I still remember mine so well. I bought my first car only after I came over to the US. Didn’t have too much money then so I settled for a Hyundai Accent. After I bought the white two-door, I came back $1500 poorer from the bank. Ok now I had the car, what about the driving? I had never driven a car at any point in my life until then; my memories of traveling in a car were only of sitting in the prized passenger seat in the front and sightseeing. I still didn’t know what a clutch was for. For a few days, I was the passenger in my own car as another friend became the ‘designated driver’. He gave up after a few days and I was left to play with my car myself.
After much difficulty, I managed to coax another friend to teach me. Some of the stupid questions I asked when I watched him drive:
“Don’t you need to switch on the cabin light (dunno what it is called) or else how will you know where the clutch or the brake is?”
“How do you know when to shift to a higher gear?”
“How do you remember all the routes so well?”
This takes home the prize:
“Can I pay *ghoos *and get my US license?”
Ppl, feel free to mention your blonde moments from your driving lesson days here !!
Arre nahin yaar I was very worried about the winter. It gets frightfully cold here and there's no public transport. And me being the self-respect jerk, I never wanted to trouble anyone on a regular basis. Hey did I tell you I drove for 8 months without a valid license?? :D I had the International Driver's Permit from India for a year and that ran out last August. Until October 2004 I was driving with my Indian license!!
Don't tell us how you got the International Drivers Permit from India. :-D Ghoos!
Waisay, Int'l driver license is pretty cool. Most cops will not give you a ticket and let go with just a warning, cz they know you will just throw the ticket away.
Hehe, you guessed it right. Of course, there is a technicality here - I paid ghoos only to speed up the process otherwise I passed my test legally. Things have actually improved a bit back home. Some of my friends here laughed their behinds off when I told them I got my license in India in my second attempt!
But then I did worse here. Got my license only in my fourth attempt. Maybe the inspector felt sympathy for me.
Took my lessons and test on automatic. The mere concept of a clutch still eludes my comprehension. Why on earth would you even want a clutch when God has given us auto gearboxes?
2 months after I landed up in the US, I had to drive to a relative's place 7 hours away. I had driven for a few years in India but never in the US. Needless to say, it was a fun experience. I had to figure out on the freeway what each button was supposed to do. I had conned a friend to tag along, promising him good food at my relative's place. Desi students do anything for free good food :D On my second day of driving, I was in Chicago on Devon Street. Needless to say, I felt home :D Coming back, I got pulled over for speeding but let off with a warning.
I drove for a year on International Permit until got the license. After that I became the driving instructor for my classmates from around the world. I thought having a car would help with the ladies. But as my buddy told me later - it is just a box with 4 wheels - if you don't bring a girl with you, you ain't gonna a find a girl in it. :D
neva had no leson at all … but when i asked ma dad to let me drive his SUZUKI (MEHRAN) i was like in 6the grade … the only thing ma dad ever asked me b4 i drove his car was “” WHICH ONE IS BREAK , RACE, GEAR “” n that was all n i SWEAR i GUESED on that !! well that was my first drive at 12 n when i got like 13 i was freee to take ma car alone not everywhere offcourse but yea .. but it was al good , i mean just imagine ur frinz are so damn rich but u r the only one who can drive … yup feeels nothin to be compared as .
P.s: still drive n still dont have no liscence lol caz dad thinks the day i m gona get my liscence that wud be the last day of his car
nothing can beat a manual car.. u get the true pleasure of driving only with a manual.. automatic is so stupid all u gotta do is press the axlrater.. besides manual gives u optimal performance, in automatic, the computer makes the guesswork and shifts gear based on some algorithm.. but in manual YOU shift the gear and so its the best.. and then with mileage manual is miles ahead
Learning from your dad is the worst thing… no matter how calm and nice he tries to be about it. I remember bawling to my mom (when I was 15 or 16), saying I don’t wanna drive anymore.
I remember bawling to my mom (when I was 15 or 16), saying I don’t wanna drive anymore.