Started early on car driving classes during my first year on job! Managed to get a license, but since then never bothered or was serious about driving. Again, it happened when a long-term trip to US got confirmed officially. Ran and registered for the classes again as I could not recollect where the clutch and brake(s) are positioned.
The classes were not that bad. With the driver exhibiting lot of patience and confidence that I could drive, there was no stopping! I did repeat the mistakes like releasing the clutch fully that made the car to stop right at the junction where four roads met, frantically turning the wheel to left when Iam supposed to turn right! The driver’s irritation was disguised by a half broken smile saying “Madam…what Madam?!”. I should appreciate the persistence driver had to put up with me. Taking reverse is another big ordeal..! That was the story of 10 one-hour classes!
Then the big day came, I was in US and initially pooled with my colleagues to commute. That was not a permanent solution and neither my colleague nor me entertained it. A nice colleague of mine offered to sit beside me while I drive initially. So I drove the car and pooled in other colleagues for free rides. They just have to sit beside me and instruct. And one fine day, I drove to office all by myself! The first few days I almost woke up with the stress of me driving with a lot of “What if…” questions!! Iam not intending to share those questions here!
The highlight of all this is they gave me a brand new Chevy Impala 2008 model with just 90 miles in the odometer! The delivery person actually drove those 90 miles! Of course it’s kinda like giving a garland to a monkey! My motto while I was driving was not to dash anyone and follow the road rules!
After a huge retrospection, I was not bad after all. It has been 4 months and so far not a scratch! And guess what, Iam picking up two more gals and providing commutation to them! That’s a big deal – not me providing a ride, but them trusting me and joining the ride!
Recalling some funny scenes..
- Warning in the dashboard “The pressure is low in right rear tire”. Realized I need to pump it up but got totally panicked about it
- Went to the gas station, tried to put the nozzle in the fuel tank and it just doesn’t go. Well, I was holding a diesel nozzle! Such mistake-proofing techniques are there just for ppl like me
- Tried to press the accelerator so hard and the car is not even budging a mm, realized that the hand brake was on
- Defrosting the car was another lesson I learnt after realizing that one cannot drive with a frosted window!
- Always make up my mind to part with $300 when I start the car. $150 for penalty and another $150 for having no valid license!
Thank God the car is a latest model and most of the features are automated!!
