driving lesson
Upon our return from the Letterbox adventure I offered to let Middle practice driving.
Middle, it should be noted, fully intends to attend college in a large city, and sees no point in learning to drive as he "has no where to go" and "will be taking the train" for the next few years.
But K and I believe that he should learn to drive if only to assist in the retrieval of his brother or to pick up some milk when we run out. We also think that learning the mechanics of it all is only half of the process while having experience driving is equally valuable.
Middle has been resisting but his attitude improved last weekend and he agreed to take the wheel.
With his hands in the suggested 10 and 2 position (which I didn't teach him) he first experimented with the feeling of the gas and brake pedals.
He was unsure of the pressure for each pedal and I realized that he was approaching the whole thing with a much more contemplative mindset than his brother who was a hop-right-in-and-drive kind of guy.
I could see how his mastery of certain video games, in which he has driven, served him
well. He had a decent perception of distances and knew how early to start braking.
I remember not knowing when to begin depressing the brake pedal when I was learning to drive and can now imagine my parents nerves fraying.
I'm sure there are set answers for a lot of the questions he asked before he actually drove but I wasn't especially prepared and guessed a lot. Finally, after much discussion, he hit the gas and practiced driving in a straight line, stopping, turning around, and returning to our starting point.
It was especially interesting as we were in a parking lot where policemen take their breaks and chat.
They were not fazed by his presence - though it is possible that his learner's permit has expired. (I need to check that.)
We spent quite a while skirting the edges of the parking lot - he did very well, when I realized that he had been making only right turns for nearly 30 minutes.
I had him go the other way around the lot for another 30 or so.
I was so excited for him. I kept asking him if he felt free suddenly, the way I did when I learned to drive. You could drive anywhere! I said with great enthusiasm, but, as Middle is a quiet man, he stayed silent.
Youngest was in the back seat the whole time and so there was some good natured brotherly joking between them.
We practiced with directionals and did some parking and he even had to deal with pedestrians.
This is some lousy parking, isn't it?
It's not Middle -
It was a guy with a baby, who I'm guessing was in a hurry to get to the playground.
Looking slightly pleased with himself, Middle got back in the passenger seat and we decided to bring Youngest home and let Middle see what it was like to drive on a street, in a neighborhood.
We went across the busy road to the blocks of houses near our home.
There, Middle drove over a dozen streets and encountered parked cars (yard sale),
runners, people walking in the middle of the street whilst chatting on their cell phones and The Trifecta: a police car driving towards him as he passed a large parked truck with a man walking his dog in the gutter. He handled it all very well and I was very proud of him.
His cautious nature will be handy as he continues to practice - though he does need to remember to look both ways at intersections.
I suppose it will all come in time.
Middle, it should be noted, fully intends to attend college in a large city, and sees no point in learning to drive as he "has no where to go" and "will be taking the train" for the next few years.
But K and I believe that he should learn to drive if only to assist in the retrieval of his brother or to pick up some milk when we run out. We also think that learning the mechanics of it all is only half of the process while having experience driving is equally valuable.
Middle has been resisting but his attitude improved last weekend and he agreed to take the wheel.
With his hands in the suggested 10 and 2 position (which I didn't teach him) he first experimented with the feeling of the gas and brake pedals.
He was unsure of the pressure for each pedal and I realized that he was approaching the whole thing with a much more contemplative mindset than his brother who was a hop-right-in-and-drive kind of guy.
I could see how his mastery of certain video games, in which he has driven, served him
well. He had a decent perception of distances and knew how early to start braking.
I remember not knowing when to begin depressing the brake pedal when I was learning to drive and can now imagine my parents nerves fraying.
I'm sure there are set answers for a lot of the questions he asked before he actually drove but I wasn't especially prepared and guessed a lot. Finally, after much discussion, he hit the gas and practiced driving in a straight line, stopping, turning around, and returning to our starting point.
It was especially interesting as we were in a parking lot where policemen take their breaks and chat.
They were not fazed by his presence - though it is possible that his learner's permit has expired. (I need to check that.)
We spent quite a while skirting the edges of the parking lot - he did very well, when I realized that he had been making only right turns for nearly 30 minutes.
I had him go the other way around the lot for another 30 or so.
I was so excited for him. I kept asking him if he felt free suddenly, the way I did when I learned to drive. You could drive anywhere! I said with great enthusiasm, but, as Middle is a quiet man, he stayed silent.
Youngest was in the back seat the whole time and so there was some good natured brotherly joking between them.
We practiced with directionals and did some parking and he even had to deal with pedestrians.
This is some lousy parking, isn't it?
It's not Middle -
It was a guy with a baby, who I'm guessing was in a hurry to get to the playground.
Looking slightly pleased with himself, Middle got back in the passenger seat and we decided to bring Youngest home and let Middle see what it was like to drive on a street, in a neighborhood.
We went across the busy road to the blocks of houses near our home.
There, Middle drove over a dozen streets and encountered parked cars (yard sale),
runners, people walking in the middle of the street whilst chatting on their cell phones and The Trifecta: a police car driving towards him as he passed a large parked truck with a man walking his dog in the gutter. He handled it all very well and I was very proud of him.
His cautious nature will be handy as he continues to practice - though he does need to remember to look both ways at intersections.
I suppose it will all come in time.
Comments
He did pretty much the same tasks as Middle. I felt he'd done pretty well for his first time, but he did look bored, or a bit detached.
On our next lesson we did a similar thing, but this time I too felt he could drive home the slow way. He did OK really, in terms of speed etc, and I only winced as we passed a parked car and a kerb a little too close on one occasion. I encouraged him to inch further forwards to see as far as possible when we stopped at a crest, which he did skilfully enough.
Once we had passed the intersection he drove on and then pulled unexpectedly into a driveway. 'You drive home' he said. 'Why hon, you're doing so well?' 'Nope' he said. 'This sucks and I'm never doing it again'.
He would not be swayed. And more than two years later he has never got behind the wheel again. He just didn't enjoy it. He is a very physical guy, not a mad car fanatic at all, and is avowedly happier taking public transport everywhere, with the odd lift from us.
I confess to being relieved that he will not be out with our one car at all hours, and that he can drink and NOT be behind the wheel (his friends may be another matter). But I wish he could pick up his sister, or a carton of milk.
I took my youngest step-brother to a parking lot to practive driving (when I was all of 18 and OH so knowledgeable) and we both thought we'd broken the car when he stalled it and we couldn't get it to start (it was an automatic and still in Drive -- oy).
She will be parking in front of her building. She said "Thank You Massachusetts for requiring this maneuver on the driving test.
The only reason I got my driver's license is because I was going to be a commuter student in college. Mom said she wouldn't be driving me to school every day.
Middle looked quite relaxed.
Middle, it should be noted, fully intends to attend college in a large city, and sees no point in learning to drive as he "has no where to go" and "will be taking the train" for the next few years.
is fantastic! I can't imagine a teen NOT wanting to learn to drive. Teens here in Michigan can't WAIT to learn how to drive. Of course, we don't have a fantastic public transportation system. Just some buses that may or may not be going where you need to get.
I learned to drive in a parking lot, too. I'm sure that car, if it hasn't been flattened in a junkyard by now, still has fingernail marks in the passenger side dashboard.
And Lori was definitely a better driver than I was. Probably still is.
so Middle, my dear...just go for it
paola
In fact I need a lie down after thinking about it.
Make sure he also learns how to drive a stick--the earlier the better. Even if you don't have one, you never know when you might need to drive one.
After that experience you may need something harder than wine. And maybe a chiropracter.
jbhat
I first learned to drive an automatic then fell in love & bought a car with a stick. My brother had to teach me IN ONE DAY how to drive it because I headed off on a 7-hour roadtrip the next day. My parents, too nervous about the trip, were grateful my brother did the teaching :)
If my lessons were like Paola's, I would have very good muscle definition in my legs by now.
ErinH
Neither of us show anywhere near the amount of patience you must possess!
Or are you old hands at it, having done it all with Oldest some years ago?
I can't IMAGINE how I'll be in a few years time.
I don't think my nerves can handle my kids learning to drive. Luckily I have 9 more years or so for that :)