# Dick Van Dyke was driving a car? Who let him do that? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [March 22, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513 "2023-03-22T20:41:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/21 "2023-03-23T14:52:21Z")
On the one hand, yeah, he’s 97, and California has been having once-in-a-lifetime bad weather, so maybe we don’t go out driving? On the other hand, he’s Dick Van Dyke, famously agile and sharp and active for this advanced age. If you spend any time in Malibu, you are going to see him around (he likes to get out of the house). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/22 "2023-03-23T15:42:27Z")
Years ago I rode with a guy who was 91, and apparently had always been a bad driver. Pulling out from where his car was parallel parked, he would back up until he hit the car behind him, then pull forward until he hit the car in front of him. He ran a stop sign, and when I pointed it out, he just calmly mentioned that there wasn’t a stop sign there when he learned to drive. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/23 "2023-03-23T16:00:16Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > On the one hand, yeah, he’s 97, and California has been having once-in-a-lifetime bad weather, so maybe we don’t go out driving? He’s a Californian. We _all_ drive like idiots when it rains. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/24 "2023-03-23T17:31:01Z")
😂 You win! ---
**Author:** ![Kelby2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ebca7d/32.png) [@Kelby2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby2)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/25 "2023-03-23T17:40:25Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The man can’t even walk across his living room without tripping over the ottoman half the time. Perfect ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/26 "2023-03-23T18:16:17Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Jay Leno was riding shotgun and Harrison Ford was flying overhead. He almost ran over Stephen King. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/27 "2023-03-23T21:50:47Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Pulling out from where his car was parallel parked, he would back up until he hit the car behind him, then pull forward until he hit the car in front of him. Driving by braille. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/28 "2023-03-24T04:00:22Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Gosh darn you, I came in the thread to make the joke “someone must have left an ottoman in the middle of the road”. If it makes you feel better, I was ninja’d on the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang joke I was originally planning on making. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/29 "2023-03-24T11:51:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If it makes you feel better, I was ninja’d on the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang joke I was originally planning on making. No, it makes me feel worse! Every time a joke is ninja’d, an angel loses its wings. But seriously, Dick Van Dyke is a national treasure and again, glad he’s ok. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/30 "2023-03-24T13:45:14Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Driving by braille. That’s why California invented Botts Dots. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/31 "2023-03-24T14:05:31Z")
Didn’t Dick have another incident with a car not too long ago? Something where the car caught fire? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/32 "2023-03-24T14:06:48Z")
A couple of years ago his car (a jaguar?) caught fire while he was driving down the freeway. We should take steps to make sure he and Jay Leno don’t team up. No telling what would happen. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/33 "2023-03-27T16:13:55Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Why am I not surprised that the Daily Mail has a clickbait headline, leading with “I don’t have long to live”? Clickbait works! I just won a board award that I didn’t even know existed. In fact, I didn’t know there were such a thing as board awards and I’ve been here since before vBulliten! The Popular Link Award. #throws confetti# ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/34 "2023-03-27T19:00:31Z")
I’m sorry, but I love Family Guy cutaways so much 🙂 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OsSJnV7Ik9o/maxresdefault.jpg "Family Guy - The Dick Van Dyke Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsSJnV7Ik9o) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/35 "2024-12-08T03:51:27Z")
Bumping this thread to [link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4OlL0OpbW8) to a YouTube video of the new Coldplay song All My Love featuring Dick Van Dyke. (Also, this is a [gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/arts/music/dick-van-dyke-coldplay-all-my-love-video.html?unlocked_article_code=1.f04.EGid.Z_vGiyS_sVfG&smid=url-share) to a New York Times article about the video, which is extraordinary.) > **[Coldplay - ALL MY LOVE (Official Video) (Directors' Cut)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4OlL0OpbW8%2F)** > > All My Love is taken from Coldplay's tenth studio album Moon Music, available here: https://coldplay.lnk.to/MoonMusic 🌙FOLLOW AND LISTEN TO COLDPLAYhttps://... ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/36 "2024-12-08T12:42:07Z")
Thank you for sharing the video and article. Dick Van Dyke is definitely a national treasure. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/37 "2025-01-31T01:51:00Z")
Thank you for sharing this. What a beautiful tribute and video (might’ve got a bit verklempt the first time I watched). I saw this back when you posted and my wife has been watching it so much that I thought to come back and comment. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513/38 "2025-01-31T01:57:33Z")
You’re welcome. I read that he and his wife had to be evacuated from that house during the fires in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, but I _believe_ the house survived. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-van-dyke-was-driving-a-car-who-let-him-do-that/981513.md?page=1)