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Adults who have never learnt to drive
Danny_Girl
Posts: 2,763 Forum Member
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My brother and sister aged 46 and 48 have never learnt to drive. It's not a financial thing. I've asked them both why and they both say they've just never got round to it. Love them both to bits but still can't fathom why they would not want the freedom of just being able to get into a car and drive where they want to go.
Is it just me or do you agree that in the 21st century being an adult and not driving is unusual? Anyone else out there who doesn't drive and if so why?
Is it just me or do you agree that in the 21st century being an adult and not driving is unusual? Anyone else out there who doesn't drive and if so why?
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My dad didn't learn to drive until he was about 40. I think it was because his sons were learning at the time and he had one of his weird machismo attacks. He's now retired and never did bother buying a car...
I've been considering getting rid of my car for the last couple of years so I'm forced to walk and cycle more. There's always the train for longer journeys.
Country bumpkins like me on the other hand............................
In my case I think it's a responsible decision given my varying state of mental health (I can be very impulsive at times).
And also... why not, if you don't need to, then who's to judge?
I grew up in a village outside Edinburgh, where nearly everyone started driving lessons as soon as they were 17 and went all out to get their driving licence and a car. To get anywhere (work, shops, cinema, etc), you needed a car or had to wait ages on a bus that took a long time to get anywhere.
My reasons? Well, I just haven't had the desire to drive. I feel this may have been influenced by my parents not driving either. My dad always said he didn't think he'd be able to (or allowed to) as he has poor vision in one eye and my mum always said she'd be too nervous. She isn't the most co-ordinated person in the world either.
I think I could drive, and don't think I'd be nervous. It's not a car but I have driven fork-lift trucks for a living in the past and have licenses for those.
I grew up using public transport and became accustomed to it I suppose. I've lived in and around Manchester all my life and think the level of public transport here has been reasonable over the years compared to if I was out in the country.
Somebody tried to lecture me about driving a while back and how I could make it affordable and I got a bit annoyed if I'm honest. As if it's anybody else's business and they know my exact circumstances.
This is quite true but I think a lot of people either don't realise what they're missing or, perhaps, if they live in a city with good public transport and they don't have any desire to roam further afield they don't see the need.
Plus, of course, with the way things are going with fuel, tax and insurance costs, it won't be long before a lot of us will only be able to look back fondly on the days when we had access to the freedom a car offers.
I am 28 and only passed in Nov last year. Although I lived in the city for most of my life so work and the like was easier on a bus or my push bike. Now I am out in the sticks, just took the test and passed first time. Easy enough really.
But no, I dont think its odd some people dont drive. Its not everyone who likes it or will put up with it (I have already clocked up 3000 miles and a lot of that is motorway, and it can get dreadfully boring to pull a 400 mile trip)
It's not even just that... We went up to the Cotswolds last October, we took the train up there and came back in the car with my grandparents. The train was the more enjoyable, more comfortable, less stressful journey.
Yes there's great public transport in London meaning I don't need a car to get around, but there is also great transport links all across the UK meaning I can explore at leisure without needing a car.
Mother, tried to drive at fifty 8 ish, seriously frightening, whole family including instructor had to intervene to say that it wasn't happening.
All three children drive, all learned late, but needed it for their lives for one reason or another.
None of the grandchildren learned at home, all did it later when they needed it, with finacial support.
My daughter can't drive, because I couldn't at her age, like my siblings with their children, it didn't occur to us to get them driving at seventeen. Better when they realise they need it and can get cheaper insurance and get it for themselves.
She did (somehow) pass her test back in the 80s but her time behind the wheel didn't last long. When I was no older than 13 or 14 I had to back the car out of the drive for her.
It was literally a matter of weeks before she gave up and she hasn't been behind the wheel of a car since, which is no bad thing!
I don't drive because I've never needed to drive.
Not saying that's what you were doing but your comment reminds us that there's another thing too...
Some people don't bother learning to drive because they have other people to drive them around when they need to go somewhere.
*EDIT*
While I'm at it, I gotta say, I think the whole "Public transport is actually more comfortable/enjoyable/convenient" thing is a bit of a cop-out.
I mean, just because you had one journey where a train might have been better, in some way, that's hardly a watertight conclusion.
You might've found lovely little villages to stop and enjoy while driving in the car, or you might've changed your route or itinerary completely and it wouldn't have been a problem in the car whereas, conversely, you might've spent the train journey sat next to a drunken yob who threw up on you.
If you don't actually take advantage of the benefits of using a car you'll never appreciate them.
Yeah mine were called the bus driver, the train driver and the photographer!
Yeah, but how many times do people actually do that? I don't think I've ever done that in a car. Did it a quite a few times when I was a teenager and cycled everywhere. I used to just get on it and head off exploring pretty much all summer.
It all seems like freedom and rainbows and stuff until you realise that you still need to think about parking and the route, traffic trouble, whether you remembered to fill the car up, etc, before that trip into the unknown in your car...
The main reason I got a car in the first place was because I was fed up of having to devote pretty much a half a day (if not more) whenever I had an outpatient appointment to getting to the hospital (not always the same one, and not always in the town I lived in) and getting back again (at some unspecified time because you never quite know how long it's going to take). Of course, this was all great until the first time they took one look at me and decided I should get in a bed on a ward that very moment, and why the hell was I driving myself?
Perhaps I'm too boy scout to imagine just getting into the car and going somewhere without having planned to do so?
I know you weren't
Not aimed at you but I tend to find that there's an attitude among some drivers (including my grandparents) that people only use public transport when there's no other option... Some of us use public transport because we prefer it and we don't want to be practically bundled into a car against our will when we try to turn down a lift from well-meaning friends & family. *Rant Over*