Quote Originally Posted by 34_40 View Post
Not really the same thing but, when I was around 13/14 and it was time to bring in the hay, I was a shuttle driver.
That is I would bring trucks in from the fields loaded and drop it off at the barn and take an empty truck back to the field. It started with pickups that I was allowed to drive but then I would just jump in whatever was empty! So it was usually an F-250, F-350 and an F-600.

Big stuff for a 13/14 year old kid! And I got so I could shift as good as any adult! To jerky a take off meant bales falling from the top and the guys loading would bitch, so I made sure I learned how to be smooth!!
Common stuff out here in farm country. Used to be any kid could get their "restricted" license early, but the state finally got smart and defined several different "classes" of license. The "Farm Permit" is issued at age 14, good for any driving associated with true farming, including to and from school to support being able to get home for chores. No joy riding, no deviating from the "most direct route" to & from, but it's still pretty lenient for real farm kids.