[Elspode]

I started driving my folks' cars at 14, when my mom decided that she didn't want to have to drive to the store for milk and bread. My previous experience had been driving a tractor on my uncle's ranch, and operating my cousin's car. I never really found it the least bit difficult. Studied the book, took the test the day I turned 16, got my license.

I took driver's ed at 17, after I'd been driving for three years anyway. It was stupid. We had driving simulators, which were useless as they had zero feedback of any kind. There was a film projected on the wall (that all of the simulators used as their front windshield view), and it just did what it did, and you were supposed to do what it was doing. So, when the view would start to turn, you had to start to turn, and when the turn stopped, you had to stop turning...except that by the time you reacted to the film you were watching (since you weren't actually *doing* anything), you were inevitably deficient in some way. "Didn't stop fast enough" "Turned too far to the right" "Accelerated too sharply".

It was a complete waste of time.