“New Year’s Driver”
By
Gerry Niskern
It’s 2016. Does your family have a brand new driver? Many lucky families do. I’m sure his head is swimming with instructions from parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and experienced friends (those who got their licenses last month!).
Here’s some of the advice I heard a new driver in our family receiving a few years back. Feel free to use some of it.
“Be aware of other drivers at all times. Know who is in front, behind and beside you,” That was some of the sage advice from one great-grandfather. “Also, go over in your mind how to react quickly in difficult situations. And don’t assume that just because you have the right-of-way that they will give it to you!” If I recall correctly, this grandpa used sandbags in the trunk of his first cool car until he could afford lowering blocks. He also had skirts on the rear wheels, a metal sun visor and twin pipes for which he received a ticket or two.
One uncle chimed in; “Always do the speed limit. Every mile per hour that you travel over the limit increases the danger to yourself. If someone cuts in front of you, don’t play the game. If you are following too close and have to panic stop, you will slide from 110 to 140 feet. You’ll run into them and you get the ticket and your insurance will triple.” This uncle had his first car taken away because he couldn’t say no to his friends when they asked to borrow his Ranchero.
News of our new driver reminded some friends of their early driving days. One man recalled he and his brother, who was not driving age yet, saving their money and buying a 1937 Chevy for $175.00. “Things went fine till the younger brother got his license and announced he was taking the car that evening. I believe my reply was, ‘The heck you are!’ A scuffle broke out and Dad stepped in real quick and took the keys. He kept them for two or three months, until we worked out our differences.”
In the meantime, their younger sister and her girlfriend took the keys to that Chevy and decided that between them, they could drive it. Their sister was big enough to reach the gas pedal and clutch. Her girlfriend was smaller, but knew all about shifting, so she shifted gears and told the driver when to push in on the clutch. They actually made it a few blocks.
One fellow remembers when he was 13 being sent across town to the Bertino’s farm on 44th Street, north of Van Buren to pick up a load of apricots and grapes for his dad’s produce business. An U. S. Army plane had crashed on 24th street and he stopped to check it out. His dad was frantic and furious with worry about his taking so long.
Another friend recalled driving her family’s car here in Phoenix when she was 13. They lived in central Phoenix. Her mother told her to take her aunt to visit the uncle in the TB hospital in the Dad’s Buick. She wasn’t worried until someone backed into them. She had to take a crowbar and pry the fender away from the tire so her dad wouldn’t notice.
Our new driver in the family has an after school job to go with the new insurance payment he will be making. Quite a difference when compared to the cars the teenagers bought a few generations back. Everyone agreed that back then none of the kids thought about having car insurance.
Then again, our New Years driver has just purchased some bigger rear speakers with his first pay check. Of Course!