Roadgeek in training

[Alps]

So I found this link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090404/ap_on_re_us/odd_boy_s_long_drive_2 and I thought, when I was a kid my parents let me steer down the driveway.  When I was 13 I got to steer on a public street.  But I didn't get to touch the gas (well, maybe once) until I was 16.  So this thread is to share your pre-16 driving experiences.

[corco]

When I was 9 and I could reach the pedals my Grandpa let me drive his old S-10 around his field in southern Ohio, and he was the only one who really gave me any pre-14 (15 being the driver's license age in Idaho, drivers ed and learners permit at 14) driving experience. When I was roughly 11 he let me drive from his farm to the store down Ohio SR 41 in the S-10, and at 13 he let me drive to Columbus from Greenfield on the backroads.

[un1]

I forget how old I was.. I believe that I was 9-10 and my dad let me drive around the campground we stayed at (granted it was at the end of October so there was only 10 people there)

[deathtopumpkins]

I used to move the car around the parking lot a bit, and then when I turned 13 my mom began letting me drive her places around town as long as I stuck to 25-mph residential streets for the most part.

[ComputerGuy]

I ride a motorized bike made for a 13-year old..it goes to street speed so I can ride across the highway (no freeways) to the Target.

[Chris]

I never driven a car until I turned 18 (legal driving age in the Netherlands).

[rawr apples]

My mom used to let me control the stick shift when I was around 12, and at 13 I was allowed to drive around this giant park near our house. at 14, she told me I could go around the backstreets of Lovettsville,VA, and I ended up at a t-junction with a major road and was forced to drive on it for 4 miles         And then when I got my driving permit, the next day we drove cross-country from Michigan  to Oregon

[ctsignguy]

lesseee....

back when i was a kid (about 7 or so), my brother and i would watch the old 'Batman' live-action TV show, and wrap bath towels around our necks like they were capes...we had no Batpoles, so we improvised by sliding down the stairrails to our mom's car (a 1954 Thunderbird)  Well, one day she didnrt lock the doors and we got inside, and i accidentally put the car in reverse (back in those days, you could reverse a car without the key in the ignition...my brother started yelling and i never saw my mom fly out the door so fast...thankfully, the car wasnt moving too fast so she caught it reasonably quickly, nobody was hurt, and nothing was damaged, but boy, did I get an EARFUL afterward!!!

ahhh, the good old days!

[Bryant5493]

I remember my dad would sit me on his lap and let me hold the wheel (that was back before seatbelt use was a real big deal -- the early '90s), as we drove a short distance to our house.


Be well,

Bryant

[bugo]

lesseee....

back when i was a kid (about 7 or so), my brother and i would watch the old 'Batman' live-action TV show, and wrap bath towels around our necks like they were capes...we had no Batpoles, so we improvised by sliding down the stairrails to our mom's car (a 1954 Thunderbird)  Well, one day she didnrt lock the doors and we got inside, and i accidentally put the car in reverse (back in those days, you could reverse a car without the key in the ignition...my brother started yelling and i never saw my mom fly out the door so fast...thankfully, the car wasnt moving too fast so she caught it reasonably quickly, nobody was hurt, and nothing was damaged, but boy, did I get an EARFUL afterward!!!

ahhh, the good old days!

I'm not trying to be anal, but the first Thunderbird was the 1955 model.

[Gars]

 Im 15, so im still a rroadgeek in training for one more year .

[ctsignguy]

lesseee....

back when i was a kid (about 7 or so), my brother and i would watch the old 'Batman' live-action TV show, and wrap bath towels around our necks like they were capes...we had no Batpoles, so we improvised by sliding down the stairrails to our mom's car (a 1954 Thunderbird)  Well, one day she didnrt lock the doors and we got inside, and i accidentally put the car in reverse (back in those days, you could reverse a car without the key in the ignition...my brother started yelling and i never saw my mom fly out the door so fast...thankfully, the car wasnt moving too fast so she caught it reasonably quickly, nobody was hurt, and nothing was damaged, but boy, did I get an EARFUL afterward!!!

ahhh, the good old days!

I'm not trying to be anal, but the first Thunderbird was the 1955 model.

no, you are right....should have checked that before posting....it was a 1964 T-Bird!!!   

[aswnl]

My father let me drive in his car on a sunday in an at that moment quite deserted industrial area, when I was 13.
However I then had a lot of trouble with handling the clutch pedal (clutching is still normal today in European cars).
At 17 I drove on a private circuit, that went quite well. Driving on public roads became possible after I got my license at 18 (as Chris already mentioned the legal age in NL - and most of the rest of Europe too).

[agentsteel53]

heh, it always takes me a bit of time to re-learn how to drive stick.  In the US, all rental cars are automatic, while in Europe they're all stick... Norway was fun since that was the first time I drove stick in about 10 years.  (I did briefly at age 16 in the US, and also at age 11 or 12 when my dad first taught me to drive!) 

In Norway, coming out of the airport rental car lot, getting the car into first without stalling the first time took about four tries, on level ground.  Second was easy, third too ... fourth.  Clunk!  Fourth?  Uh oh! 

At that point I realized that I was one groove off on my calculations of the stick's position, and I was attempting to put the car into a nonexistent sixth gear.  Starting in first, instead of third, was significantly easier after that!

[Hellfighter]

I became a roadgeek 3 years ago with my current car, a 1988 Toyota Camry LE with 145,000 miles.

[njroadhorse]

I now officially have my NJ Drivers License!