 years later, I'm just better at dealing with it

 

[OutThere]

On the subject of driving...

Booo. That was today.

 

[andreab35]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7C97d Safari/528.16)

For me, my Dad stuck me in our '98 Chrysler Town & Country the first time. I almost crashed into someone at 6:30 in the morning. My father yelled at me, and I was terrified to drive.
When I started driver's ed, I wanted to stick to a parking lot. He made me go out on the road. I was so terrified I was shaking!
But I'm a good driver now. I cannot drive large vehicles for the life of me. We also have a brand new Dodge Durango, and that thing is a beast! Plus it has extremely poor visibility!
But for my first car, Dad picked me up a '99 BMW 528i. It's a charm that's in mint condition!
Good luck with your future driving!

 

[ErikCLDR]

See that frightens me: you passed your test having never driven a manual transmission which is orders of magnitude more difficult than driving a manual but have a license to driver either? I prefer our approach: pass in a manual and you get a license for either, pass in an automatic and you only get a license for automatics.

There are hardly any manuals in America. You only find them in sports cars, giant trucks (like dump trucks and tractor trailers), and in a small number cars. Even if a car has the option of a manual the majority of them are automatics. My family has 5 cars and not one of them is manual. I've driven a manual once and probably won't have the need to do so ever unless I buy one.

 

[Melrose]

On the subject of driving...

[ticket]

Booo. That was today.

What state is that where they give you amount right up front? In NY they make you mail something in, appear in court, blah blah. You can't go "okay, I got ticket; my fault; tell me how to much to pay."

 

[yg17]

See that frightens me: you passed your test having never driven a manual transmission which is orders of magnitude more difficult than driving a manual but have a license to driver either? I prefer our approach: pass in a manual and you get a license for either, pass in an automatic and you only get a license for automatics.

I had to teach myself manual on the way home from the dealership as my GTI was my first manual car and I had never driven one before because I knew no one who drove a manual and could teach me, so I didn't have much of a choice. The salesman helped me out a bit which helped, but I took the long way home, which was almost all highway, so I got into 6th and was good most of the way home, and only ended up stalling a couple times, then I drove around the neighborhood and began to get the hang of it.

Now I'm good, but to be honest, if I had to take my driving test again for whatever reason, I would borrow someone's automatic for it, just so it's one less thing I'd have to worry about. The testers at my local DMV are known for being hard asses and would probably dock you a few points for the slightest jerk or if you didn't immediately put your hand back on the wheel after shifting, or if you let it rev up past 2k RPM before shifting, or some other stupid thing like that.

What state is that where they give you amount right up front? In NY they make you mail something in, appear in court, blah blah. You can't go "okay, I got ticket; my fault; tell me how to much to pay."

The two cities in MO I've gotten tickets in, they give you a list with the ticket that says how much the fine is for X MPH over the limit along with fines for other offenses, which is always interesting. My ticket for doing 15 over on a completely empty highway on a Saturday morning was more expensive than not having your young child in a car seat or driving at night without headlights on, and I would argue that what I was doing was a lot less dangerous than either of those two things

 

[Ntombi]

See that frightens me: you passed your test having never driven a manual transmission which is orders of magnitude more difficult than driving a manual but have a license to driver either? I prefer our approach: pass in a manual and you get a license for either, pass in an automatic and you only get a license for automatics.

I like your way too, but my parents took care of that: they wouldn't let me get my license until I could competently drive both, plus change a tire and check and fill the fluids. I was slightly annoyed at the time, having to jump through more hoops than my friends, but being able to drive manual has saved my bacon a few times.

And let's not mention the changing of the tire while my (ex-)boyfriend just stood there like a lump.

Wow I guess Im the only one who didn't drive at all until it was legal?

Nope, I didn't either.

 

[OutThere]

What state is that where they give you amount right up front? In NY they make you mail something in, appear in court, blah blah. You can't go "okay, I got ticket; my fault; tell me how to much to pay."

Connecticut. The rules vary quite a bit state to state. I still have the option of going to court over the ticket if I choose to plead not guilty, however if I'm found guilty in court they tack on an extra $50 of fees. More than half of the ticket is fees anyhow, I'm making a $5 donation to traumatic brain injury prevention and $8 to police training, among other things.

 

[nat123]

my first time driving

my 1st time was REALLY scary and i was at school when i drove(drivers ed class) and the teacher was shocked to ear i never drove before soo he took it easy on me. but, ya it was alot fun and i was soo happy to have control of a car. i love driving now and in 4 months i get my license and a car wich is awesome!