exactly .

My drivers ed teacher...gasp...30 years ago...was a well-meaning sadist. Or, at least I want to think he was well-meaning.

There was no radio in the DE car, so he'd bring a boombox and play Black Sabbath at ear-bleeding decibels. He'd slap the rear view mirror out of alignment just as you needed it wth an 'oooops!'

He once took us up a one lane dirt road in Niles Canyon to impress upon us which car is required to back up when on a one lane incline. I admit it. I cried.

Ohhh, that is cruel, bonny.

My teacher knew just how to make me cry. He must do that on a regular basis cause he had a box of tissues in the back seat of the car. I had been driving for 3 years before I even took driver's ed, so it wasn't like I was scared of being behind the wheel.

My driver's ed teacher said there was no point in teaching how to parallel park because it was something you just needed to do repeatedly to get the hang of it. (It must not have been on the driver's license test.) And it is so true!

I was terrified. The Driver's ed teacher was a nice kindly old gent with a good, strong heart. The first time I drove I tried to hit a tree and broke the signal indicator.

One of my high school driving instructors scared the crap out of me. They were all PE teachers and I got the impression that they weren't happy about having to teach Driver's Ed. I didn't pass my test until I was 20 and had gone to a professional instuctor. He wouldn't let me wear sandals during lessons but other than that he was a peach and quickly turned my fear of driving around. The only scary thing he did was tell me to turn the wrong way down a one-way street to teach me to pay more attention to the road signs than to the passenger giving directions.

The only scary thing he did was tell me to turn the wrong way down a one-way street to teach me to pay more attention to the road signs than to the passenger giving directions.

I disagree with that teaching technique. The DE is in a position of authority over you, so it doesn't feel right to me for him to do that. (Unless he told you at the beginning of your lessons that he might test you in such a way.)

I did fine in my classes, but my mom rented a car for me to take my driving test in (we had a stick, which I did learn to drive) and I almost flunked the driving portion. The guy noticed the rental sticker and I think took pity on me and passed me. I was always a decent driver, though.

I cannot parallel park. It distresses Hubby that I can't do it. But then, the man learned how to drive stick when his Forest Service boss took him out onto a runway in a fully loaded tanker truck, then left him there, saying, "Next plane's due in 20 minutes, you better have this truck off the runway by then." There's definitely a tough love approach to Hubby trying to teach me skills that doesn't work well, because I *will* drive around the corner to find a place to park that doesn't require backing and turning and praying the traffic behind you doesn't decide to ram you.

I liked my "behind the wheel" driving lessons. They were fun. The only thing I didn't like was once the instructor hit his brake to stop the car when the light turned yellow, telling me there was enough time for me to stop, when I was planning on just running the yellow light.

I remember the car - an Olds Omega. It felt kind of weird to drive, as it was the first front-drive car I'd driven.