Christmas driving lesson

[fisher83]

We decided that with all the empty parking lots on Christmas Day this would be a great opportunity to take my daughter out for her first driving lesson. We went to my old high school parking lot and showed her all the basic controls and let her cruise around the parking lot for a good half hour or so. She really enjoyed it and she caught on pretty quick. Her pedal modulation is already better than at least a few adults that I know! She enjoyed the experience more than any of the gifts she got today. Her first driving experience was definitely much better than mine was. If things go as planned, I'll pass the Camry down to her as a birthday gift in a couple of years. Another Chrismas in the books with happy memories made!

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Good memories will last a lifetime.

 

[meep]

Wonderful time spent with your daughter!

 

[Andrew1972]

Nice!!! Good times.

I took my 16 year old who is ready for driver Exam to her ice driving experience today in parking lots today too. It was absolute skating rink and she learned about speeds, turning , getting out of skids and starting on a hill in horrific conditions.

 

[Rand]

Nice!!! Good times.

I took my 16 year old who is ready for driver Exam to her ice driving experience today in parking lots today too. It was absolute skating rink and she learned about speeds, turning , getting out of skids and starting on a hill in horrific conditions.

58f and buckets of rain here.. could raft across my yard.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

If you don't give her the Camry, get her a cheap manual car

 

[fisher83]

The Camry is in great mechanical shape and the body and interior are in good shape also. Most of the reason I chose it was because I thought it would make a good first car for her and she would have some time to get familiar with it and for me to know it's a trustworthy car before passing it down to her. It's a simple enough car to show her how to do basic maintenance on and it's a boring enough car that it should discourage any hot rodding around.

 

[eljefino]

And the sight lines aren't awful on that generation Camry. Good to learn to back up without cameras and stuff.

 

[SlavaB]

I wouldn’t pass a 20 years old car to my kid for safety concerns, but to each their own

 

[fisher83]

I wouldn’t pass a 20 years old car to my kid for safety concerns, but to each their own

As of right now it is rust free and everything works properly and I drive it daily. If something changes with the car's condition that would certainly change my plans. Otherwise, I'm pretty comfortable with it from a safety standpoint.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I wouldn’t pass a 20 years old car to my kid for safety concerns, but to each their own

I know 20 years old sounds old, but 2002 doesn't sound old at all

A 2002 Camry has dual airbags, possibly even side airbags, and ABS

On the east coast, if it's rust-free, it's safe

 

[tnt_motorsports]

As of right now it is rust free and everything works properly and I drive it daily. If something changes with the car's condition that would certainly change my plans. Otherwise, I'm pretty comfortable with it from a safety standpoint.

I handed down my 2005 Jeep to the boys when they turned 16. I wanted something reliable and a full size vehicle in case of an accident. I think your Camry will serve the same purpose. I can’t see buying a small junk car for a beginner driver. I want my children safe.

Just my $0.02

 

[AZjeff]

This is a Christmas day she won't forget. Priceless.

Now go out with some nice snow and teach her how to drift.

 

[GSCJR]

Very nice @fisher83, she'll always remember those moments. I took my 16 year old daughter out driving this summer a couple of times, but boy it makes me feel old. She took her driving school classes this week while off school. Next, we'll book her in-car lessons.

 

[Skippy722]

This is a Christmas day she won't forget. Priceless.

Now go out with some nice snow and teach her how to drift.

Can confirm, also very very appreciative that my mom did exactly that with me. “Alright… hit 20mph and start turning, I’m going to yank the hand brake, I want you to know how a car feels when it starts sliding. Try to steer out of it by steering into the slide without slamming on the brakes.”

 

[svtrit]

That’s the way to do it! We used the local football stadium lot, as it was generally empty and had tons of room. 45 mph was easy to hit at times.

A police officer was there once and wondered why we were driving backwards around the lot. That’s always been part of my training, as it teaches control and mirror use.

One of my kids is accident prone and seems to end up in bad situations ( his passenger door was hit by a driver backing out of a stall Christmas Eve), but so far so good with the other kids.

Good luck! My wife ended up taking over when teaching my daughter, as she was a bit sensitive to my teaching……

 

[ARCOgraphite]

We decided that with all the empty parking lots on Christmas Day this would be a great opportunity to take my daughter out for her first driving lesson. We went to my old high school parking lot and showed her all the basic controls and let her cruise around the parking lot for a good half hour or so. She really enjoyed it and she caught on pretty quick. Her pedal modulation is already better than at least a few adults that I know! She enjoyed the experience more than any of the gifts she got today. Her first driving experience was definitely much better than mine was. If things go as planned, I'll pass the Camry down to her as a birthday gift in a couple of years. Another Chrismas in the books with happy memories made!

Good Dad! Was it snow covered?

 

[supton]

I need to take mine out, but my daughter is fighting me. “I’m too young to drive!” She has refused to learn that dad is always right.

 

[fisher83]

This is a Christmas day she won't forget. Priceless.

Now go out with some nice snow and teach

Good Dad! Was it snow covered?

No snow this time around. It was dry out and 55 degrees. We had thunderstorms and tornadoes a week or two ago. Nebraska weather is strange. We will definitely incorporate some severe weather driving at some point though for sure.

 

[2005jettatdi]

Back in 2011, I was moving to Kingman, AZ and was driving the Dodge Cummins 5 speed pickup pulling U-Haul down with my then 16 year old daughter. We were driving straight through and by the time I got to Big Smokey Valley in Nevada I was ready for a nap. She was rested, so I told her to drive. She did not have much experience with the pickup, but the road is pretty straight and level the whole way down the valley. It was dark and I told her to never swerve for the rabbits but to do the best she could for cattle or deer. She did fine, I slept and switched back at Tonapah.