Driver's Exam Car

[Jubilee]

 No driving test for me. Written test and a note from Dr. that you could see. A little piece of typed up card board. No photo of course.  Had to be 14, or at least look 14 if you were fibbing.

 I’ve had a drivers license for 66 years  and a chauffeur’s license/class A/CDL for 58 years of that time and have never taken a driving test.

 I have a CDL now with about a year left on the DOT physical. Thinking of down grading to regular license when physical expires.

[ejboyd5]

Road test taken in my mother's 1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner, Seafoam Green, purchased from Knipfing Ford, Westbury, New York. She had just gotten it to replace a 1953 Buick Roadmaster Converible purchased at Atlas Buick in Brooklyn, and it lasted until 1959 when it was replaced by a Corvette, 4-speed, 270hp, Positraction from Frame Chevrolet, Mineola, New York. To the best of my knowledge, all three cars are long gone along with the dealerships. My mother liked sporty vehicles as her next one was a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL purchased from Sigrist Motor Company of Montclair, New Jersey.  I believe Sigrist is gone as well, but I still have the car, 59 years later.

[kings32]

No driving school for me ,when I was 18 my mother gave me the keys to our car 1957 Fury and told me to drive . I took my test in that car { auto trans }  I learned to drive a stick on army trucks in Vietman . Have drove every thing from Firetrucks to trucks and trailers .king32

[60FlatTop]

This thread is quite surprising. From reading the Forum comments for almost 15 years I thought I was one of the younger ones.

[Captain Harley]

Me and my '29 Chevrolet coach on July 4th, 1967.  I took my driving test in this car in April '67.

[Jim Skelly]

Do you still own that '29 Chevy?

[Captain Harley]

Jim Skelly,

 

Sadly the '29 Chevy was totaled in a wreck in 1969.  At least the insurance company said it was totaled.  I was still able to drive it, it had a bent frame from the wreck,

but it was kind'a "cross legged" and not safe.  We (dad & I) sold the car, even as it was wrecked, for more then we bought it for!  I did buy another '29 coach about 17 years ago.  It was just as original, except for paint and tires, like the first one in the picture.  But, with the standard steel disc wheels and not optional wooden artillery wheels.  I sold this one a couple of years ago.  I do miss them both.....😧

 

Capt. Harley😉 

[Skylark4367]

I took Driver's Ed as a Junior in high school in 1978.  The school's driver's ed cars were a 1978 Buick Skylark and a 1978 Pontiac LeMans.  The LeMans was more popular because it had a V8, the Skylark had a V6.  I took my road test in one of the school's cars, I don't remember which one.  We had simulators in the classroom.  We sat in a chair in front of a Dodge Dart instrument panel, complete with steering wheel, shifter and pedals.  There was a screen behind the instrument panel on which the teacher projected driving scenes that we had to follow and react to.  The simulators were connected to something that allowed the teacher to record our reactions and grade us.  

 

When not in driver's ed, I practiced on my mother's 1971 Buick Skylark sedan.  Shortly after I passed my road test, my mother bought a new car and sold me the '71, pictured below.

 

 

[28 Chrysler]

My Drivers Ed. Class was driving yard trucks (1/2 - 1 1/2 ton) for a good six years before my driving exam.

I drove my 1963 T Bird the 25 miles to the exam site, took the test, passed and no one asked were my licensed driver was.

[zipdang]

My driver's ed class was in a Cutlass Supreme (mid '70s) and I took my test in my 1956 Olds 88. I don't think the patrolman paid any attention to my driving as he was busy looking around the car.

[Guest]

1.  I took drivers ed in school and the instructor only let me drive a few blocks. The DMV inspector did the same and I got my license.
2.  I guess that they knew that I had quite a bit of driving under my belt.

[TTR]

One more thing. When and were I took my aforementioned drivers ed and tests, while quite rare to begin with, use of automatic transmission (i.e. 2-pedal) vehicle for any of it was prohibited unless a person was a paraplegic or had some other similarly limiting physical condition. And on all such occasions, IIRC, in addition to driving test inspector, one or two physicians had to sign a release for the person before the license was issued.

 

Besides, had any able bodied young man even entertained an idea of trying to get his drivers ed and exam in an automatic transmission vehicle, he would’ve been shunned by all peers and probably had his man-card permanently revoked.

Edited December 27, 2020 by TTR (see edit history)

[padgett]

Florida had the same - no one wanted "automatic only" on their license but "motorcycle also" was a plus.

[Peter Gariepy]

 

I took mine in a 1948 Chrysler New Yorker Club Coupe.  (In 1976)

Slush box of a fluid drive transmission.  The tester was all confused when I didn't push the clutch in to stop.

No power steering.  Even the Incredible Hulk would have struggled with parallel parking it, but I pulled it off!

The driving test was one of many firsts I had in that car.   First drag race, for example. 21 second quarter mile baby!

 

 

[Ronnie]

19 minutes ago, Peter Gariepy said:

First drag race, for example. 21 second quarter mile baby!

 

[1957Birdman]

Took my test in my parents' Java Green 1965 VW Beetle. It was great for parallel parking and I passed the test on my first try.

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird Colonial White

[Guest]

I took my drivers test in 1959 in the Pontiac which was to become my daily driver for 59 years and is shown in my signature. I took my Chauffeurs license test in a 1953 White with a 40' trailer, my PSV test in a MC7, School Bus permit in a 1970 Carpenter and my Ambulance license test in a 1974 GMC Suburban and was Grandfathered into a Class 1 license when Manitoba changed to the current format.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Guest (see edit history)

[oldcarfudd]

TTR, where are you from?

[ericmac]

I learned to drive on my parent's 1947 Nash, dad's 1926 Ford (which I still own) and the family 1971 Volvo wagon.  Our actual driver's education class was part of Health and Safety class that we all took in our Sophomore year of high school.  Driver's ed cars were all Chevy Chevette 4-doors with automatic transmissions, though there were two exceptions,. All of us had to drive the one stick shift Chevette and our road test car was a Ford Granada. I haven't thought of those boat anchors in years!

[Morgansdad]

I'm very surprised while reading some of these posts that at least one of you "senior members" hasn't mentioned that you took tour test with a horse and buckboard!  LOL. Just kiddin'. I do appreciate having the ability to have a place that I can go to and expect to get some great advice from those of you experienced members. Some forums that are available, you sometimes finding people giving advice that couldn't open a can of pork and beans. (even the cans with the pull top) ! Thanks for all the great memories from some of the cars you guys and gals have used. Seems like I owned them all. Except for the '29 Chevrolet.

[60FlatTop]

My dad had a chauffeur's license from driving my great grandfather's dump truck in the 1930's. By the mid 1960's New York State allowed up to 26,000 pounds on an operator's license. He dropped his and I didn't need one. He tended to follow rules closer than I. There's a chance I may have pushed the limit maybe once.

Bernie

[wmsue]

Drivers Ed car = don't remember

Drivers Test Car = 1971 Dodge Polara 4 dr.  - both times. I failed the parking test the first time and retook the test on the first day of my senior year in HS. The following year I got my chauffeur's license and kept it till the state changed status to CDL about 15 years ago. I didn't have a vehicle to take the new test in, so I had to revert to a std. license.

 

Here's a short story that is sort of relevant:

In 2019 my wife and I celebrated our 40th Anniversary with a trip to the Netherlands. We were traveling by train from The Hague to Dordrecht and our train comes to a stop at the small town before Dordrecht. After  a few announcements in Dutch, that we totally did not understand, all the passengers got up and were leaving the train. We followed.

We learned that there was an electrical outage and we would have to find our own way to Dordrecht. All the passengers were walking towards the bus stop a few blocks away, but we saw a taxi stand just ahead and walked there. There were a few taxis parked outside a large public building and we began talking to the driver about getting a ride to Dordrecht. He asked us why we just didn't go to the bus stop with the others, and we proceeded to tell him we didn't have a monthly bus pass and didn't know if we could buy from the driver. He switched from Dutch to English very quickly and told us to get in the back seat of the car and as soon as his 'student' arrived, we all would go to Dordrecht.   Student, we asked.   Sure, he said, the sign on the top of my car says "Student Driver" not Taxi. "I'd be glad to have my student drive you both to Dordrecht right away."

We had a quick uneventful trip and got to Dordrecht before the bus passengers arrived.

The driver was originally from Iran and his student was from Syria. They both spoke excellent English, among other languages, and gladly helped us get to our destination.

No, I don't remember exactly what car they were driving, other than it was Silver and there wasn't much room in the back seat.

 

thanks

 

Bill

 

 

[Guest]

 In some year(a long time ago) I had to get my truck driving license.

 You could get a grandfathered license if you have driven a truck before the license was needed. On the application for the license there was a question on how many miles you have driven.

 I put down 30 miles. When questioned, I told the inspector that my garage door was on the street and I had to drive onto the street in order to get to my parking area that was next to my building. I asked him if I needed the license in order to do so, and the answer was yes. So he granted me my license.

 When it came to another time to get a license to follow the federal laws, I took my written test for driving a tractor trailer. There was more time allowed for testing so I continued on other licensees. I ended up with an ANPTX, AND THEY DON'T MAKE THEM ANY BETTER THAN THAT, (EXCEPT DRIVING A SCHOOL BUS FULL OF SCREAMING KIDS THAT i WOULDENT DO FOR A $1000.)

[zepher]

Never took driver's ed in school but I did grow up driving various dune buggy and off road vehicles in the desert so I didn't really need formal classes.

Took my driver's test in a '72 Datsun pickup.

I went to a two week commercial equipment school and drove all sorts of Class A equipment and the school signed off my practical portion so I only needed to take the written portion of the test for my CDL.

Got my CDL almost 32 years ago and I still have it even though I have not needed it for work for about 22 years.  I dropped the Hazmat endorsement because I needed to retake the entire written exam every time my license came up for renewal.

That meant answering over 360 questions while standing at a counter in the DMV office. No thanks.

But I still have my Class A with doubles/triples, tank and passenger endorsements and my motorcycle add on.

I even keep my medical current, just in case.

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by zepher (see edit history)

[JamesR]

On 12/27/2020 at 7:07 AM, ejboyd5 said:

Road test taken in my mother's 1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner, Seafoam Green, purchased from Knipfing Ford, Westbury, New York. She had just gotten it to replace a 1953 Buick Roadmaster Converible purchased at Atlas Buick in Brooklyn, and it lasted until 1959 when it was replaced by a Corvette, 4-speed, 270hp, Positraction from Frame Chevrolet, Mineola, New York. To the best of my knowledge, all three cars are long gone along with the dealerships. My mother liked sporty vehicles as her next one was a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL purchased from Sigrist Motor Company of Montclair, New Jersey.  I believe Sigrist is gone as well, but I still have the car, 59 years later.

 

 

Wow! You had a "dream mom"! What a great experience for you, and congrats and kudos to you on keeping one of her wonderful old cars!

 

 

I think my driver's test car was my parents '69 Buick Skylark four door. I was nervous during the test. I was at a stop light, and I accelerated when the light turned green...but I was alarmed when I saw the red light for the perpendicular traffic as I went through the intersection.

 

"Oh no!" I said.

 

"You're OK," said the guy giving the test. He'd seen it all before, I'm sure, and all kinds of nervous reactions from teenagers taking their first test. 😄

[TTR]

23 hours ago, oldcarfudd said:

TTR, where are you from?

Grew up in Northern Europe, moved and settled to Southern California 35+ years ago.

Have been involved with vintage cars as enthusiast/hobbyist over 40 years, full time professionally +/- 35.
Self-taught on almost everything, including all aspects of restoration, few languages, etc.

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by TTR (see edit history)

[cheezestaak2000]

my only claim to "cool". took my test in a 1957 chevrolet 210 sport sedan. driver's ed car was a 1962 chevy 2 four cyl stick in the hills of pennsylvania

[Adam Walkup]

I have a picture somewhere,  but I took my drivers license test in 1996, driving my 1925 Dodge touring,  which I still own.

[Str8-8-Dave]

So my driver's ed instructor was dual purpose, Arthur J. Halloran, an old guy who always wore a white shirt and tie, he was my metal shop teacher.  By the time I got to him he'd already taught my older brother and sister to drive, my sister learned 15yrs before I did.  It was 1966 and at John Glenn HS in Westland my driver's ed classroom instruction was conducted after regular school hours.  In my class were 2 girls, one of whom was so small that during the road instruction she sat on one boat cushion to get her up high enough to see over the dash and another behind her back so she could reach the pedals.  The driver's ed cars were 1966 Plymouth Furys with 318 2bbl power and torqueflite automatics supplied courtesy of Carpenter Dodge.  Gone were the second steering wheel setups my brother and sister learned on, the Plymouths just had a second brake pedal.  

 

The first day of road instruction was conducted on Cherry Hill Rd. behind the school campus.  The weather was dreadful, a spring shower turned into a frog-strangler and it was dark on the curvy 2 lane blacktop.  The last day of road instruction was sunny but required driving on the freeway including merging on and off and we got our practice on I-94 near Ypsilanti during early rush hour traffic.  One of the girls, the smallest one, was so scared she skipped class that day and  consummate gentleman Mr. Halloran was, he had the other girl go first.  "FASTER- FASTER, YOU'LL GET US ALL KILLED" he hollered at the poor gal as she doddered down the entrance ramp at 35mph.  She managed to get us 2 miles down the 70mph limited access freeway before Mr. Halloran told her to take the next exit.  The girl traded spots with me taking the back seat on the driver's side.  I was nothing if not observant so after adjusting seat and mirrors at the top of the ramp I put the left turn signal on, dropped the Plymouth in drive and floored it all the way down the ramp hitting the freeway at about 80mph.  Mr. Halloran got a big grin on his face and turned to the girl behind me and said "Now that's how you get on the freeway!".  

 

One day some time later I was in Mr. Halloran's office and asked him, "Mr. Halloran, how can you stand to be in the right seat of a driver's ed car with only a brake pedal at your disposal and teach young kids how to drive?".  Well, he opened the glass sliding door of the bookcase over his reference desk and pulled out a copy of Who's Who in America, flipped it open and pointed to a picture of a young Arthur J. Halloran at Pensacola Naval Base standing with his student pilot in front of a P51D Mustang.  He quipped teaching young kids to drive a car was not a problem after teaching some 18yr old flight school students how to fly America's first 400mph fighter...

 

Cheers

Dave 

[George Rohrbach]

I don't know if this 1936 Studebaker is a driver's ed car. But it sure would be a neat one.

[Grimy]

@Str8-8-Dave you're a really hard act to follow...

 

I learned to drive on my great-aunt's 1934 Buick 56S (sport coupe with rumbleseat) in the local cemetery, almost every Sunday afternoon, at age 12.  We started on the large flat area on the hilltop used only for Easter sunrise services, where I could stay in 2nd gear and learn steering and stopping, before learning the intricacies of shifting.  "Auntie" was a good instructor and had been a competitive horsewoman in her youth, but she never used first gear anywhere (didn't really need to with 4.88 gears).  I was later allowed to drive through the narrow, curving lanes downhill.

 

At that time, one could get a California license at 15-1/2 with a Drivers' Ed completion certificate, which I got 10 days after turning 15-1/2.  The driving instruction car was a 1955 Ford Customline sedan with V8 and stick and power nothing--duck soup after the Buick!

 

At DMV (this is now May 1958), I took my behind the wheel test in my Dad's 1953 Ford Mainline sedan, V8 stick, power nothing, and passed with 100%.  By the way, I looked about 12 at the time and was short (and still am).  As a teenager I was frequently stopped by John Law to inquire as to whether I was really old enough to drive.

 

The early license meant that I had to undergo another behind the wheel test, as well as a written test, upon turning 18--by which time I looked at least 14-1/2.  I showed up for that one in my own bone stock 1936 Ford deluxe sedan with 48,000 garage-kept miles.  The driving tester turned up his nose and hesitated before entering the Ford.  He thought he'd flunk me early by having me do the parallel park first, rather than at the end of the test.  So we took a turn around the DMV parking lot and went to the cones-and-curb test area.  I backed into the designated area and stopped, pulling on the parking brake and putting the car in neutral.  He said, "Aren't you going to pull forward to center the car?"  I replied, "Sir, I believe I am centered."  I was sure I heard "Bull sh*T" muttered under his breath as he opened the passenger door to find me centered and 5 inches away from the curb.  The rest of the test, a two- or three-mile drive, was uneventful, and I made all appropriate hand signals, including one for slowing down (remember that one?).  Got 100% on that test, too. 

 

That's when I came up with my life-long slogan, "There is no such thing as a small victory with DMV--they are all fist-pumpers!"

 

 

[John Byrd]

I should have put this pic with the one I've already posted, but I didn't take my test in this car, I just owned it !  Two of all drivers controls, 53 Studebaker, 6 cylinder,  3 speed, Acme Drivers Training car from Antioch, TN. ( part of Nashville by now ) When I bought it, the trunk was full of old empty oil cans. The guy wouldn't sell the car for years because he couldn't find the title..... I went to look at the car, folded down the passenger side visor, and the title fell in my lap ! It sure was strange with two steering wheels, and I bet the previous owner had a lot of fun driving from the passenger side or having a passenger drive while the "driver" held both arms up, ha !

[padgett]

Used to carry a second steering wheel in a RHD MGA. Passenger would wave around.

[Paul Dobbin]

Driver's Education Class?   Heck no.   My father taught me to drive his 1954 Metropolitan Conv.

on my 12th Birthday in Princeton NJ where you had to be 17 to get a learner's permit.   By age 14 we lived in Florida and I had a "Restricted License".  (Small motorcycles and cars with a 18+ year old licensed driver)   At 16 I took my FL Drivers Test in my father's brand new 1961 VW.   My father had given me a note to take to school to be excused that afternoon to accompany him on a legal matter.

After I passed the test, we went home and I took is 1948 Cadillac Conv. back to school to pick up my girlfriend.

I always knew I had the coolest father possible.  The following summer my 18 year of brother and I

drove our own 56 Ford to the Seattle Worlds Fair (1962).   We took to other boys, one from NJ & one from Michigan who also had $100.   A great $400 trip, camped and lived on beans and franks.  (Story published on this forum a couple years ago).

50 years later the guy from Michigan told me that nobody in Viet Nam believed that his parents would

would let him do that.  (I guess now. that my military buddies must have thought I was lying too.)

He said he thanked his mother on her deathbed for letting him do it.

I've had other life long friends tell me that I had the coolest parents ever.  I have to agree.   I'm glad my father lived long enough to ride with us in my first 1934 Ford restoration.

[Marty Roth]

On 12/29/2020 at 12:03 PM, padgett said:

Used to carry a second steering wheel in a RHD MGA. Passenger would wave around.

I did the same thing with our 1948 MG-TC and the TR-2

[Swear57]

Hi all my first posting. I started out on a Gibson dragging a harrow around the pasture before graduating to my dads 48 Chev 5 window 216 3 on the tree. Which I did all my permit driving in. Drivers Ed was a 73 Ford LTD. I took my drivers test in a 67 Buick LeSabre. It took me 3 times to pass my written permit test. Past the written drivers test with a 98. Then on to the drivers test. There were two guys that gave them. I got the guy that was the hard ass. When we got done driving he look at me and said I have never done this before but I'm going to give you 100% on your driving. I thank my dad who drove a fuel truck for a living & Mr Yates my driver Ed instructor. Come time for my kids to drive they had to drive a manual trans & to back a trailer up. They both got 100%. Experience that's what counts.

[nick8086]

One more..

 

He does not want to drive..

He has had a drivers license for three years..

 

[ia-k]

I don't remember much about the car for I had drivers ed, remember more about the instructors. I had summer drivers ed that started at 6:00am and the classroom instructor would fall asleep while we were sitting at our Drive-o-Trainers watching the "movie". Us gearheads would try to see who had the fastest (top end) Drive-o-Trainer according to the speedometer which looked to be mid-70s Ford instrument clusters. The red lights would be a flashing on the instructor's panel and when he was finally done sawing logs he would wake up and go "HEY HEY! SLOW DOWN!! The "movies" were pretty good, even though it was the early 80s when I had class some were still black and white films from the late 60's with a lot of neat cars in them.

 

My driving instructor had cataract surgery over the 4th of July break and had to have somebody drive him to school as he couldn't see but still got in the car to drive with us.

 

A few years before when I was in Junior High (attached to the High School) there was a 4-way stop that I could see from the classrooms. The drivers ed car then was a late 70s Pontiac Sunbird(?) that had a manual transmission. We could tell which drivers hadn't got the hang of a clutch yet as the car would jerk and jump though the intersection and sometimes stall in the middle. Wonder if the instructor wore a neck brace?

Edited January 2, 2021 by ia-k (see edit history)

[car crazy]

My "second Dad" was a car collector, owning around 30 or so cars. By age 13, I was helping him drive his collector cars to and from his storage facility, which was located about 5 miles from his shop. Enduring this for 3 years, his wife and daughter thought it best that I get my driver's license THE VERY MOMENT I became of legal age to get one. On my 16th birthday, to make sure I passed, his daughter took me for my driver's test in her easy-to-maneuver 1970 Datsun 510.

[Doozer]