How long have you been driving?

[Trev]

I just thought a fun topic might be how long you've been driving, how old you were when you first learned to drive, how you learned, etc.

I'm my case, I was lucky. My dad started teaching me when I was about 4 years old. I'd have to sit on his lap, because I couldn't reach the pedals.

Then my granddad let me drive his old pickup around the fields, which was a nice time.

I'm 51 now, so been driving about 47 years. Not exactly officially, mind you. But still, you start to get the hang of it. When I had long enough legs to reach the pedals, my dad would put Chorox bottles all around the yard, hook a boat trailer to the car, and make me *back* through this obstacle course. Again, good training. And lots of experience on ice and snow as a kid.. learning about spins, skids, slides, and how to recover from them.

How about the rest of you? How'd you learn? Nosy, aren't I?

I'm on vacation, so logging in sporadically.. but being up in NH where I grew up made me think of this....

Best,
Bob

 

[junglestylz]

First off, where are you going to school¿ My ex girlfreind is going to Brockport right now.
Second, I learned how to drive between a 1989 Fifth Avenue, and I learned stick on a 1984 VW Scirocco when I was about eleven. My old man taught me in various parking lots and VERY rural/limited access roads around Central New York. When I turned fourteen my sister really taught me how to drive coming from Denver Colorado to Syracuse in her old RX-7. Now, I am really, REALLY learning how to drive from my buddy Chris who teaches racing classes up at Las Vegas Speedway for the BMWCCA.[fake]

 

[epj3]

The thing about backing around with the boat is an excellent idea...i wish i had practice like that. Ya never know when you'll need to be able to do that. Hell i know people who couldnt do that with JUST a car

Anyways, i'm only 17 - I've been driving officially since february 2002. I got my license in November 2002 (first try and I took the test with the minivan ) No accidents, no tickets, nothing. My record is completely clean

Oh yea and i'm still alive

 

[crupdawg]

i got my license on october 1, 2001 (day after my 17 b-day) on my first try, although i shouldve failed (the guy was in a good mood and let me try parallel parking again.) i had a '95 mercury sable from that day up until january 2002, when i got my Z. the Z was also the first car i learned to drive stick on (and after 199K miles its still on its original clutch ).

funny story about the day i got my license, though. when i pulled up to the dmv there was a huuuge line for driving tests, so my dad and i went inside to take care of the paperwork first, not knowing that i needed to do the driving test first (because after the test the tester puts either a "pass" or "fail"sticker on a piece of paper that you hand to the person at the desk.) so we filled out the paperwork, they took my picture, and handed me my license. i kinda looked at it, then at the woman at the desk, then at the license again, then at the woman again. finally i said, "don't i have to take a driving test or something?". apparently the woman forgot to check for my "pass" sticker and she jsut assumed i already took the driving test. so if it wasnt for my utter confusion i couldve been the only person in the state of NJ to get a license without taking the driving test

 

[Wadula]

paul that's just too funny. i'm sure you couldn't get over it the following days....

i started steering my dad's car on his lap as well. i was like 6 or 7. i have only little memory of that time, but i know i was driving it. it was a mercedes 190. then in 1996 i got my license at the age of 18. that's the minimum age you have to be to get to drive a car. i always drove stick. in driving school, my dad's car and my cars. when i got the license my dad had a 525i touring. great car, i still love the body. old 5er.....dream on....
then we got an automatic 7er, traded for another 7er with also automatic. today my mom owns the 5er that followed the last 7er we had. additionally, privat car as the bmw is company, she has an opel astra convertible. stick shift of course.

i started with my 90hp golf III. in 1999 i got the bimmer, that i still have and love. in 2000 i had took part in a bmw M-Gmbh drivers course on the Nuerburgring. that was one of the things that brought the most knowledge. all the rest i know about driving and cars in general i inherited from my dad.

in total that makes 9 years of legal driving for me.

 

[coyotefreek]

I’m 15 and got my permit in February, my dad never let me drive at all when I was young. When my sister got her license 5 years ago she let me drive her car a few times. Now I am just waiting to take my drivers test beginning of December. I plan on getting a 92' 325ic convertible within the next month. So far I have driven many cars, the main ones are a 03' Acura MDX, 03' Chevy Silverado, and a 01' Volvo S40 (my favorite of them all). The Volvo has a Turbo and is extremely light so it can get up and go very quickly, all the others are a little sluggish. I thought the BMW was surprisingly quick and agile for its age, plus I wanted a convertible

 

[mrferg]

Took drivers ed during the fall of 2000 (my sophmore year of HS), got my real license in the spring of 2002. Didn't rush it at the time because all we had was the 'Scort, '76 Chevy pickup, and the '78 VW bus; no bimmer yet...

 

[Wadula]

taking driver ed and stuff....

we had two years "test" time in germany when you first got your permit. not it is three or five years or crap. whatever, I got caught running a red during that time and had to take those classes. i simply did not watch the darn light that night. three weeks later i got caught speeding. lost the license as it is the law and had to redo it
since then they never got me again and my record is clean again.

 

[ooo000HITMAN000ooo]

First car i ever drove was when i was 14 it was my brothers ex. girlfriends v6 mustang.....

Then drove my brothers Blue avalanche......Then i had drivers ed.. ALOT OF FUn

And now i drive a 2001 Tahoe lt with heated seats and all that fun stuff.... i wish it was a BMW though.... Its Fun but still dosent compare to the 740i i got to drive..... now that was Fun In the future i will have to buy a 95 to 01 7 They are truly the best car on earth

 

[Trev]

[BI got caught running a red during that time and had to take those classes. i simply did not watch the darn light that night[/B]

I have this weird habit.. never quite got over it.. but when it's night and I'm the only person on the road, I treat red lights like stop signs! I stop, look both ways, and go! My passengers usually freak out, and I go "Oh crap, I did it again!" I *never* do this during daytime, only at night. Go figure. I never do it dangerously.. always stop, look both ways a couple of times.. but my brain just short circuits at night with red lights!

Bob

 

[Wadula]

i heard of funky habits before, but that one is just....out of line somehow....you are a weirdo my friend

 

[ooo000HITMAN000ooo]

I have this weird habit.. never quite got over it.. but when it's night and I'm the only person on the road, I treat red lights like stop signs! I stop, look both ways, and go! My passengers usually freak out, and I go "Oh crap, I did it again!" I *never* do this during daytime, only at night. Go figure. I never do it dangerously.. always stop, look both ways a couple of times.. but my brain just short circuits at night with red lights!

Bob

havent heard of that one befor ...... you need some help

 

[Trev]

Now, I am really, REALLY learning how to drive from my buddy Chris who teaches racing classes up at Las Vegas Speedway for the BMWCCA.[fake]

I've LOVE to go to a professional racing school... been one of my life-long desires. Probably isn't going to happen this lifetime.. but I can hope.

There are stories about Bob Bondurant's school.. the first day he loads the students into an old beater van and takes them around the track to show them what a real pro can do in even a POS beater like this. Then the real training starts. Must be such a blast!

Bob

 

[george]

i learned to drive in my dads toyota truck up and down the parking lot of where our company used to be like 7 years ago.Then when my parents would go to sleep i would sneek out the truck and drive down the steet to my best friends house.It wasnt till i turned 16 and that my parents would go out of town for a week or 2 i would sneek out the truck and drive it on a big street...actually i would drive it to high school sometimes without a drivers license...until one day i got pulled over by the police luckily my girlfriend (ex gf now)was riding with me and she had a license so the cop let her drive the truck home without impounding it.Well my dad found out and the judge ordered that i couldnt get my driver's license till i was 18.I turned 18 november 13 of 1999 and in march of 2000 i got my drivers license...3 days later i bought my 2000 328i.(still have it)so i guess ive been driving for like 3 years legaly.

 

[epj3]

i learned to drive in my dads toyota truck up and down the parking lot of where our company used to be like 7 years ago.Then when my parents would go to sleep i would sneek out the truck and drive down the steet to my best friends house.It wasnt till i turned 16 and that my parents would go out of town for a week or 2 i would sneek out the truck and drive it on a big street...actually i would drive it to high school sometimes without a drivers license...until one day i got pulled over by the police luckily my girlfriend (ex gf now)was riding with me and she had a license so the cop let her drive the truck home without impounding it.Well my dad found out and the judge ordered that i couldnt get my driver's license till i was 18.I turned 18 november 13 of 1999 and in march of 2000 i got my drivers license...3 days later i bought my 2000 328i.(still have it)so i guess ive been driving for like 3 years legaly.

what a dumbass

 

[BadAssBimmer]

I learned to drive when I was 16, learned a manual at 17... so I guess... holy crap... that's almost 9 years.

Ok now I am freaking out.

 

[andreyiv]

I learned to drive on a stick shift car when I was about 10. I remember one time I was driving on a small dirt road and when I approached an incline I didn't switch into 2nd for some reason and got stuck right in the middle of it, don't remember how it ended but I remember that the guy I was driving with got really mad. Since then till I got my permit I don't remember driving except for go carts. I had to go to Driver's ed so I could get the license earlier and it wasn't that bad, since I was the only one who could drive (except for the teacher) it was kinda fun, scary but fun. Then I got my lisence and since then when I'm going somewhere with my parents I usually drive. A few days ago I got to drive a manual again, the car was a Subaru Loyale, it was the most fun I had in a single day, imagine driving something like a go cart on the street, from now on I love stick shift. I didn't go to any racing driving schools but would love to go as soon as I can.

 

[ooo000HITMAN000ooo]

Im going to go to the M performance center in a couple of years all i have to do is save up some $$$$$

But it is worth it you get to drive m5s and m3s on a race track and you get to learn how to push the cars to there limits

 

[Trev]

i heard of funky habits before, but that one is just....out of line somehow....you are a weirdo my friend

Yeah, I know. But you know the old rule of thumb... if 1000 people tell you you're weird, and you need help, you better listen; but if it's only 999 then it's probably just them.

Bob

 

[codex57]

I drove illegally for a while too. But that was after I first started learning how to drive. My mom had a business partner who taught driving on the side so she had one of those cars with two sets of pedals. Well, she'd steer but let me push the pedals. I also had a tutor at that time who tried to teach me how to drive stick on his Merkur X4RT or whatever that thing was called. This was when I was around 12.

I got my permit when I was 15 and a half and that's when I'd sneak the car out. I even took it out during the rain and when I came back, I had to dry the Jeep off as well as the floor under it so they wouldn't know it was out. I think they knew I snuck it out cuz they'd hide the keys instead of leaving them in the car like normal. Oh well, no harm done and I still think I drive better than them.

I got a 94 (instructor claimed I didn't back up straight ) but that was a scarily easy test. I made like 5 right turns and only one left turn. Only had to make a 3 point turn and try backing up along the curb. When we pulled back into the DMV lot, he just told me to park and vaguely waved his arm in some direction. I couldn't see any parking spots so I just parked it where I thought a space might be. He just got out and started walking back into the office. I was like, "wait, isn't there some parking part of the test?" He was like, "that was it." I looked and still couldn't see any lines for me to have parked in to but when I asked him, he said I passed so I was like whatever. I think I can actually drive, but it frightens me as to what kind of drivers that office passes. I think a dog could have gotten a license from that DMV center.