Teaching Your AS Child How To Drive

This past year we have attempted to teach our AS son how to drive. I knew I found hell when we started this little adventure and for some reason this ordeal never seems to end.




Top 10 Reasons Why I Hate Teaching My Son How To Drive





10- I do not enjoy sweating bullets and sticking to the car seat due to my son’s erratic driving.

9- Without this I would never have known the meaning of fear.

8- Super Wal-Mart ran out of Pepto-Bismol for my upset stomach.

7- I can’t drink liquor or take mind altering drugs when I’m in the car with him to relieve my stress.

6- Other drivers ignore me screaming for help.

5- My parents seem to think this is extremely funny because they went through it before with me.

4- My son likes to drive my car instead of my husband’s.

3- The side mirrors on my car are missing.

2- We have a new entrance to the garage courtesy of my son.

1- I seem to have a lot more gray hair.




Why is it that every time I get into the car with the Rookie Driver my palms get sweaty and my life passes right before my very eyes? Could this be because the Rookie Driver almost hit a gas pump, drives erratically, crosses over double lines, drives with the emergency brake on, and does not yield to oncoming traffic? Or is this because he dented in the trim on the garage door, jumped the curb a couple of times, and caused a few more hairs to turn gray on his parents?

Our state requires kids who want to get a license to take Driver’s Education Training at the local junior college or go to a driving school which usually costs around $300 or so. Anyhoooooo, after that, it is the parents responsibility to complete the Student Handbook that is required by the MVA. It consists of 60 hours of driving under various hazardous situations which undoubtedly cause parents to go absolutely insane during this horrendous and highly stressful process that they call “Completing the Supervised Driving Requirement”. I call it something else entirely, but MVA does not take the parent’s point of view when they came up with this new and unfortunate torture that parents must endure so their kids can drive.

Well, it’s been a loooooooooong and hair raising year and I have consumed more Pepto-Bismol than recommended by the manufacture, but the Rookie Driver insists that he is ready to take his driving test. I on the other hand feel he needs 20 more years to practice, but what do I know. Needless to say, yesterday I sent hubby with the Rookie Driver to take the test. Our MVA is in the sticks and the driving test is conducted behind it on a closed course surrounded by corn fields. The test is timed and the Rookie Driver must complete it in 10 minutes by doing various driving maneuvers (starting, stopping, turning, reverse, etc.). I find this aspect of the test rather disturbing. It seems that they are encouraging them to drive fast which could cause accidents. Maybe this is a try-out for the Daytona 500? Anyhoooooo, the Rookie Driver must also do parallel parking within 3 minutes and be at least 12 inches from the curb (they cannot touch it) and drive out within 2 minutes. They must also do a three-point turn in 3 minutes without touching the curb. Unfortunately, the Rookie Driver parallel parking wasn’t up to snuff. One tire was more than 12 inches from the curb so the Tester made the Rookie Driver change places with him so he could drive them out of the course (oh, how embarrassing!). Arrangements were then made for the Rookie Driver to take the test again on Monday. Since hubby will be in France on travel for work, guess who will have to take him? UGH!