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

LRD years before the Internet my grandparents (both of whom had strokes so severe they couldn't drive any more) they used to phone the local shop with a list of what they wanted for the week. The shop would order it from their supplier and deliver to them. Not unusual in that area at all.

I didn't say that people who don't drive were ridiculous. Give me a break! I said not being able to drive in 2016 was ridiculous, and it is.
Clearly that doesn't mean people who can't drive because of a medical issues are ridiculous. If I lost my driving license tomorrow, as some kind person pointed out I might, I'd be really *really^ pissed off and my life would be limited.

Having the freedom a car brings is wonderful.
I don't understand why anyone would choose not to drive if they could.

And as for asking why anyone would want to got to a rural pub.. Seriously? We don't all want to spend our time in whetherspoons

I live in busy city with lots of buses, trains and cheap, easily available taxis. You don't need a car here.
You do if you live in suburbs or country though. How does she do anything?

Palomb There are many many people who can't afford to learn to drive, let alone run a car. There are many people with medical conditions that mean they will never be able to pass a driving test eg visual impairment, dyspraxia, learning disability, severe anxiety. There are many people who drive who have their licence revoked due to a medical condition eg failing eyesight, Parkinson's, uncontrolled epilepsy etc etc. Do you consider all these people to be 'ridiculous?' How fucking rude.
I fall into the category of one of those people who just can't do it. I've spent thousands of pounds on driving lessons because I had taken on board the message that adults 'have to' drive. If I had my time again, I wouldn't bother. As soon as I get behind the wheel of a car, I break out in a sweat. My coordination is shit and I have zero spatial awareness. We live in London and ditched our car 6 years ago as we barely used it and it just wasn't worth what we were forking out in tax, insurance, MOT etc. We hire a car 3 times a year for holidays and visits to family.
Everyone moans about children not playing outside like they did years ago. The main reason for that IMO is that there are so many cars on the road.
And we braved went to IKEA 2 weeks ago. We got the train and the tram in about half the time it would have taken by car and had the stuff delivered the next day. Thank goodness IKEA do home delivery because not many people have cars that would accommodate a 3 piece suite, a dining table and a sofa bed.
My life is not limited in the slightest and nor are those of my children.

Give me a break! I said not being able to drive in 2016 was ridiculous, and it is.

I'll cheerfully settle for being ridiculous then. Will it be more ridiculous in 2017?

Learned to drive in my early 20s (many years ago now) and have had cars in the past.

Wanted to do without a car but live somewhere naice, so are in small town, a mile from school, two miles from town centre, 20 miles from big city, always got around by bike, foot, public transport and occasional hire car in the holidays. Loved it. Now have car so eldest can learn to drive... but we still walk, bike etc in everyday life. (Kids not at all sporty but get plenty of exercise in their every day lives ... as do I, I suppose!)

When kids were small they went in pushchair or bike trailer for short journeys (we are blest with safe routes into town), bike for longer trips.

DH and I each shop (separately) more than once a week and carry it all home by bike. Ditto large bags of compost etc (bike trailer is handy).

For holidays we take public transport to the airport - or taxi if early morning, is still cheaper than leaving car in airport parking! Yes it takes a longer time but it's more relaxing provided you plan it and don't leave everything to the last minute. And I can read a book or chat to DCs.

Umpteen senior people at my work regularly late for meetings "traffic" "nowhere to park" etc

Recently had family gathering in big city - DSis half an hour late, "traffic" and "parking" problems.

Most of our infrastructure was not designed with cars in mind, they just make people try ever-more silly and inconvenient ways of doing things.

Even now I have a policy of trying things on our own doorstep rather than driving pointless miles to do something. And is better for our local economy, which I do care about.

Thanks to pp for quote about developed countries being where the rich use public transportation - I love that.

And as for asking why anyone would want to got to a rural pub.. Seriously? We don't all want to spend our time in whetherspoons

Yes, because those are the only two options

not being able to drive in 2016 was ridiculous
So, the majority of the population are ridiculous. The number of drivers is currently falling, especially among the young.

""And as for asking why anyone would want to got to a rural pub.. Seriously? We don't all want to spend our time in Weatherspoons""

All my circle are drinkers, so although we drive (me not at present), we never went to a pub, or a night out, in our cars.

If we're camping, you've just got to be organised and order a taxi, in advance. We are usually happy to walk home, upto six miles. This usually includes us trying to catch rabbits, in our tipsy state.

the majority of the population are ridiculous.

Err, no. There are 45.5 million licence holders in the UK. Out of a population of 60 odd million. Even allowing for people who hold multiple licences for car, bike, HGV etc, and bearing in mind that there are people not old enough to drive in the 60 million, the majority of UK adults can drive.

I remember a colleague at work insisting on driving me to the station once to get my train to a very important event.

She absolutely insisted. Lot of fuss.

It took longer to faff about getting to her car than it would have done for me to walk, as I'd wanted to do and had planned for. I missed my train.

I have always found her actions to have been 'ridiculous', as it happens. With a kind of arrogance thrown in, that my perfectly good plan had to be over-ridden by her superior ownership of a bloody car.

I live in London and don't drive. The only inconvenience I've come across so far was wanting to go to Brighton one weekend but the train journey was a pain in the neck,b it was before pay day so we couldn't rent a car for DP to drive. That's it.

I get the train to work, I walk to town and I get big deliveries every few months of pasta, tins, rice, etc and buy fresh fruit and veggies every other day.

I do think that having a car makes you lazier. I have friends who refuse to walk 15 minutes into town on a Saturday to come shopping and instead choose the "convenience" of driving which means an hour of sitting in traffic then driving around looking for a parking space

My mum learnt to drive in her forties and has gained quite a bit of weight because again it's easier to drive everywhere instead of walk. So before she would walk 5 minutes down the road to the shop for milk - now she drives and complains about her newly acquired weight

Palomb, your statement is seriously ridiculous and narrow minded. People manage just fine. My folks don't have a medical reason other than wanting the exercise that having a car doesn't bring. Both have jobs, both go on holidays, attend gigs, family out of town ect. Not having a car maybe limiting to you personally but not to everyone? Maybe you're a little lazy or overwhelmed at looking into public transport but there are always ways of getting around and as far as I'm aware they were before I got a car, in fact I barely use my car. I got it when pregnant to shop but would have managed without it and I do now. If some requires me to head into the city centre I'm gonna ditch the car. Can't be arsed with the traffic, parking, stressing ect when I can just jump on and off a train. I've been driving years but it doesn't provide me with more freedom than if I didn't. If I wanted to get somewhere, I'd get there by any means.

holding a license doesn't make one a driver. The RAC, a driving lobby group, estimate 30 million drivers. I'll take their figures.

I get even more "how on earth do you manage without a car" type comments now the DCs are home educated. But it's just not a problem at all. We get a railcard and bus passes and travel all over for trips/clubs, still costs us much less than running a car.

LineyReborn, how annoying! Some people have a severe lack of imagination about how anyone could function without a car.

I went to a family event a few years back with DH & baby. Flew there, then planned to get train out to location - we didn't know the address but knew it was in small village with a train station. Asked family for address. Family so horrified by idea that we'd get the train and walk from the station - with a baby! - that they insisted on picking us up in car and refused to give us the address, meaning we had a whole lot more hassle sorting out how to get a car seat to airport and on plane. Massive massive headache.

It turned out the address was less than a mile from the train station. We could have walked it in 15 minutes!

When I think about it, the only people I've known who say they can't get somewhere are some drivers, when their cars are unavailable. And they say they can't possibly get a bus. The non-drivers I know (a lot) are all more than capable of getting to places.

I'm actually still laughing at the PPs list of THINGS YOU CAN'T DO WITHOUT A CAR!

Visits to IKEA and bags of compost - it's such a middle class cliche

There are some great advantages to not driving. I've definitely put on weight since I've started learning to drive because I'm driving to many places I would have walked/walked and bused to.

My 3yo DS can easily ride a proper bike because he used his balance bike as transport several times a day as we phased out his buggy. So his balance and fitness are so good it took him about 90 seconds to master a proper bike when he first got on one.

It's far easier to walk into the city centre and do things without a time limit because being 5 minutes late can get you a parking ticket or double your parking fee. I do miss the buggy a bit though as it was so hand for carrying everything in.

OK lets think about it from the other side - I have a friend who drives, whenever she chooses somewhere to meet she chooses it to suit her and doesn't think about me in terms of how I might get there. I find her thinking totally selfish.

hmmm sounds different - if you are able to go to her do it, she has made a choice and it does impact on you in that you have to go to her but so what that is what friendship is about isn't it - accepting people for their choices and opinions and desires and still wanting to be friends despite those.

holding a license doesn't make one a driver

This thread is about driving. Not owning a car. If you have a driving licence then you are a driver.

^^This. Most non drivers I know don't settle down in very rural locations for a start and they make use of the local bus network, bicycles and (mobility disabilities notwithstanding) their legs. It may not b as quick as driving and a del more planning is necessary but in lots of places it is perfectly doable.

I get even more "how on earth do you manage without a car" type comments now the DCs are home educated. But it's just not a problem at all. We get a railcard and bus passes and travel all over for trips/clubs, still costs us much less than running a car.

I have to admit that part of the reason I'm learning to drive is because I'm hoping to home school DS for at least part of his childhood/teens. I'm on all the localish homeschool pages and an awful lot of the meet-ups are in places with no public transport access.

Thinking about the earlier comment about elderly women not driving. My Nan never drove/owned a car and was widowed relatively young - she certainly didn't have a restricted life, she went all over and did loads of stuff even later in life when she lost much of her sight.

Ditto in fact my grandad (other side of the family) - again never drove, but spent his retirement travelling all over the country visiting friends and relations.

I live in central Paris and I don't have a car - I don't need one and I have nowhere to park it (either at home or almost anywhere I choose to go on a daily basis). I can drive though and so can DH and if I need a car - on holiday or back in the UK - I hire one. If I lived somewhere with limited public transport I'd have a car and I used to have one. I had one friend who could drive, but couldn't afford to run a car and I used to give her lifts as often as I could because it didn't cost me anything extra and hoped someone would do that for me if the roles were reversed. I do think driving is a useful life skill though - no one needs to drive, but then again no one needs a phone, email address, fridge, washing machine etc etc life is just a bit easier with all those things if you live in the modern world. ( and by the way, I can easily get to IKEA on a free bus service).