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

Can't afford to run a car.

Ime you don't recognise how liberating driving is until you do it
All this 'I can read a timetable etc' is it not a huge pain in the bum?
How do you negotiate huge food shop or collection of large item?

Agree with OP

I don't drive & don't feel the need to apologise for not doing so.

I get offered lifts to & from work but turn them down. I actually ENJOY getting on public transport. I have met lovely people at bus stops, on trains etc. I love the social interaction.

I do wonder whether a lot of people who say they are lonely and don't meet anyone get into their car on their drive, drive to their destination & do the return journey without actually interacting with anybody.

Only 20% of women club baby seals compared to 35% of men.. WE MUST CATCH UP!!!!!

The world would be a much better place if fewer people drived OP, instead of seeing women negatively why don't you think it would be better is 20% fewer men didn't have licences?

I would rather continue using greener forms of transport....like my legs and my bike thanks.

At your bossy and rather ignorant instructions for yet MORE people to shit on the environment.

Shopping - I used to live within walking distance of a good market, and just used a bag on wheels or pram. Now I don't, I do my supermarket shop online, and get veg from the greengrocers, or get the bus to pick up bits and bobs while I'm out. Two lifestyles that allow for no driving.

I'm another who can't drive for medical reasons, but tbh when I had a motorbike and used it, I only needed it because not enough people use buses, and so there weren't enough services at the times I needed to travel to work. And maybe I wouldn't have moved so far from work in the first place.

I would be very interested to see if there are any studies into how being able to drive affects your employability. Obviously being able to drive is never going to make anyone less employable, but I wonder how much (if any) impact not being able to drive has, anyone know?

Obviously you wouldn't be able to get a job driving a van

How do you negotiate huge food shop or collection of large item?

home delivery (often free if you spend a certain amount),

or if you need something there and then you can take large items on the bus (i've taken a rabbit hutch on the bus before),

or if its really essential you could take a taxi (which in my town would cost £4)

'But public transport is no good in an emergency.'

If only there were a service that meant you could ring up and ask for a lift in exchange for money. We could call them...taxis. Or if it's a real emergency then an ambulance would be a good idea.

I don't drive. I want to but can't afford to pass my test or run a car. It's a pain for long journeys to see family etc and when it takes twice as long to get somewhere on the bus or it's raining etc. If I did drive though I'd probably be the size of a barn (am the size of a house already) because I wouldn't walk anywhere.

or drove even

Yes...home delivery and I can also carry a massive amount on my buggy. Large items are delivered.

Sometimes I have employed a Man and a Van loads of them in local papers.

Big Tuna - Have you never really heard of a situation where someone needs to get out fast - not wait 45 minutes for a taxi because it's a Friday night?

Women are much better at problem solving than men and we realise that we don't actually need a car to live.
Women are more environmentally aware and less selfish, so if the bus runs regularly into town we're more likely to jump on that and leave the car at home.
We don't mind getting a bit of exercise.
We are social creatures and sometimes we even ENJOY using public transport so that we can meet people and feel part of a community going to and from work.

I applaud those who don't use a car. I passed my test at the age of 34, until then I had always used buses/trains/bikes etc. It never occured to me that I needed a car. Now that I have one I often leave it at home to walk into town and walk the kids to school. You know, like we used to before it became law that everyone over the age of 16 needed to own their own car?

Kendodd - although i'm in favour of public transport, did you know that you cannot be employed by Royal Mail now unless you have a driving license - even if the role you are applying for doesn't involve driving?

I have seen a few adverts in rural places that say you must have own transport simply because of the location, but other than that i think it is only jobs where you would expect to drive that you need to have a license for - so delivery driver, community nurse, archive delivery etc.

If you wanted to work in those roles, you would learn to drive, but otherwise i don't think anyone really cares. Why should they care how you got to work that day, as long as you walk through the doors on time.

(My employer does care actually, they want everyone to use public transport to get to work so charge employers for car parking, and offer discounts on the trains and buses :p)

sorry, they charge employees for car parking

I think a lot of people on this thread are confusing driving/owning a car with being able to drive.

I completely agree with people using public transport and their own two legs more and have secret admiration for people who don't have a car but that is quite different from being unable to drive. As I said earlier aside from the cost and medical reasons it does baffle me why people would think it is preferable to be unable to do it.

I can drive but was quite happy car free for years. Dh cant drive at all. We had to get an evil polluting machine in december for wheelchair reasons. Why encourage those perfectly capable of catching buses or walking to add to the pollution, congestion and drain on oil than already exist?

And OP, iassume you will be paying for these lessons, insurance, road tax etc etc? No?

Why would anybody go through the expense of learning to drive if they didn't intend to own a car (or knew theyd be 'given' a company car)?

Do you have any idea how much it costs to take lessons and your test these days? A bloody fortune! I can fully understand why people refuse to do it.

What is more worrying is some women's inability to get to grips with figures and statistics.

Juno - 63 % is almost two thirds, not "just over half"

Kendodd - It's being able to get to your job that can affect your employability if you're not able to drive. It restricts the geographical area of prospective employers when job hunting.

My DH wouldn't be able to do his job if he didn't drive. The job itself doesn't require him to drive but he has to be able to get to his workplace which requires a car. (Public transport would be impossible).

I don't get people who don't drive but think it's okay because you can do an on-line shop. If you drive you can do an on-line shop but have the option of going to the shops as well. Surely having a choice is better.

If I couldn't drive I would be fucked career wise. I only learned to drive at the age of 30 and it opened so many doors to jobs which had previously been barred to me because (a) the job was situated in the middle of nowhere with no public transport so I wouldn't have ever been able to get there and (b) the types of jobs where you needed to go out and about to other sites.

I will encourage dd to pass her test at 17 so she doesn't go through her twenties poncing about on buses and also so that she is not disadvantaged when she goes for a job.

Dh has neverbeen refused a job because he cannot drive. He cycles to work. Its about 5 miles. Easy. None of my adult children can drive. If they wNt too, they can pay for lessons when they get jobs at university.

Journey - I think i'll forgo the option of going to the shops if it's going to cost me £2000 a year alone in insurance. I have no idea how much it would cost me to own a car, but i'm guessing around £5000 a year? i'd much rather the free delivery.

i don't miss going to a supermarket, have we all forgotten how stressful it can be?