Throwback Thursday: how old were you when you learned to drive #TBT

[#1]

It's Thursday!

In Iceland, you can get your driver's permit for a car when you turn 17 years old. My instructor was a wife to a police officer. She used a blue Volvo 244, like the one below, to teach me how to drive. Of course it was a stick shift.

Sooooo, how old were you when you learned how to drive?

Let’s make it a great Thursday!
KGM

[Dan Breyen]

I took my road test at 16 and failed miserably.  Some cities in the US have dedicated Road Test tracks so you're not on the regular city streets.  Well, you there are very few other cars on this track during your test, and you part of the test is to turn onto a 6 lane one-way street, then cross all the lanes, and then turn away from the one way.  Well, of course no one was coming, so I looked, then changed lanes one at a time.  Well, I didn't look for each lane change on this barren wasteland of a test track, and got dinged for it.  

Needless to say, my next test was in a regular city.

Ironically, my career will take me to a new building right next to this test track, so I will be reminded of that road test every day as I drive to work.

Have a crusin' day!

[Jimmy Seddon]

I got my G1 license on my 16th birthday.  However, I have been driving Go-karts since I was 10 years old.  In fact, until I moved away after completing College, going to the Go-kart track was a birthday tradition of mine.

[Amanda Barber]

I got my license when I turned 17. I didn't learn stick shift until after I got my license, but was always proud to know how to drive a manual transmission since most of my friends didn't know how! 

[John Funk]

I took Driver's Education as a class in high school when I was 15 and got my permit. And then got my license when I turned 16. 

[Susan Waldrip]

I learned to drive on hilly backroads in an old 1968 Cadillac Eldorado -- had a HUGE hood, so when I'd go over hills I couldn't see a thing! Fun times, but I passed the test when I was 16 and have loved driving ever since. Prefer cars with smaller hoods, though. 😊

[Tomislav Tobijas]

In Croatia, you can for a standard car license minimum age is 18. For mopeds and motorcycles, it's 15 or 16.

I got my car license straight after high school, just a couple of days after my last exam, my mum got me signed up in driver's school, and I wasn't really happy about it 😅
Now, I actually like driving, especially when you just go through some 'forgotten roads' 🛣️

Btw, driving schools in here are relatively expensive (for our standards)—going from 1.000 to 1.700 EUR (without any extra costs) and last around a couple of months, implying you finish all exams on the first try. 💸

[Brita Moorus]

I started driving school at 16 here in Estonia 🏎️ 🇪🇪 That meant I could drive with a mentor (aka terrified parent) sitting beside me until I turned 18 and got my real license. The countdown to “solo driving freedom” felt like forever back then, but looking back, it was probably a good idea not to let 16-year-old me roam the roads unsupervised 😄

[Barbara Szczesniak]

I learned to drive just after I turned 17, with my teachers being my dad (take your time), my mom (hurry up), and my boyfriend (least stressed, probably because it wasn't his car). I got my license less than 6 months later. I learned to drive a manual transmission at 19 out of necessity when my mom needed to be picked up from work and that was the only car that was at home. 

[Shawn Doyle - ReleaseTEAM]

Was around 12 when I started driving junk cars around the yard. 15 1/2 when I got a license.

[David O_Brien]

I think I was about 10 when I learned to drive on a tractor on the farm. I got my licence to drive on the road when I was 16 (min age).

[Liz Tanner]

14 in a '98 Lincoln at my grandparent's lakehouse.

I got my license at 16 and my parents who wanted me to drive immediately (tons of after school stuff) of course bought me a manual for my bday that I thankfully learned in about a week. She was a 1997 Firebird, 5-speed V6, bright red.

And in a reverse, I moved to LA 5/1/2017. I retired from driving 7/2017. I lasted 2 months, haha!

[Andy Gladstone]

I was 16 when I got my learner's permit, took Driver's Ed the next semester and passed my road test so when I turned 17 I was already issued a full driver's license, bypassing the Junior License phase. It was a good thing that I achieved this so early, I lived 26 miles from my High School and most of my friends lived much closer to the school - so I was on the road a lot in Junior and Senior year of High School.

I don't regret it, but I never learned how to drive a stick shift.

And my first car? Check out this Throwback Thursday for a description!

[Dave Mathijs]

I started karting at age 10, got by moped license at age 16 and my driver's license at age 19.

[Kristján Geir Mathiesen]

Takk friends and...

[Jay Jarman]

I was 13.  I lived in rural KY, and it was acceptable for a kid to drive on the country roads between farm properties.  It was a 1975 Chevy pickup with no accessories, not even a cigarette lighter.  It was a three-speed manual on the column (3 on the tree) with no power steering and no power brakes.  A beast.

[John Funk]

@Jay Jarman  - Dude, on the column is the worst. Never did master that. We owned a florist and one of the delivery vans had the same as your truck - probably the same year and was also a Chevy. My father was the only one who could drive it. He bought me a Chevy Vega when I was a senior in high school for like $400. It was a manual so I had to learn that then. Only 3 of the 4 cylinders worked at all and sometimes not the third. I had to plan my routes to wherever I was going to not have to go up hills, haha. 

[Anwesha Pan _TCS_]

I learnt driving after moving to USA in 2014. Got my first license back then and being from India it was confusing initially since in India we drive on left side of the road :) So everything needed mind and eyes adjusting LOL :D

[Tinker Fadoua]

I learned to drive in Morocco when I was 18. I never drove before.

[__ Jimi Wikman]

I think I was 12-13 or so when I started to drive the tractor on our farm. I used to give the cows water in the summer, which was not exactly a difficult drive, but it still counts ;)

At the age of 51 in a few weeks I still do not have a driver's license, despite my uncle being a driving instructor when I was growing up ;)

I don't drive without a license, just in case that was unclear :)