to bevery disappointed that only 63% of women can DRIVE!! ffs

[JunoWatt]

its like saudi arabia here
ONLY JUST OVER HALF OF US! GET A LICENCE LADIES

Well math for some men it is, not my dh though. I am sure that if you delve deeper you will find that not all men drive and that they have their reasons for not doing so, rather like riveninside dh. It is very the high dependency on the car that the Americans have, they are not the best example to copy tbh. What I find quite is the women who do drive, rely on their dh or dp to fill up their cars with petrol, and perform basic car maintancence e.g. checking the oil and tyres. And assume the role of the dumb, helpless woman. Now that is worse than women making a choice not to drive. Now math what can you say about that.

Women relying on men for basic car chores is not that common ime. Surely you are not implying that any more than a tiny minority of women who drive have either a man to take care of the big, complicated machine for them or the idea that they can't do it themselves? What happens to women who drive hundreds of miles form home without a partner?

And yes, the American model is ruinous for the environment, though it can be explained by the size of the country and the weather (it is necessary to bring your heat or your air conditioning with you in may parts). But I think the attitude of American women has a lot going for it.

math I think the attitude of many Americans has a lot for it :)

It is certainly not a country where people expect to fail in anything

Another subject though...

From what I gather from my Auntie, the Americans value education as very important, and that you can't get a good job if you don't have a university education unlike her where its not so much.

"toptramp Wed 08-Jun-11 08:40:02

For me I didn't learn to drive until a few years ago as driving is one of the worst things you can do for the planet apart from having children! I ma still learning however; it's so sodding expensive. I do love it and I look foward to getting my licence."

Not true toptramp - having pets is actually more damaging to the environment. See this book review to Eat the Dog www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/6416683/Pet-dogs-as-bad-for-planet-as-driving-4x4s-book-claims.html here. The statistics are all in this book about carbon footprints of having Rex or Fido share your life.

I'm not a petrol head by any means - but I stand by my assertion that knowing life skills can save your or another's life. Driving is a life skill: as is knowing how to change a plug; tie a knot; use a telephone; or how to start someone's heart.

Why limit yourselves, just because you have no need of that skill right now?

NestaFiesta Wed 08-Jun-11 08:18:48
"I would not be a safe driver, I am doing you all a favour by staying off the roads believe me!"
Well if your mind is set that you'd be crap, you probably will be. But you'll never know will you?

Another go at that link to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/6416683/Pet-dogs-as-bad-for-planet-as-driving-4x4s-book-claims.html Time to eat the dog

this is like a three point turn!!
Time to Eat the Dog

NestaFiesta Wed 08-Jun-11 08:18:48
"I would not be a safe driver, I am doing you all a favour by staying off the roads believe me!"
Well if your mind is set that you'd be crap, you probably will be. But you'll never know will you?

Dorje, I came to this conclusion after at least 100 hours of driving tuition, 3 instructors, 2 failed tests, and several prangs. I've never concentrated so hard on anything.

Well done to people who can drive, but lay off those who can't.

Well said Nesta. We're not stupid. Oh, I didn't realise that if I keep trying, I'll be brilliant! Pur-lease.

Hat telegraph article was a bit daft. One, you could say thesame aboutmeat eating, two, animal food is made of the bits of human meat not put into pies etc
Its a not good comparision.
But id agree meat eating is also bad for the environment. So do neither

I realised I would be crap at driving after I had had to sell my bike after a number of near incidents, all caused by my lack of vision on the right side and inability to judge distances.

Fortunately, I had always assumed that I would not be driving for environmental reasons, so it was no big wrench (I do miss the bike though).

Just like growing too old for driving is no big wrench for my parents- and besides, they seem to be ageing at a much slower rate than their car reliant friends: my mum at 79 is noticeably fitter and stronger than most of her relatives of a similar age.

Why do you need to wire a plug these days? All appliances come with plugs attached, by law.

How many men even still do 'basic car chores'? Most modern cars are now so complicated you do need a mechanic to fix most problems. The only think DH does to maintain the car is wash it. I have been known to do that occasionally (or delegate to a nice young man at Sainsbury's car park :)) but I tend to leave it to him as I already do enough round the house.

I have never come across any stigma towards people who don't drive.

I definitely shouldn't drive then as we have a dog.

100 hours is not that much, Nesta. 100 hours of driving practice is what the DCs had to do after her formal driving instruction and passing their tests, before getting their hands on that licence.

No-one should feel truly comfortable behind the wheel at 100 hours.

100 hours of paid for lessons plus endless hours behind the wheel as well. In fact, it was probably more than 100 hours paid tuition as it was split across two instructors and I was with each of them for a year. I still can't get the bite and I still can't reverse bay park after literally hundreds of attempts. It just does not compute.

The Govt thinks you only need 45 hours! (plus around 20 practice with a friend/relative). Perhaps you should letthem know that we need more than 100.

Anyway math, I've run out of money and a 2 hour lesson costs £40. We just don't have it, nor do a lot of people. I got stuck on a hill rolling backwards, cracshed into a railing, took a wing mirror off, flattened two tyres at the same time, and got breathalyzed twice despite being almost teetotal. I am £2k poorer and lost a lot of my normal confidence through two horrendous driving tests.

Can drivers not just accept that I now choose not to bloody drive? It doesn't affect you and I am not asking you to drive me around anywhere. As a society we are too dependent on cars. Can we just lay off non drivers and stop making them feel like freaks?

You would find an automatic much easier, though possibly not affordable.

Your choice not to drive is a personal one based on your experiences, but I doubt there are many women as opposed to men in your position with so much misery under their belt associated with driving. Of course you're not a freak but I think your experience was probably unusually traumatic.

As I remarked, there comes a point where a whole bunch of personal preferences amounts to a trend.