When Daddy let me Drive !

My grandson has been visiting with us and helping me do some very hard work. He's 15 and he wants to drive every thing and every chance he gets. If he was to have an accident while driving my 5 on the floor Nissan PU or the auto Yota the liability for me could be devastating to say the least. However, I remember my parents and grandparents accepting that responsibility and letting me drive on some of the back roads when I was young and eager so I let him get behind the wheel whenever I feel it's safe. If I can find a nice quite area with very little traffic I may just let him drive the '56 GMC PU later. How many of Y'all do or have done the same thing?

I guess old Alan Jackson was right, eh?

Alan Jackson - Drive (For Daddy Gene) - YouTube

i couldn't wait to drive the tractor or farm truck. after a while i hated to even see that 8n . but yes it's a liability but if your out in the country like me it would be ok. except for those damn water trucks driven by morons who cant drive. it's a 1/2 % grade to the hwy and the idiots want to use a jake brake.

My first attempt was in a '51 or '52 Ford that belonged to my Grandparents - - - - 3 on the column and my Granny was so patient and cool - - - - it's a wonder I didn't whiplash her when I was learning how to let out on the clutch properly - - - one time I almost ran into a deep ditch but managed to brake just in time and she "very quitely" said - - - "Sweetheart, just put it in neutral and put the emergency brake on and Granny will come around and drive." hahahaha My Granny was my best friend when I was a kiddo.




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Sounds like a coin flip to me, 15 he can wait another year. However it could cost you many years and dollars if the wrong worlds collide. I drove when I was 14 up and down the driveway, got good at it to, when I was 15 I got a learners permit. An 18 year old at least, licensed driver had to be in the right seat. Well, I had the gears all sorted out so it was on and over the road no problem, for me or my dad good for both parties. He will have many years to drive and enjoy that privilege.

Personally not a chance I'd be willing to risk, to many folks looking for a fast buck. It is not you or him it is the others out there texting, gabbing on the cell and looking at the cows that could change your whole life in a flash...

The coin is in the air ?

I started on tractors... 7 or 8 years old, 1947 IH model A.. still have that tractor too! Now all the nieces and nephews come over and I toss'em on the A and we go for laps around the farm. They love it! A few years back I tossed my oldest niece on the A and the 3 others on the cub cadets! I hitched a small trailer to the A and tossed in some hay bales for the parents for a seat.

The kids drove the wheels off of them! Of course I only let them use first gear so things happen a lot slower. But the kids enjoy it almost as much as I do..

I think I was 10? 11? 12?.. when I first drove the farm trucks during haying. My Dad and Uncle were always on me for riding the clutch.. even when my foot wasn't near the pedal ! I learned early on great throttle control because if you shook the truck when it was almost loaded, you'd shake the bales off and then there was hell to pay!

I'd think if you can find a suitable location, let him try it and see how it goes. My 2 cents..

My oldest still recalls the time we were at his Grandad's place, and Grandad had us out in the field stringing electric fence in the heat. After a couple of hours Grandad says, "Kevin, go ask your Grandmom to send us out a jug of ice water!", to which Kevin replied, "Aw Grandad, I don't want to walk all the way back to the house!!" He was about 12 or 13 at the time, but pretty tall for his age. Grandad says, "Who said to walk? There's a good truck right there (his '72 F150 automatic). Can you drive it?" Of course he pumped up and said "Sure I can drive it!" Then his grandpa got serious and said, "Now there's a gate by the barn you need to open, and close it behind you so the bull doesn't get out, and another gate from there to the house that you have to close to keep the bull from running up the road. Don't run into my gates." Long story shortened, he hopped in, idled to the house, and idled back with a thermos of water. Didn't say much about it, but after 30 years he still remembers how scared he was!! Let 'em drive where it's safe!! They'll remember every detail.

It's still a few years off before I have to worry about it (my oldest grandson can't reach the pedals and still see over the dash at the same time....yet :LOL:

I'm lucky, I've got an arena out back I can let him drive in circles on when he gets old enough, but I don't see letting him on the road in anything of mine until he has a license.

Yep, my boys have those first times as good memories, and they have followed suit with their sons. Theirs was not on tractors, though it was in a 4 x 4 pickup out on some roads in the desert. My grandsons were not quite so fortunate, though; they got their learning in a car with an automatic on deserted parking lots on weekends. All the same, it is normally a great thrill for most boys and girls when they start learning to drive. In August, my sixteen yr old grandson will be returning from a family trip to New York and environs ahead of the rest of the family. They drive to Las Vegas and leave their dogs with us and fly out to wherever they are headed, so he will be coming back early, and he and I will go to their place in SoCal so he can start football; I'll stay with him until the rest of them get back. Since he has been driving for a while now, I'm figuring I'll turn things over to him after we get out of town, and let him get some real highway miles under his belt. I won't let him drive in heavy traffic, though, it moves too fast for someone with so little experience.

A grandson just turned 16 and just got his license, I had him drive the tractor harrowing down cow pies in a pasture, Then drive the Case 580 back hoe, just operating the front bucket, and let him dig a couple holes , then he traded with his 15 year old cousin and operated a trackhoe digging out small willow trees that sprout each year on the river farm, and last year he drove our farm fork lift a little bit. He heard about a new grain elevator being built and said he wanted a job. His grandmother helped him with a resume, Last year he hepled when we were building a cinderblock garage, and some wood framing. He has been working the construction job 10 hours a day, 6 days a week and saving some money for his Own car.

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Originally Posted by timothale

A grandson just turned 16 and just got his license, I had him drive the tractor harrowing down cow pies in a pasture, Then drive the Case 580 back hoe, just operating the front bucket, and let him dig a couple holes , then he traded with his 15 year old cousin and operated a trackhoe digging out small willow trees that sprout each year on the river farm, and last year he drove our farm fork lift a little bit. He heard about a new grain elevator being built and said he wanted a job. His grandmother helped him with a resume, Last year he hepled when we were building a cinderblock garage, and some wood framing. He has been working the construction job 10 hours a day, 6 days a week and saving some money for his Own car.

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Sounds like a young man raised right and not afraid of some hard work! Good on you and his parents! Operating equipment / machinery helps teach respect and responsibility, something most of our young folks need in their lives (imho).. Give the young man a pat on the back and let him know we're all proud of him! :)

Some nice stories here. I learned on tractors, lawn mowers, 3 wheelers, and go karts. I think I was driving a small low power lawn mower with no deck at age 5 or so. My Grandpa's boss used to let me drive his old beater fam truck around the farm when we were orking out there. When I was 10 he let me drive it on the back roads. Those experiences sure made it a lot easier for me once I started driving in traffic and on the interstate. I see where a lot of you are worried about liabilities and such, I guess that goes with anything in this world now a days.

Great stories Gents, I didn't expect this much response from this thread and I have enjoyed them ALL !

I grew up on a farm, plus had a Dad who was a racer... He quit racing when I was 8 so that there would be more money for us boys and our kart racing! My two older brothers were alrady racing, so I had snuck in a bit of time in their karts, plus all the usual farm stuff of tractors, pickups, grain trucks, etc. I guess I can't really remember NOT driving! With all us boys and Dad's help, there was always everything from pedal tractors to full fledged race cars around the place! By the time I was old enough to get a license I already had 8 years of racing behind me. I remember laughing at what some of my pals went through learning how to drive when they were 14 or 15 and just starting to learn! Driving always seemed like such a natual thing to do around our house!

However, the one significant event in our driving was when Grandpa was out for the day. You knew you had progressed as a driver and were ready for "real cars" when Grandpa had you drive him around in HIS car to check on the crops, and generally "supervise" the entire farming operation both at our place and two of my Uncle's places.....Once you got good enough to drive Grandp around, you'd made it!!!!