Driving a car

[Pamela]

With a manual transmission, Tom. It's necessary for beginners to start driving with a manual transmission as automatic transmission is nothing but a piece of cake. Do you agree with me?

[Prezbucky]

that's probably right

problem is, I learned on auto and have never driven a stick shift. lol
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Yankee]

Congratulations on passing your driving test and officially becoming a driver, Pamela.

I can still remember some of the things my driver's ed teacher did when I was learning how to drive. He used to determine the course of the drive, so he'd always be telling me where to turn, etc. Sometimes he tried to be tricky. For example, he'd intentionally tell me to turn onto a one-way street -- in the wrong direction! It was his tricky little test to see whether I was paying attention to the traffic signs (and refuse to follow his instructions), or whether I'd just blindly do what he told me to do and end up driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

The first time I owned a car with an automatic transmission was after I moved to Germany! It was a new car and I bought it because it was an end-of-year special and the price was very good. It just happened to also be an automatic. My German friends all teased me, saying things like "Typical American! You all only know how to drive automatics." When I told them it was the first time I'd ever driven or owned an automatic (i.e. in the previous 20+ years of driving in the US, I'd only driven manuals), they couldn't believe it.

The time I was the most nervous about driving was probably when I rented a car in Grand Cayman. They drive on the "wrong" side of the road there, i.e. the same side of the road as the Brits. It wasn't so bad outside of town, but driving on the left side was a bit disconcerting in town.

Anyway, have fun driving!

[Pamela]

Thanks, Amy!

During my first lesson I’d been experiencing problems basically with steering, making sharp turns. That was a scary picture. But every time I tried to pick every minutest flaw in my driving so as to eliminate it in my subsequent lessons, and this really helped I remember people flagging down asking to be taken somewhere and though that was not permitted, a couple of times I complied with their requests. The one thing that annoyed me over my courses was a great many of impudent drivers who never yielded the right of way to me
On the whole, driving raises my mood and I prefer automobiles with an automatic transmission or tiptronic.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[NinaZara]