Driving. Then and Now.

As we get closer to Adam completing his driving classes, and parents getting out of the car while he drives away, it's an interesting journey your brain goes through.

My Learner's Permit and License. I recall at 15 years and 6 months getting my drivers permit. My Dad took me on my first journey. After I backed out of the driveway (narrowly stopping before hitting the telephone pole in back of me), we proceeded to country roads. One of my younger brothers was in the back seat (can't recall which) and as we rounded a bend, a driver door came open on the side of the road, as I narrowly missed this obstacle, I think Dad became more petrified. Somehow we arrived home safely and I learned in the VW Rabbit (stick-shift), again Dad put me on a steep hill, got out of the driver seat, said get in and forced me to get the car up the hill with stick. I must have stalled 12 times before forward momentum actually occured and I made up the distance I'd lost while rolling back down the hill.

Drivers education was provided by the high school (we didn't pay for it, it wasn't extracurricular, it just was a course). We had to drive a required number of hours with a school-provided instruction. My high school friend, Libby, was my driving partner. We drove all over Bradford county. For some reason, the instructor made her do most of the driving and I was the back seat passenger.

After a few months of practice, my Mom took me to Towanda, PA, on my birthday (December 5) to take my driving test. They didn't make you parallel park in Towanda (one of the reasons I think we went there). As I took the driving portion of my test and we pulled into the parking lot the snow began to fall very hard and a lot. He instructor said I'd passed. He told me to let my Mother drive us home due to the snow. I received my license, went back to the car where Mom promptly said "you drive us home" and I did drive the 15 miles back to Athens with license in hand.

Licenses in 1978 were simple, 2x3 pieces of paper with basic information such as our name, date, and state. Adam's permit alone is a glossy, plastic, magnetic strip, 16 digit drivers number and has a color photograph.

Not only have the licenses themselves gone from paper to plastic....driving has become more complicated as well. Joe and I grew up in NY/PA area that is considered town and rural. You drive down a highway and you might pass a cow, a cow might pass you. Cars and people were few. From our home just to school, Adam will pass through a minimum of 12 traffic signals, a four-lane road, bumper to bumper cars and it will require 30 minutes to travel 7 miles. Certainly not our hometowns.

So to help those who don't live in our area understand the complexity, here's a post I received about driving in the Maryland/DC area. Credit for the post below goes to Steph who forwarded it to me and has since left this madness for the beauty of Florida. Enjoy!

• Washington, DC--Welcome to our National Capital Region! For those who plan to visit our area, here are a few rules to follow... First, you must learn to call it by its rightful name. It is DC or 'the District' - only tourists call it Washington.
• Next, if your road map of Montgomery County is more than a few weeks old, throw it out and buy a new one. It's obsolete. If you are in Loudon or Fairfax County and your map is one day old, it's already obsolete. There is no such thing as a dangerous high speed chase in D.C. It's just another chase, usually on the B/W Parkway .
• All directions start with 'The Beltway'... which has no beginning and no end, just one continuous loop that locals believe is somehow clarified by an 'inner' and 'outer' loop designation. This makes no sense to ANYONE outside the area.
• The morning rush hour is from 5 to 11 AM. The evening rush hour is from1 to 8 PM. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning, especially during the summer on Route 50 eastbound. Avoid the Annapolis Bay Bridge unless you pack a lunch (possibly dinner too).
• If there is a ball game at Fed-Ex Field (Redskins' stadium), there is no point in driving anywhere near PG County. (Tip: Never say PG County to anyone from Mitchellville, Upper Marlboro or Fort Washington (it's Prince Georges County). They'll blow a vessel in their neck and go into a seizure.)
• If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended and shot at. If you run the red light, be sure to smile for the $100 'picture' you will receive courtesy of DMV. (However, if you don't go as soon as the light turns green, you will get cussed out in 382 languages.)
• (Lolli added this one) While driving in Montgomery County, if you come close to speed cameras and the speed limit is 35 miles per hour (which typically means you won't get caught unless doing 42-43 mph), just prepare because all drivers aren't sure. The speed will automatically drop to 20 miles per hour since drivers "just want to be sure". If you even attempt to drive at the normal speed limit of 35, beware that you just might end up hitting someone who has decided they don't want a ticket and want to help those around them. The truest of all places that this occurs is Montgomery Village Avenue.
• Rain causes an immediate 50 point drop of IQ in drivers. Snow causes an immediate 100 point drop in IQ and a rush to the nearest Giant or Safeway for toilet paper, bread, and milk.
• Construction on I-270 is a way of life and a permanent source of scorn and cynical entertainment. It's ironic that it's called an 'Interstate' ,but runs only from Bethesda to Frederick . (Unless you consider Montgomery County another state, which some do). Opened in the 1960's,it has been torn up and under reconstruction ever since. Also, it has a 'Spur' section which is even more confusing.
• All unexplained sights are explained by the phrase, 'Oh, we must be inTakoma Park or Silver Spring'.
• If someone actually has their turn signal on, they are by definition, a tourist. Car horns are actually 'Road Rage' indicators. Please heed the warning.
• All old ladies in Buicks have the right of way in the area of LeisureWorld & Ryderwood.
• Many roads mysteriously change their names as you cross intersections.Don't ask why, no one knows. And despite what MapQuest or Expedia orGoogle Maps tell you, there are no roads actually named ' Local Road '.
• If asking directions in Arlington, Langley Park, Wheaton or AdamsMorgan, Spanish helps. If in Annandale , Cambodian or Vietnamese will come in handy. If in DuPont Circle, Capital Hill or U Street Corridor areas, tolerance for same sex helps. If you stop to ask directions inSouth East... well, just don't.
• A taxi ride across town will cost you $12.50. A taxi ride two blocks will cost you 16.75. (It's a zone thing, you wouldn't understand.) (Laws requiring meters have passed but the cabbies are fighting it.)
• Traveling south out of DC on Interstate 395/95 is the most dangerous,scariest thing you will ever do. This traverses a stretch of roadway locally referred to as The Mixing Bowl.
• There is nothing more comforting than seven lanes of traffic cruising along at 85 mph, BUMPER TO BUMPER!!! (Truer words have never been written!).
• The minimum acceptable speed on the Beltway is 85. Anything less is considered down right sissy. If police are present, then 55 are acceptable, but as soon as the police are out of view, the speed goes back to 85.
• The open lane for passing on all Maryland interstates is the far right lane because no self-respecting Marylander would ever be caught driving in the 'slow' lane. Unofficially, both shoulders are fair game also.
• The far left lanes on all Maryland and VA interstates are official 'chat' lanes reserved for drivers who wish to talk on their cell phones.
• Note: All SUVs have priority clearance to use the far left lanes at whatever speed the driver feels most comfortable multi-tasking in. The Beltway is our daily version of a NASCAR reality show. Strap up and collect points as you go. Baltimore 's Beltway is a kiddie's ride compared to ours.

Drive on.