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Neal Casady

I thought it was his mother

I did some research

You're correct that Jack Kerouac did not drive during the cross-country trips that inspired "On the Road." Here are the key points about Kerouac and driving:

1. Kerouac did not have a driver's license during the travels depicted in "On the Road"[1][3].
2. Neal Cassady (the inspiration for the character Dean Moriarty) did most of the cross-country driving[1][3].
3. Although much of the novel focuses on driving and road trips, Kerouac himself was primarily a passenger rather than the driver[1][3].
4. Kerouac learned to drive later in life, but not during the period covered in "On the Road"[3].
5. The car and driving are central themes in "On the Road," but they represent more than just transportation. The car serves as a male space and a symbol of freedom and movement in the novel[4].
6. Despite not driving himself, Kerouac was able to capture the essence of the road trip experience and the changing landscape of America's highways in the late 1940s and early 1950s[4].

This disconnect between Kerouac's personal experience and the novel's focus on driving highlights his skill as a writer in capturing and conveying experiences he observed rather than directly participated in.

Sources
[1] ABOUT – Jack Kerouac https://jackkerouac.com/pages/about
[2] Jack Kerouac Didn't Ride Motorcycles, But We Went to His Open ... https://motorcycledays.com/2020/10/28/kerouac-didnt-ride-motorcycles-but-we-went-to-his-open-house-anyway/
[3] Jack Kerouac - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kerouac
[4] JACK KEROUAC AND ON THE ROAD - Austin Kleon https://austinkleon.com/2007/10/02/jack-kerouac-and-on-the-road/
[5] Jack Kerouac was a seriously flawed person who shouldn't be ... https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/v6sci1/jack_kerouac_was_a_seriously_flawed_person_who/