At that time the class was part of the curriculum it counted toward graduation and factored in the Grade Point Average, and was not an easy "A."
The class was divided into three sections - some of us were in the classroom while others were in the simulation room with our own driving stations and the streets stretched across the screen in front of us.
The third group of us were out driving.
Three kids in the back seat and instructor driving shotgun with his "emergency" brake rigged up in front of the passenger seat.
My first official drive was on a snowy day and the car slid forward into a snowbank instead of turning right at the corner. I backed up and kept going.
Later in the semester we went country driving and after getting up to 50 miles an hour on a straight country road with a grassy level shoulder - we had to jerk the wheel to the right sharply - drive all four wheels on to the grass, then slow down to bring the car under control before driving back onto the road.
There was night driving on the Interstate and the mini-driving course set up in a school parking lot with streets, parallel parking, and driveways to practice.
The first time in the parking lot, I got in my Driver's Ed car, a Trans Am, it seemed like the hood stretched out so far I couldn't see the road. (I grew up in a GM factory town and we had very cool driver's education cars.)
From January through early June - we endured pop quizzes and tests, road driving, and testing in the simulator.
After class was over - the ultimate test came at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. I was driving the family car, a 1972 AMC Ambassador (that later went with me to college).
The examiner got in and sent us on our way. About half-way through came the parallel parking. I pulled up next to the parked car, mentally measured the distance and pulled in behind while lining up my car next to the curb.
When the examiner told me to drive again - I looked at the distance from my front bumper to the one behind the car in front. It looked like there was room. It really did.
Nope. Just barely, almost imperceptibly, but not quite - I nudged the car bumper to bumper.
I knew my test was over even though nothing was said. It didn't need to be said.
We continued the route back to the BMV without further incident. I pulled into the parking space, placed it in park, and turned off the motor.
The examiner looked at his sheet - looked up - and told me that overall, I did just fine - needed to practice my parking - and I received my license! That shocked me more than bumping the car.
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