Motorist Advisory

[ConnerVT]

All motorists in the NY and VT areas of the Champlain Valley should be on the lookout for Vermont's newest driver, my wife.  Please use appropriate caution.

Seriously, my wife did a wonderful job yesterday on her driving exam, only getting dinged for 7 points (20 or more is a fail).  She even nailed her parallel parking test perfectly.

She was pretty nervous before the test.  The ice breaker had to have come from our son.  I told him to give his mama a kiss for good luck before we gave her a few moments alone before the test.

He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Good Luck Mama, and don't crash into any of the other cars."  Only from the mouth of a seven year old. 

[Michelangelo]

Congrats!!!  I know she must be very happy and you must be very proud.  She'll love this new piece of independence

[Photo Guy]

Should a RW learn to drive over there, before coming to the US?

[KenC]

Photo,

Any experience is helpful.  Just make sure you don't teach her like I did with my wife.  When they start debating if your instructions are correct or not, you may be in trouble.  Lena is an excellant driver now, but it was very stressful during the learning process.

KenC

[jb]

Ahhhh,,, I remember those early days clearly, in fact, maybe too clearly,,, the experience may be responsible for my current heart condition.

[BC]

Licence in hand but never sat behind the wheel.

It's gonna be a while until that changes here.

Next trip back to RU will include lessons.

[ConnerVT]

Any experience is helpful.  Just make sure you don't teach her like I did with my wife.  When they start debating if your instructions are correct or not, you may be in trouble.  Lena is an excellant driver now, but it was very stressful during the learning process.

Perhaps that's why I've been surfing those off-shore pharmacies, looking for muscle relaxers for my taut neck muscles. 

My wife had no "hands-on" driving experience before arriving in the US.  But she had logged much time in the co-pilot's seat, going from Tver to Moscow (~1.5 hrs) with a driver from work.  After all, isn't it all that time that American children spend watching how their parents drive develop a large percentage of their driving knowledge?

I attempted to hand off the driver's ed responsibilities several times, but my wife would not allow it.  And yes, we have had more than one occasion where the student would insist they knew more than the teacher with nearly 30 years of experience (who's original driver's license was a NY license to kill ).

Now to the next step -- buying a second car for the family... :?

[BC]

Yes Conner.. exactly the thoughts here..

'buy me a nice little car and I will learn'

:?

[ConnerVT]

Yes Conner.. exactly the thoughts here..

No, our case is a bit different.  My wife's father wanted her to learn how to drive in Russia, but she really didn't have the time between her work and raising her son.  Papa is the only driver in the family, and my wife is the only one who had any interest in learning.

Here in VT, as "PC Green" as it is, even the Burlington city area is over dependent on the automobile.  So it really is a necessity on our part, and we aren't even out in the country!  As for me, I feel the same as Papa -- now I won't need to do 100% of the driving.

My wife likes the look of the Toyota Matrix and the Jetta wagon.  But she is a bit nervous about damaging a car with a $25K+ price tag.  Right now, the game plan is to get a 2003-2004 Hyundai in the $10K range.  Still has a few years of warranty left in it, still shines like a new car, but a lot less worry.  I like that it has airbags all around it...

[Rvrwind]

I like that it has airbags all around it...

Don't forget the extra addons - roll cage & 5 point shoulder harness!!!

Can never be too safe:D

RVR

Canadian Cowboy

[Bruno]

I like that it has airbags all around it...

Don't forget the extra addons - roll cage & 5 point shoulder harness!!!

Can never be too safe:D

RVR

Canadian Cowboy
[/quote]
Buy a old tank... she cannot easily damage it and she will be save... :D:D

 

[ConnerVT]

Buy a old tank... she cannot easily damage it and she will be save... :D:D

You do realize we are speaking about RW here, right?  Good luck to me if I don't come home with something new and shiny... 

[KenC]

My wife, Lena learned to drive with our Cadillac STS which is about as close to a tank as you ever get a RW to drive.  She didn't like giving up that Northstar engine when I switched her over to Mercedes.

KenC

[RacerX]

when I switched her over to Mercedes.

well as least you kept her in the "tank" family!  

My wife picked her new car in a very scientific manner - she saw a Black Cherry Mazda RX-8 in Warsaw and just had to have one here!  

[PeeWee]

Buy a old tank... she cannot easily damage it and she will be save... :D:D

You do realize we are speaking about RW here, right?  Good luck to me if I don't come home with something new and shiny... 
[/quote]
I was just thinking about driving today. I had worried that it would be somewhat dangerous for my lady to begin driving in the US. I thought I might get her a used car to minimize the damage repair. But then I realized two things, she is Russian and the car probably will have to be new and she has been driving in Moscow for years which means that the US will be a piece of cake for her. She has learned that the middle finger works better than a horn. I didn't  not know that she knew about the middle finger until we rode around with her in Moscow. She is already too Western.

PeeWee

[Photo Guy]

The women I find are least Westernized, are the exotic women of Borneo. They can be real she-devils and nothing like AW. Also, the aborigines of Australia are not very westernized. Their women doctors are also underpaid, just like RW doctors. Their digeroo music is very romantic, in my opinion.

[RacerX]

... for  my lady to begin driving in the US. ... has learned that the middle finger works better than a horn. I didn't  not know that she knew about the middle finger until we rode around with her in Moscow.
PeeWee

This is most definitely a non-sequitur.

[Rando]

I wonder what RW think about when they drive? My wife is learning on the same road to the same place. She has driven this road maybe 35 times now....and there is one particular turn that I still have to point out or she will drive right past each and every friggin time...

She goes for little drives with her new found RW friend...yesterday they drove down a one way street....my wife was not driving.....later she asked me how could they possibably know it was one way.....I drove her past the 4 four foot! high sign that said ONE WAY DO NOT ENTER!!!!

Blind leading the blind.

Of course when I give lessons there is constant argument as to my abilty not withstanding my excellant 43 year driving record....these women are certainly and certifiably crazy right??

[dostogirl]

I wonder what RW think about when they drive?

 

Gosh...Thats' me..exactly me...I don't know why and how, but it happens to me all the time. I've been driving for 2 years in the States (and 1 year in Russia).  I guess it's a RW thing..

[catzenmouse]

I'm going to add a warning for all those in the Central Virginia area. Elena got her lerner's permit the other day. Soon I will have all grey hair or maybe none at all and will age 10 to 15 years. Been nice knowing you all!

Ken

[Turboguy]

Good Luck Ken,  I have not pushed Luda to drive.  She tells me she had her liscence in Russia and tried driving twice there and destroyed the car each time.   She does not seem eager to learn to drive here and I think I am more than happy to play chauffer for a long time.

[catzenmouse]

Thanks Turbo. I'm not pushing her to drive, this is her feeling the need to be able to go when she wants and have the ability to look at different jobs/schooling. We just recently moved from a house out in the country to an apartment more centrally located so she does not have to drive to go to the store or to work. She's already got one job at a local fabric store and is training for another for a grocery store. She wants to get back into massage therapy but when she took the entry test her English comprehension skills were below the minimum score acceptable. There are some good classes at a local community college but they don't start until January so for now just working and being around people speaking English will do her a world of good.

 She does get down and frustrated with not being able to understand some of the things that are said to her and with the different systems we have here of doing things. I know that she's made amazing progress in every aspect but to get her to believe that is another story entirely!

Ken

[jb]

My wife has now been driving a bit over 3 years now. I posted quite a lot about the subject of teaching a RW to drive a couple of years ago on the other board. I see it's all still true.

My solution to the riddle was to buy a used, but still good running, small car, one which I didn't care if she dinged all four corners in the learning process, and one which wouldn't go so fast that I had to fear for her safety.  That car was a little 1999 Mercury Mystique.  

She was able to get her license on the second try after she finally got paired up with a female Driver's License Examiner who was of the opinion that parallel parking was not required of women drivers anyway.  Her exact quote was; "parallel parking is a man thing".

She drove that little Merc for over two years without a major mishap, so this summer we decided to upgrade her wheels.  She's now in a 2004 Toyota Camery, which she loves.  But she still can't park it.  Last week she was able to scrape a bumper in the school parking lot.  When I asked her about it she said she doesn't know why they make those parking spaces so small.  I pointed out that I could easily park my full sized pickup in those same spaces, she said, "parking is a man thing."

I wish you guys well, but you will note in my avitar, all of my hair is gray.

[BC]

I wish you guys well, but you will note in my avitar, all of my hair is gray.

hmm.. you make it all sound so easy when you got nothing to loose Wonder how quickly my grey fringes will grow once my wife gets behind the wheel.. :?

[jb]

I'm just smiling.......