As some of you may have known already, I had been driving the family car for more than a decade. But I could not forget the time when I was really trying to learn how to drive. Unlike my friend who was had several different tutors to learn the skill, I only had one instructor: my father.
My dad took me to the small valley in the mountains of La Trinidad (a place called Buyagan) to teach me the basics. The place was perfect for driving because I don’t have a road to practice on, just a whole wide plain and a small dirt road going up a hill to practice how to use the manual stick-shift gears.
I was only 14 years old.
My father believed that it is much more difficult to teach older women how to drive than younger girls, so I was already a student driver. Of course, I felt excited because this means it’s an opportunity for me to grow up and eventually be an adult.
The lessons aren’t hurried, but my father and I made sure that we always have those driving lessons every Saturday. Those weekly lessons helped me master the skill. In no time, I was able to drive the family car out from the little valley to La Trinidad’s central business district which had some little traffic.
As soon as I reached 18 years of age, I immediately applied for a driver’s license. Since I did not enroll in any driving school, I went out to self-study the written aspects of the exam, such as reading road signs and mastering different driving situations. The written exam was very easy and I finished that in no time.
The practical exam followed and I was accompanied by an LTO officer. He got seated in the passenger seat of my car. He then asked me to drive him around, from LTO in Engineer’s hill, down to Session Road then back to LTO through Harrison Road. The officer pointed out a mistake I did: I was supposed to make a full stop on pedestrian lanes. I did what I see on many other drivers: slowly crawling the car on the pedestrian lane so that people would stop crossing the streets.
It was not long before they declared that I passed the exams. It was really a good feeling to be able to get a drivers license in an HONEST way.
I truly thank my father deeply for having the patience to teach me how to drive. It was really a wonderful father-daughter bonding thing during the teenage years which I won’t ever forget for the rest of my life.
That is something that you will cherish for a lifetime Gem.
I enrolled in a driving school before i came to the States and it was hard. My husband taught me again when I applied for a license in WV.
Kumusta kayo sa nagdaang bagyo. Hope okay lang kayo..
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My father believed that it is much more difficult to teach older women how to drive than younger girls
Gosh I'm already in my 30's and still on with the lessons.
hahaha, tatay was the first one to teach me to drive too, however, he stopped teaching me when i hit the car on the post, he did not want to have heart attack, so my older brother took care of my driving lessons
I remember the day when my father told me that he would teach me how to drive. But sad to say that he just enrolled me to a driving school. Bec his too busy…