See If You Still Remember These Old-School Driving Habits
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Question 1
What Did Drivers Do Before Turning Without A Signal?
Question 1
What Was The Old Name For A Gas Station Attendant?
Question 1
Which Dashboard Light Did Old Cars Lack Entirely?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Pump Before Starting An Old Car?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Ride The Clutch?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Tapping Brakes To Signal Cars Behind?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do At Railroad Crossings Before Gates?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Feather The Gas?
Question 1
Which Habit Meant Letting The Engine Warm Up First?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Check Under The Hood Every Week?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Lock A Car Before Remote Keys?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Ride The Brakes Downhill?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Pulling Over To Read A Paper Map?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Adjust Manually On Old Car Windows?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Tap The Horn Twice Leaving?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Flooring It To Merge On A Highway?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do With Their Arm Out The Window In Heat?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Double-Clutch While Shifting?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Leaving The Engine Running While Shopping?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Carry In The Trunk For Flat Tire Emergencies?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Defrost A Windshield In Winter?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Blowing The Horn At Blind Driveways?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Pump The Brakes On Ice?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Keep In The Glove Box For Emergencies?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Checking Tire Pressure With Your Thumb?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Draft Behind A Truck?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do Before Backing Out Of A Driveway?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Coasting To A Red Light Early?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Ride With The Seat Too Far Back?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Signal A Left Turn On Old Cars?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Find A Station While Driving?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Bench-Seat Slide Over?
Question 1
Why Did Drivers Tie A Handkerchief To Their Car Antenna In Parking Lots?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do With A Choke Knob On Cold Mornings?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Steer With One Wrist?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Revving The Engine Before Pulling Away?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To See Better In Heavy Rain?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Smell-Check The Dipstick?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Honking Twice Before A Blind Hill?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Park On A Hill Without A Curb?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Signal A Right Turn On Old Cars?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Keep Under The Seat For Winter Emergencies?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Tap The Gas In Neutral?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Turning Headlights Off At A Red Light?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do With A Rag Kept In The Glove Box?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Flash Headlights At Oncoming Traffic?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Writing Mileage In A Small Notebook?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Keep Cool Before Air Conditioning?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Crack The Window While Parked?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Turning The Wheel Hard While Parked?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Start A Car With A Dead Battery?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Keeping A Coin In The Ashtray?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Ride With The Visor Down All Day?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do To Prevent Rust On An Old Car?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Listening For A Knock In The Engine?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Straighten The Wheels Before Parking?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Tapping The Roof Before Passengers Got Out?
Question 1
What Did Drivers Do With Fogged Windows Before Defrosters?
Question 1
What Is Someone Doing If They Tap The Brakes Entering A Curve?
Question 1
Which Old Habit Meant Keeping A Blanket In The Back Seat All Winter?
1
Hand Signal
2
Tap The Horn
3
Slow Down First
4
Flash Headlights
Before electric turn signals became standard in the 1950s, drivers used arm gestures out the window to indicate turns and stops.
1
Station Hand
2
Service Man
3
Fuel Clerk
4
Pump Jockey
Full-service stations were the norm until the 1970s oil crisis, when self-serve pumps became widespread to cut costs.
1
Temperature Gauge
2
Seat Belt Light
3
Fuel Warning Light
4
Oil Pressure Light
Seat belt reminder lights weren't required in U.S. cars until 1972, years after belts themselves became mandatory equipment.
1
The Clutch Pedal
2
The Brake Pedal
3
The Choke Lever
4
The Gas Pedal
Pumping the accelerator primed the carburetor with fuel before starting — fuel-injected engines eliminated this habit by the 1980s.
1
Revving The Engine
2
Braking Too Hard
3
Keeping Foot On It
4
Shifting Too Fast
Resting your foot on the clutch pedal while driving causes the clutch disc to slip and wear out far faster than normal.
1
Brake Tapping
2
Downshifting Early
3
Coasting Down
4
Engine Braking
Drivers tapped their brakes to warn tailgaters before hazard lights existed as a standard feature on American cars.
1
Open The Window
2
Stop And Listen
3
Honk Three Times
4
Flash Their Lights
The old rule was stop, look both ways, and roll down the window to listen — taught in driver's ed well into the 1970s.
1
Letting It Go
2
Pressing It Gently
3
Pumping It Quickly
4
Flooring The Pedal
Feathering the gas on icy roads was a survival skill before traction control systems became standard in the early 2000s.
1
Coasting In Neutral
2
Running The Heater
3
Idling In Driveway
4
Revving In Park
Carbureted engines genuinely needed warm-up time, but modern fuel-injected cars are ready to drive within 30 seconds of starting.
1
The Air Filter
2
The Fan Belt
3
The Oil Level
4
The Spark Plugs
Older engines burned and leaked oil far more than modern ones, so weekly dipstick checks were a genuine necessity for every driver.
1
Pushed A Button
2
Pulled A Lever
3
Used A Key
4
Turned A Knob
Before keyless entry arrived in the 1980s, every door had to be locked individually with a physical key from outside.
1
Pressing Brakes Lightly
2
Coasting In Gear
3
Pumping The Brakes
4
Shifting To Neutral
Riding the brakes causes brake fade from heat buildup — old driving instructors taught engine braking on hills instead.
1
Map Reading Stop
2
Following Road Signs
3
Checking A Atlas
4
Asking For Directions
Before GPS became standard around 2005, glove compartments always held a folded road atlas for exactly these moments.
1
A Toggle Switch
2
A Pull Strap
3
A Slide Lever
4
A Hand Crank
Manual window cranks were standard until power windows, once a luxury option, became common in the 1980s and 1990s.
1
Saying Goodbye
2
Warning Pedestrians
3
Testing The Horn
4
Signaling Traffic
The double goodbye honk was a beloved neighborhood ritual — many cities now have noise ordinances that technically ban it.
1
Coasting On
2
Drafting In
3
Punching It
4
Sliding Over
Older on-ramps were shorter than modern ones, so drivers had to accelerate hard and fast to match highway speeds safely.
1
Signal A Turn
2
Wave At Traffic
3
Cool Down
4
Test The Wind
Before air conditioning became standard in American cars in the 1970s, an open window and an outstretched arm was the only relief.
1
Braking While Shifting
2
Revving Before Shifting
3
Skipping A Gear
4
Pressing Clutch Twice
Double-clutching was necessary in older trucks and buses before synchronized gearboxes made smooth shifting possible without it.
1
Warming It Up
2
Letting It Idle
3
Running The Heat
4
Keeping It Ready
Leaving a car running unattended is now illegal in many states — over 200,000 cars are stolen each year with the keys inside.
1
A Jack Stand
2
A Spare Tire
3
A Tire Pump
4
A Patch Kit
Many new cars no longer include a spare tire — manufacturers replaced them with run-flat tires or foam sealant kits to save weight.
1
Wait For The Sun
2
Pour Hot Water On It
3
Use A Credit Card
4
Scrape With Ice Scraper
Ice scrapers became standard car accessories in the 1950s, long before heated windshields existed in everyday vehicles.
1
Courtesy Toot
2
Passing Signal
3
Merge Alert
4
Backing Warning
Before backup cameras, drivers honked at blind corners as a safety warning — a habit taught in 1960s driver's education manuals.
1
Testing Brake Fluid
2
Warming The Brakes
3
Slowing Gradually
4
Preventing A Skid
Before ABS became standard in the 1990s, pumping the brakes manually was the safest way to stop on slippery roads without locking the wheels.
1
A Spare Key
2
A First Aid Kit
3
A Paper Map
4
A Flashlight
AAA began distributing folded road maps free to members in 1914, and glove boxes were practically designed around storing them.
1
Thumb Press Test
2
Bounce Test
3
Kick And Check
4
Visual Inspection
Before digital gauges were affordable, drivers pressed a thumb firmly into the tire sidewall — a trick passed down through generations of shade-tree mechanics.
1
Saving On Gas
2
Testing Their Engine
3
Blocking The Wind
4
Avoiding A Ticket
Drafting behind large trucks reduces aerodynamic drag by up to 40%, a trick NASCAR drivers and long-haul commuters both discovered in the 1970s.
1
Check The Mirror Only
2
Roll Down The Window
3
Turn And Look Back
4
Honk The Horn First
Rearview cameras only became federally required in new U.S. cars in 2018, so physically turning around was the only safe option for decades.
1
Rolling Down
2
Soft Stopping
3
Engine Braking
4
Neutral Gliding
Experienced drivers let the engine slow the car naturally before braking, a fuel-saving habit that also extended brake pad life significantly.
1
Copying A Race Driver
2
Resting Their Back
3
Avoiding The Pedals
4
Driving Relaxed Style
The reclined seat pose became a cultural style in the 1980s, though safety experts warn it reduces steering control and airbag protection significantly.
1
Arm Straight Out
2
Arm Pointed Down
3
Arm Waved Forward
4
Arm Pointed Up
The straight-out left arm signal dates to horse-drawn carriage days and was legally required in most U.S. states until electric turn signals became standard in the 1950s.
1
Used A Remote
2
Pressed A Button
3
Turned The Dial
4
Asked A Passenger
Old AM radios had physical tuning dials, and drivers often spun them one-handed while watching the road.
1
Sitting Close To Driver
2
Climbing Into Back
3
Switching Seats
4
Exiting The Car
Bench seats ran the full width of the car, letting passengers slide right next to the driver — a classic 1950s dating move.
1
Marking Your Car
2
Decorating For Fun
3
Cooling The Antenna
4
Showing Team Spirit
In crowded lots before uniform car colors drivers tied cloth to antennas to spot their own car quickly.
1
Pushed It In
2
Pulled It Out
3
Held It Down
4
Turned It Left
Pulling the choke restricted airflow to enrich the fuel mixture, helping cold engines start — a skill every driver knew before fuel injection.
1
Signaling A Turn
2
Driving One-Handed
3
Parking The Car
4
Resting Their Arm
Draping one wrist over the top of the steering wheel was a signature cool-driver pose seen in almost every 1960s and 70s road movie.
1
Gunning The Motor
2
Popping The Clutch
3
Riding The Clutch
4
Feathering The Gas
Drivers gunned the motor to warm carbureted engines faster — modern fuel-injected cars reach operating temperature better without it.
1
Turned Off Lights
2
Slowed To A Stop
3
Opened The Window
4
Leaned Forward
Before rear-defrost and improved wiper blades, leaning toward the windshield was a genuine reflex drivers used to peer through streaky glass.
1
Looking For Leaks
2
Testing For Burnt Oil
3
Checking The Color
4
Checking The Level
Experienced drivers sniffed the dipstick because burnt or gassy-smelling oil signals engine trouble long before any warning light appears.
1
Warning Oncoming Cars
2
Signaling A Turn
3
Saying Hello
4
Testing The Horn
On narrow mountain and country roads before guardrails were common, two quick honks before a blind crest was an unwritten rule of the road.
1
Left It In Neutral
2
Turned The Wheels Out
3
Blocked The Tires
4
Set The Hand Brake
Turning front wheels away from the road on a downhill slope means a rolling car steers itself into open space rather than into traffic.
1
Two Fingers Up
2
Arm Straight Out
3
Arm Bent Down
4
Arm Bent Upward
Before turn signals, a right turn meant bending your arm upward at the elbow — a universal hand signal taught in every 1950s driver's ed class.
1
A Blanket
2
A Snow Brush
3
A Road Flare
4
A Flashlight
Long-handled snow brushes lived under the seat in snow-belt states — drivers who left them in the trunk often couldn't reach them after a blizzard buried the car.
1
Clearing The Carb
2
Revving To Show Off
3
Warming The Engine
4
Testing The Pedal
At 1950s and 60s drive-ins, revving in neutral was the classic teenage signal of interest — mechanics called the habit 'blipping' and warned it wore out carburetors fast.
1
Idle Protection
2
Night Blinding Rule
3
Courtesy Dimming
4
Saving The Battery
Before alternators became standard in the 1960s, old generators barely kept up at idle, so drivers cut headlights at stops to prevent draining a weak 6-volt battery.
1
Cleaned The Mirrors
2
Buffed The Windshield
3
Polished The Dash
4
Wiped The Dipstick
Every old-school driver kept a dedicated rag for checking oil — mechanics say a clean dipstick reading is impossible without one, and most dads passed this habit to their kids.
1
Asking Them To Pass
2
Signaling A Turn
3
Saying Hello
4
Warning About A Speed Trap
Flashing headlights to warn of a speed trap became widespread in the 1970s — courts in several states have ruled it protected free speech, though police still debate it.
1
Noting Tire Rotations
2
Tracking Gas Mileage
3
Recording Trip Miles
4
Logging Service Dates
Before onboard computers, careful drivers logged every fill-up to calculate miles per gallon by hand — a habit that could catch a failing carburetor weeks before a breakdown.
1
Opened The Wing Vent
2
Rolled Down Windows
3
Drove Faster
4
Removed The Roof Panel
Those small triangular vent windows on classic cars — called wing vents or vent panes — could be angled to direct airflow directly onto the driver's face without buffeting wind noise.
1
Preventing Heat Buildup
2
Airing Out Smoke
3
Cooling The Engine
4
Letting In Fresh Air
Cracking a window an inch on a sunny day can drop interior temperature by up to 23 degrees — old-timers knew this long before studies confirmed it in the 1990s.
1
Power Steering Test
2
Lock-To-Lock Drill
3
Dry Steering
4
Curb Checking
Turning the steering wheel while the car sat still — called dry steering — was a common parking lot habit that mechanics warned would shred expensive power steering pump seals in under a year.
1
Used The Choke
2
Push Started It
3
Called A Tow Truck
4
Replaced The Battery
Push-starting a manual car was a common roadside fix before jumper cables became standard equipment in every trunk.
1
Saving For Tolls
2
Paying For Parking
3
Tipping Attendants
4
Tracking Gas Money
Before E-ZPass, drivers kept quarters and dimes in the ashtray specifically for toll booths on highways.
1
Blocking The Wind
2
Hiding From Traffic
3
Blocking Sun Glare
4
Checking The Mirror
Before tinted windshields were standard, a flip-down visor was the only built-in sun protection most cars offered drivers.
1
Waxed It Regularly
2
Oiled The Body
3
Kept It Garaged
4
Painted It Yearly
Hand-waxing every spring was a proud ritual in the 1950s and 60s because car paint had no factory rust-proof coating.
1
Checking The Timing
2
Testing The Muffler
3
Checking For Trouble
4
Warming Up The Car
A pinging or knocking engine in older cars often meant low-octane fuel or worn pistons — drivers learned to listen closely every morning.
1
Preparing To Leave Fast
2
Aligning The Axle
3
Saving Tire Tread
4
Easing Steering Strain
Old power-steering systems wore out faster when parked with wheels turned, so drivers straightened them out of habit to protect the pump.
1
Checking For Rain
2
Testing The Metal
3
Signaling It Was Safe
4
Saying Goodbye
The roof tap was a polite signal meaning the car had fully stopped and it was safe to open the door and step out.
1
Used A Cloth Rag
2
Cracked All Windows
3
Wiped Them By Hand
4
Pulled Over To Wait
Before rear-window defrosters appeared in the late 1960s, drivers kept a chamois cloth on the seat to wipe fog from the inside glass.
1
Avoiding A Skid
2
Slowing Before Turning
3
Signaling A Lane Change
4
Testing Brake Pressure
Experienced drivers learned to brake before a curve, not during it, because braking mid-turn on old bias-ply tires could cause a dangerous skid.
1
Staying Warm If Stranded
2
Keeping Kids Comfortable
3
Protecting The Upholstery
4
Covering The Seat
Before cell phones, breaking down on a snowy road meant waiting hours for help, so a wool blanket in the back seat could literally save your life.
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Think you've completely left your old driving ways in the rearview mirror? Spoiler: you probably haven't. Take this quiz and find out which retro road habit is still secretly steering your every move.
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