License(s) in hand, quads ready to roll
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Quadruplets Brian, in driver's seat, Doug, left, Matt and Mike Heckman show off their newly obtained driver's licenses. The 16-year-olds passed their driver's tests exactly six months after they received their permits. They are on one of the two cars their parents bought for them to share.
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Editor's note: In March, Post-Gazette North reported on quadruplets Brian, Doug, Matt and Mike Heckmann obtaining their learner's permits. This is a report on their driver's tests.
It's 8 in the morning and about 20 people are lined up at the driver's license center in Duncan Manor Plaza in McCandless.
Standing outside, away from the crowd, are three 16-year-olds who are about to take their driver's tests.
Brian, Doug and Matt Heckmann, of McCandless, are three of the quadruplets who have spent the past six months learning to drive with their parents, Joyce and Steve Heckmann. Their brother Mike will take his test the next day.
With four kids turning 16 at the same time, Mr. and Mrs. Heckmann have spent countless hours in the car teaching their sons to drive.
A lot rides on this day. It's a rite of passage for the boys. For their parents, it will begin the move away from their roles as chauffeurs.
The three brothers are light-hearted just 15 minutes before the tests begin, and then Brian speaks up.
"I feel like there's a lead brick in my stomach," he said.
The boys got their temporary permits six months ago to the day. Mike got his permit one day later, and that's why he's not here today.
They started learning to drive with their father in North Park and eventually branched out onto Interstate 79 and the turnpike. All four spent more than the obligatory 50 hours of training with their parents.
At 8:30, the doors of the bureau open and Brian, the oldest, begins his test. He calmly follows the examiner's initial instructions: Turn on your lights, now the windshield wipers, then the blinkers.
Next is the dreaded parallel parking test. Fail this and the test is over. He nudges the curb with the back tire but recovers and heads into traffic for the rest of the test.
Doug, Matt and Mrs. Heckmann anxiously looked out the windows of the bureau as Brian returned. There was no way to tell whether he passed or failed until he announced, "I passed," triggering a high-five from Doug.
Beaming, Brian said the lead brick had dissolved in an instant.
"I can go places now. I don't have to wait on mom and dad."
The other two boys also passed, as did Mike when he took his test the next day, Aug. 23.
Matt probably was the most worried.
"If I didn't pass, they would never let me live that down," he said of his brothers.
As each one passed his test, a flurry of text messages followed. "I should probably tell dad," Doug said. "He'll be relieved that he won't have to be driving us everywhere."
Mrs. Heckmann has a strict set of rules for her sons when they're in the car. No cell phone, no I-Pod, no honking the horn out of frustration, no eating or drinking, and no loud radio. The boys are required to call or send a text message when they get to their destination. A limited number of people are allowed in the car, and they have a 10 p.m. curfew.
If they get caught breaking a rule?
"I get their license," Mrs. Heckmann said. And her kids know from experience that could be a problem.
"When they were little, their biggest fear was when I took something. I would forget where I put it," she said with a laugh.
"I still haven't found some Nintendo 64 games from 1999," Doug said with a smirk.
The four boys will share two cars. Their parents will pay for maintenance and insurance. The boys will pitch in weekly for gas.
Days later, after the four have driven to a variety of activities, a few complaints have arisen about mom's rules for the road.
"Whenever we got [our licenses], it felt like complete and total freedom," Brian said, "then the whole call before you leave, call when you get there, make sure you're not dead. To me, it seemed it put a little restriction on the freedom, like they are still kind of watching us."
Mrs. Heckmann responded simply: "Always, always."
Mike complained about the limit on the number of passengers. But when asked if he knew why his mother limits the number of passengers, he responded, "I understand it. I just don't like it."
Mrs. Heckmann acknowledged she is a worrier.
"We were at dinner last night. There was a siren ... we couldn't see it. Thankfully, Mike texted me 30 seconds after that because my heart was racing. I knew he was going to be in that area. It will take me a while to get over that," she said.
The four boys love to tease each other as each claims he is the best driver.
That little "nudge" of the curb that Brian admitted to his brothers after his test has been brought up.
" 'Nudge' is just a euphemism for 'hit,' " Mike said.
Mr. Heckmann knows the teasing is in good fun. He recalled how the brothers reacted when they learned that Brian was in a minor accident in the spring. Someone rear-ended the car while Brian was driving with his father as a passenger.
"As soon as they heard that he had an accident, all the joking was gone," Mr. Heckmann said. "They wanted to know if he was hurt. It was a great education, as minor as it was, to get hit from behind. They learned it can happen to them."
He has simple advice for his sons about driving on their own: "Still be the same careful person you were when I was sitting in the passenger seat. Because now you've really got to make good decisions."
First Published September 6, 2007 12:00 am
