To think it's horse shit when people say they don't need to drive

[pleasemothermay1]

Until you need to meet up anywhere that's not on there doorstep that is

I well annoyed supposed to be meeting my friend who always says she dosent need to drive as she gets about fine

However trying to meet at at 12.45 to go swimming and the pool is to far for her to get there and back for the school run if she drove it would be a 15 minute drive I then suggested soft play near her house howeve the bus dosent run there is on a industrial estate And she would have to walk 35 minutes before she even got to the bus stop gurr

It's the same every time even if we're meeting up with out the kids in the evening unless she able to get a lift then she can't come

Out so you don't need to drive unless the place is not on yur frigging door step gurr rant over I can understand if you live in London but we live in the sticks

[EmpressKnowsWhereHerTowelIs]

I don't want to drive, so I live in London & call anything under 60 mins away walkable. For the rest or if I'm feeling lazy, there's 24 hour public transport.

I have no DCs, no desire to go to IKEA, and carry my shopping on the door-to-door bus to / from Tesco to home.

I can see that people without reliable public transport need to drive though, especially if they have kids.

[OnceThereWasThisGirlWho]

palomb Not being able to drive as an adult is ridiculous and life limiting. It might be eco friendly and healthy to walk everywhere but it's seriously shit and not practice unless you live in a city centre.

Sadly I can't do the crying with laughter emoticon because I am so eco friendly I don't have a smartphone and am in fact typing this on a recycled computer powered by a large hamster wheel (it also keeps DC fit). I know caring about health, my one and only life, or the one and only planet we have, are mere trifles compared to the seriously shit and impractice nature of not being able to get to soft play that is only out of town in the first place because they expect people to drive, or collecting large flatpacks from IKEA (as us planet-conscious folk do regularly).

Compost - make your own, obvs. Tsk!

It does depend where you live but a lot of car drivers seem to forget there are alternatives, and as mentioned are then restricted by carparks. Or don't even think to walk to the shop 5 mins down the road.

[SanityAssassin]

I grew up in a city but couldn't wait to learn to drive at 17 - it cut my daily commute from 1.5 hours each way to 10 mins each way.

I can understand people not wanting to own a car but why not take the test as personally feel that lacking the ability to drive is somewhat limiting.

[Longlost10]

millions of people plain and simple cant afford a car, so we do without.

[Longlost10]

How does a person go to IKEA if they don't drive we don't
or buy 50L bag of compost, hire floor sander for we the weekend in a trolley, or the DCs old pushchair.
or do a big shop mostly we don't, a couple of times a year we get a big delivery, or shop for all the heavy things all together and come home in a taxi
go for a meal in a rural pub bus?
go anywhere when its bucketing down? umbrella?
My kids have beavers, guides in the same night in different towns! Absolutly impossible without a car. better planning and organisation would be needed.

Not being able to drive as an adult is ridiculous and life limiting.

No it isn't, it is the financial and medical reality for millions of people, and quite possibly for you, as of next week for all you know.

It might be eco friendly and healthy to walk everywhere but it's seriously shit no, polluting the planet for all the trivial , pointless reasons you have listed is seriously shit. How utterly selfish, just because you are rich and lazy, its ok for you to do irreparable damage to the environment ?

[SanityAssassin]

what about on holiday when you want to explore (either UK or overseas) - terribly limiting to be tied to organised transport etc.

Plus the eco argument - for that journey you are contributing as much pollution as a car owner/driver. You could have owned the car yourself and only chosen to us it for those specific journeys. Plus the taxi firm having to own/maintain awhile fleet of taxis etc? and all the delivery lorries you want to bring your things to you - they don't exempt you from the eco pollution just cos you have paid for someone else to do your 'dirty work'.

[Hmmnotkeen]

what about on holiday when you want to explore (either UK or overseas) - terribly limiting to be tied to organised transport etc.

Depends entirely on where you want to go, obviously. We've been on tons of holidays and we've never felt the loss of a car (dh has a car but we don't use it for holidays).

The idea that hiring a taxi occasionally is the same environmental cost as running a car is laughable. Really.

[Ericaequites]

Driving in London is difficult and expensive. Public transport makes lots of sense there. I live in rural America, and not driving makes life very difficult. The nearest shop is four miles away.

[Longlost10]

what about on holiday when you want to explore (either UK or overseas)

we manage without. Never stopped us camping all over UK and europe. A car is totally outside the financial possibility for millions, why is this seen as somehow morally regenerate by the rich? talk about the blind privileged.

[MagikarpetRide]

what about on holiday when you want to explore (either UK or overseas) - terribly limiting to be tied to organised transport etc.

I've managed perfectly fine to organise myself holidays in places where I'm able to walk to explore or at worst scenario could get a coach trip. Its not even taken much effort.

[heron98]

I agree that you can easily get away without driving.

I can drive and have a car but it actually sits on the road for weeks at a time because work and the shops and my friends and my social activity is all in walking, cycling or train distance.

However, it's invaluable for many things, like going out into the countryside, or somewhere late at night or going on holiday.

It's very useful indeed.

[heron98]

Also, I have four friends that are insured on my car and they all borrow it and pay a little towards its maintenance.

It works well for us as none of us need a car day to day but when we do need one it's there. They all live in walking distance of my house so just come over and get it when they need to.

[parisgellar]

If you keep making suggests and she keeps turning you down I think maybe she's just not that into you

[AuldYow]

I couldn't wait to drive but then I grew up on a farm in the middle of no-where, driving gave me my independence.

I now live in a village with a church, school and pub the buses run every 1 1/2 hours so super convenient for getting me to work etc. I start at 8, 20 miles away and the earliest bus it at 8 going the opposite direction I suppose I could change jobs but there is nothing more local to me with the same skill set nor nowhere near the pay.

It's interesting as I could bin the car but I'd also need a total lifestyle overhaul. For me driving equals independence which I certainly wouldn't want to give up.

So that means I guess I don't need to drive I want to! Food for thought.

[WipsGlitter]

My mum refused to drive. It made a real impact on me as a child and still affects me as an adult. I also feel it has negatively impacted on her health now as compared to her driving friends she is waaayyyy less independent than friends who drive.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

liney's right, drivers are constrained by car parks. Where we live, all the streets are permit parking and crowded. We do have a car, but people who drive a lot tend to get flustered at the idea. My dad, for example, panics at the idea he might not be able to park in a comfortable three-car-sized space right outside my house, and will not take the park and ride, park in the car parks two, ten, or fifteen minutes away, or even let me park is car (which I can do without needing a space the size of a football pitch).

We do have a car, but I rarely use it for the things suggested.

IKEA - you go, you look, you get them to deliver (obviously).

Compost - delivery, or I get cheapie ones from Poundland which is at the end of my street. I can lug that amount of compost a few hundred yards and it's probably good for me. DP and I can, easily.

Floor sander - we rent. There may be a correlation between renting and not shelling out on cars, obviously.

Big shop - order it, or bus with a shopping trolley, like your nan.

You have me with the rural pubs (which is partly why a car is nice) but it's not necessary. You might as well observe that, in said rural pub, drivers are constrained to a half pint whereas those of us who have to get a taxi can at least try the beer properly.

As to rain - really?! You dissolve?

[Togaparties]

I couldn't manage without a car, it's not just a means of getting from a to b for me but a complete lifestyle and hobby. In fact I have multiple cars and will drive for the sake of driving, be that a high speed hoon in a fast one or a nice sunny potter around the countryside in the classic.

[insancerre]

I don't drive
I've never been to IKEA

Have I failed at life?

[Sirzy]

Where I live public transport is rubbish so having a car is handy. Especially with a child like Ds who has lots of of medical appointments all over the place.

That said just because I need a car doesn't mean I can't see how others cope just fine without. Everyone is different and what is a priority for one isn't for another.

[LunaLoveg00d]

Some people wear their "not driving" as a badge of honour.

Oh no, I don't drive, I'm far too anxious and nervous for that!
Drive? No, I manage perfectly well on public transport so why should I?
Driving is SO bad for the environment and my children prefer to walk!

I cannot imagine life without access to a car. We live on the outskirts of a large city but the bus service is crap and we are 2 miles from the nearest station. We do walk to the station sometimes to go into town, but it's cheaper and quicker to jump in the car. Without the car the children wouldn't be doing half of their activities as I couldn't get them there.

I appreciate that there are some people unable to drive for medical reasons and that's really tough. But we've all known someone who has refused to learn for whatever reason or even worse has passed but will only drive to certain places, won't go on motorways, won't drive at night or in bad weather and refuses to take extra lessons to become more confident. And those are the sort of people who expect you to always make plans to suit them, or to act as a taxi service.

[Bishybishybarnabee]

I don't drive, and get on just fine thank you. I do live in a small city which helps but manage perfectly fine with a combination of public transport, walking and cycling, or taxis if absolutely necessary. Happy to walk/cycle for an hour or so (with buggy/trailer) which gives me a pretty good distance to cover. I also don't melt in the rain which I suppose helps!

I hate accepting lifts and very rarely do, only if later at night, I never ask and would just get a taxi if it wasn't offered. With DC it's not really worth the hassle when I can just walk.

I am actually learning to drive, but because that would be useful for DP's business rather than as a day to day thing. Been learning a while now and to be honest I'm really rather crap at it, just don't seem to be able to get the hang of it at all. I also have a medical condition which may see my right to drive revoked at some point in the future anyway. So whether that'll work out or not I don't know, but either way I'm fine as I am, and that's neither 'horse shit' or 'ridiculous'.

[Bishybishybarnabee]

Oh, and I too have never been to IKEA!

[mollie123]

Yet another attack on the 'don't drive' posters
It is none of your business why people don't or can't drive (BTW I do drive) it is not ridiculous and life-limiting it is personal choice.
most non-drivers find work-arounds and do not keep hassling people for lifts (obviously some of you have needy friends)
and how has not learning to drive affected a mother's health negatively ?

[KeyserSophie]

I realised today that my DC will probably never learn to drive as it'll all be driverless cars. Weird that something that was such a badge of coming of age/ independence etc. will become almost irrelevant.

[IfartInYourGeneralDirection]

Ridiculous and life limiting

Seriously?!