At 16, I took my regular license test in an '82 Chevy 3/4ton we inherited from my grandfather... we went to church with the state trooper that gave me the ride along test, who knew full well I'd been rowing the gears in trucks on the farm for 5 years already... test was a cake walk, up the road a mile, turn around at a wide spot on the country 2 lane road, back to the trooper barracks, passed.
Motorcycle test was on an '82 Yamaha Virago 900... surprised they passed me, it was LOUD... straight pipes, obnoxiously noisy.
CDL was some late '90s Kenworth day cab with flat deck trailer. Previous experience consisted of driving it around the shop lot for practice the day before. During the road test, I missed a downshift coming into a stoplight a bit hot, using service brakes far more than one should to stop, but they passed me anyway. Haven't driven a mile for pay since then in a truck that requires CDL, but I've got a Class A with tanker and air brake endorsement none the less.
Nearly 30 years of licenced driving, and so far, never totaled a vehicle, only hit a few deer and minor fender-benders, a few speeding tickets... I consider myself lucky.