My family didn’t own a car when I was growing up, so when it came time for me to learn how to drive at the age of 17, it was an extremely difficult concept for me to grasp. I just had NO idea, let alone driving tips passed down to me.
I didn’t have the first clue about clutches or brakes or indicators or well, anything really. I mean, I would still marvel at the retractable seatbelt when I first started getting into my friend’s cars. It sounds like I grew up in 1921 but I didn’t. We were just one of those families that didn’t own a car.
Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Nissan. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in her own words.
So when it came time for me to learn how to drive, it was, shall we say, difficult. The only person in my family that was available to teach me at the time was my brother. And let’s just say he wasn’t nor is he still, known for his patience. So instead, I had, and I do not exaggerate here, 52 driving lessons with an instructor. 52! I spent nearly as much money learning how to drive as I did on my first car.
Now days of course, there is a totally different system. 120 hours must be spent driving with someone supervising, a record kept to validate this and more years spent on your P-Plates than ever before. This is only a good thing as I can honestly say that I still had no idea what I was doing when I passed my driving test on my first try, despite the fact that I went through a red light and ran up the gutter at the RTA. Yet, there I was, free to drive the mean streets of the Gold Coast with absolutely no solo driving skills whatsoever. How I made it through that first year alive is still a mystery to me. And I certainly do NOT want my daughter who although is at this stage still only 14, to be as useless as I was.