From: John Francis
On Sat, Oct 01, 2011 at 06:56:33AM +0100, Cotty wrote:
Stef had all his lessons with an instructor. I've never even been a
passenger with him yet!
I had formal lessons with an instructor, but I also got in quite a
lot of practice in my parents' cars. In those days my mother had
a Morris Minor estate (the first of two; six or seven years later
she passed her second one on to me as the first car I ever owned).
My father had one of the first Ford Cortinas (three years old by
the time I got to drive it). I used to drive the fifteen miles
from home to school every day in that car, and then my father
continued on to where he was working.
When I first got my license, the local school system offered a FREE
Driver's Ed program during the summers & if you were 15-1/2 (or older)
by then, you could get a Learner's Permit that would allow you to drive
with an ADULT in the car so you could practice before taking your test
after you turned 16.
It wasn't really a rigorous road test. Mainly you had to make sure you
fastened your seat belt, adjusted the mirrors ... used turn signals &
came to a complete stop at stop signs ... three point turn & you had to
be able to parallel park without knocking over the traffic cones.
The written test before you took the road test was the real killer. Some
of my friends took it several times before they ever got to take the
road test. I passed first time out.
I got my license the year before Driver's Ed became mandatory for
teen-age drivers. The next year, they changed the law and teenagers had
to have the certificate from Driver's Ed or they couldn't get a license
until they turned 18.
And that summer they didn't have enough Driver's Ed teachers to
accommodate the demand.
Now, I think even adult drivers are required to have the Driver's Ed
certificate for a first time driver's test & Driver's Ed ain't free any
more.
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