This page contains stories from people around the world about learning to drive.
Not so much a funny story......more of a "sad but
true".... When the instructor visited last week he didn't believe that she had a full (Dutch) license, During her entire Italian driving course she had only used 3rd gear once (and never 4th or 5th). She asked what the mirrors were for and was told "motorway driving only. You don't use them in town". During her test, the examiner sat in the back of the car while the instructor sat in the passenger seat telling her what to do!!!! From Pete Jones |
| When I was a young man just starting
to drive, I drove too hard, braking abruptly, etc. My father put a bottle of wine in the
boot. Then I had to drive 5 kilometres and if I managed to come back and the bottle was
still standing I got permission to drink it with friends. This teaches you to drive
softly. From Henning Sinz |
| I still remember my driving instructor
from almost 25 years ago. Getting into the car for our first trip, he turned on the radio
and managed a steady banter on everything from taxes to the price of tea in China. Not to
mention constantly fiddling with the radio, windows, heater, etc. When I finally told him that trying to cope with him and practising my driving at the same time was a challenge, he told me that this was nothing compared to having a wife and three kids in the back seat, all trying to talk at the same time. I remember him when my wife and daughter are competing for my attention. From Rick Nakroshis |
When I was beginning the "behind the wheel" portion of driving instruction (10th grade), there were three students in the car. We were new to driving and my instructor asked "is there anyone who has previous driving experience?" I was compelled to reply "I do, and I have a police record to prove it". Myself and three of my 15 year old friends (you must be at least 16 in the U.S. to drive) had pushed a parents car out of the garage and had several evenings of fun. One night, the police stumbled upon our adventures and were none to excited about them. The positive part of the story is that my previous driving experience helped me get an A+ in Drivers Education! From Dave Lehrer |
| In the State if Indiana, the public
school system offers driver education courses during the academic year in some high
schools. As a sophomore, I took this course during period one at 8.35 am for a very
popular reason. The instructor was almost at retirement age, and everytime my group went
out to drive, he would drop his head and doze off. I can remember several times when we
drove on the interstate, and once he would fall asleep, we would turn the radio down and
try to avoid all the bumps on the road. By the time he woke up, we were too far away from
the school to arrive back in time for the second period class. We got away with this
several times before he wised up to our group! From Keith Chew |
| Accident insurance claim forms ask
for a brief statement about how the accident happened. The combination of
the finger pointing instinct and the small spaces provided on the forms can
lead to some curiously phrased explanations. Car Accidents: "A pedestrian hit
me and went under my car." "I had been learning to drive with power steering. I turned the wheel to what I thought was enough and found myself in a different direction going the opposite way." "Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have." "I thought my window was down; but found it was up when I put my hand through it." "No one was to blame for the accident, but it never would have happened if the other driver had been alert." "The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him." "I saw the slow-moving, sad-faced old gentleman as he bounced off the hood of my car." "I had been driving for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident." "I was taking my canary to the hospital. It got loose in the car and flew out the window. The next thing I saw was his rear end, and there was a crash." "I was backing my car out of the driveway in the usual manner when it was struck by the other car in the same place where it had been struck several times before." "The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth." "The accident happened when the right door of a car came around the corner without giving a signal." "I was thrown from my car as it left the road. I was later found in a ditch by some stray cows." "I had been shopping for plants all day and was on my way home. As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprung up, obscuring my vision." "I was on the way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way causing me to have an accident." "I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the road when I struck him." "I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing my hat, I found that I had a fractured skull." "I was unable to stop in time, and my car crashed into the other vehicle. The driver and passengers then left immediately for a vacation with injuries." "To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front, I struck the pedestrian." "The accident occurred when I was attempting to bring my car out of a skid by steering it into the other vehicle." "When I could not avoid a collision, I stepped on the gas and crashed into the other car." "I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way." "In my attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole." "My car was legally parked as it backed into the other vehicle." "As I approached the intersection, a stop sign suddenly appeared in a place where no stop sign had ever appeared before. I was unable to stop in time to avoid the accident." "The telephone pole was approaching fast. I was attempting to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end." "A truck backed though my windshield and into my wife's face." "I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment." "The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him." "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my vehicle, and vanished." |