Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - How old were you when you learned to drive?

ratbastid · 09-13-2003, 04:41 PM

Okay. Picture this.

I'm 10 years old. I'm on my grandfather's lap in the driver's seat of his Jeep Grand Wagoneer--a proto-SUV--in 1985 or so. I'm driving, he's instructing. This is on private land he co-owns, so it's more or less legal.

At one point, we're coming up on a T-intersection that I need to turn left at, where the road that tees off to the left is actually about a 45 degree angle from the road I'm on. So it's a SHARP left turn.

At some point, when I've got the turn about halfway-negotiated, my grandfather tells me to brake. To this day I SWEAR I hit the break. The car evidently got confused about which pedal I'd hit, and surged forward.

Somehow we got turned MORE than the 45 degrees. Which would have been okay, except that there was a big log--about 4 feet in diameter--laying across the grass between the two roads. The Jeep's front tires hit it, climed the log, Grandfather and I both slammed our heads on the ceiling of the car, and the car promptly high-centered itself on this enormous log, the front tires four feet off the ground. When the car came to a stop, the first thing granddad said was, "Don't tell your grandmother."

We opened the door and jumped out. About this time, my dad was closing fast with the video camera. That's right, the moment is recorded for posterity.

We ended up jacking up the front of the jeep and pulling the log out from under it with a tractor. My grandmother didn't know about this incident until 15 years later or so. Still not quite sure who spilled the beans.

09-13-2003, 04:41 PM	#25 (permalink)
ratbastid Darth Papa Location: Yonder	Okay. Picture this. I'm 10 years old. I'm on my grandfather's lap in the driver's seat of his Jeep Grand Wagoneer--a proto-SUV--in 1985 or so. I'm driving, he's instructing. This is on private land he co-owns, so it's more or less legal. At one point, we're coming up on a T-intersection that I need to turn left at, where the road that tees off to the left is actually about a 45 degree angle from the road I'm on. So it's a SHARP left turn. At some point, when I've got the turn about halfway-negotiated, my grandfather tells me to brake. To this day I SWEAR I hit the break. The car evidently got confused about which pedal I'd hit, and surged forward. Somehow we got turned MORE than the 45 degrees. Which would have been okay, except that there was a big log--about 4 feet in diameter--laying across the grass between the two roads. The Jeep's front tires hit it, climed the log, Grandfather and I both slammed our heads on the ceiling of the car, and the car promptly high-centered itself on this enormous log, the front tires four feet off the ground. When the car came to a stop, the first thing granddad said was, "Don't tell your grandmother." We opened the door and jumped out. About this time, my dad was closing fast with the video camera. That's right, the moment is recorded for posterity. We ended up jacking up the front of the jeep and pulling the log out from under it with a tractor. My grandmother didn't know about this incident until 15 years later or so. Still not quite sure who spilled the beans.