Dumb things I did when I first started driving...

**adamsredlines** · 03-26-2009, 09:40 AM

Well in response to that, the first vehicle I drove, I'll admit I did two dumb things with, both doing donuts. It was my moms AWD Explorer with a 5.0 V8. The first set of donuts were in a field and I kicked up a piece of farm equipment that was burried under the grass. It came up into the fender well and bustedout the AC compressor.
The next time I did donuts, it was on snow and it was doing the cyclones like the Monster trucks do. Not donuts where the back end whips around, but where thefront is spinning too and the driver is the center, like a top. Well, the front differential didnt like that and BOOM, there she went. I know this pales incomparison to some of the stuff I'm sure some of you guys have done, but I will admit that I did those two things.

Since then I've had my Ram. I bought it in May of '04 and have driven it daily since. I've done many stupid things in it, donuts, dukes ofhazzard airtime over hills, taken it offroad (before it was lowered), hopped curbs, and have made hundreds of passes at the drag strip with it, and she keepson ticking. I've probably abused my truck more thatn most kids do theirs, merely because I like to drag race it.
I actually rolled over 100,000 miles in it this week, and she's still running strong despite my abuse.

**philbert777** · 03-26-2009, 11:31 AM

Doing dumb things when we start driving.Oh ya...I drove my mom's car (65 Newport with 383ci) to school a few times.I used to do power brakes with it andsmoke the classroom out so the fire alarms used to go off.

Dah...Myfather was flipping out because he put new tires on the car and they were bald after 500miles.

If only he knew what I was doing ..One night I was racing a 70 Mustang with thiscar and I was keeping up with him,but there was a turn coming up that I didn't make.(65 Newports were big boats)I jumped a curb,went over the guy'sfront yard and hit his house.I took his front porch off the house,totalled the car.The odd thing is,10years later,I'm was working with the guy that own thehouse .He remembered coming home that night(drunk)and he couldn't get in the front door because I knocked the porch off his house.Strange how thing happen.After what happened,my father told me to buy my own car.I purchased a 70 Challenger when I was 18(which I still have).Everyone said I was going to lose mylicense or die driving this car.I'm still here,the odd thing is,I did some crazy things driving that car,but I only got one ticket(not coming to a fullstop at stop sign)

Oh man, I just realized that I bought that car31 years ago,man I'm getting old..

Another thing,when we had our daughter,I purchased a 85 Astro family van.That was a very good van,(Quote..Jane,how do you stop this thing)Well his hind legsgave out(blown rear)he limped to the the junk yard with 406,000 miles...Good boy Astro..RIP......................later Philbert

**MINGOTOY** · 03-26-2009, 12:06 PM

Just watching my boy drive the last 10 months has caused me a lot of aggravation and gray hairs and $$$ as some of you probably know. Anyway, after responding to Adam's reply , I got the idea that this topic would be an entertaining post for some . I am sure that many of you have sometales to tell.

Here 's one that happened to my kid. It was a dark , rainy night. He was visiting a friend . He was parked on a dirt road. He went backwards and hebumped something. He couldn't see what it was. So , instead of checking it out or opening the window, he continued going backwards and tore the frontbumper off the car. It was a metal fence post. (The bumper was repaired by my brother with 20-25 screws and some duct tape to cover up the screw headsso that no one gets a gash if they walk by the car.)

My first car was a 1970 Nova. The gas tank leaked gas ONLY when you parked in the driveway head first. (THe driveway was an uphill one.) Anyway, one dayon a very cold and icy day, I wanted to park on the driveway. So I am going backwards. The car didn't want to go up due to an icy driveway. Well, Igassed it and it went up and hit the garage door. I broke the lower panel. My dad had to fix the door. No damage to the car. Eventually, he also had thegas tank replaced. He also didn't want me to park on the driveway anymore.

Now , when I was 19, I had a 1977 Nova. One day I was driving on a road going about 30 mph. I saw a cinder block in the middle of the road. I was sure thatthe car would clear it. Wrong. It struck a rod under the tranny and bent it. When I got home, I couldn't shift the car into park. I had to beep thehorn like a maniac so that my dad could come outside and help me. I didn't know what to do. I could still remember my dad cursing me out . He had totake the car to a mechanic and it cost some dollars to fix. I don't recall the amount.

Ok, post some of your first driving mistakes. Don't be shy. Let it out. They can't be that bad after all, you're still alive!

maribell

**MINGOTOY** · 03-26-2009, 12:13 PM

Ok, I see that the moderators combined the 2 threads.. Ok, here is one that my sister in law when she first started driving... Now if you have a kid at home,let them know what to do on this one...

Sister-in-law borrowed my car while I babysat her kids. It was that 1977 Nova. She approaches a road with a stop sign. The cross street is a road the curvesup the hill. You can see forever. No houses. No trees. No signs. Just the road gently curving uphill. Now, you can see forever except when there is asun glare. It was fall and the glare is awful in that area in the evening. Well, Sister-in-law made the stop sign, she couldn't see anything but glarebut for some reason, she proceeded and crashed into a van ! She didn't total the car but there was some damage. The other person was not hurt .

so the make sure you tell your kid to stay there until the glare goes away! My sister in law was a new driver at the time.

maribell

maribell

**adamsredlines** · 03-26-2009, 10:00 PM

What I posted is not to say that my friends didnt do some stupid crap LOL.

I had two buddies, one had a '91 Maxima with a V6 and a manual, the other had a 94 2wd 4cyl Ranger...BOTH of them took those vehicles places I wouldnt takea H1 Hummer. I'll post those later, its time for bed

**FabFaux** · 03-26-2009, 11:29 PM

Hey Maribell,

This is an episode I'll never forget:

I was about 11 years old, and I wanted to learn to drive REAL BAD.
So, one day, like an idiot, I took (stole) the keys to my grandmother's
old Ford, and............TOOK OFF.......................

I drive up the street barely a large block next to our neighborhood park,
and then the car suddenly stalls, and conks out.

I thought my a$$ was grass, but they found me, and had the biggest grins
on their faces when I saw them drive up. They thought someone had stolen the
car, but were relieved to discover it was just me, and were probably just glad
I wasn't hurt. Kids do stupid things, and that was probably the stupidest thing
this kid ever did.

**Capn Hooks** · 03-27-2009, 07:53 PM

I let my girlfriend drive my '74 Nova, leaving at a STOP sign I told her to nail it. When she did, I reached over and pulled her tube top down. And no shedidn't hit me.

**CHEVY57** · 03-27-2009, 10:35 PM

Capn Hooks wrote:
I let my girlfriend drive my '74 Nova, leaving at a STOP sign I told her to nail it. When she did, I reached over and pulled her tube top down. And no she didn't hit me.

Whats stupid about that Mike? That was brilliant!

**PeepingScott** · 03-27-2009, 11:46 PM

Tube top??? I remember those! They were great! Looked good and easy removal...

**rachaelpachel** · 03-28-2009, 10:50 AM

LMAO Scott.

Great thread idea Maribell.

I was a pretty cautious driver so I don't have any stupid beginner stories to tell, besides driving off with the parking brake still engaged, I did do thata lot.

I did always have cheap rattlebuckets for cars, and more than once, have had to pull over to the side of the road with my engine on fire......