How did you learn to drive a car and at what age?

Took driver's training at the local high school. I had lived in Florida and our family moved back to the midwest in the summer before my Senior year of high school. I waited to take driver's ed until then so I was 17 when I got my license. Never did learn a stick, we saw a movie about it but never did hands on training for it.

I never “learned” to drive. I lived in the country, I had a go cart for years and then around 13 my parents would let drive the car around the property to get a feel for driving. By the time to take my test I was more than ready.

My dad taught me on a stick. I then took drivers ed on an automatic which was a breeze. I took my test on the drivers ed automatic.

I'm with r2. I never learned how to drive, I just sort of started driving my friend's cars. I took driver's ed in school, but I pretty much knew how to drive by then

Automatic. Mom had me drive 30-40 minutes to my Aunt’s house (mixture of backroads, main roads and a US highway). On the way home she decided we should take a fun junket which involved time on a major interstate, 2 toll roads in different states and major city driving… She treated me to dinner at the Walnut Room at Marshall Field’s I was 15… By the time I took drivers Ed a few months later, I was an old hand…

I think I was 13 or 14 when I drove for the first time (a Toyota with an auto trans). We were way out in the SoCal desert on vacation.

I got my license when I was 16. I wanted to do it right after my birthday, my damn father traded in the mom's automatic Toyota for a car with a stick shift (dad's car was also stick). It took me awhile to feel comfortable enough to take the driving test in a manual transmission car. But I did pass the first time.

My brother drove me to take my written test. I passed the written test by one question. He let me drive his car - a 1974 Mercury Montego- home from the motor vehicle bureau. I was like one of those villains in a scene from Starsky and Hutch- squealing my tires like I was trying to get away from the cops. I was 16 years old.

It was an automatic. I never really learned how to drive a car with a manual transmission and I have owned 20 cars since 1983- ALL with Automatic transmissions.

I was mostly self taught by stealing my Dad’s car (a stick) and driving around at night with friends screwing around.

I once stalled the car at a gas pump and it rolled into one of those concrete posts that protect the pumps. Left a rather large dent, but he didn’t notice for a week or two. He asked of course, and I said “Well it wasn’t me! HOW DARE YOU?!”

I’m sure he knew I was full of shit.

My Mom took me out for a few lessons in a parking lot, where I managed to get “pulled over”. There was a cop who was sitting in the parking lot while I was driving around, and he got on his loudspeaker and said “STOP RIGHT THERE!!”

I of course slammed on the brakes. The cops (and my Mom I might add) thought it was hysterical.

I took the driving test at 17, and per the tester/proctor passed “by the skin of my teeth”.

I’m still not a great driver.

14. Got a learners permit and my parents let me drive my mother to work and then drive on to school. They had an Olds 98 - a yacht! I took Driver’s Ed at 14.

I snook into my parents car in the middle of the night. Pushed it down the street so they couldn't hear it start up. No License no nothing I was 15. Encouraged by my psycho friend we took acid and drove right onto the freeway onramp in the SF bay area cruised right onto the bay bridge. My criminal friend encouraged me the whole time. I got vertigo when I saw the 15 lane onramp but was able somehow to suppress the panic. Good clean Acid i guess. The car was an old stick shift Triumph from the sixties. My angels were working overtime that night. I got away with it. The next time we took out the sailboat we were fucking terrors.

The first horseless carriages appeared in our town when I was 19, but Mother insisted that only trash would drive them.

Finally when Henry Ford rolled out the Model T she relented as she approved of his stance towards Hebrews and other non-white ethnics like Italians and Irish.

I'd toodle around the streets at night till I got the hang of it and was one of the first people in Kansas to have one of the new driving licenses.

Learned to drive in an old Volkswagen Beetle, so stick. Then practiced with and took my driver's test in a '64 Chevy Impala, automatic.

I got my learner's permit at 14 and was taught a little by my dad, mostly my older sister and also an older friend.

My dad and I argued so that wasn't ideal. I was probably being a sensitive brat. My sister let me drive home from school every afternoon so I had a lot of practice. All automatic cars.

A friend had a VW so I learned stick with him. Once I got confused about whether I had to put the clutch in to brake and I ended up backing into a ditch.

The weekend before my 16th birthday and my real driver's test my dad took me to the Highway Patrol driver's testing range and I learned to parallel park and do 3 point turns etc. I passed that Friday. That Saturday evening I drove my mother to mass and drove home alone for the first time. Windows open and radio blaring - it was one of the happiest days of my life.

I don't understand kids today who have no interest in learning to drive or getting their license. My niece and nephew are among these slackers. One of the most important things parents can teach their children is to be independent and learn skills to get them through life. What has gone wrong?

We had a huge back yard and I drove my dad's 1963 Chevy Corvair all over that backyard. Of course I also had to mow that huge back yard with a push mower.

Today there is more involved with getting your license. Most of the posters on here sound like very elder gays.

Learned when I was 18, lessons cost a bomb even back in the late 90’s. Gear stick; hardly anyone drives automatics here in the UK. It was terrifying to begin with, especially roundabouts. I was kind of a nervous driver. I find driving therapeutic now, well in countryside and not as much in towns,

R15, OMG. Did it ever roll over onto a cow patty?

Despite their horrible reps they were pretty cars.

I’ve had a learner’s permit twice but never got further. I find the whole idea of driving terrifying.

R16 Like what? Where I live it is still basically the same as when I got mine around the turn of this century. Written Test, then a Driving Test. They might require some form of Driver's Ed now. Which I know there are like six driver's ed places near me, so it shouldn't be that hard to find. The only other thing is to give them your birth certificate now to get the gold star.

R19, is it how crowded your streets are? If so, do you have some friends or relatives who live in a less populated area where you can practice without the traffic?

Driving to me has always been a great and fun experience. I love controlling the machine. I loved it when I had emergencies I had to maneuver my way out of. Not that I'd create any cause I am a very safe driver but to know you can master a vehicle out of danger is kinda thrilling.

I think it gets harder to get comfortable as you get older. Maybe because you can imagine all the horrible things that could happen. But if you are safe and careful then those instances will be rare if at all. My mother grew up in NYC and never had the need to drive and when she tried to learn later as an adult she never felt comfortable handling traffic.

Good luck.

Dad taught me how to drive in a stick shift car on quiet lake roads and parking lots. He'd also let me change gears from the passenger seat when going to the store together from about age 12 on. It was fun. By the time I took Driver's Ed and the driver's test I was very comfortable driving.

I still think it's more fun to drive a manual transmission.

r20 you have to spend a lot more time on the road before you get your license

Around 12 or 13 at my grandpa's farm. Learned on stick, my first car at 17 was a Datsun pickup with a stick. I've had both manual and automatic cars since then. My favorite manual was my '97 BMW M3, that car was a blast to drive.

As soon as I turned 16 in 1992. I've only driven automatic my entire life. I never understood the appeal of driving stick, it just seems like more of an inconvenience than anything.

16. Stick.

I’m over sixty. I’m not planning to try again.

Learned automatic at 16. Got my license about 4 months after I turned 16. Have never driven stick.

I was one of the last age groups to only have to do on-the-road "practice" for 30 days before taking the driver's test. You had a written test you had to pass, then had to wait 30 days before taking the driving test. The people born a year or so after me had to do 6 months of driving practice before they were allowed to take the test. This was just over 20 years ago, so I'm not sure what the rules are now.

Driving stresses me out a lot more the older I get. Not sure why.

Took classroom and behind the wheel at Driver’s Ed. I desperately needed more road time but my father only let me drive in parking lots. He tried to teach me stick shift but we ended up yelling at each other. I’d love to learn now!

I ended up getting my license at 17 because we moved in the middle of the process. I love cars, mine’s an oldie but a goodie and I’d love to have another ‘92 Tbird because I had one from 97-99 and loved it.

@r23, "you have to spend a lot more time on the road before you get your license "

Like how much time? I never heard of an hour requirement to get your license

r16, "Today there is more involved with getting your license. Most of the posters on here sound like very elder gays. "

What's involved today that wasn't involved back in the olden days? I'm an eldergay and had to take the driver's test again because of my age. Pretty much the same test. I think you don't know what you're talking about

R28, driving likely stresses you out more because you've seen more car accidents. It's natural!

I suppose I still I like it, but not as much as I used to. It used to mean freedom. Now it means boredom, combined with the risk of death or injury. Too many crazy drivers.

My dad would take me out on back roads when i was 14. I took driver's ed in HS, and got my license when I was 16. My parents made me learn on a stick shift, saying I'd be thankful some day...I was. My first car was an automatic, though.

It would be a real bitch to take your driver’s test in hilly San Francisco with a manual transmission….I’d be so nervous, I’d have a heart attack!

^ Driving a stick in SF is nuts 😱

R23 I got to skip through the permit period quickly, compared to my peers, because I played a sport and my coach said I needed to attend practice so he wrote a note for me to take to the DMV. I believe they still have an exception for students with a bona fide school related reason. But I had to keep the restricted license for a year I believe.

So you played a sport and got a special license? How about if you took ballet or were in the school play? Well I Nevahh!

There's nothing more involved today than in our dinosaur days. They may make you wait between getting a learner's permit and taking your real license test but that doesn't say you have to be driving during that time. It just gives you the time to learn which I;m sure they want you to take advantage of. It makes sense.

Everyone I knew got their learner's permit and so had up to 2 years to gain experience before they got their real license.

I accidentally let my license expire too late to just renew it so I had to take the damn thing over at an advanced age - really advanced. I had to take the written exam. It was moronic and I had to take a road test. By this time, I didn't have a car anymore, so I had a friend take me and used his car. He had to provide proof of insurance. Big deal.

I had to schedule the test online and found a cancelled spot so I was able to take it the next day. Unlike my first driving test a million years ago which was on a driving range, this was on the city streets but it lasted only a few minutes.

Getting my TRUE REAL FOR REAL NOT TERRORIST FAKE Driver's License just took some extra paperwork which everyone should have in their homes.

I’m R5… The guy who gave me the driving test was a family friend… Never made me parallel park, make a left hand turn or drive through a school zone. My dad took me for that appointment. The guy also tested my brother and sister 12 years earlier, a case of beer guaranteed my success…

15, stick.

R36 ballet would not qualify unless it was offered by the school, but other kids got the special exemption for drama, academic team, etc… it just had to be an official ongoing school commitment and the coach or faculty member who supervised it had to write a letter on school letterhead.

In the mid-'60s I learned to drive on a war surplus Jeep.

4-on-the-floor. No power steering, no power brakes, & no radio.

After that, I could drive anything.

Took my driver's test at age 14 driving the family Plymouth; had an automatic tranny.

^ What state let you drive at 14? 😳

Motorcycles, tractors. hoopties dad would by for the farm...8? 9? 10?

They/he let us drive the cars all over the farm for kicks at like eight or nine.

Golf carts too at the same age. My driving instructor, a golfing buddy I chauffeured, let me drive around town to do his errands (he knew I could drive) and the other 2 students got zero time driving.

.

^ Same, driver's ed teachers were the coaches, mine knew I could drive and did the crossword puzzle while I drove

In CA, you don't even have to parallel park on the exam, which is why people can't park. Stupidest decision to eliminate driver's ed in school.

^ I agree, school used to teach us how to drive, cook, balance a checkbook, work with tools and stay physically fit. You know things you'd really use in life, but not anymore ☹️

I was before Driver's Ed in school and I went to a Catholic HS anyway. But did they stop teaching driving in school? That seems more of a necessary life skill than learning who your teacher fucks.

16 I learned to drive a three speed manual transmission (old Chevy) where the shifter was on the column. Failed the first driving exam; turned left when he said right, backed over the curb, etc.

We all had our DL's 15.5 YO ASAP. So many youngsters don't learn to drive now thats a real change in zeitgeist. Getting your DL was more of a right of passage than losing virginity or drinking a leal beer when I was a ladd. True, there is way too many cars now and other drivers are very pissy. Driving wasn't cheap back in the day when gas was 94 cents a gallon now it's a freking fortune insurance costs for a teen is a horrible joke.

R33 / R34 I loved driving stick, especially at stop signs on hills! I was the master of my domain!!

[quote] now it's a freking fortune insurance costs for a teen is a horrible joke.

This is why I waited until 17, and I still wasn’t that psyched about it (and I’m a semi elder gay at 47).

A car was expensive, then gas, then upkeep and then the fucking insurance. My parents helped me with the car, but it was made clear to me I would pay my own insurance and gas and upkeep. $100-ish a month for all three was a lot in the early 90’s for a person who could only work so much because of school

When I first started driving (70s) it added $72 every 6 months to my parents policy which I paid