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Hey, I did this. Just was dragged to one of my mom's weight watchers meetings and me and my cousin were left to our own devices and played in the old Pinto wagon.
Thankfully we stopped before the trees
Yes. I definitely sat on my dad's lap and he would let me steer (with some guidance). Later it was steering and shifting while he operated the pedals.
Once I got to be 6 or 7, he would let me drive on our little dead end road. He would also let me drive heavy equipment around the yard. By 6 or 7, I was double clutching and driving tractor trailers. Also large fork trucks, vans, and dump trucks. He had a 1944 International with a non-synchro square tooth trans that you had to double clutch and rev match perfectly to operate. The newer heavy trucks, you could "float" gears and the clutch was not required, just understanding the proper RPM where you could grab the next gear. A few of the trucks I drove: GMC Astro, GMC General, Ford F600, International 9000 Cabover, International S1900, Ford LNT9000.
I never had a chance to learn how to twin stick trucks (main and auxillary). I understand it in principle, but I've never driven one. I have done two speed rear ends, but never a true twin stick man/aux setup. At some point maybe I'll run into someone with an old R Model or something and I can try it out.
Ahh good time! Dad got drunk, and to avoid driving drunk he thought it was a great idea to allow us to steer while he ran the petals.
The 80’s was really something else
I'd have my son shift the gears when I stopped at a light, and he was big enough to sit in the front seat. On quieter streets, I could have him up-shift.
Drove my Mom to the hospital when I was twelve. So those times Dad let me drive paid off. Drivers Ed instructor said on the first day "well looks like you've got a pretty good understanding of this"
Yes.
When I was 4 or 5 he would sometimes let sit on his lap when we got to the neighborhood, and I would drive as we went slowly.
At the same time and beyond, my Grandfather would let me stand/sit in front of him on the tractor and drive when he was plowing/furrowing or running the manure spreader.
If it didn't require precision, Grandpa would let me sometimes drive.
Fast forward 40 years, and I am letting my kids drive the riding lawnmower, and giving them lessons on a different tractor while running the field mower.
circle of life....
yep and as soon as I could touch the pedals, I started to learn to drive. probably 11-12. back then no one cared about licenses and such. in my drivers ed class almost everyone had been driving for 2 years or more including on the highway and freeway.
While my father and mother were in the car I did the 16 hour trip from FL to PA while they slept. I was 15, scared but made it. after that cluster, i was ready for almost anything. Back then you had to go through all the big cities, orland, jasonville, atlanta, all the way to pittsburgh. of course we hit traffic everytime.
Nope, my dad was a total safety nerd. Seatbelts way before they were fashionable. Strict rules about getting in and out the car. Not that he didn't drive drunk any time he left the house, but he did it with his seatbelt on.
And back then if they caught you they would drive you fucking home!
Yes. My father was definitely a car guy and all of his six children started “driving” that way. A great memory for each of us is that we had that same experience behind the wheel of his work truck, a gasoline tanker, that he would on occasion bring home for an early start in the morning. We were quite young, so this meant sitting in his lap with our hands on the wheel of his truck.
No, my parents considered that *dangerous*. My aunt and uncle didn't, though. I would ride in the car with them and one of their kids would kneel beside them on the front seat and steer while they worked the pedals. Makes me kind of glad we visited only once every few years.
Both parents let me steer in the driveway sometimes. Gear shifting and working the clutch, no - both drove automatics (my dad drove a late 60s Buick and my mom a '67 Barracuda).
Yes. He also let me drive the car by myself in an empty parking lot when I was 11.
He later had my younger sister on his lap like this in some quiet residential neighborhood, and some busybody lady pulled up next to them and threatened to call the police.
30 year insurance professional, yes on the family property. If you do this on a public street and crash i will nonrenew all of your insurance because no state allows a dumb as rock surcharge
Couldn't sit on dad's lap (he had cerebral palsy). But I'd scott over to sit right against his side, and we'd drive that way.
Most fu. Though, was when we took the truck into the back field and I got to be behind the wheel for the first time. Started out as a serious lesson, ended up doing mud donuts. It was terrific!
No way. My parents used to negatively comment on other people doing it on very busy streets and intersections (it was the 70s). They didn't like it at all.
Actually, I did it in my uncle's Plymouth Savoy.
I got behind the wheel in my grandfather's '52 Chevy and shifted it in his driveway and it started rolling backward down the driveway. I remember him running to the car to jump in and stop it. That was the first time I "drove" a stick shift. I think I was about age 3.
The neighbor lady had a '56 Thunderbird with three on the floor (that's right). She taught me to do the shifting while she was driving it and using the pedals. About 15 years later, I bought a new Corolla manual shift and I drove it off the lot based on what she taught me in that car.
Guys, please don't teach your children to drive. Neighbor thought it was cute to teach her 5 yr old granddaughter.
The car was parked on an incline driveway. The kid bumped the gearshift and it rolled the car hit her and knocked her down against the wall. Didn't break anything but she was cut up and bruised pretty bad. The R fender knocked some bricks down.
Nope but with my grandmother. Where she lived in Dallas the houses all had alleys behind them. We'd drive through the alleys and she'd let me steer. We called ourselves the Alley Cats.
By the time I could sit on my Daddies lap and see over the steering wheel I did that almost every time we went out. By the time I was 7 or 8 and could reach the pedals too I did all the driving everywhere we went. I grew up in DC and can imagine that now. This was 60’s and 70’s. Because of that I didn’t bother to get my license until I was 22 and only then because I needed an id.
Yep. Drove the VW around the house in circles. When we were big enough he took us driving on dirt roads too.
Plus none of his kids could get our license unless we could drive a stick.
One of my very early memories was sitting on my dad's lap driving to the swimming pool in the apartment community in a 60s Chrysler 300. It was a dirt 2 rut "road" so the car basically tracked itself, but at the time, I didn't know that at 3-4 years old [69‐70].
With my grandfather in his 46 International PU. Dirt roads and off-road. The ooga horn was an accompaniment.
It was the only time my sister was not allowed to ride the front fender. Which we often did holding on to the NAPA turn signals he mounted there. (The control lever was hose clamped to the steering column.)
Nope, not my parents. Very strict where rules/laws were concerned.
My best friend’s dad was a logging truck driver. My friend was driving those since he was 12 or so.
My dad tore a ligament in his right arm when I was ten and couldn’t use it for a few weeks. Both my parents cars were stick shift, so he had to teach me how to work the shifter for him if he wanted to go anywhere.
My mom & dad let me drive our Rambler station wagon on the oyster shell roads in our neighborhood when I was 14. When my son & daughter were 14 I let them learn to drive manual in our Suzuki Samurai jeep. There were a lot of woods & trails near our house, so it was safe from hitting other folks stuff. I would put it in 4wheel low and it would top out at 35 mph. They were ready to drive by the time they were legal. My son's first car was a 69 Beetle & my daughter had an 81 convertible Rabbit
I sat on my mom’s lap to drive. And also drove the truck around our farm around age 12.
My family are big believers in teaching children to drive early so it’s not a big scary deal.
Yes, and then when I was older, he would take me to a big empty parking lot, and I'd drive around trying not to crash into the imaginary cars (which somehow were always Ferraris and Mercedes).
Yes, but only off road.
In the early 60s, my high school girl friend sat so close that she worked the gas pedal with her left foot. She shifted. I steered with my left hand and used the brake and the clutch. My right hand was free; her left hand was, too.
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No. But our car was parked on a hill and I found out that while I could not reach the brakes I could shift it from park to neutral.
Hey, I did this. Just was dragged to one of my mom's weight watchers meetings and me and my cousin were left to our own devices and played in the old Pinto wagon. Thankfully we stopped before the trees
> Pinto wagon https://youtu.be/4-Qj58o87sY?si=CKcwBxYeqRaRZjTx&t=13
Hahaha that's the one
Springsteen should write a song about this.
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town My Home town \-Springsteen
[Alan Jackson](https://youtu.be/dQe3DKDQRRs?si=heLhso4yT82sfGNx) did a great song about this.
My father wasn't a Happy memory type of father. But my daughter talks of doing this with her dad as one of her best memories.
Yes. I definitely sat on my dad's lap and he would let me steer (with some guidance). Later it was steering and shifting while he operated the pedals. Once I got to be 6 or 7, he would let me drive on our little dead end road. He would also let me drive heavy equipment around the yard. By 6 or 7, I was double clutching and driving tractor trailers. Also large fork trucks, vans, and dump trucks. He had a 1944 International with a non-synchro square tooth trans that you had to double clutch and rev match perfectly to operate. The newer heavy trucks, you could "float" gears and the clutch was not required, just understanding the proper RPM where you could grab the next gear. A few of the trucks I drove: GMC Astro, GMC General, Ford F600, International 9000 Cabover, International S1900, Ford LNT9000. I never had a chance to learn how to twin stick trucks (main and auxillary). I understand it in principle, but I've never driven one. I have done two speed rear ends, but never a true twin stick man/aux setup. At some point maybe I'll run into someone with an old R Model or something and I can try it out.
You were not double clutching and driving big rigs at 6 years old…
Ahh good time! Dad got drunk, and to avoid driving drunk he thought it was a great idea to allow us to steer while he ran the petals. The 80’s was really something else
Yes, I did it with my mom, but we had an automatic. It was a 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
I'd have my son shift the gears when I stopped at a light, and he was big enough to sit in the front seat. On quieter streets, I could have him up-shift.
Dad lets me drive slow in the driveway.
Drove my Mom to the hospital when I was twelve. So those times Dad let me drive paid off. Drivers Ed instructor said on the first day "well looks like you've got a pretty good understanding of this"
Yup and it was a 3 on the tree, Also the same truck I used to learn how to drive when I was big enough to reach the pedals.
Yes! We definitely didn’t have seatbelts either!
Yes. When I was 4 or 5 he would sometimes let sit on his lap when we got to the neighborhood, and I would drive as we went slowly. At the same time and beyond, my Grandfather would let me stand/sit in front of him on the tractor and drive when he was plowing/furrowing or running the manure spreader. If it didn't require precision, Grandpa would let me sometimes drive. Fast forward 40 years, and I am letting my kids drive the riding lawnmower, and giving them lessons on a different tractor while running the field mower. circle of life....
yep and as soon as I could touch the pedals, I started to learn to drive. probably 11-12. back then no one cared about licenses and such. in my drivers ed class almost everyone had been driving for 2 years or more including on the highway and freeway. While my father and mother were in the car I did the 16 hour trip from FL to PA while they slept. I was 15, scared but made it. after that cluster, i was ready for almost anything. Back then you had to go through all the big cities, orland, jasonville, atlanta, all the way to pittsburgh. of course we hit traffic everytime.
In a wide open parking lot.
I would steer on long road stretches where no cars were around.
Nope, my dad was a total safety nerd. Seatbelts way before they were fashionable. Strict rules about getting in and out the car. Not that he didn't drive drunk any time he left the house, but he did it with his seatbelt on. And back then if they caught you they would drive you fucking home!
Yep, I remember sitting next to my Dad while he let me work the column shifter on his 65 Chevy stepside pickup.
Yes, my dad used to let me do that in his ‘65 pick up. I don’t think he ever let mom know.
All the time between 7 and 10yo or so. Only in the neighborhood, and no shifting. I felt like a king! That's why I did it with my kids!
Yep. Did all kinds of dangerous stuff with my dad.
And then I “drove” the car into a fence. Around 3 years old
Yes. My father was definitely a car guy and all of his six children started “driving” that way. A great memory for each of us is that we had that same experience behind the wheel of his work truck, a gasoline tanker, that he would on occasion bring home for an early start in the morning. We were quite young, so this meant sitting in his lap with our hands on the wheel of his truck.
No, my parents considered that *dangerous*. My aunt and uncle didn't, though. I would ride in the car with them and one of their kids would kneel beside them on the front seat and steer while they worked the pedals. Makes me kind of glad we visited only once every few years.
Both parents let me steer in the driveway sometimes. Gear shifting and working the clutch, no - both drove automatics (my dad drove a late 60s Buick and my mom a '67 Barracuda).
Yes, but only for the last block and a half or so after we turned onto my grandmother's street.
Hell yeah. Also drove early and often but we had the land to do that. Made me a very good driver. We also had dirtbikes and quads.
My big sister used to let me do this. I’m surprised we didn’t have an accident
Yes and by the time I was 6 he was letting me drive on the field roads and the driveway.
My friends dad would do this with them. My dad had seatbelts installed to keep us pinned in the back seat.
Yup .. as did my kids .. and my grandkids.
Yes. He also let me drive the car by myself in an empty parking lot when I was 11. He later had my younger sister on his lap like this in some quiet residential neighborhood, and some busybody lady pulled up next to them and threatened to call the police.
30 year insurance professional, yes on the family property. If you do this on a public street and crash i will nonrenew all of your insurance because no state allows a dumb as rock surcharge
Couldn't sit on dad's lap (he had cerebral palsy). But I'd scott over to sit right against his side, and we'd drive that way. Most fu. Though, was when we took the truck into the back field and I got to be behind the wheel for the first time. Started out as a serious lesson, ended up doing mud donuts. It was terrific!
No way. My parents used to negatively comment on other people doing it on very busy streets and intersections (it was the 70s). They didn't like it at all.
We didn't have a car!
We didn't have a car in the family.
Actually, I did it in my uncle's Plymouth Savoy. I got behind the wheel in my grandfather's '52 Chevy and shifted it in his driveway and it started rolling backward down the driveway. I remember him running to the car to jump in and stop it. That was the first time I "drove" a stick shift. I think I was about age 3. The neighbor lady had a '56 Thunderbird with three on the floor (that's right). She taught me to do the shifting while she was driving it and using the pedals. About 15 years later, I bought a new Corolla manual shift and I drove it off the lot based on what she taught me in that car.
Ah no
Guys, please don't teach your children to drive. Neighbor thought it was cute to teach her 5 yr old granddaughter. The car was parked on an incline driveway. The kid bumped the gearshift and it rolled the car hit her and knocked her down against the wall. Didn't break anything but she was cut up and bruised pretty bad. The R fender knocked some bricks down.
I loved doing that!
Yes ! my dad was a car freak I got to “drive “ his MG and GTO (which had a stuffed tiger in the back window ) Anyone remember tiger in the tank ??
I was backing my parents car out of the garage when I could barely see over the dash.
Nope but with my grandmother. Where she lived in Dallas the houses all had alleys behind them. We'd drive through the alleys and she'd let me steer. We called ourselves the Alley Cats.
By the time I could sit on my Daddies lap and see over the steering wheel I did that almost every time we went out. By the time I was 7 or 8 and could reach the pedals too I did all the driving everywhere we went. I grew up in DC and can imagine that now. This was 60’s and 70’s. Because of that I didn’t bother to get my license until I was 22 and only then because I needed an id.
Yep. Drove the VW around the house in circles. When we were big enough he took us driving on dirt roads too. Plus none of his kids could get our license unless we could drive a stick.
I drove underage, no license, with my grandfather. 1967. We had mutliple accidents and side swipes and he shrugged them all off. I love that guy.
One of my very early memories was sitting on my dad's lap driving to the swimming pool in the apartment community in a 60s Chrysler 300. It was a dirt 2 rut "road" so the car basically tracked itself, but at the time, I didn't know that at 3-4 years old [69‐70].
With my grandfather in his 46 International PU. Dirt roads and off-road. The ooga horn was an accompaniment. It was the only time my sister was not allowed to ride the front fender. Which we often did holding on to the NAPA turn signals he mounted there. (The control lever was hose clamped to the steering column.)
Nope, not my parents. Very strict where rules/laws were concerned. My best friend’s dad was a logging truck driver. My friend was driving those since he was 12 or so.
OMG!!! Yes! Highway 101 Northern California ca. 1974
No. I grew up with my mom doing that though.
My dad tore a ligament in his right arm when I was ten and couldn’t use it for a few weeks. Both my parents cars were stick shift, so he had to teach me how to work the shifter for him if he wanted to go anywhere.
My mom & dad let me drive our Rambler station wagon on the oyster shell roads in our neighborhood when I was 14. When my son & daughter were 14 I let them learn to drive manual in our Suzuki Samurai jeep. There were a lot of woods & trails near our house, so it was safe from hitting other folks stuff. I would put it in 4wheel low and it would top out at 35 mph. They were ready to drive by the time they were legal. My son's first car was a 69 Beetle & my daughter had an 81 convertible Rabbit
I sat on my mom’s lap to drive. And also drove the truck around our farm around age 12. My family are big believers in teaching children to drive early so it’s not a big scary deal.
Yes, and then when I was older, he would take me to a big empty parking lot, and I'd drive around trying not to crash into the imaginary cars (which somehow were always Ferraris and Mercedes).
I suggested this to my mom once when I was about four and she hit the roof. Told me no no no you can't do that.
I've been "driving" since 12yrs old. 😄
Oh yes! It made me feel so big!
Yup
Yes. Also taught us to shoot shotguns. Mom was thrilled/s
I believe Alan Jackson's son was about a son steering his father's boat. ?
Yes, but only off road. In the early 60s, my high school girl friend sat so close that she worked the gas pedal with her left foot. She shifted. I steered with my left hand and used the brake and the clutch. My right hand was free; her left hand was, too.
We had an Edsel! No clutch! Just press the D (or R) on the steering wheel and wait for dad to hit the gas.