Driving lesson

In which L steps on the gas instead of the brake and lays a parking meter low.  

So L is finally learning to drive.  I had to push him first to take the written test (only failed once) and later to actually sit himself down behind the wheel to practice.  His first lesson was about 1 month ago and his first attempt (just to pull away from the curb in front of our house and take a left turn) was sooo bad that we both got those hysterical giggles.  L had to pull over and I drove him to a parking lot.  Don't say it: that's what I should have done in the first place. 

Anyway, he doesn't really like cars or driving so he's not chomping at the bit to practice, but he has finally gotten the hang of it.  He's gotten on the highway a couple of times but mainly it has just been local practice--errands with mom. 

Today he drove himself to class; I was in the passenger seat, of course.  On the way to class he was saying that he could probably pass the drivers' test - I agreed, but added that he still needed to practice a lot more because one doesn't really know what one needs to learn until faced with different situations (impersonal = no judgement).

When we got to campus just a minute later, L saw a parking spot and decided to parallel park in order to hand over the car to me. The campus is very urban; so we were doing this on a narrow and busy road.  L has parallel parked a couple of times and he was feeling pretty good about his skills... In fact, that was his "evidence" when he said he could pass the drivers test: it was, "because I can parallel park." Perhaps a bit too cocky but 20-20 hindsight and all that drivel. 

I had found the experience of parallel parking with him quite nerve-wracking because he seems to be going too fast in the back and forth maneuvering.  It makes me nervous but I had sort of convinced myself that it was just that exaggerated response that one can feel when being driven by a beginner.  When V learned to drive I turned into a crazy nervous passenger for about a year... (That's a whole nother story).

 But, it turns out that I should have trusted my gut.  At a certain point L drove forward until he slammed right into the meter.  Darn - I've already forgotten the exact order of events. Now I'm wondering if my nervousness contributed to his error.  Be that as it may, he confused the pedals and crunch. 

Anyway, my favorite part (I mean, besides the fact that nobody was hurt and we didn't even touch the car parked in front of ours): L and I responded very calmly to the accident. We didn't fight at all - nobody was blaming anybody.  The  closest we got to a confrontation was in the 30 seconds after the accident when L backed-up off the meter and the curb in order to try to accomodate the car a little better in the spot, I yelled, "Stop!"  I can't remember what L said to me - voice raising - but when I replied that my adrenaline was racing (i.e. I know that I don't need to yell and that the danger is past, but this is a natural physiological response),  L accepted that as an apology and we both calmed down right away.  

Poor L.  After that he got out to look at the other car etc. I offered to let him keep trying to park but he didn't want to, so I at least moved the car so that we were completely within the lines -- It was making strange noises when I turned the wheel and I don't have much experience with accidents; the last one was when we lived in Denver (meaning about 20 years ago).  I was sure that the damage to our car was going to make it undrivable.

Luckily I had my phone and I dialed 911... Of course, 10 minutes later I realized that I'd forgotten my AAA card and license so I called H --who had a problem with his eyes today and so had made a doctor's appointment.  H spent a good 40 minutes looking for my license to bring it to me... Finally, he gave up and came to where we were waiting for the police.  We waited from about 12:10 - 1:10 and I called twice... A couple of things sort of were pushing us to just take off:  

1- H was getting nervous about missing his eye appointment and he realized the car was okay to drive (very slowly because the wheel was rubbing when the wheel was turned to the left).  2- L was missing a class and a quiz. 3- One of L's profs saw us and stopped to talk and said that, because there was no damage to anything except our own car - and the parking meter could probably just be straightened,"most people would have just taken off." 

L and I were super nervous about leaving but, in the end, H took things into his own hands.  Unlike me, the noises the car was making didn't freak him out, he just drove off (after giving me the key to his car to follow him home).  

Anyway, that's how you learn how to drive, right?  It's all about experience.  

Learning how to teach somebody to drive is also all about experience, but I don't know how much more of it I can take - ha ha.  I was finally able to put my finger on why L's parallel parking didn't feel right to me.  Sigh... a day late and a dollar short.  I only lift my foot off the brake and wait for the car to roll.  I think L was going straight to the gas pedal.  You know, I bet that's a rookie error (for me - the teacher).  

My older son is also going to learn how to drive this summer.  I'm totally ready to do this!