to think 'I don't drive' is not a valid excuse?

[peppatax]

Two parts to this really, I don't know many adults that don't drive to ask but if you don't drive, can I ask why not?

Second part I guess is if you don't drive, do you expect others to accommodate you or make allowances for you solely on the basis of not driving?

I think it is essential to learn when young I am just lucky I did and now I am in my fifties there is no way with menopausal nerves I could hack taking it up at this age! So pleased I learned when I was 17 and also the roads were a LOT less scary all those years ago.

I get what you mean after your other posts OP. YANBU.

I drive, always have done since passing as soon as legal and I would hate not to be able to , for whatever reason. I have known people that don't drive or cannot, that DO use it as an excuse to be ferried about and actually say well obviously I will need a lift as ''I don't drive'' and fully expect to be given endless lifts.

We see plenty of threads on AIBU from drivers who have been roped into giving lifts to people that don't/can't/won't drive. The ones where a new employee doesn't drive and some mug is expected to pick them up and drop them off daily, the friend/neighbour/random that doesn't drive and always wants a lift. So no, Op YANBU.

My least favourite are those that CAN drive but prefer to save the money they'd have to spend on a car and maintaining it. They then get lifts of others and use theirs instead!

For many people a car is a way to advertise status or income...it tends to be a reflection of how much you earn.
I do appreciate this is not always the case, but generally speaking a rich person is likely to have an expensive car.
If you have no car then some seem to regard you as someone who is impoverished and to be pitied.

I agree persephone It's not really logical for absolutely everyone to drive when you think about. All sorts of environmental, logistical and health concerns that go with it (not saying that people shouldn't drive btw, just nothing wrong with people choosing to opt out of it).

My dad tried to teach me at 17, but he wasn't a great teacher and I wasn't confident, so I stopped. My parents said that they wouldn't give me lifts any more, but I just took the bus or didn't go to things. I passed my test at 23 but didn't have a car (lived in Cambridge, so just cycled, walked or took the bus). Finally took booster lessons at 40 when I had my second child and it was difficult to do all the shopping without a car (and had moved back to Yorkshire). Now I drive a lot, but have sympathy with people who don't/can't drive - there's usually a reason. Also, they are not polluting everywhere. I walk a lot, but I still drive sometimes, because I can.

People can be cheeky bastards regardless of their driving status. Not being able to drive does not make you selfish. Being selfish makes you selfish.

OP I've just read the part where you disagreed with a woman for appealing her child's allocated school based on not driving. I have to say I would do the same.

I'm hoping DS gets into the local primary when the time comes, as this school is only a 30 minute walk from home (directly next to his nursery now so we walk it daily anyway), and then another 15minutes for me to carry onto work. If however he gets allocated a place in a different primary school and I've still not afforded to drive by then, well I'll definitely be appealing.

For me to be able to get him to the next closest school it would end up taking me approximately 2 hours to do the school run and get to work because of bus timings. This would then mean having to start at 10 instead of 9.
Then picking up would be again about 2 hours, but because the last bus back is only 5.20 I would have to finish work at 4 instead of 5.
So IF my employee would even be able to accommodate the change in hours, I would still be 10 hours a week down and therefore have to claim extra in tax credits due to the reduced income.
This is just based on the next closest school, some are even further away and would take up even more time in my working day.

Drivers who will have to drive their child to the school will very likely already have the car and be paying to run it anyway, also it's really not that far out by car so wouldn't really cost them an arm and leg more to drive child to school, certainly nowhere near the amount I'd be losing in wages, and that's without including how much an adult and a child bus ticket would cost each week.
On this basis I'd like to think I had a fair reason for appeal if DS doesn't get into the closer primary school.

I don't drive, I can't afford lessons, and even if I could drive I can't afford the costs of keeping a car

I rely on no-one, I walk, use the bus and on very rare occasions I get a taxi.

I never ask anyone for lifts for anything at all, if I can't get to somewhere then I just don't go

I can't drive. Did lessons for years and was terrible at it. Some people are terrible drivers and should not be on the road. I'm one of them.

I can drive, but I live in London and there are times when I don't touch the car for a week or so.

Because of this, having and running a car when we were broke was not a priority. If I needed transport to a particular place that was inaccessible by public transport to do my hobby I swapped driving and petrol for sewing.

My Beloved Spouse doesn't drive and you should be very relieved.

YABU

I don't drive due to severe anxiety. Neither do I expect lifts or to be accommodated.

I am in my mid 50s and didn't learn till I was earning a decent wage. My family could not afford a car or driving lessons, so no learning to drive at 17 for me.

Really there needs to be LESS drivers not more!

1. for environmental reasons

1. for safety reasons! There sould be some sort of ongoing assessment, maybe not a full re-test but perhaps a 5 yearly hazard response/reflex test & road rules re-cap/update - could be an online course to keep costs down with a virtual learning environment. Also, people who passed the test but then didn't use it/practice should have to re-test

I don't drive. I was in two RTAs as a child and I'm too scared to even think about driving. Plus I have a vestibular disorder that I feel would make me a danger on the roads. I would never expect anyone to go out of their way for me however, although people are kind enough to always ask if I need a lift.

If someone takes a job and cant drive and that job is in a slightly awkward place to get to without a car, there should never be an excuse

TrinityTaylor and if you tell your new employer this at interview and they still want to give you the job?

I feel inclined to start a new thread: AIBU to feel sorry for people who drive everywhere?

I won't, though :-)

Summerisdone so what do you think in the case of someone who has the ability to drive but chooses to walk the same distance to school? Should they be allocated to the school further out on the basis it's easier for them to get to than you?

I think your comments regarding 'paying to run it anyway' and 'not that far out by car' are the kinds of comments which demonstrate why people find it frustrating.

If someone takes a job and cant drive and that job is in a slightly awkward place to get to without a car, there should never be an excuse

If you're advertising a job that involves working outside of public transport hours or commuting between sites then you put it in the job description and second check it at interview!

If a candidate is head and shoulders above the rest and you really want them and they can't drive you make adjustments - it is not UR of that candidate to accept the job with adjusted working hours, if the other employees are pissed off that they didn't negotiate adjusted hours/patterns at their interview that's their own problem and they're the ones being martyrs.

If driving is essential it's usually part of the essential criteria

Summerisdone so what do you think in the case of someone who has the ability to drive but chooses to walk the same distance to school? Should they be allocated to the school further out on the basis it's easier for them to get to than you?

Drivers are free to appeal out of catchment school places too!
If you're a suck it up type of martyr, don't get pissed off by people who stand up and ask for what they want! It's your fault not theirs if they end up with something you covet but didn't ask for!

Really there needs to be LESS drivers not more
AFAIK there are fewer drivers
In as much as the younger generation chose increasingly to eschew car ownership

TinselTwins it was the poster saying that in her opinion she was more entitled to the local space rather than the driver because it would impact her more was the issue, not who bothered enough to appeal!

What happens if all things being equal two people appeal but one drives and one doesn't, who should get it?

Can you give me an example? I'm not meaning to sound dim, but just don't understand why any healthy and mobile adult with healthy and mobile dependent would ever need a car.

I need a car because I'm contractually obliged to have one to do my job. This is the case for lots of people: carers, community nurses, social workers, housing officers etc.

I also live on the edge of a small town in a rural area, where public transport is pisspoor. We have an hourly service, our last bus is at 5.30 pm, earlier on a Saturday, and we have none at all on Sundays or Bank Holidays. The first bus is at 7.45.

If I have to go to hospital for outpatients, 10 miles away, the bus fare is now about £7 return and the service is 2-hourly. The first bus can only get you there in time for an appointment at 10 or later. The last bus leaves the hospital at 3.15, so if you're not seen before then, you're stranded.

Of course, you could get the train: 1.75 mile walk to station, train to station, 2 mile walk from station to hospital, repeat on return. And the train fare is ... £7 return. If your appointment was early, you'd practically have to set off the night before. And the train fare would be £12!

Visiting family members in the next county, most of whom live in rural areas too, would be impossible (although we could visit one of DP's sisters by bus, and it would take around 2 hours for what is a 40 minute journey by car). Coming back from the supermarket with half a case of wine, a 17 kg sack of dog food and all the rest of the shopping would be near impossible. The vet is 9 miles away and I don't even know if there's a bus service. Camping holidays would be out of the question (I used to backpack, but at 62 I need my creature comforts). Our council doesn't collect garden waste, so regular trips to the tip are necessary. Call me a wuss, but I don't fancy getting the bus with a tonne bag of prunings, hedge clippings etc. A night out in the nearest big town would involve a £30 taxi fare back.

I did consider getting a bike, but have Menieres disease, which affects my balance. According to DP, I look pissed on a bike, I wobble about so much. And our narrow, windy roads would be terrifying for an inexperienced cyclist.

Perhaps a horse would be the answer. We could convert the garage to a stable and it could eat the grass, which would save me mowing it.

DH and I learned to drive at 17. My Sis can drive but doesn't own a car due to living in London (mordor) her husband never learned due to London living.

We live remotely so we have to drive. My kids were riding quad bikes from the age of 8 and driving a pickup at 12. They will take the test as soon as they can.