Christmas shopping - young James persuades his father to let him drive the AE

[Tony Press]

When I turned 18 I drove my 1929 Holden bodied fabric saloon to the Motor Registration branch in the Exhibition Buildings. The burly policeman looked in the back where he was supposed to sit and said to my licenced mate- you sit in there.

We drove briefly around the city and he said that is enough you have got your licence, even though I was doing the full Austin 7 footbrake, handbrake, gearshift, steering wheel tango !

I had been driving the 7 around for at least a year before :-)

[narrowgauger]

living on my own from around 13, I was the fall guy who drove my older fiends in a FIAT 600 to Saturday evening dances in Wangaratta. they would promptly get a skin full knowing that I would drive them the 20 miles back home. The father of the "friends" in question happened to be the local police sargeant who one Sunday morning questioned me as to how his kids managed to drive home, with the suggestion that I had been driving. This was followed by the further suggestion that I might come to the police station after school a few days later to do something about the lack of a drivers license. arriving at the station at the appointed hour, I was asked a few questions about the road rules, instructed to drive to the main street so that the "tester" could buy some fags, told to drive back to the station at which time I was issued with a drivers license; no further questions asked, but warned never to get caught for a driving offence. full stop !

that's the way it was in a small Victorian country town in 1956.

all this came back to bite me after returning back to Australia following living overseas for 30 years and I had to apply for a new license. But that's another story.

happy Christmas from sunny Myrtleford

I

[Charles Levien]

I failed the test first time, in the instructor’s car but, impatient lad that I was then, applied for another test anywhere in London. Got one the following week in Croydon so took the L plates off my Cambridge special and drove it across London from Isleworth, parked the car and put the plates back on. Young examiner with big smile on his face asked me how to signal  turning left to a policeman with big white gloves, standing in the middle of the road. I just thought he might so had my answer ready — that was enough to pass!

[Dave Wortley]

I took my driving test in 1964 in my dad’s RN saloon registration WJ xxxx. My dad taught me.
Passed first time but I told the examiner I would have to use the handbrake as well as the footbrake for the emergency stop.
I used the car from then until I bought a Ruby for £10 in running order (just!) I used the RN for work and everything else, including courting. Unfortunately the courting didn’t turn out the way I had hoped because with the young lady as passenger I drove the car up a very muddy remote country lane and couldn’t get traction( this is not a euphemism)
The embarrassing result being I had to phone our neighbour who turned up with dad and neighbour’s car plus tow rope.
That was the end of the relationship with the young lady.
All very sad but then I was only seventeen.
Anyway the RN is still going strong and is still in my possession.

[john williams]

I took my first test in my RL saloon in Llandudno in 1961. Llandudno had just started offering diving tests, following the installation of traffic lights. Prior to this, the nearest venue was Bangor, 35 miles away. My home town of Colwyn Bay, could not offer tests as there were no traffic lights in the town!
I had been driving with mostly unqualified front passengers, for some time, as none of my friends had passed their test, so I felt quite confident.
My first test appointment was on 1st January, not a Bank Holiday in those days. My employer accompanied me from Colwyn Bay To Llandudno, and on the way it started to snow. When we arrived at the test centre, the tester deemed the conditions too dangerous! Less than 1/2 inch of snow on the ground.
 Booked another test for a month later. Again accompanied by my boss, who spent too long on the phone with a customer, so we arrived at test centre 4 minutes late. Once again the same tester refused to conduct the test.  Re-booked for a month later. this time we arrived early. The tester looked at The RL, and asked is the car road worthy and insured? He got in beside me, and I immediately started the engine. Switch off was the instruction, then read the registration number on the car parked 25yds away. He then instructed me to start the engine and proceed as instructed. Completed the test route, stopped at the test centre for the Highway Code Test, which I could answer verbatim. He then announced " you have failed Mr Williams". The test report stated "a lack of anticipation" as the reason for failing. I was absolutely dumbfounded.
Back a month later in a customers Mini Pick Up, and passed.

[Steve Jones]

I took my test in April 1969, 3 months after my 17th birthday. The Tester and I came out of Test Centre,Trend House, in Northgate, Wakefield and he asked me to read off the number of a blue Triumph Herald parked up the road. This I did but he said I was wrong. Tried again and wrong again. Third time, wrong again with him saying it was *** ***, not what I'd said three times. Then the penny dropped. Oh, you mean this blue Triumph Herald here, I was looking at that other one up there! That hurdle jumped he obviously thought 'smart arse' so he announced that today, he wanted me to do the entire test using hand signals only, no indicators. Biggest problem was remembering not to flick the indicators on but I must have done OK as I passed.

Steve

[Tony Griffiths]

I took my driving test in 1964 in my dad’s RN saloon registration WJ xxxx. My dad taught me.
Passed first time but I told the examiner I would have to use the handbrake as well as the footbrake for the emergency stop.
I used the car from then until I bought a Ruby for £10 in running order (just!) I used the RN  for work and everything else, including courting. Unfortunately the courting didn’t turn out the way I had hoped because with the young lady as passenger I drove the car up a very muddy remote  country lane and couldn’t get traction( this is not a euphemism)
The embarrassing result being I had to phone our neighbour who turned up with dad and neighbour’s car plus tow rope.
That was the end of the relationship with the young lady.
All very sad but then I was only seventeen.
Anyway the RN is still going strong and is still in my possession.

I take it, David that the 'christening' party was later? Unlike a mutual friend, eh, who had his QD seats 'specially arranged'.

[Denis Sweeney]

Sadly I cannot remember the date I passed my test and no longer have my first red book driving license.
I do remember my father taught me and it was a very fractious episode, immovable object vs irresistible force! It would not have been too long after my 17th birthday but…….
What I do remember was that it was in West London and the sun was very low in the sky, so probably early in the year.
On leaving the test centre we turned right, straight into the sun and straight away there was a cross roads with double white lines which I drove straight through!!
Immediately realising what I had done I was convinced I was doomed to failure and drove the full test just wanting to get out of the car and go home.
When we finished he gave a long hard stare and commenting on my error and then much to my surprise he passed me.
This would have been in the late 60’s, it feels such a shame that it took till 2018 till I first got behind the steering wheel of Ruby, hey ho

[Chris Garner]

Returning to Hazel, my daughter.  Sixteen years of age. On the appointed time, in our village, she met up with the examiner on her borrowed tractor. He instructed her to drive to the top of the road ( 100 yards or so ) where there was a T-junction, turn round and return. Hazel drove to the junction, indicated right and turned around, returning to the examiner... with her indicator still flashing. The examiner said " Fine " , gave her the ticket to say she'd passed, jumped into his car and drove off! The following day she was driving a JCB Fastrac pulling twenty ton grain trailers through the town of Melton Mowbray.

[Steve kay]

If Hedd was still about, we could share stories of getting a Group G licence. To this day I recall the look of horror coming over the face of the tester as he realised that he hadn’t been sent out for a couple of quick contractor’s rollers, but a Fowler steam roller. A cheerful tester might have made a full footplate morning of it, but this chap stood at the side of the road and watched some  very basic manoeuvres being performed very slowly.