It was a 1980 Volvo Bertone coupe. Since my dad owned a mechanic shop, he occasionally came across an opportunity to buy a cheap car no one else wanted. My car was one of those. I was away from home, visiting a friend in Ohio for two weeks (the first time I ever flew on an airplane!) the summer I turned 15, and on a phone call home my parents mentioned that my dad had bought a repossessed car he planned to fix up for me. I was over-the-moon ecstatic. It wouldn’t have mattered what it looked like; it was a car!
My response was a lot like this — though my car was decidedly less shiny in the beginning! (If you can’t see the video, click here.)
For the next year, we fixed up that old Volvo: rebuilding the engine, replacing the differential, restoring the worn sun-bleached leather seats, and sanding and repainting the exterior. Obviously, I didn’t have the skills to do most of the work, but I did whatever I could. I didn’t pay for my first car in dollars, but I invested serious sweat equity. I loved and appreciated that car, quirks and all.
Safety first!
For the first year or so, the only things I requested for Christmas or my birthday were car-related, like new non-crackly stereo speakers. Tires were my first ever “grown-up” purchase; this was back in the stone age before the Internet was easily accessible, but I researched as well as I could because I knew they were an important requirement for safe driving!
Two primary reasons my parents let me have that particular car as my first: my dad specialized in Volvo repair, and Volvo was and is one of the safest cars out there. Since Kathryn turns 15 in September, we’ve already started a little driving practice in nearby parking lots, and we’ve been talking about helping her find a good safe used car when it comes time for that.
After Kathryn, I’ve still got TWO more drivers to teach in the next decade, including this guy!
Facts you (and your teen drivers) should know:
The time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is often referred to as the “100 Deadliest Days” for teen drivers, based on accident data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Safety Council. Years ago, I lost a good friend to a fatal car accident on Memorial Day; because of him, I think of those dangerous statistics every year.
- Automobile accidents are the number one killer of teens in America. That’s 5,000 deaths annually.
- 12% of the 2.2 million auto accidents each year with inexperienced drivers are due to tire-related issues. That’s 264,000 tire-related crashes.
- 26% of tire-related accidents are attributed to low tread depth, which can lead to less traction on the road; 32% of tire-related accidents are attributed to improper tire pressure.
- Checking your tire pressure monthly and learning the proper way to check tread depth are two easy tasks that can help you correctly maintain your tires and contribute to overall vehicle safety. Learn how to check tire tread and air pressure.
- You can find and download additional road safety tips here.
MICHELIN® is a tire manufacturer that has focused on road safety for over 125 years. The #FirstCarMoment campaign is an extension of their larger effort to increase awareness of road safety, and this post is part of that campaign. To learn more about this campaign, visit Michelin Man on YouTube.
Follow Michelin USA on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
And now for a giveaway: new tires!
MICHELIN® Premier® LTX® tires provide exceptional levels of safety even as tires wear down, making them “safe when new and safe when worn.” Even when worn, the MICHELIN® Premier® LTX® still stops shorter on wet roads than leading competitors’ new tires. The MICHELIN® Premier® LTX® tire combines hidden grooves that emerge as the tire wears, expanding rain grooves that widen over time to continue to evacuate water and a unique rubber compound for increased wet grip, resulting in prolonged safety and performance for vehicle owners in a range of weather conditions.
Note: MICHELIN® will work with winners to identify the appropriate tire size and availability of tires for their vehicle and ship them to their preferred address; if MICHELIN® Premier® LTX® tires are not available for your car, the next best tire option will be determined and provided.
To enter for a chance to win this giveaway, answer the following question in the comments below: When it comes to road/car safety, what do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started driving?
{Disclosure: Tires for giveaway were provided by MICHELIN® as part of a partnership with SheKnows. I was compensated for this post, but as always, all opinions are my own.}
Entry Instructions:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 7/9/2015 – 7/31/2015.
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**CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Thank you for entering!
I’m a big fan of authentic conversation and always appreciate hearing what you have to say. Thanks for reading.
71 responses to “First car memories & safe driving for teens”
How many things I could say here! Mostly related to tailgaters.
– I wish I had known how to anticipate reckless drivers and get out of their way before they’re inches from my bumper.
– I wish I had known that gently tapping my brakes a couple times generally gets tailgaters to back off and gives me space to make a good decision.
– I wish I had known that I have just as much right to be on the road as anyone else, and I don’t have to unsafely speed to appease driving bullies.
….from a MN-turned-DC driver. 🙂
I wish I had known better than to let my tank get too empty before refueling…not safe to run out of gas.
And also how to be a defensive driver….
That driving without distraction is key. Back before pre-texting days my best college friends and I were almost in a horrible wreck in Memphis, all because we were distracted at a red light!
I wish I’d known how dangerous it is to driven when you are sleepy! Driving home from college after staying up way to late was not a smart thing to do!
I wish I had know more about, or practiced more about, parallel parking; I am the worst at it and bumped a car once, learned fast to absolutely avoid this kind of parking.
my tweet https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/619507861018710016
I wish I knew that you can not use different types of tires on your car because of uneven wear , and that the tires need to be rotated for even wear, and that the tires need the proper air pressure to keep them in good shape. My neglect of the tires on my car caused them to wear out prematurely. Now I take excellent care of my tires!
Tweet-https://twitter.com/JewelWood/status/619511614597771264
I wish I knew how to parallel park on both sides of the streets.
tweet- https://twitter.com/groogruxking40/status/619513295096016896
I wish I had learned better defensive driving in the beginning.
https://twitter.com/Morrisketeers/status/619982047071703041
I wish I had I had more experience driving in the snow when I first started to drive
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/620059827071492096
I wish I’d known that you always have to be aware of what the drivers around you are doing. I once swung around another car that was turning left and didn’t realize the car behind me was already doing the same thing around me (because I had hesitated), and we collided.
Tweet link: https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/620554610332291072
I wish I would have thought more about watching out for other drivers. Even if I’m driving fine, a lot can go wrong!
chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com
I wish I had taken getting the fluids in the car changed often. I didn’t know a car would burn up if you neglected oil changes.
Goodness, I wish I knew to check my tire pressure regularly, I had a few mishaps before learning that lesson!
When it comes to road / car safety, I wish I knew how important it is to take a defensive driving class when you first start driving.
I wish I had known that the only driver you can really trust on the road is yourself and to not always assume that others are paying attention to the road or are obeying the signals and to take that into account at all times and drive extra cautiously.
car maintenance and keeping up with oil changes
https://twitter.com/sweetums82/status/621498660971352064
I wish I knew the importance of having a first aid kit on hand.
https://twitter.com/mommysweetiepie/status/621500186389381120
There are so many great saving money and safety things I now know that I wish I new 20 years ago. But, the one experience of yearly teen driving I have that scared me for life is the one I will tell. It is funny NOW and the family still talks about.
My first car was a tiny car to begin with..so small that my dad put a bicycle flag on the back so people would see me..it was a Austin Healey Bug-eye Sprite. This was all I could afford at the time..used..and it was a stick shift. Dad taught me to drive here in VERY flat south Florida. All is good until the day my bff and I took a road trip to another area of Florida that I was not familiar with. In this one town on our route we had to go over a railroad track BUT the road when above and over it at a step angle..it was like a bridge just over the track area and then down to the river. Al is good until about 1/4 way up the traffic had backed up and I had to come to a start in the middle of the upside of the bridge. Well, long story short..I had NO clue how to use the clutch to stop and go with out rolling into the car behind me (which I did)! It was awful. Dad never taught me what to do or how to drive on non flat road..neither did my drivers ed class! Therefore, to know how to shift in the middle of a hill or stopping then starting in the middle of the hill.. (mountain to me)
https://twitter.com/vickievirt/status/621556523911622656
I wish I had known the importance of checking tire tread, maintaining your vehicle and how ridiculous some other drivers can be!
Tweeted https://twitter.com/mummytotwoboys1/status/621694359545757696
I didn’t know that you could blow your tires if they were under inflated. I found out when my son’s car tire exploded… Thanks for a chance to win! kmassman gmail
I wish I had realized how important routine maintenance was. My first and second cars would have lasted a lot longer.
sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com
I wished I had learned earlier to drive defensively. Drivers don’t use turn signals and be prepared to stop suddenly.
https://twitter.com/benz1171/status/622205233180094464
I wish I’d known then about car maintenance.
Wish I had been more careful to wear my selt belts back then.
I wish I’d known more about how to drive safely in bad weather.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/rubylorikeet/status/625008126161371137
I wish that I had been a little more cautious of bad drivers.
I wish I had known more about how to drive defensively then.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/eswright18/status/625885510720843777
I wish I had known how to use the defroster. It came a bad storm and the windows fogged and I ended up in a ditch!
I tweeted https://twitter.com/my4boysand1/status/626008144959938560
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/sazzyfrazzy/status/626108744762404864
sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com
I wish I’d known to follow the recommended maintenance schedule. My care might have lasted longer if I had!
https://twitter.com/shiebs24b/status/626124797739704320
i wish i had been more attentive to watching those around me on the road!
i posted a tweet here:
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/626242207121457152
I wish I know that the road is the most slippery when it first started raining! That’s when the water mixes with the oil on the road.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
tweetd:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/626287412436729856
amy [at] utry [dot] it
I wish I (and my parents) had known the importance of using seatbelts.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Lindiac/status/626526346508775428
I wish I knew had to curb a skid properly in a storm.
tweet
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/626680207802519552
Don’t try to keep up with everyone else, if they are speeding and you are going the speed limit. Just let them pass you and have their wreck and get their ticket.
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/MsTofuFairy/status/626841276969807872
I wish I knew when I was younger how to drive a standard well, especially on an incline!
https://twitter.com/rusthawk/status/626855330442543104
Over the years, I’ve learned so much more about how important it is to take care of your vehicle. My husband has taught me a lot in that area.
westiemks5 at yahoo dot com
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/pixel_berry_pie/status/626938692314251264
I wish that I had appreciated how dangerous it is to drive in ice (after a snowstorm)
tbarrettno1 at gmail.com
tweet https://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/626965640755154944
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
I wish I new to be more careful driving when It is raining out and the roads are wet.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/626980850295525376
I wish i would have learn to change a tire then
https://twitter.com/purplelover04/status/627196164299841536
I wish I had known about giving my car the proper maintenance
tweet entry https://twitter.com/iamdadtastic/status/627238340488642560
It’s been 50 years since I learned to drive. My father taught me and had the best advice so I can’t say there’s anything now that I wish I’d known then.
Thanks for the contest.
https://twitter.com/slehan/status/627258913906266112
https://twitter.com/kytah00/status/627279992234205184
I WISH I KNEW YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP ALL YOUR FLUIDS CHECKED AND TOPPED OFF ALL THE TIME!