Horror stories from driver’s ed
By Elise Kim ‘25
Courtesy of Cassia County School District
Driving to 15-year-old me was more than knowing how to merge lanes, signal, or check my mirrors. It had a greater significance. It was the pinnacle of freedom and complete independence.
The only thing standing in my way was driver’s education, more popularly known as “driver’s ed.” This included hours of mind-numbing Zoom classes learning the most basic skills like the exact perfect technique to flick a turn signal. The most memorable part of driver’s ed experiences was the harrowing “on the road” portion.
In most driver’s ed classes, the on-road portion is done with a driving partner, taking turns driving the certified vehicle. My assigned driving partner was Kinkajou, affectionately called “Kink” by my driving instructor Mr. Vern, a sweet, wholesome old man who looked like he played bingo every Sunday.
Kinkajou had a perpetual fear of driving down hills, often resulting in dramatic hyperventilation. He also had a terrifying knack for swerving in and out of his driving lane when it was pitch dark outside.
Eventually, I did get my license, but I always wondered if others had similar experiences as me. So I set out on a mission to collect various driver’s ed misadventures from my fellow Catlin Gabel Upper School (CGS) students.
Similar to me, unpleasant driver’s ed experiences were often caused by their driving partner.
Abby Greenspan, a CGS junior, stated her driving partner almost got T-boned at an intersection during the final driving test.
“And then she failed obviously,” said Greenspan. “But now she does drive so that’s lovely.”
Greenspan was not the only one with a story to tell after a final driving test. Problems for CGS junior, Anderson Skarstad, started from the very beginning.
According to Skarstad, as soon as his driving partner arrived she stated, “Okay, just warning you. I’m not a good driver.” She later added. “I’ve failed three times. It’s my fourth attempt at the final exam.”
Skarstad then said that within five minutes, his driving partner ran a red light, blew through several stop signs, and couldn’t merge onto the highway.
“The instructor has to use his brake five times and I’m sitting in the back of the car while she’s trying to kill us,” said Skarstad.
He later went on to explain how his instructor kept prolonging the driving test because he wanted her to pass the course. After all, she had taken it so many times.
“And she just kept running the light,” Skarstad finally said.
In addition to bad driving partners, many CGS students’ driver’s ed experiences were soured by a mean driving instructor.
When asked to describe his driving instructor, Lewis Anderson, a CGS senior, stated that he was middle-aged, slightly balding with an angry face. He added, “He was loud and rude and liked to yell.”
“He really seemed like he had it out for us,” said CGS senior, Sofia Rutman. “He just really wanted everyone to suffer miserably.”
Caroline Mauro, a CGS junior, described her driving instructor, Paul, as having all of the aforementioned characteristics, but with one key difference.
“He had a little metal stick that he would slap your hands with if you made a mistake while you were driving,” said Mauro. “My friend and I did the driver’s ed together and he would always tell me about how Paul would slap his hand with the stick like 20 times.”
Mauro later clarified these weren’t “harsh slaps” but “more like a tap.”
A large group of students also commented about the lack of professionalism from their instructor.
For CGS senior Ava Austria, this included her driving instructor Adam, and “the Maserati guy”. According to Austria, Adam was feuding with a mysterious Maserati owner who routinely parked in the driver’s ed parking lot.
“One time he (Maserati guy) threw a coffee cup at Adam's car, and he always talked about how if he'd only let the coffee cup hit him, he would have been so rich because he could have sued the guy,” said Austria.
Another bizarre anecdote came from a driving instructor giving career advice.
“We were asking her what her job was, and she said that driver’s ed teaching was her side hustle and her main source of income was selling her plasma and eggs and any organs that people would buy from her,” said Skarstad.
Skarstad stated that his driving instructor then explained that she planned on donating another pint of blood for plasma after the driving lesson was over.
Skarstad added, “She was like, ‘This is what you should go into. You don’t even have to work at all. And you get free money that you can spend on drugs.’ ”
CGS senior Claire Druker’s first-ever driving lesson took an unexpectedly dark turn seconds before the lesson even took place.
Druker said that as her driver’s ed instructor introduced himself for the first time, he announced that his dad had died an hour ago. Claire’s mother insisted he take the day off, but, according to Druker, the instructor insisted on doing the lesson.
“He’s just taking me around the area. He doesn’t tell me where to go,” said Druker. “So, I’m just driving aimlessly.”
Suddenly, she heard him start to sniffle, and then the instructor started crying. Druker said, “He starts trauma dumping on me about his father saying, ‘I just wish I had more time with him.’ ”
Like Druker, CGS senior Eva Garzotto’s driving instructor took being personal to a whole other level.
Garzotto stated that the incident happened during her final driving test. “He made me pull over onto the shoulder of a highway so he could pee while the test was still going,” said Garzotto.
She described her instructor’s actions as “honestly entertaining but maybe objectively a little unprofessional.”
Despite all these wacky and disturbing misadventures, students were still able to find value in driver’s ed.
Skarstad believes that because of driver’s ed, he is a better driver than a lot of his friends. He added, “It was fun to get to know people when doing the drives.”
Austria said that while driver’s ed should be taught more efficiently, she learned helpful tips such as what to do if the brake stops working or in which direction to point your wheels when parked on hills.
So to all the underclassmen, know that despite the chaos of Driver’s Ed, filled by quirky instructors and unsafe driving partners, CGS drivers have been able to become more confident and capable drivers, prepared for the road ahead.