Driving test at the first time attempt on Thursday 24/10/1974.
No theory test in those days, just have as many lessons as your instructor thought you needed and then apply for a test date.
The test centre was in Cheetham Hill, not far from Strange ways.
Hand signals were still in use at that time,so you were expected to know them,in case your indicators or brake lights failed.
Right arm stuck out of the window if you were turning right, same arm waved around anti- clockwise if turning left,and same arm waved up and down to indicate you were slowing down.
I did my " altering the direction of the car by using forward and reverse gears ( no such thing as a 3 point turn) on Northumberland Street, Salford, which is a lovely wide residential street and was very easy to turn around in,so made it a doddle to achieve. Particularly as I had been practicing in some very narrow streets just off Moston Lane.
And the only other thing I can remember about the actual test was that I pulled up at a zebra crossing on Cheetham Hill Road as I had noticed some pedestrians waiting to cross. And after I resumed driving again,the examiner was writing furiously on his notepad so I assumed I had done the right thing at the crossing.
Anyway,he gave me my pass certificate and I drove to work that afternoon on my own for the very first time. And I went onto the M62 at Heywood later in the evening to see what it felt like to drive on a motorway and drove down to Prestwich and back in my little C -reg Austin Mini Countryman.
And so 50 years on, I still have a clean licence, I've never had any points on my licence and just attended one speed awareness course in 2016,after going through a mobile speed trap near Darwen.
I had one small accident in 1999,when I caught the front end of a car when I was turning left and then a sharp right down Copster Hill Road in Oldham. It was a company car I was driving,so I had to fill an accident form in, but I have never needed to claim on my own car insurance.
And don't forget cars were so much different 50 years ago.
No power steering, no disc brakes,no sat navs, no air con and no leccy windows, which are all more or less standard these days.
And the little mini countryman I had as my first car had an 850cc engine which put out about 33bhp.
Currently I have a Citroen C3 Aircross which puts out 130 bhp.
50 years is a hell of a long time in regards to driving/motoring .
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