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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/jrtie on 2024-12-19 15:48:11+00:00.

Many years ago when I was 15 years old I was enrolled in a driver’s education course to get my learner’s permit. This involves several sessions riding around with the instructor and two other students in the car taking turns between driving and observing. This Saturday morning I was first up and pulling out of the school parking lot when a dozen small sparrows flew right in front of my windshield. I lightly tapped the brakes and the instructor ordered me to pull over. He always had you pull over and stop before he reprimanded you. He sternly told me we don’t stop for birds. I argued that I just lightly tapped the brakes as they flew inches from my windshield and it was not done in panic. He reiterated that we do not stop for birds.

A half hour later we are a ways outside of town. A little over a hundred miles west of San Antonio, Texas and I’m still driving. The speed limit in this rural area is 70mph which my cruise control is set to. A speed the Geo Metro’s 3 cylinder engine is struggling to maintain. We come over the top of a hill and there’s a half dozen wild turkeys slowly crossing the road up ahead. I keep in mind my instructor’s orders not to stop for birds and maintain my course. As we near the birds I show no sign of slowing down and the instructor hit his brake on his side of the car quite abruptly and yells at me to pull over. He makes me get completely out of the car and started to berate me about not slowing down for the turkeys. With a straight face I say “Sir you told me not to stop for birds.” He gets a bit flustered then stammers “You know what I meant” and ordered me to switch places with a girl in the back seat. I didn’t get to drive any more that day, but this was my only major incident so I still passed the course and got my permit.

Not so funny side story, this girl that replaced me was the worst driver I’ve still ever ridden with to this day. He should have never passed her and allowed her to get her license. A year after this when she was pulling into a Sonic she mixed up the gas and the brake and plowed through the picnic tables, sending a family of four to the hospital.