How old were you when you started learning to drive? Most people I have known get their license at 16 or 17, although I'm sure others wait longer.

What was your beginners experience like?

What was the first car you ever owned?

For me, I think I was 15 (back in 88) when my brother gave me the keys to his VW Rabbit to take a spin. Big mistake! I learned to jump the car MANY times! He didn't make that mistake again.

Didn't try again at until I was 17. My parents started giving me lessons using their Isuzu pickup. The clutch was a bitch to use. Soon after I bought my first car, a 77 Dodge Colt, basically it was a P.O.S., but I learned to drive using that car.

Got my license on the first try. That was in 90.

Learning to drive wasn't so bad, at least my parents were patient and didn't mind me constantly jumping the car because I hadn't mastered the clutch yet. I was afraid I would spend months learning to drive, but it only took 1 or 2 months.

I was 13 (1981) when I first started learning to drive. My dad would take me on backroads and let me drive in this Impala he used to have. We lived in California at the time.

I got my permit in Hawaii and my liscence at 16 (1984) in Colorado.

The first car I ever owned was a 1984 Camaro, it was bitchin' because it was mine! :thumb:

At 15 I got my learner's permit, and then my license at 16.
But. my dad would let me drive when I was like 14!

The first car I bought was a 1974 Toyota Celica!!
That car was so cute! It was silver. I had that car until 1986.
That thing nickel and dimed me to death!
Then I bought an '83 Monte Carlo...

I began my driving lessons fairly early. My dad used to let me drive around the range of his horse farm in Kentucky to help him take care of the horses and other animals. I got my learner's permit soon after my 16th birthday and my license quickly after that.:)

I learned how to drive a little over 2 years ago. First car I ever drove was a 1997 Chrysler Intrepid ES (Dodge Intrepid for you Americans). Also drove my parent's 1999 Civic LX sedan a lot for practice too.
Since day one, I've been very lead-footed, so during driver's ed, I was constantly told to slow down. :lol:
In the Civic, I was on the highway, and had to turn onto another road. I was going 80+ km/h, and didn't slow down enough to take the turn (was still going at least 60). :goofy: At least I kept it out of the ditch...

I've now had my 'real' license since fall 2000, and no speeding tickets yet, which is surprising since I'm known for being a speed demon. :angel:

And as for a car, I'm currently driving my parent's 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue GX until I buy a beater that I plan to fix up.

I started learing to drive at 15. It was in the parking lot where my dad worked. I didn't get my Drivers Lics. until I was 17 because I didn't have a car until then. My car was a burgandy Ford Cougar. Yuck!:p But I was also happy to have a car!:D

Now don't laugh...I didn't get my license untill just before x-mas...2001...Yup @ the age of 28 I finally got the license and a car to match it :)

I started learning how to drive the summer I turned 16 - (1987) (I had previously scared my parents by telling them I was never going to learn to drive - because of a family member's car accident.) My dad took me out on the back road's a few times and I got really good at "highway" driving. Then I took Driver's Ed at school. I was a year older than the others and thought I'd be so cool - so I drove first! That's when I found out that driving in town was totally different than on the highway!!! LOL! I scared EVERYONE in the car.

Originally posted by aaron
Soon after I bought my first car, a 77 Dodge Colt, basically it was a P.O.S., but I learned to drive using that car.

LOL! My first car was a HUGE yellow Mercury Grand Marquis - till I had a wreck in it. Then, I got a white 87 Dodge Colt Le! LOL!! I stil drive it! :eek: :D I've had to replace the major stuff, but other than that it still runs well.

I had my first experience when I was 15. There were two of us students at a time. The other person was driving and lost control of the vehicle and drove over a boulder. Totalled the vehicle and we had to wait for about an hour for the accident report to be done before we could go back to school.

I got a brown Ford Maverick when I was 15, that my dad taught me to drive in the Caldor parking lot on Sunday mornings. By the time I turned 16, the Maverick died and I got a '76 Toyota Corolla, pickle green in color, tiny little two door. That's the car I practiced driving in real traffic conditions, and the one I took my road test in (I failed the first road test and retook it two weeks later). I remember the day of my 2nd road test - my dad had to take my car to work (his was in the shop) and he couldn't get out early to take me - my mom didn't drive back then, so she was calling all over while I was in school, trying to get a ride for me so I would be able to take the road test. That was a fun time. I didn't even have to do a three point turn because I didn't have power steering and I think she got tired of watching me crank the steering wheel for my parallel parking!

I had the car for a year, but eventually had to ditch the tiny Toyota (thought it would crumple if I ever got into an accident) and I went to the other extreme at the beginning of my senior year - a 1975 Chevy Malibu! Hey, the car was only 10 years old back then! :-)

I have been driving since I was about 13 actually. We lived in rural (very rural) Minnesota so there was tons of backroads that I could travel without seeing a cop. Mostly I just drove a couple miles to the big dairy farm to pick up milk.

My first car was a 1974 Ford F150 (always a truck guy) that just happened to be Pumpkin Orange! Everyone knew that it was me coming...I had the only one of this color around (if you can imagine that). Many good memories in the truck let me tell ya!

Well I started at 14, working for an auto mechanic. I had to transport cars for him. Boy did I get a lot of tickets. But my first car was a beat up 57 2 door belair. Big scoop on the hood, bicycles cragars on the front. The good old days.

I first learnt to drive when I was 16. I learnt on a light blue 1973 Volvo! Not very cool, I know, but it gets worse....read on...

I had my learner's permit for about 6 months, then went for my provisional licence in about 1987 (commonly refered to in Australia as your "P's".). I got my "P's" on the second go. The first time I lost 12 points (you were only allowed to lose 8) and the second time only 8. Finally that time was over and I obtained my "Blacks" (full licence. I don't know where this term comes from...our licences are not black???). So no more 80 km/h. Oh no sir. It the full on 110 km/h now...

The first car I bought was in 1991 and it was a Diahatsu Charade. A 2 seater with a 1 litre donk (engine). Tiny, but it went like the clappers! I tinted the windows with an ambulance grade tint. No one could see in! In fact, I lost my virginity in that car....not long after the tinting went on!

My father for some unknown reason was fond of Volvos, so the next car I bought was from him and it was a 1977 244DL. Ok it was cheap, and I knew he had looked after it, ok? Yep, the boxy one. In fact, this vintage surely would have to be where they got their bad name...

I now drive (and this is the bad bit I mentioned b4) a 1983 240GL Volvo. In fact, i am over that whole Volvo thing. I actually think it is a bit juvinile. People do just as stupid things in Fords too you know... Anyway, I actually really like the 1983 Volvo. Air Conditioning/Power steering, that's all you need. Ok, I should stop now b4 I start quoting from the original sales brochure.... Don't tempt me!

In March, 1990 (at the age of 19), I finally began learning to drive.

And on February 1, 1994 (at the age of 23), I finally received my driver's license.

I don't drive yet. Not till I'm 18. :p

I learned on a dirt bike to use gears and clutch 11-15....Jumped into a VW bug at 16 and just drove. Had a few different cars, never a license. Finnaly got mine after I married. The ripe old age of 26!

I was 15, at the public high school parking lot, in my parents car. a 2001 Toyota Camry. :p I haven't nad a bad expereince yet driving. :D And it's been a year. Not to mention I've driven pretty much everywhere within an hour from my house. lol

I got my learner's permit, in Texas, at 15, passed driver's test at 16 and been driving ever since!

Wrecked my first car at 16, and second car at 17 and my third car, a month ago! Ouch!

Backroads of Jacksonville, Florida.

I didn't get my learners permit until I was 17. I must have had my learners permit for over a year. I got my Drivers License during the Summer of 1993 and was 18. I failed my drivers license a couple times, because I was so used to driving that I didn't really pay attention to certain things like the "hands on the 2 & 10" and making sure you pull the parking break up afterwards. Those were some of the reasons why I failed my drivers test. I passed the permit test on the first try with flying colors.

I remember when I officially passed my drivers test. I was stoked! I couldn't believe it. I was going to kill someone if I failed it again..LOL :laugh:

My parents were divorced and I snuck my mom's '77 Monte Carlo out for a quick test drive around the neighborhood. I was 15 at the time and obviously didn't know how to drive. Which became quite evident when I couldn't stop at the end of the road and wound up running the car very slowly into a ditch. Turned out that I was driving with 2 feet on the pedals. One on the gas, one on the brake, both at the same time, car wouldn't stop in time, car ran into ditch. Scared the crap out of me. Fortunately no damage to the car and until now nobody else ever knew about it. Thanks for letting me get this off of my chest. I feel much better now. :banana:

I didn't want or need to learn to drive until i was offered a job 60 miles away from home. By then i was 27 and when faced with having to learn rather than wanting to learn it was much more of an anxious time. Thankfully my instructor was superb and i realised i was going to pass when my examiner asked me to take the same route as i had been having lessons. I bought an old vauxhall chevette and through the years have had a car stolen, two cars hit from behind at traffic lights and am now driving a ford escort.

I didn't get my driver's license until I was 21. I was driving long before that, I just didn't get caught. That's really easy to do up in the boonies where I come from, though.

I was 16 when I got my license. But i was 14 when i first learned to drive. :) Let's just say it was a midnight mission and a boy was to blame. :lol:

I was 15 1/2 and my dad was teaching me. Now if you know me and my dad you would say BIG mistake. We fought through every lesson. He would yell at me and I would cry and yell back. I remember one day it was raining and we were at my aunts house. He had me back the car out of the driveway. He said I was moving to slow so I gassed it and flew across the street into the neighbors decorative duck bush and squashed it. After that I was so upset I refused to drive with him ever again. I didn' get my drivers license till I was 18.

My sister took me out driving in her brand new (at the time) 1986 Camaro. I was 15 she was 24. We were coming back from the mall & she pulled over & said, do you want to drive? From then on Camaro's were one of my favorite cars. I knew my husband was the one for me when picked me up in a Camaro :D

How old were you when you started learning to drive? My dad let me drive on back roads when I was 15 before I started driver's ed. I got my license the day I turned 16.

What was your beginners experience like? I was a pretty good driver, but the guys in my car at driver's ed were TERRIBLE. One of them almost killed us when he pulled out in front of a semi. The worst part about starting to drive was getting the hang of a stick shift. My dad was a good teacher, but my brothers would yell at me. I started taking the car out on my own and practicing. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.

What was the first car you ever owned? My brother and I shared a 1983 Pontiac Phoenix in high school and then it became my car when he got his own.

Because I lived in town close to everything I didn't get my learner's licence until I was 19 because I just didn't need it. My first lesson was a disaster!! I was driving a manual and just couldn't do it, I ended up borrowing money from my Dad and bought my first car which was an automatic, I only just sold that car last year. I still miss it, It was a great car!! A 1983 Holden Camira.

How old were you when you started learning to drive? 13

What was your beginners experience like? OMG, my mother made me drive home from Victoria to El Campo, about 75 miles, in a pounding rainstorm, with a concrete pylon on one side of the road, and the bridge guard rail on the other...it was very very scary.

What was the first car you ever owned? A 1979 Chevy Manza....POS, big POS

I learned to drive when I was 14 and my parents were out of town and I took a nineteen your old 'hottie' out for a night on the small town! First time driving and lost my virginity in the same night!!! :mwaha:
Oh whatta night!! :D

I was 15 1/2 years old. Shortly after I got my learner's permit my mom took me out to an undeveloped area of town (there were streets but no houses or anything yet...I think the area is now full of car dealerships) and she taught me how to drive stick there. Within weeks she was brave enough to let me drive in traffic. One of the first times in traffic she nearly had a heart attack because she thought I was a little delayed on hitting the brakes down a hill coming up on a red light. :D

Got my driver's license 12 days after I turned 16. My first car was the car I was taught on; a POS 1980 Datsun 510 wagon with the dash all cracked from the desert heat. :p

I have been driving since I was about 11. We lived in Eastern (Farm Country) Washington (Think of the Footloose movie minus the anti-music preacher.) I started out driving a 1951 Farmall Tractor. Then a 1975 Datsun Pickup/1974 Volkswagen Bug, then by the age of 16 I was driving a semi truck (Illegally of course I didn't have a commercial license.)

My first car was a 1978 Chevy Camaro Loved that car!

I'm in the process right now :D On tuesday I'll hopefully pass the theory. Better late than never, right ;)

My dad taught me to drive when I was 17...but that was not during the 80's. It was 1994.

My dad must have really been dreading the idea of me driving because I wasn't allowed to even take the test for my temps until just before I started back to school after Christmas during my junior year. The only reason I even got to do it was because I started Driver's Ed that semester and would have been forced to drop the class if I didn't have my temps. I first got to drive when my group went to a local park to do some snow driving on the unplowed park roads. I was nervous as hell, but I didn't have any problems on THAT day. Later in the spring I was driving on a local road that runs right along the Ohio. The river was flooding and I was so interested in watching the water that I almost drove the car off the road into it. Luckily our car was equipped with an instructor's brake. (My daughter is friends with the daughter of one of the guys who was in the car when this happened. I'm looking forward to meeting him to see if he remembers.)
As for my dad, it's possible that he didn't let me drive before then because he knew that he would be a lousy teacher. He was. REALLY lousy. So bad that when the time came for my brother and sister to start driving, I started taking them to a local cemetery to get a feel for the car. The roads back there were really narrow and our car was huge, so I figured they'd be too intimidated to do anything stupid. I figured right. Now the time for my son to start driving is getting close. He'll be 15 in October, so I'll be doing the same thing with him that I did with my siblings. The only difference is that he'll be taking lessons in a ROCKIN' mini van. :thumb: I was stuck with a nerdy station wagon. :D

Oh man Rigormortis, That reminds me of my Dad. Mr. "No-patience at all" himself.

Picture this...same area as my previous post, 12 years old. Can drive a front-loader/Back-hoe tractor blindfolded. But put me behind the wheel of a 1951 Willy's Pickup with NO power steering, NO power nothing...well...except the engine, 3 speed manual transmission, and DAD in the passenger seat "teaching" you.

Here's how it went in a nutshell.
We are back at the farm. My dad tells me "Put it in first gear and ease up on the clutch". No problem, same setup as the back-hoe tractor. All goes well.. We make it up to the dirt road that serves as the county road., He says "Okay make a left turn and shift into second" Easy enough. Here's where the lack of power - anything comes to play...The truck, in second gear, with my sister and a cousin in the back, Starts veering slowly towards the barbed wire fence surrounding the farm. My dad YELLS out "HIT THE BRAKES!! HIT THE BRAKES" In a blind panic I pressed a pedal.....it wasn't the brakes, it was the GAS! The truck Takes off, Plows through the fence and stalls. My sister pees her pants after being bounced around in the back, and I get the joyous task of plucking the barbed wire out of the grill. To make matters worse, Mom calls everyone to dinner, Dad says I have to stay out here and finish plucking/repairing the fence. All go to eat and I'm all alone plucking Barbed wire.....It starts to rain!

I will NEVER forget that day. I was humiliated then but can laugh about it now.

:thumb: :D

I'm feelin' your pain.
We had neighbors from hell when I was a kid. When the kid neighbor from hell was about 13, his mom decided to impress the rest of the kids in the neighborhood by letting him drive the family car from the driveway into the garage. She waited until a pickup basketball game was going on at our house before she let him try it, just so that there would be maximum attendance for the show. That was her first mistake. She was trying to tell him to back up and told him to put the car in reverse, put his foot down hard on the brake and very lightly on the gas. We were all lined up on the fence, not really wanting to give them the satisfaction of watching, but unable to tear ourselves away from the spectacle, and as you may have guessed, he got the pedals mixed up. He stomped on the gas and that car (1974 Pontiac Gran Prix) shot backward across the yard and through a chain link fence into a neighbors yard. (Luckily they had kids who were too young to be out of the house watching or they'd have been killed.) We went bananas, as you'd expect, and the kid got out of the car and immediately began blaming everything in the world for his error, mostly us. He ran into the house crying and his mom came over to the fence to vent on us, but we were laughing too hard to be able to hear most of what she was saying. I did catch the phrase "sue you", but we caught that on a weekly basis from them, so I didn't pay it any attention. When her husband got home from work a few minutes later, he was already threatening lawsuits before he'd even heard the story or surveyed the damages. As was the custom, nothing ever came of the threats, but we all had a great story to tell at school the next day.

My dad was in a store and I was in the parking lot in the car. I had been taking driver's ed and I decided I'd try driving around the parking lot. I attempted to squeeze our nissan in-between two parked cars. And failed.

My dad was in a store and I was in the parking lot in the car. I had been taking driver's ed and I decided I'd try driving around the parking lot. I attempted to squeeze our nissan in-between two parked cars. And failed.

OUCH!!!

I was 18-the legal driving age here in the Netherlands, when I had my first driving lesson, that was back in October of '89.

I started driving cars and motorcycles when I was 13. Whenever we went to our countryside property they would let me drive inside. :bouncy:

I was 15 when I started to learn... (there's a GOOD reason young boys are such an insurance risk!) I would drive any chance I could get!
My mom taught me to drive safely, my dad taught me to drive aware/aggressive.
I've NEVER had a ticket... :thumb: