To think adults who can't drive are a nuisance

[Atthewelles]

Barring situations where an illness or financial circumstances proscribe it aibu to think adults who can't drive are a PITA. People have to constantly go out of their way to collect/drop them off places; arrange plans around the times that suit the non-driver who can't travel solo but has to tag along with you; always be the designated driver who can't have a drink while the non driver happily slurps a third glass of wine etc etc etc

Yes, I have been spending too much time with a non driving sibling over the family Christmas but AIBU to think that a perfectly functioning adult (who is extremely technically minded) in full time paid employment, should bloody well learn to drive.

I drive, but am genuinely gobsmacked somebody could be so self-centred as to label an activity so non-essential (and damaging to the environment) a prerequisite.

I live in a city where traffic congestion is so bad that rush hour spans around 6 hours a day, and once or twice a week it takes 45 minutes to get around 150 metres down one of the main roads. If even a modest percentage of non-drivers in the city were to take up driving, it would be impossible to drive at all: the place would be at a permanent standstill.

We are globally overconsuming to a terrifying degree. Surely it goes without saying that the less cars on the road, the better? People are giving up for financial/health/environmental reasons all the time.

And that's leaving aside the safety angle - if you knew the number of people at secondary school that I did who didnt show up on the first day back in September because they'd been killed in a car accident over the holidays, perhaps you would be a little less flippant in your description of wilful non-drivers.

As inferred by a pp, it appears there does exist a very odd, KeepingUpWithTheJones, provincial attitude towards driving exhibited by some. More than anything else I just find it vulgar, to be frank.

Well this 4 year old thread has got everyone frothing for a 2nd time. Impressive.

kath shock horror children will not melt if they go on public transport, what did they do back in the day, when cars were a luxury. Actually it woukd do children well to walk and use other modes of transport, instead of being ferried around all the time. It woukd also help them to be more independent and less polluting the environment. I used to love public transport as a child, it was such great fun. Some people are totally divided from reality. No if somebody is unable to pass tests, then mabey it is good if they are off the road.

I don't judge people for not being able to drive. Due to the cost, I was well into my twenties before I could afford to learn. However, it becomes an irritation when non drivers expect you to come to their area all the time, or to give lifts. When I couldn't drive, I made sure I was familiar with the bus timetables so I didn't need to depend on anyone.

I didn't drive for years. I just couldn't get the hang of it in my stop-start lessons, and it wasn't until I met DH that I realised there was now an urgency - i was envisioning a future in the suburbs with him (where we already live) but couldn't actually do the school run, popping out to get milk etc. I knew it would be a burden on him so i started again. I would make excuses when people asked me why I didn't saying that because I for a time lived in central London there was no need, but I knew I needed to get on it.

I live in an area where it's incredibly hard if you don't drive. Countless times, I would wake up thinking something like - I want to bake today. But I wouldn't have one particular ingredient. And that would mean I'd have to go to the supermarket to get it. But it would be 30 mins walk away and in my area buses are more like every 90 mins. Then you'd think about the faff. If I drove, I'd be able to do that journey in 5 mins. But because I didn't, I'd have to walk to wait for a bus, wait for it, finally do the shop, get back on the bus...unless of course I wanted to walk or take a taxi for £8, 8 times the price of the ingredient! You get the gist.

My other motivator was my job. I have a professional job which has absolutely no connection to driving. But a few months ago I was offered an interview for a role to work for a massive company based outside central London like so many are. I had to hesitate on whether to even go to meet them or not because I knew if I did get the role I would need to leave a whole hour earlier than necessary to get a green line bus, or take the tube line from my town back into town then back to the suburbs (because that's the only way it would work) to take advantage of the company shuttle. It just didn't make sense. That journey would take me 20 minutes driving in my car.

So I got my skates on and really pushed for my test and by my 2'd attempt passed. Sometimes you don't want to drive, but it just facilitates things, and for that reason I think it's worth it.

"I would wake up thinking something like - I want to bake today. But I wouldn't have one particular ingredient. And that would mean I'd have to go to the supermarket to get it. But it would be 30 mins walk"

But if you had a car, you wouldn't drive to the supermarket just for one ingredient wouldn't you? That would be quite wasteful.

My Dad didn't learn to drive until after I was born. I believe it was because he was called in the early hours of the morning, to say Mum was in labour, and he ran the mile and a half to the hospital because the buses hadn't started that early in the morning. Gave him the push he needed to learn

It seems so awful that people are living in areas without even a small shop. Especially in suburban areas wheres there's plenty of other people. I live approx. 3 mins walk from a supermarket (though a fairly small one) and 5 convenience stores in various directions. And a greengrocers'. I've just realised how unusual that is! I suppose the housing is fairly high density which means more demand for shops, but judging by the number of cars there must be loads of non-drivers. People walk to school etc.

It's just wrong that places are designed and built in a way that means people have to rely on a car - no wonder we're wrecking the planet.

gwenhywfar yes I would - I used to live 25 mins walk from the nearest station and 30 from the supermarket. We lived on a private estate, off the main road, down a hill. And no red buses in my area. Only Arriva ones that come once every hour. It wasn't easy to just "pop out for milk" like it is now for me.

NRTWT.I drive but have to pass a medical test every 3 years to retain a licence. My worst fear is losing my license. Especially if every time I had to ask for a lift, or was offered one, I felt like a 'burden'. YABVU.

I live 3 minutes away from 3 corner shops, 5 minutes walk to an Aldis - yeah. 15 minutes to a big Tescos and 20 minutes to a big Asda.

There can't be many people in the UK who don't live walking distance to a shop, they should probably have a car. Nearly everyone else doesn't need a car.

I can drive but don't.

I have never once been made to feel that I'm a nuisance, or accused of always scrounging lifts. If anything, people offer me lifts when I would really rather walk. I'm never quite sure what is the best way to react to that - sometimes I insist on walking and sometimes I accept the lift if it feels like it would hurt the person's feelings not to - but only if they're genuinely going in the same direction as me anyway.

"f anything, people offer me lifts when I would really rather walk."

I get that as well. Usually during the day when the weather's nice. It's at night when it's raining that I might actually want a lift. If I don't want to accept the lift I usually say I won't be going directly from home anyway so will meet them there.

Fact is getting persecuted as a motorist isn't all that difficult . Businessmen travelling in excess of 20 000 miles per year are more likely to get banned via the "totting up" procedure, as it is very easy to accidentally find yourself doing, say, 35mph in a 30mph zone and get caught out by a disgruntled homeowner who doesn't want any traffic outside their house hiding behind a bush with a hand-held device - if this happens three times in three years then you're off the road for 6 months and suffer a hefty fine into the bargain. The motoring industry is worth billions and the revenue collecting by "Safety Cameras" is worths millions to local police forces, especially useful in the face of increased budget cuts . Motoring is a form of dependence as people have been moved out of towns, away from amenities where public transport links are poor and under-funded . And once they've got you hooked, they'll make you pay (like any dealer).

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