Team-BHP - How and when did you learn to drive?

I was 14 when I learned car driving.

Like most other kids, I too learned my driving on dad’s Maruti 800.

Car driving came very naturally to me. After 3 failed attempts to roll the car out of the garage on a lazy summer evening, I managed to bring the car out on the 4th attempt. I decided to sneak the car out of the garage on my own as all my pleadings to my dad would somehow end up in “you-are-not-studying” conversations. It took me couple of minutes to understand the correlation in practicality between the clutch, gear and the accelerator. More than anything else keeping the car on all 4 wheels above ground with its body lines as per my dad’s last visual inspection of the car was the biggest task. The first 3 attempts thought me how to release the clutch after slotting to 1st gear and that is all that I needed to master to get the car moving without stalling and the other aspects could be learned on the fly.

Voila!! it worked. I rolled the car out drove it around in the colony at snail’s pace in 1st gear occasionally 2nd, it was nirvana. That was the moment I was born for. I loved it. That’s how I began driving the car, winning my dad’s approval 2 years later and finally graduating to letting me drive to do a local errand, that’s how I learnt car driving.

Though there were no incidents that day, I still feel guilty to have done such a stupid and careless act.

Car: Maruti 800 (Model 1987) & (Model 2000)
Location: West Marredpally, Hyderabad & Chromepet, Chennai.

Hello, you all missed an age group. I learnt at the age of 13. My mom taught me in dad's datsun pick up. This was when we lived in moshi, Tanzania. Mom taught me on the more deserted public roads which was kinda quiet in the 80's. She always sat on the extreme right and I sat next to her and learnt to use the steering only first. Once that was done, and I was tall enough to use the pedals she taught me the same way. Good thing is that vehicle had a bench front seat so it was possible. Not possible in today's bucket seats. Plus vehicle had a steering column gear lever.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pganapathy (Post 3036634)

Hello, you all missed an age group. I learnt at the age of 13. .....

clap: though voted for 15-20yrs, am also in a missed age group.
Started learning to drive when i was 9years old, in our trusty old '79 Hilux around deserted industrial area roads and desert wastelands, taught by my dad and uncle. But refined driving three years later in our Omni(which BTW suffered considerable damage by me driving.:D

Amazing stories.
I was born and grew up in the Netherlands. So mine is a bit of a different story.
Learning to drive is something that when I grew up was a very strict process. And it still is, although I believe they allow you to start at 17 these days. In my time it was 18 and not a day earlier. You need to take official driving lessons, with an official licensed instructor in a car with duo controls (instructor has a brake and clutch pedal). So you can't be taught by your dad or by a friendly neighbor. Has to be an official instructor with appropriate kitted out "instruction-car.

It's also pretty expensive. Most kids will take 60 - 80 hours before they manage to past the test! My parents gave me "driving lessons" for my 18th birthday

I had my first instruction on the day I turned 18. It took about 25 lessons or so before I took the exam. About 60 multiple choice question and about an hour of driving in Amsterdam with an official examiner. Passed! Which was unusual, and still is, most will fail the exam at least once or twice.

My father did not enjoy driving. The day I passed my driving test he handed me the cars of his Audi and said; From now on you drive the family everywhere.

I've taken a near similar approach with our own kids. All three of them got the driving lessons paid by us for their 18th Birthday. Only our daughter passed her test first time. My sons took several turns. Their sister will never let them forget it. Also, my eldest son failed his theoretical part. I was so mad with him that I refused to pay for his re-sit. This was a guy doing well in his first year of university and he couldn't pass a simple multiple choice traffic test? All he had to do was spent a few hours studying which he obviously didn't.

As soon as they got their license they got to drive our cars to. Well, that's to say they got to drive my wife's little car. I kept them away from all my cars and in particular my classics!

Jeroen

Age - 17
Teachers - Two friends
Cars - Padmini 118NE & Maruti Omni
Location - Empty streets of Noida

I learnt driving by watching, imitating and polishing the driving practices that two of my friends had. Whenever we'd go out for drives in either of there cars, I made it a point to have some practice myself. :D Guess I was a natural 'cause when my family got our first car, I was asked to be the driving instructor for Dad! Ah, getting nostalgic now.

Age - 16
Teachers - Dad
Cars - Padmini (Paanchali :D)
Location - Cuttack

My dad and 4 of his colleagues together had purchased a second hand Padmini with LPG kit! Now you now why it was called Paanchali.
After my Dad got used to driving the beauty, it was my turn. We had small stadium in our campus meant for in-campus activities and that was the best place.
Unfortunately, once I floored the accelerator pedal instead of the brake and we dashed into the concrete wall :Frustrati My Dad got stitches on his forehead, I still feel extremely sorry and stupid. But my Dad as always was the most encouraging one to push me to keep learning.
I loved the gears on the steering column, I just love and cherish that time till this day.

Age: 15
Teacher: Driving school
Vehicle: Type-1 800
Location: TN

I learned my driving when i was at 15, through a driving school. My Dad was strict that i SHOULD learn through Driving school and not via any friendly driver. :-). So daily morning at 7 i reach the driving school and take a spin on the type-1 800.

The instructor do have clutch and break pedal on his own to control. First two days on basics and steering, and from 3rd day i took over gear/clutch controls. I still remember from the 2nd week, the instructor keep saying "slow down.. ". hehe thats the adrenaline rush pops out from me from the 2nd week of my driving lesson itself :-).

Age: 11
Car: Fiat 1100 D
Teacher: Watching my Dad.

Actually I did not intend to drive. One fine morning, (like many other mornings) the battery of our old Fiat died and the car refused to crank up. I asked my friends living close to my house to push the car so that I could start the engine and get back some juice to the battery.
The car started after a mild push and I, along with my friends went for a few rounds in the colony!
I never felt uneasy driving the car and could manage to drive the car very easily. I guess asking Dad about everything about driving and watching him minutely did the trick. I soon graduated to become the make-shift, empty road driver of our car. I could manage to drive in busy roads very soon, say less than 15-20 days.

Regards,
Saket

Learnt driving when I was 23, in February, 1997.

It was Amby, tutored by a driver.

Though a bit late in age when I learnt to drive, I have driven several lakh kilometres in these 16 years.

Not a fast driver, though. Usually like to stick around 80-100 kmph and seldom go beyond that even if it is a six-laned empty stretch ahead. Never race other vehicles. Rarely do I slow down even if oncoming vehicles do not dip headlights on a single lane/two lane roads. In fact, I like to drive during nights.

I still feel Ambassador was one of the best vehicles to learn driving. If one can drive Ambassador reasonably well, one can drive any vehicle. From the driver's seat one can easily see the chrome headlight ring. This is very useful for learners. Another bonus is your biceps and triceps get very good exercise. One more thing : another dent or a scratch wouldnt matter.

Voted for 15-20. Actually I learnt it when i Was 16 years old.

Car: Our 1993 Maruti 800 (I still miss this beauty, what a car)
Guru: My dad.
Place: A college ground in a place called Nalgonda in AP. It was almost 2-3 football fields big. Most people in this particular town used this place for car driving.

Actually, I never ever had starting problems. My dad learnt driving after 35 and so he said that once you overcome your starting problem, you wont have much trouble learning. Luckily for me, I could master the art of clutch accelerator sync during start up quite easily. Felt like I was born for driving. Still feel so. He tutored me so well that I remember his exact words even today and still follow them.

Age:16
Tutor: none(learnt myself seeing my dad)
Car: Maruti 800

Living in flats we had garages allotted to all flats in the building complex. So used to remove the car from the garage which was 12 feet wide and on reversing the distance between the garage opposite to our was about 18 feet. This removing and putting the car back into the garage made me an expert driver. Once your familiar with positioning the car during reverse and parking I feel you can drive perfectly on any straight road as parking and reversing are the two complex parts of driving a car.