MTFCA Forum

Just as most drivers on the road in the twenties were capable with the Model T, when the new Ford came out, drivers were forced to re-learn how to drive!


Model T Drivers Must Requalify

BOSTON, Dec. 3-One new angle regarding the Ford anouncement in Massachusetts was brought out by Registrar of Motor Vehicles Frank A. Goodwin yesterday. He stated that all those drivers in the Bay State who now operate Ford cars under the special license given for planetary transmission machines will have to take a test before they can operate the new Ford car.

Automotive Industries December 10, 1927

I just yesterday read an article saying some states required a separate drivers licence for driving a Model T. I have to be careful remembering how to drive anything else.
Rich

California used to have a special license for Model T's.

It's a little strange...I never ever think about it.
It's like second nature, "at one with the T" ?

When Carl sold me my first model T I told him are you ready to teach me how to drive it? IT's real simple he said just forget everything you know! he showed me the basics in about 5 minutes and I remember thinking how does anyone operate one of these things without thinking about it? the experience was intense but it just kept getting easier the more I drove it.... gotta love the slow lane.

I'm pretty sure I've told this family story on the forum before, but it sure fits this thread:

My maternal grandfather drove nothing but Model T Fords, ever. In about 1941 his older daughter (my aunt) bought a used 1937 Chevy, which of course had a sliding gear transmission. The day she drove it home, she parked it in the driveway. Her dad slid into the drivers seat and started the engine. She said, "Wait a minute Dad and I'll show you how the gears work". Meanwhile, little brother (my uncle then about 12) slid into the front passengers seat. The old man (in his mid 40's at the time) told his daughter in no uncertain terms, "I've been driving since 1913. You aren't gonna show me anything." With that, he managed to get it into a forward gear. It lurched forward. He jammed on the "brake" pedal, which in the Chevy was the accelerator. As my aunt and grandmother (who was nearby hanging clothes on the line) watched horrified, it raced to the house and stopped in the living room.

Everyone survived uninjured, but my grandfather was never the same around cars again.

Henry - You reminded me of a Model T story my Dad told me:

Dad had an older brother that he never really got along too well with, and I think one reason my Dad liked to tell this story was because the story was about one time that "big brother" got in pretty serious trouble with their Dad:

Seems that when "big brother" got old enough to become more interested in cars and such, he decided he would "modernize" the family Model T touring somewhat by installing "one a' them modern "foot-feeds" like most of the new cars had. I guess their Dad wasn't told about it soon enough, and the next time he went to get the car out for a trip to town, he inadvertently drove it out through the barn wall! As my Dad chuckled a bit in telling that story, I asked him what happened between "Uncle Jack" and their Dad? Dad said, "I'm really not sure, but I'll tell you one thing,....that was the end of your Uncle Jacks' new-fangled foot-feed!"

Seems like our lawmakers would have more important things to do...

Seems like our lawmakers would have more important things to do...

They were no better in 1927 than they are now. The old saying by Gideon J. Tucker (February 10, 1826 – July 1899) goes further back than that, to 1866: No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.

I think it was Will Rogers that said the difference in death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time congress is in session, or something like that, perhaps not a direct quote.

I seem to remember historically in England (and maybe presently) a driver’s license had to be specifically endorsed for a manual transmission. Hopefully someone from over there can confirm or deny.