I remembered my own driving experiences. Being one of four girls, we werent encouraged to drive. It wasnt until I was an old maid of 28 that I gained my licence. My first car was called Petal and she was a bright orange Morris 1300. I loved my little land crab. My first driving lessons were with a driving instructor whose car had duel steering wheels. I felt pretty safe with him. There was the one time though that he made me go down a hill and I lost control. At least he had good insurance when I dinged his car Other lessons were with my fianc mainly on the open road and around town. I only EVER had one drive with my father. I can still remember him sitting bolt upright in the passenger seat. Every gear change was met with his whole body shifting in a rather stiff fashion and I think he was more terrified than I was He apparently taught my mum to drive, so maybe he was too traumatised. Okay, I knew there wasnt a manual for teaching your children to drive, but surely I could be more supportive than my dad had been. A few months passed and my son see-sawed between buying a scooter or a car. There was the safety aspect to be considered as a low powered scooter doesnt give you any protection from the weather or from other vehicles on the road. There was also the fact that we lived at the top of a hill suburb and two large hills away from his work on the flat for a spluttering scooter to manage. In the end, a chance conversation with a friend led me buying a cheap and tidy 1990 Toyota Corolla last December. You couldnt swipe the smile off Cams face on Christmas Day, nor his bottom from the drivers seat as he sat there for a couple of hours fantasizing about his future adventures in the car he nicknamed Kelsey. The previous owner left the car quite dirty citing that it would be good for son/car bonding. And he was right. It was love at first sight. There were a few heavy sessions of cleaning the car inside and out. And I didnt have to ask twice, not normal for this teenager Despite all the cleaning however, one spider seems resistant to being re-homed, but this gives the car a certain old world charm. And then it happened my son gained his learner licence. It was now up to me to step up to the mark and be his driving instructor. I couldnt put it off any longer. His friends were all starting to drive so I had to put on my BIG GIRL PANTS. The day of the first driving lesson loomed. I would pick him up from school and drive to out to Mosgiel, a nearby town thinking that the flat Taieri plans would be an excellent place to start. I could sense his excitement and nervousness. Now he would be able to put all his driving observations to the test and drive on the road himself. His little brother was in the back seat looking more excited than worried. That was a bonus We swapped seats. He put his seatbelt on, adjusting the seat position to accommodate his lanky legs. The car was already in first gear but he moved the lever from first to neutral a few times like some sort of pre-start ritual. The key was turned and little Kelsey burst into life. He indicated right and after a couple of bunny hops we were off to a shaky start. As Cameron eased out along the road he changed to second and this met with another bunny hop. This was going to be an interesting time I thought. The lesson continued fairly smoothly barring the jarring, until a warm rubber smell wafted into the open windows and we decided to pull over to investigate it in an industrial area. A grey haze was spilling out of the back tyres and it was then we realised the handbrake had been on for the entire time. Oops The guys at a nearby workshop advised that the best way to cool the brakes was to take the car for a ride on the open road. So off down the road we totted with me at the wheel for the next 15 minutes. It was then time for Cameron to take control of the car again and he decided to drive home via Three Mile Hill. I thought that was