Driver’s Education Turns 75

Nine comments on this post so far. Add yours!

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  BrandonHansen on March 16 at 10:06 a.m.

  Ah Driver’s ed at 6 am in the morning at Jenkins High School and then the nerve-racking drives in the afternoon. The biggest fear was driving on the highway in Chewelah.

  And then I can remember the first time i drove in Spokane, that was scary to me… felt like driving in New York during rush hour.

  Brandon Hansen
  Just South of North
  www.justsouthofnorth.com

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  Liz on March 16 at 10:42 a.m.

  I learned to drive in Missouri. Best memory: nearly ramming into a Lincoln Town car in front of me…why is it ALWAYS a Beamer or a Jag or something like that that you nearly hit in driver’s ed??? No one hardly ever has a near miss with an old beater on its last legs.
  Its been fun ever since: I learned to drive a standard shift on the freeways of LA and then on to Boston where I had a chance to finely hone my defensive driving skills….
  what a long strange trip it’s been…

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  Token on March 16 at 10:50 a.m.

  Nope, never took Driver’s Ed. My mother taught me on the back roads of North Idaho before I got my learners permit. It was nice. There weren’t really other cars to worry about. I still remember the first time I drove in Spokane. I was terrified! And I think my mother was, too.

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  Frum Helen Back on March 16 at 11:12 a.m.

  They didn’t have driver’s ed. when I was in high school. It was up to our parents to teach us. I got a learner’s permit when I was 15 1/2 and my driver’s license on my 16th birthday. That was the best birthday present I could have received.

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  mia on March 16 at 12:37 p.m.

  I took driver’s ed. at CHS in 1976. Got my license three months before my 16th birthday. What freedom! It was one of the happiest days of my life!

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  JeanieSpokane on March 16 at 12:57 p.m.

  I took driver’s ed the summer I turned 16. Passed the test first time. Loaded the VW Bug with about 10 school chums and drove us all to a pre-school barbeque. Arrived safely while our mothers all simultaneously wet their pants.

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  saraeanderson on March 16 at 1:19 p.m.

  I took driver’s ed during the summer; it was a pain in the butt, I must say. Homework, and lots of it. I got extra credit for learning to change a tire (I don’t remember the details, but I could probably figure it out if I got together the equipment and tried it.) I started driving at 15 (back in the olden days when you could drive in ID at 15 during daylight). I got so used to it that when I went to Finland during the summer of 2000, I was a little horrified that none of the kids I hung out with could drive until 18 (and maybe relatedly, they were almost all virgins at 17 and 18). That summer, I realized that you really *can* forget how to ride a bicycle.

  People say that the US is too dependent on cars, which didn’t seem to me like it could be avoided until I was in Finland and saw that they had pedestrian/bike paths along every single road, including highways.

  To my mind, letting kids drive a little earlier in an area like this makes sense when almost everyone lives a few miles out of town, and if they’re going to go anywhere, it’s probably by car. Accidents involving teenage drivers are extremely common (even without alcohol), but I get the impression that they’re more frequent and fatal in more-urban areas. I wonder what an epidemiologist would have to say about the relative advantages and disadvantages of letting people under the age of 18 drive.

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  Charlie on March 16 at 1:24 p.m.

  Drivers ed was just getting started at our school but I didn’t get in it, waiting list. I learned to drive on the farm. My mom had a picture of me driving a tractor at age 5 on my grandpop’s farm. Driving on the highway was a snap, did drive a bit fast, so my mom said.

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  Escapee on March 16 at 9:38 p.m.

  i took drivers’ ed in CDA (1970)…my former Math teacher, Mr. House, was our instructor. He whistled religious tunes while I drove. I wonder if he was trying to tell me something…

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