I've realised I actually hate driving.

[GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal]

I thought it was certain journeys I disliked, but no, I've recently had the realisation that I just actually hate driving, and it doesn't matter where I'm going or how long the drive is.

It manages to be both stressful and boring and I'm going out of my way to avoid it. Currently sat on a bus that will take 45 minutes to get to where I'm going instead of the 20 I could do it in the car, but at least I can relax, Mumsnet, read my book or just zone out whilst someone else does the hard work of driving!

Anyone else?

No. I loathe public transport.

Nope. I loath and despise and detest waiting for buses and love driving. Sometimes I just go for a drive to clear my head but have had to stop that due to rising petrol costs.

Ah, fair enough, just me then! 😆

I learnt to drive quite late - always lived in cities with decent public transport - so I think perhaps now the novelty's worn off I'm remembering that buses, trains etc can be pretty handy.

Admittedly it's a nice day here today, I doubt I'd be keen to wait for a bus on a cold, wet day!

I'm with you, OP. I also hate driving, there are far too many shit drivers on the road and then there's the cost of fuel and the constant worry of getting a flat tyre/something else going wrong with the car/will it pass its MOT without costing me a fortune. Unfortunately I live in a small town where public transport options aren't great so don't have a choice for getting to work and doing school runs.

I agree with you. I even find it stressful to go in a car driven by someone else! I love public transport and would never live somewhere without it

I don't enjoy driving but I keep doing it as I don't want to be in the scenario where I stop doing it and it restricts me.

My friend stopped driving many years ago as she was in London and didn't need to, but now she has moved back up to Scotland and visits her DPs most weekends which is a pain using the train.

I'm with u op

It will save you so much time they said.

So much easier they said

Mornings won't be such a rush getting to school they said.

Except I leave at the same time I did when I did the journey on the buses because if I leave much later i get caught in traffic.

I get back no earlier than I did before.

I get stuck in the same traffic I would do if I was on the bus. Except instead of being able to MN on my phone, or place an online order etc amd generally make use of the time. I'm.sat in my car going no where with nothing to do.

Complete waste of time.

No, I LOVEA driving. 20 years on I still get a little buzz every time I get in my car even if it's just the school run.

I bought my dream car in 2020 and I get so excited to drive it, bloody love driving.

Although, I agree, there are idiots on the road and more than ever these days.

Like Pollyanna playing the glad game. Or Brave New World "Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they're so frightfully clever. I'm really awfully glad I'm a Beta, because I don't work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. They all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse.”

I won't drive on a motorway in England, m25 is our nearest link and it scares the shit out of me but I do like driving. The paeage in France are fine and I'll drive them.

Sorry?

I am fine with driving, it's not my fav if it's somewhere I haven't been before and I get a bit stressed and overthink it. The problem I have on public transport is motion sickness, so even though I don't mind it the idea of looking at my phone is out of the question!

Depends on the vehicle. Love my car but dins driving the 30 year old motorhome v fucking stressful!!

So you don't vomit on public transport unless you look at your phone?

@peanutpancakess Don't be sorry, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollyanna

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World

I hate it too. Unfortunately where I live there is no access to public transport so I'm stuck with doing it.

I am also with you. I don't like driving and never have.

I drive locally for convenience and to do my shopping as public transport is limited here. Rarely any distance though and I get the train to my mother's, which is otherwise a three hour drive away.

The next time we move house it will be to somewhere with better local amenities and public transport. That will be when we downsize after the DDs have finished leaving home. I can't wait. I'd rather wait for buses and trains than drive myself. I much prefer just being able to sit and look around or read my book. Far more relaxing.

I agree with you OP. I hate driving, loathe it in fact but used to love it. Nowadays it's no joy with all the restrictions in London where I live. I got rid of my car over a year ago and have no regrets. No young kids anymore that require ferrying about fortunately. I'm a crap driver anyway. Like a tortoise on temazepam mostly. Really hate motorways.

Not to the point that I would ever choose public transport instead but yes, a couple of days ago actually I was driving and realised I hate it too.

I'm big on the environment and all that, but I love driving. Also like long train rides so I can browse on phone. Feel guilty about driving in built up areas haha

I do still drive but much prefer to walk or take the bus or train. When I drive I turn into a stressy, sweary monster and get worked up about things that would not affect me were I not in the car. There is something slightly scary about the way being in a car cuts you off from the world. And when I'm out and about on foot or on the bus, I feel more positively engaged with the world; I'm more likely to interact with people in a positive way and I notice things I couldn't if I was driving.

I used to hate driving. I bought an automatic and it’s so much more relaxing. No more moving those gears up and down whist stuck in traffic.
I don’t know why I hadn’t find it years ago!

I wish it was more socially acceptable for people to admit they were not good at driving and it wasn’t for them. There’s a poster on another thread at moment complaining that it’s too hard to obey the speed because they need to concentrate! It’s fucking terrifying that there are people like that in control of a ton of metal.

Yes MN hates non drivers fir some reason.

I mean I can understand the annoyance if they were frequently inconvenienced by people who moved miles away from anywhere then expected people to bail them out for trips to the drs and shops etc

But I live somewhere with a really good bus/train service. I've always been able to get where i want to go when I want to go. Cars make people lazy. I have to drive ro dds school fir example it's 4/5 miles away but I still walk further than some of the locals do. All these unnecessary car journeys not only are bad fir the environment but actually make it far more dangerous with their inconsiderate parking, for everyone else trying to walk/cycle to do so.

As much as I despair over the fuel price increase hopefully the one positive outcome will be that people think a bit more about whether they need a car or if they have one whether they actually need to use it at that moment.

yes, I absolutely detest driving, to the point that I’ve failed my test 5 times and given up. I’d come home from every lesson with a stress-induced migraine and be in such a foul mood I had to lie down and scream/cry into a pillow. It’s not the physical operation of the car that’s the problem, it’s the mental side of it that fries my brain. My reactions are too slow, I get confused, my spacial awareness is shit, it’s just a skill that I do not possess and attempting to do it makes me feel physically ill. I live in London so public transport is a normal part of life, I wouldn’t choose to live anywhere without decent transport.