To wonder why people 'don't drive'

[ZX81user]

..medical conditions aside.It is such a useful life skill.
I think it is part of a parent's responsibility to get their teen througj their test.

Oh look, it's this thread again. Are you judgy cunts really so far removed from reality that you can't see that some people live in poverty? some people are juggling bills week to week and have too much month left at the end of their pay packet, some people don't for environmental reasons, some people don't feel the need and some of us have lost loved ones in car accidents and are therefore just not keen to learn?

And to answer a question above - I NEVER ask for lifts, EVER! I live in a place where I've no need to. Those of you moaning about those asking for lifts and never paying, just say NO it's not difficult, but don't tar all non-drivers as cheeky fuckers just because you happen to be friends with arseholes.

Because after thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours with different instructors, it's apparent I can't maintain the concentration required, and have so little spatial awareness, that I'm a positive hazard on the roads. 😢

As PP have stated - it comes down to cost. Can't afford lessons and couldn't afford a car if I did have a licence.

OP: I'm curious as I have never asked you for a lift why does it affect you whether I drive or not. Not every family can afford lessons or a car. Possibly a trifle rude and naïve on your part if you don't mind me saying so.

I've never learnt to drive. If I need to get somewhere under 3 miles away, I walk. Otherwise I cycle or get public transport. In a pinch I get a taxi. I find the idea of driving, unnecessary and expensive.

I mean how do you manage when you go on holiday?
I hire a bike, walk or use public transport. It's really not difficult.

I have never, in thirty years of booking holidays, wanted to add car hire stress to the experience. Occasionally you end up sharing the local public transport with a goat, some chickens and an alarming number of cans of petrol, but so what?

I learnt to drive at about 17 because I had no choice. I grew up in the country, over 30 minutes from the nearest town. I started working in town at 18 so had to get a car because my parents wouldn't take me (a whole other story) and there was one bus in the day at 8am. I worked shifts.

I'm not concerned if people can't or won't drive, but if that's the case then they need to sort out their own transport arrangements and stop blagging lifts off others.

I'm looking at you MIL! Really annoys me because she CAN drive, she just refuses too and expects everyone else to chauffeur her instead.

Couldn't afford to learn when I was 17. Tried learning when I was 40 and am similar to Gingernaut - a hazard. I couldn't afford to run a car even if I could drive anyway.

Also I don't see why I need to add to pollution.

I choose not to add the already terrible congestion and pollution.

I walk, catch public transport or ride.

My children do the same.

We live in inner London so no need at all! I hate driving.

Perhaps because the roads are totally congested and there are so many idiot drivers on the road. I do drive and am not particularly nervous but some of the driving I have witnessed recently scares me to death. There are also a lot of aggressive drivers on the road.

I took test shortly after 17th birthday as lived in deep countryside with hardly any public transport but plenty of access to private land to practice. Everyone drove.

DD1 was very keen, was able to take lessons during 6th form college day, had tricky public transport or long bike route to said college, so took lessons and passed as soon as possible. Confident on London roads because of cycling. DD2 not interested at all despite offer of parental funded lessons, different 6th form easy to get to on free public transport, lives in centre of London, thinks might do it when she has children. It would be of little benefit to her now.

I mean how do you manage when you go on holiday? Don't you want to hire a car to get bthere/explore? What if you were offered a great job that wasn't accessible with public transport

I guess the thing here is that when you've lived your whole life without driving, you're just so used to it, you plan your life (including holidays etc) around where you can get without driving.

I'm sure the PP who says non-drivers don't realise how much easier their lives could be is right. But what you've never had, you don't know to miss?

Personally we have no DC, so only have ourselves to please. Our holidays are rare and usually just going to a city and hanging around there. When we visit my DP they do drive us around, as they live in the country, away from any public transport, but that's not really an issue, as we're going around together with them then anyway.

We've actually also done some holidays or travelling around by public transport, too. We just chose to rent holiday cottages that were within a walking distance of a bus route and/or at least a small town. I'm sure it limited our options, and driving would've been easier, but we just never thought of that. And had a good time.

DH is actually wanting to look into getting lessons now, mainly to extend the area where he can look for jobs in. His diagnosis is one of those that might stop you driving though, so we have to wait and see (and wait to have money).

I drive. I don't mind people asking me for lifts. I reckon it's none of my business why others don't drive nor how they manage holidays/ kids' clubs. They manage it differently I suppose.

If someone asks me for a lift as a favour I always feel free to say no.

Odfod. I don’t drive. I did lessons for 2 years and couldn’t pick it up at all. I was a dreadful driver and frankly could have killed someone. There are plenty of drivers out there who shouldn’t be on the bloody road.

Regardless, I live in a city and manage to get the bus anywhere that I need to go.

You can go on holiday without having your own car.
You have a lot of 'what ifs'.
Just accept not everyone wants to bloody well drive.
Great if it suits YOUR lifestyle but we are not all alike.

I don't drive much.

We have a family car but most of the time I take taxis

I learned as soon as I could, and have offered money to both my teens towards driving lessons, they have both said they don't want to learn at the moment, as they can't afford to run or insure cars. We are a 1 car family so either DH or I have to use public transport/cycle/get lifts to go to work, so the teens aren't used to having an instantly accessible car anyway. They both currently do a mixture of walking/cycling/public transport to get to their respective schools (both approx 2 miles away, but in opposite directions!!) They both have plans in place for getting themselves around in their respective Uni towns over the next few years, and will reconsider driving after that.

"It is such a useful life skill"

• errr... useful for what?

I walk and take public transport. If there's a real need, I take a taxi. I am just fine; I never once said "If only we had a car".

A driving test with lessons would cost us about 1K per person (me + partner). A car would cost us what, 15K? Plus about 1K a year in petrol, MOTs, new tires, insurance, repairs... We still would not use it to commute to work because of the traffic jams at rush hour; I prefer to be in the bus lane. So we'd cash out all this money and get... What exactly? More pollution in our city and another object to worry about, plus the right to tell people on Mumsnet that their parents have failed in their "parent's responsibility" and that they will also fail in their "parent's responsibility"

Anyway, why are you so worried if OTHER people drive?

I have a licence but don't drive, it has never been a problem to me and I have traveled a lot. By using public transport and taxies in other countries really get to know local people. Some of my best trips have been when I really go along with a taxi driver and decided to hire him for a day or two. They can take you to all the local secrets or know when is best to visit which attractions to mis the tourist busses.

I don't drive because it terrifies me, I have every confidence in my own driving skills but non in that of other road uses. I also know of people who have died in car crashes and have witness two, one in which the driver died. This has not helped ease my driving nerves.

BTW I never ask for rides, I get public transport, walk or get taxies. Its never been a problem.

My DP now drives and it has opened up a few more options that before would have been more difficult but they are all luxuries, not necessities.

It's fine for people to choose not to drive. As long as they don't presume that everyone who does drive is their unpaid slave at their beck and call.

I dont drive, i took lessons.It just didnt suit me.
Dp drives, but i use public transport to get around.

My thing is what happens when you cant drive @op.You will be royally fucked

I mean how do you manage when you go on holiday? Don't you want to hire a car to get bthere/explore?

Have you never heard of public transport, cycling or walking, OP?

What if you were offered a great job that wasn't accessible with public transport

It wouldn't fit my criteria of a 'great job' in that instance. I enjoy my daily walk to work.

what if your child needs to do their hobby somewhere not on a PT route?

No DCs to worry about . However, my husband has a car, so if we'd had children, it would have been on the understanding he did any child-related driving.

Only 40% of people taking their first test actually pass it. You can't drive unless someone authorised it. It's not always down to choice.

I mean how do you manage when you go on holiday? Don't you want to hire a car to get bthere/explore?

No, because I like to have a glass or two of wine with a meal when I'm on holiday, and wouldn't want to be continually worrying whether I was fit to drive. Because you can see more of the scenery from the top deck of a bus than you can from a car. Because it's nearly always as quick, if not quicker, for me to go where I want to go by train. Because you don't have the hassle of driving round looking for somewhere to park, and having to get back before your time runs out, if you use public transport.

I'll never understand why some car drivers resent non-drivers so much.

Why would you want more cars on the road?

A lot of non-drivers are such because they think they would be unsafe in a car. There are enough dangerous drivers out there who think they're the best thing since Jenson Button, so why do you want the people who consider themselves unsafe on the roads too?!