Roads Which Taught You How To Drive

[roadman]

In the summer of 1980, I was rejected for a summer job with New England Telephone as a residential telephone installer - the interviewer noted that I had great qualifications, except for one key requirement - I couldn't drive a manual transmission.

Shortly thereafter, my brother - at the prodding of my father - offered to teach me manual shift on his 1978 Chevy Monza, which was probably one of the worst cars for anyone to learn manual shift driving on.  The car had both a horribly deep clutch and a very sloppy gearbox.  For these reasons, among others, my manual transmission learning lasted all of three weeks.

Although I never fully got the hang of driving a stick,  I learned enough that I could probably move a stick car in an emergency situation. 

Ironically, the experience with the Monza helped my years later when I bought my 2012 Focus, which has the dual-clutch solenoid driven "automatic" transmission.  Lots has been written and said about the horrors of the 2012 Focus DCT.  But, as I read somewhere before buying the car, the majority of these issues are easily avoided if you drive the car as if it has a manual transmission without the foot clutch.  Suddenly, all those lessons my brother tried to teach me about manual transmission in 1980 came back to serve me in good stead.

[ET21]

Downtown Chicago taught me to always pay attention to the road and surroundings. I honestly feel like I learned more driving with my Dad through downtown, I-55, Cicero Ave, and our local streets in Oak Lawn than I did with the driving instructors.

[roadman]

Downtown Chicago taught me to always pay attention to the road and surroundings. I honestly feel like I learned more driving with my Dad through downtown, I-55, Cicero Ave, and our local streets in Oak Lawn than I did with the driving instructors.

When I took driver's ed, it very quickly became my impression that the goal of the driving instructors was only to teach you enough to pass the road test.  Like you, I learned much more about both basic driving skills and useful pointers to avoid problems from my father.  As for classroom instruction, I recall one time where we took a sample learner's permit test that was from 1955.  When it came to the question "What does a single white center line mean?", I was the only one in the class that knew the proper answer (do not pass), and was also asked by the instructor to explain to the class why it was the proper answer (in 1955, yellow center lines didn't exist in Massachusetts).

[kphoger]

Downtown Chicago taught me to always pay attention to the road and surroundings. I honestly feel like I learned more driving with my Dad through downtown, I-55, Cicero Ave, and our local streets in Oak Lawn than I did with the driving instructors.

The first red light I ever accidentally ran was across Michigan Avenue, in front of a CTA bus.  Scary!   

[mrsman]

I got my license without really having any freeway experience during the instruction phase or driving with my parents with my learner's permit.  They were too scared to drive freeways with me.  So once I got my license, I taught myself.

The Marina Fwy (LA area) is one of the easiest and shortest freeways to learn some of the basic maneuvers for entering, exiting, and passing because it is low traffic.  The Glendale freeway was also a favorite for learning purposes for much of the same reasons.

Once I got the handle on that, I did my own freeway tour during off-peak hours of all the local freeways that were around western LA county in the early 1990's. 

[jp the roadgeek]

I was kind of self-taught in how to drive.  I always enjoyed playing the car racing arcade games (Turbo, Out Run, Monaco GP) with my dad, so that kind of gave me the feeling of how a steering wheel works.  Then, I moved on to golf carts.  From about age 11-15,  my parents would take my friends and I to my dad's place of business (a family car dealership) after hours, and we would drive golf carts around the parking lot.  When I was 14, my dad did let me drive the car home once about 3 miles through local streets late in the evening when traffic was light.  When I turned 16, I was pretty much raring to go.  My great aunt would let me practice in a local cemetery.  Soon, I was driving on local roads, including a couple of semi-rural numbered roads (CT 120, CT 364). In a few months, I was driving regularly on roads like CT 10 and the Berlin Turnpike, as kids back then were allowed to drive with an adult as long as they had 10 years' experience.  Before I received my official license, I had driven on the highway; even drove to Danbury on I-84.  I took drivers' ed just for the insurance discount, but I felt like I could have taught the class myself.  I took my test about 9 months after my 16th birthday.  I got 14/15 on my written test; only question I got wrong had to do with how many points you get on your license for passing a standing school bus.  I pretty much aced my road test, with a tricky yield sign and having to back in to a space (no parallel parking, yay!!).  Walked out with the license the first time.

[paulthemapguy]

I grew up on the fringe of the Chicago area.  At the brink of urban sprawl, I got the opportunity to drive my mom's old bright red Dodge Caravan around the streets of a brand new subdivision, before the homes were built.  The small network of streets with mountable curb, surrounded by nothing but dirt, were an excellent place to learn how to drive.  My first freeway driving took place on I-55 between IL-126 and Weber Road.

[kphoger]

I got 14/15 on my written test; only question I got wrong had to do with how many points you get on your license for passing a standing school bus.

And why the heck is that even on the test?  You never need to know that.  That should be on some test administered to the people who actually assess those points to your license.

[jakeroot]

I got 14/15 on my written test; only question I got wrong had to do with how many points you get on your license for passing a standing school bus.

And why the heck is that even on the test?  You never need to know that.  That should be on some test administered to the people who actually assess those points to your license.

Yeah, that's weird. They're policing the students before they've even hit the road!

[Hurricane Rex]

I got 14/15 on my written test; only question I got wrong had to do with how many points you get on your license for passing a standing school bus.

And why the heck is that even on the test?  You never need to know that.  That should be on some test administered to the people who actually assess those points to your license.

I know your feeling @jp the roadgeek

I had a similar trick question:
A horse and rider goes into the road. What do you do?

a. Keep driving as normal, the horse will move out of your way.
b. Stop and wave the horse through.
c. (Can't remember but it's irrelevant)
d. Go into the other lane or swerve off the road if needed.

Because of not enough information, I guessed B. It was D.
This was not in the drivers manual.

[csw]

I could understand that question on a Midwestern driving test, but if you're in Oregon.....ain't too many Amish out there.

[kphoger]

I could understand that question on a Midwestern driving test, but if you're in Oregon.....ain't too many Amish out there.

Then your license should have a restriction saying you can't drive outside Oregon...

[US 89]

The only question I remember was:
How many sides does a stop sign have?
A. 4
B. 6
C. 8

As for my road test, I pretty much failed the parallel parking, but I made up for it by being extra careful when turning left onto a main road (apparently that gave me bonus points). Passed my first time.

[corco]

I could understand that question on a Midwestern driving test, but if you're in Oregon.....ain't too many Amish out there.

Then your license should have a restriction saying you can't drive outside Oregon...

It's not terribly uncommon in any open range state... including Eastern Oregon! I had to overtake a cattle drive in Union County just last year, and yeah, D is the common sense answer in a cattle drive situation.

Though yeah, the question itself is pretty vague.

[7/8]

I got 14/15 on my written test; only question I got wrong had to do with how many points you get on your license for passing a standing school bus.

And why the heck is that even on the test?  You never need to know that.  That should be on some test administered to the people who actually assess those points to your license.

I had multiple questions like this on my G1 licence test (the first stage of the graduated licensing system) and I actually failed the first time. I immediately paid $10 to redo it and I passed. I didn't study those since I didn't think it would be necessary.

I passed my G2 and G tests (in-car) first time, so that helps redeem me .

[kkt]

The only question I remember was:
How many sides does a stop sign have?
A. 4
B. 6
C. 8

As for my road test, I pretty much failed the parallel parking, but I made up for it by being extra careful when turning left onto a main road (apparently that gave me bonus points). Passed my first time.

But there are 10 sides on a stop sign.  Don't forget the front and back.

[1995hoo]

The only question I remember was:
How many sides does a stop sign have?
A. 4
B. 6
C. 8

As for my road test, I pretty much failed the parallel parking, but I made up for it by being extra careful when turning left onto a main road (apparently that gave me bonus points). Passed my first time.

Parallel parking wasn't (and, as far as I know, still isn't) on the road test in Virginia and it wasn't taught as part of the behind-the-wheel class I took. Taught myself how to parallel park when I went off to college and found that some nights if I parallel-parked on a city street (as opposed to university property) I could save myself a 20-minute walk from the lot where my parking permit was valid.

There are a lot of people here who seem even more terrible at it than you might expect the average driver to be, people who clearly have no idea how to do it. (I've sometimes wondered if this sort of thing is why it seems more common in the South for there to be designated parallel parking spaces with lines between them, that is because people won't be able to maneuver if you let people pull up closer like they do in New York.)

Returning to the road test, pretty much everyone at my high school knew what the test route was at the DMV where I took the test. They took you through a trailer park with a 15-mph speed limit to see whether you'd speed. I downshifted into first gear (used my mom's car with an automatic shift) so the engine would help me keep my speed down.

[jeffandnicole]

The only question I remember was:
How many sides does a stop sign have?
A. 4
B. 6
C. 8

As for my road test, I pretty much failed the parallel parking, but I made up for it by being extra careful when turning left onto a main road (apparently that gave me bonus points). Passed my first time.

Parallel parking wasn't (and, as far as I know, still isn't) on the road test in Virginia and it wasn't taught as part of the behind-the-wheel class I took. Taught myself how to parallel park when I went off to college and found that some nights if I parallel-parked on a city street (as opposed to university property) I could save myself a 20-minute walk from the lot where my parking permit was valid.

There are a lot of people here who seem even more terrible at it than you might expect the average driver to be, people who clearly have no idea how to do it. (I've sometimes wondered if this sort of thing is why it seems more common in the South for there to be designated parallel parking spaces with lines between them, that is because people won't be able to maneuver if you let people pull up closer like they do in New York.)

Returning to the road test, pretty much everyone at my high school knew what the test route was at the DMV where I took the test. They took you through a trailer park with a 15-mph speed limit to see whether you'd speed. I downshifted into first gear (used my mom's car with an automatic shift) so the engine would help me keep my speed down.

Guy I carpool with could never do it properly in front of my house.  When we ragged on him about it, he claims he can do it fine...yet every single time he would pull in front-first, try to back up, and of course could never get it and complain about the space, which a tractor trailer could fit in.

He has 4 kids that all have taken their driving tests.  They all passed on the first try.  We're in a state that requires a parallel parking test.  I'm guessing he's not the one showing his kids how to parallel park.

[1995hoo]

I sort of wonder to what extent people who have trouble parallel parking find devices like rearview cameras and the sonar that beeps when you get close to an obstacle to be helpful. My wife's new car has those features. I was already pretty good at parallel parking in tight spaces, but I have to say I love how the combination of the camera and the sonar removes any doubt about where the rear of the car is (you know how you're not always sure about it in a less-familiar car?) such that it's really easy to pull in super-close to the vehicle(s) on either side, such as if you need to park in a really tight space. (I tend to pull super-close only if the car in front or behind is one of our other cars. Otherwise, I'll leave a little more space than I think is necessary because I don't know how competent the other driver is when it comes to exiting a parallel park.)

[kphoger]

Returning to the road test, pretty much everyone at my high school knew what the test route was at the DMV where I took the test. They took you through a trailer park with a 15-mph speed limit to see whether you'd speed. I downshifted into first gear (used my mom's car with an automatic shift) so the engine would help me keep my speed down.

A trailer park, huh?  Did that 15mph speed limit sign even have the force of law behind it?  I don't suppose the instructor would have been impressed by your assertion that you're legally allowed to ignore it, though...

[1995hoo]

Returning to the road test, pretty much everyone at my high school knew what the test route was at the DMV where I took the test. They took you through a trailer park with a 15-mph speed limit to see whether you'd speed. I downshifted into first gear (used my mom's car with an automatic shift) so the engine would help me keep my speed down.

A trailer park, huh?  Did that 15mph speed limit sign even have the force of law behind it?  I don't suppose the instructor would have been impressed by your assertion that you're legally allowed to ignore it, though...

I have no idea. I was 16 years old (well, actually, since I was born at 7:53 PM Central Time, I was probably still technically 15) and I would not have explored that issue at the time–and, as you say, I certainly wouldn't have made an issue of it. The DMV there is gone, as far as I can determine, but it looks like the trailer park is still there based on Google Street View, and it looks like it's probably been spiffed up since May 1989. (In the link below, the camera is pointed towards where the DMV used to be and the trailer park is to the left. I don't remember whether we entered the trailer park here or somewhere else. I seem to think we accessed it off nearby Rust Road before they built the shopping area where Wal-Mart is now and the streets were reconfigured, but it's simply been too many years to remember. I tried using Historic Aerials to determine, but the image is too grainy and the watermark gets in the way. What I do recall is that the vast majority of the road test was on these 15-mph streets.)

https://goo.gl/maps/UUvg4zihEes


(Edited to shorten the insanely long Google link)

[roadman]

In the mid to late 1970s, when the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) office in Lynn was off of Central Square, the RMV examiners would use one of three routes for the road test.  As part of the last two 'behind the wheel' sessions, the driving school I attended would have us drive each of these routes and replicate what was expected on the test.  When I took my road test, my examiner used the shortest test route of the three, but he omitted about half the stuff I'd practiced with the instructor.

[jeffandnicole]

Returning to the road test, pretty much everyone at my high school knew what the test route was at the DMV where I took the test. They took you through a trailer park with a 15-mph speed limit to see whether you'd speed. I downshifted into first gear (used my mom's car with an automatic shift) so the engine would help me keep my speed down.

A trailer park, huh?  Did that 15mph speed limit sign even have the force of law behind it?  I don't suppose the instructor would have been impressed by your assertion that you're legally allowed to ignore it, though...

Why would the limit be illegal?

[vdeane]

In the mid to late 1970s, when the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) office in Lynn was off of Central Square, the RMV examiners would use one of three routes for the road test.  As part of the last two 'behind the wheel' sessions, the driving school I attended would have us drive each of these routes and replicate what was expected on the test.  When I took my road test, my examiner used the shortest test route of the three, but he omitted about half the stuff I'd practiced with the instructor.

In NY it's illegal for people with a learner's permit to drive in road test areas.

[spooky]

I sort of wonder to what extent people who have trouble parallel parking find devices like rearview cameras and the sonar that beeps when you get close to an obstacle to be helpful. My wife's new car has those features. I was already pretty good at parallel parking in tight spaces, but I have to say I love how the combination of the camera and the sonar removes any doubt about where the rear of the car is (you know how you're not always sure about it in a less-familiar car?) such that it's really easy to pull in super-close to the vehicle(s) on either side, such as if you need to park in a really tight space. (I tend to pull super-close only if the car in front or behind is one of our other cars. Otherwise, I'll leave a little more space than I think is necessary because I don't know how competent the other driver is when it comes to exiting a parallel park.)

I can parallel park like a rock star with my backup camera. Previously I was average at best at it.