New Drivers

Next month my oldest granddaughter turns 16. I'm not old enough to have a granddaughter that old, but that's another post for another time.

Part of my granddaughter turning 16 is getting a driver's license. I'm sure most of us can remember getting our own driver's license and if you're like me you want to forget your children getting theirs.

I was thinking about this for two reasons. The first is that we were helping our youngest child move from an apartment to a house, a journey of less than two miles. Our granddaughters were with us and at one point my wife and the granddaughters stayed with out truck at the apartment and I went with another vehicle to the house. When I saw the truck coming down the street I saw my granddaughter behind the wheel. The rest of the day my wife kept handing my granddaughter the keys, even when I was in the truck. I'm glad to say there were no accidents or close calls, but it still made my heart beat faster.

At the next day my wife and I went to visit a friend, Sam, in the hospital. Sam had surgery a day or two before our visit and was in quite a bit of pain and taking powerful pain medication. According to Sam's wife, Karen, the medication was making her normally quiet husband into a chatter box. Somehow after we said hello Sam got started telling stores from his years a driver training teacher for a private driving school. Sam is a very straight forward man, and his stories were the same.

We live in northern California less than an hour from Folsom Prison. Sam's has stories of taking teenagers up to Folsom Prison for driver training. One story he shared was of a long haired young man with a very bad attitude. I assume from what Sam said this young man has been a little trouble. Sam had this young man drive up to Folsom Prison into the visitor's parking lot where a guard met them and asked what business they had at the prison. Sam's response was, "I just wanted to show this young man where he's going to end up if he doesn't straighten up!" The young man's attitude seemed to get a little better.

Another time Sam took a young lady out to Folsom Prison and drove around the parking lot and then started back towards the main street on the access road. Inmates were working along the access road picking up trash. Sam told the young lady to keep a steady speed because if she slowed down one of the inmates would try to jump in the car and escape. Just a short distance from the main road one of the inmates stepped onto the access road, the young lady didn't hesitate, she hit the gas and raced to the main road.

Sam's stories reminded me that my experiences teaching my own children to drive were very mild and unexciting.

My own experiences behind the wheel were not so pedestrian. When I took driver training it was offered by my high school and like many others I took the class over the summer between my sophomore and junior years. I remember my teacher was a football coach from one of the other high schools in the school district who was also a member of my family's church.

My first time behind the wheel with Coach Bond was memorable. He told me to make a right turn and took the corner to fast and he hit the brake on his side of the car. He told me that if he had to use the brake again he would also hit the "kill" switch and I would be done driving. The rest of my class was fine.

In the fall I got my driver's license. One Sunday evening there was a youth group meeting at Coach Bond's house. Because I had my license my parents let me drive the old Rambler sedan my dad and I had rebuilt. When I pulled up to Coach Bond's house he was standing at the door welcoming some other people. As I walked up to the door I invited Coach Bond to take a ride with me in my Rambler. He not so politely declined stating that he was no longer being paid so there was no way he was getting into a car with me behind the wheel.

We all have to begin some where and learn how to drive. All of this reminds me that age is not always the determining factor for a good or bad driver. I know people in their forties and fifties who have been driving for years but I wouldn't get into a car with them as the driver. I know younger drivers, in their twenties, who I am very comfortable with as drivers. Unfortunately for my granddaughter she is not there yet. So when she gets to drive my car, or truck, I will be a little anxious and biting my tongue so as not to be overwhelming with my advice.