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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think people who say they cant live without there car are stupid ?

345 replies

lins1uk · 31/05/2008 00:37

havent got a car yet, my dp is taking lessons and will be getting a car when he passes but people who say they cant live without there car are surely stupid ?
havent they heard of the bus or tram etc ?
i have two kids and one on the way and i will still use public transport when we have a car!
plus i walk 25 mins to school and 25 mins back twice a day i just think people who rely on there car for everything are just plain lazy,
i agree it is nice to have a car but its not everything!
sorry if you feel diffrent but thats how i feel!

OP posts:
LuckySalem · 31/05/2008 01:26

It's the same idea as cars

Original poster
lins1uk · 31/05/2008 01:30

anyway im off to bed now need my rest got a
lot of walking to do tommorow!

OP posts:
AbbeyA · 31/05/2008 08:22

You are very lucky if you have an alternative to the car. I would use public transport if we had any.

3725Hayley · 31/05/2008 08:29

What a ridiculous statement

LyraSilvertongue · 31/05/2008 08:29

We would survive without our car but it would make so many things much more difficult and limit our choices so much.

One day a week I take DS2 to a gymnastics class in a nearby town, return to pick up DS1 from school then head off to another nearby town for DS1's karate class.

I really couldn't do all this on public transport because it takes so much longer. So one of the boys would have to give up his activity.

I like having the freedom a car brings but I don't use it unnecessarily. We walk the boys to school and back every day (15 mins each way) but it's useful to be able to drive to school when it's peeing down with rain or we're running really late.

PuppyDogTails · 31/05/2008 08:45

Don't forget some people have no idea what it's like to live in a rural area.

BouncingTurtle · 31/05/2008 08:47

Lins1UK - YABU to express your views in a such a rude and ignorant manner.
I woke 26 miles away from home.
To use public transport I would have to do the following.
Catch a bus 5 mins walk from my house to bus stop.
15min bus journey into town.
1 hrs bus journey to town where I work.
20 minutes walk from there to the industrial estate where I work.
20 minutes walk along badly lit industrial road with no pavement and lots of HGVs to my place of work.
I would need to set off around 6am and not get home to 8pm.
Oh and this is BEFORE I had a baby who will need to dropped at nursery before work.

It takes me 40 minutes in the car.

Still think I'm stupid for having a car?

I don't always use the car if I can walk to where I am going, and I'm prepared to walk a fair old distance - now I'm on maternity leave I only use my car for big shopping trips and longer journeys.

Oh and in case you're wondering why I live so far from where I work, my husband works 50 miles in the opposite direction to me!

Expat - yes the incorrect use of "there" pissed me off too.

My sister and her hsuband live over there They're coming for dinner
Their dog is barking.

BouncingTurtle · 31/05/2008 08:48

Husband not hsuband.

PuppyDogTails · 31/05/2008 08:49

Not to mention ect

NotABanana · 31/05/2008 08:51

YABU

duchesse · 31/05/2008 08:52

I think that people who start threads with crass spelling mistakes in the title and kneejerk unjustified opinionated assertions are stupid.

But good on you for not using the car.

Elmosgirl · 31/05/2008 08:54

Not everyone has access to public transport...my parents live in a rural area with NO public transport, elderly people in the area would be completely isolated if they or their visiting family did not own cars....it's not just about where you live but also where you need a car to get to.

ScoobyDoo · 31/05/2008 08:55

If i did not have my car i would not be able to do my job!

StellaWasADiver · 31/05/2008 08:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sophiewd · 31/05/2008 09:03

God forbid me if my car broke down and I had to catch a bus - what bus?

lulumama · 31/05/2008 09:06

why are you learning to drive if you think it is so 'stupid' and 'lazy' to rely on a car

you might well be eating your words in a few months, when your car breaks down and you suddenly have to go back to unreliable public transport or relying on others for a lift

and as for your 'saving the planet is not on my list.. i'm not the one polluting the planet..' will your car run on fresh air?

if you are going to be judgemental, then at least don;t be doing the thing you are judging others for

of course you are entitled to your opinion, as am i, but there are ways of expressing it without insulting huge swathes of the population

so in summary, YABU

Ettenna · 31/05/2008 09:13

You clearly have a rather limited experience of life and work if this is really your opinion! I cannot afford to live close to my job in Oxford and so live 25 miles away.

There are NO buses or trains that could help me get to work.

I am the sole earner in my family. What would you suggest someone like me does?

findthepoormansquattroriver · 31/05/2008 09:16

Very very stupid OP.

cupsoftea · 31/05/2008 09:21

what about lack of public transport or limited transport. In a city it's better not to have a car but in a rural location it isn't possible.

CantSleepWontSleep · 31/05/2008 09:24

YABVU, and rather stupid yourself.

Where on earth has trams these days? One or two city centres?

I live in a rural location and would have to walk for half an hour just to get to a bus stop, along a single track road with no pavement or street light and with a toddler (as well as a pregnant belly)! Ridiculous.

Blandmum · 31/05/2008 09:24

no trams round here love, and very few buses.

It is impossible to take my kids to school by public transport and get to my work on time. Some of us don't have the luxury of the time to walk. And at 3 miles in each direction, I'd be walking for more than 25 minutes in each direction.

Oh and my dying husband would find it even harder to get to his hospital and hospice appointments in his wheelchair and on the bus.

When you get your head out of your arse, you might see that other peoples lives are somewhat different to your own OP

lucyellensmum · 31/05/2008 09:26

Do you mean "that there car" or "their car"? Talk about pot calling kettle black .

I don't drive, so i am effectively without a car while DP at work. It is very isolating. The transport links around here are adequate but its restrictive with young children. As for walking home from the shops laden with bags, i do this, but i'd rather not.

I do feel sad when i see the school run clogged up witn people who could walk - a half hour walk to school is quite a good thing, isn't it? But some people have to then go straight to work after dropping the LOs off. Some people live out of town and it would be too far, or not safe to walk.

Its all a question of common sense really.

The rest of your replies show that you haven't thought this through, so why start the thread??? Trip-trap
OP - is it an environmental concern you have, or are you just being precious?

BumperliciousNeedsToSleep · 31/05/2008 09:26

YABU, many people couldn't get to work without a car, and certainly could get to work as well as take their kids to school.

I think sweeping generalisations calling people stupid for thinking differently to you is stupid. Sorry if you think differently but that's how I feel.

FAQ · 31/05/2008 09:27

well H couldn't live without his car - well he could but he would HAVE to get a different job, and therefor someone else would replace who would "need" a car instead.....

BouncingTurtle · 31/05/2008 09:28

Oh and as for you not polluting the planet - well done!

So you have no running water, sewage, gas supply and electricity supply to your home? Do you you use all your human waste for fertiliser in your garden? Do you not throw a single scrap of rubbish away? Do you make everything you eat and use from sustainable, organic materials? Do you medicate yourself and your family from herbs you grow in your own garden?

If you don't, then I'm afraid you have absolutely no right to say you are not polluting the planet.