L Plater Experience

[Metalstrix]

Hey guys. Another curious question.

Can you recall a horrifying or hilarious L plater moment?

I went through a yellow light and my parent screamed
"YOU WENT THROUGH THE RED LIKE YOU IDIOT"
"I DIDN'T!"
"YES YOU DID! YOU WENT THROUGH A RED LIGHT!"

We still argue over that.

[ashleymorris]

I got my learners on my 16th birthday, that night went on my first big drive from Cairns to Innisfail (about an hour if you can drive). Cops were doing RBTs on the side of the highway and I didn't see the cop standing in the middle of an 80km lane. Almost didn't stop in time :S

Not actually a funny story, but pretty ironic considering my first day driving I nearly killed a cop heh

[Mystique]

I remember my first drive in my cousin's car, He had a subaru wagon (it was old and a true rust bucket), I got to go for a drive through McDonalds Drive thru... the amount of times I stalled, was ridiculous >_< Was incredibly embarrassing :S

That was probably the highlight of having my L's >_<I>_< :S I was a terrible driver...

[Damir]

i remember when my parents used to go out on weekends and id take out their car for a spin and put petrol back in
i was sooo cool

[MrLolli]

failing to stop at a pedestrian crossing

[TheVeeMachine]

If by 'L plater moment' you include 'beginner driver moment', then let me tell you about the first time I drove: My cousin, whom I hadn't met for a few years, and I were just driving around his home town with nothing to do. He was 10 years older than me and had grown up with a completely different background to me. Needless to say, we didn't have much in common, and as a result of that, not much to talk about. After all the trite family-type questions "how's school?", "how are your parents?", "what are your goals" etc. there was a lull. My cousin took it upon himself to break the silence by nonchalantly asking "have you driven before?". As a car fanatic and a teenager who very much had not driven a car before, this naturally piqued my interest and I responded with a curious "no", to which he replied (somehow even more nonchalantly) "do you want to drive?".

There is no writer in the world who would be able to articulate how I felt at that moment, so here's a GIF of Jonah Hill that comes close to embodying my elated state:



In the time I composed myself, my cousin pulled over to the side of the road, and we swapped seats. I was behind the wheel. I was in control. Nobody would be pushing little old- or rather young, me around anymore. Everything was coming up 'Vivek'. The car might have been a tiny 0.8L tin can with wheels, but in that situation I would not have been any happier had it been a Ferrari. After explaining how to put the car into gear, my cousin instructed me to start driving. "Where?" I asked. "Who cares" was the response. This was fine by me, and I set off (after a few stalls) at the most offensively slow pace a manual driver could manage; but to me at that time, it felt more like this:



As soon as the vehicle started rolling forward, my heart rate increased. 10km/h- pupils dilated. 15 km/h- my grip on the steering wheel tightened; second gear. 20 km/h- heart was racing now; pupils were pinholes. 25 km/h- white knuckles, about to go into cardiac arrest; fighting incontinence. 30 km/h- shifted into third gear; I couldn't believe this crapbox was hiding a warp drive. 35 km/h- shit was getting too real; I didn't want to die in a fireball 3 km above sea level, no matter how spectacular. I pulled over. Sweat, sweat everywhere. I looked at myself in the rear view mirror. I no longer saw a boy. I saw the face of a man who had gone to the edge, slapped it silly, sent the edge home to it's mother in tears, and returned to regale the tale. The face of a man who had carpe'd the hell out of his diem. Unfortunately I probably looked more like this:



Either way, I wanted more! Without boring you with the details (although, if you've made it this far, it's too late): I drove around for a couple of hours, but then we had to go back to the farm. In a big, shiny, red tractor. With four wheels and a steering wheel. Did I mention it was shiny and red?

"Do you want to dr-"
He didn't need to finish the question.
Just like that, we were off once again! I've gotten plenty of looks in the months since I've modded my Lancer, but nothing comes close to the sheer look of awe on the plebeian faces as you [s]tear[/s] amble through the streets in an eyeball-searing red tractor. Everyone was totally jealous.

Remember also, it was only my third hour of driving. While I may have only been going 15, 20 or so km/h, the open cabin and noise of the vehicle made it feel more like this:



Now this is the part that I tell you I had turned 14 earlier that month; but don't worry- this is also the part that I tell you this all happened in a rural town in India

When I got back, I was kind enough to let my friends tell all their boring holiday stories ("skiing? That must have been fun", "family? Oh that's nice") before I blew their mindholes with mine.

Of course, there may have been a little bending of the truth in the retelling:

[Luke]

First drive on a highway from Cronulla home, merging onto the M7 from the M5.

Supposed to be going 80 (law had not changed then), and was still getting used to the pedals; got up to 115km/h and sh@t bricks when I looked down at the speedo.

Later that drive we we're passing onto the M4, I had merged, but the family was talking so I was distracted, got up to 105 and there was a cop on the side of the road. Dad said the cop was looking for unregistered vehicles so it was all g

[rokpapaziz]

Epic story TheVeeMachine

[Metalstrix]

Awesome stories guys. I've changed it so it can be either horrifying or happy

[Seffy]

First time I drove was actually when I was 12..

When my dad was teaching my brother how to drive manual I tagged along and he kept stalling.. a lot. Like, a lot. Dad and I were paying him out but after that went on for a bit I jokingly said I can do better. They told me to drive.. and lo and behold I didn't stall ONCE that time. I hopped a couple of times but they weren't major.

For a few months after that he let me drive any of the cars we had (was an '88 Pajero and a '96 318i) whenever I'm tagging with him and we're a few blocks from home.

After I got my Learners I didn't really have any issues with driving aside from the fact that my car ('91 Integra, automatic) was being dodgy at some points when I drove (car died on a busy road at peak hour at one point); but when I was learning to drive manual in his work car I stalled like crazy.. stupid clutch. :/ Couldn't believe how much practice I lost, lol. But at least now I can drive manual again after quite a bit of practice.

At some points during my Ls though my dad let me drive his Lexus.. was scary as balls I'm tellin' ya.. Me, an L plater, driving a >30k luxury SUV. LOL. It was pretty nice to drive, smooth as and it was the most comfy car I've sat and driven in. He was pretty confident with how I drove; but whenever my mom is in the car I had to drive like a turtle.

...which brings me to the final point: every single time I drove on my Ls and my mother was in the car I couldn't drive the way I usually do; I was so much slower and every driver on the road would've wanted to kill me with my granny-spec driving.

[debonaire]

My mum was teaching me to drive in a quiet industrial area and I was struggling to get take offs going smoothly. She was telling me something like "Give it a little bit of throttle first and then start letting the clutch out" (or maybe the other way, can't remember).

After probably half an hour of trying this and getting more and more angry with each other, I'd had enough and she got in to drive home. She pulls out of the industrial park onto the main road and says "Oh hang on, no it's the other way around".



That was the last time I had a lesson from my mother.