To be p*ssed off that people think I'm odd for being 30 and not driving?

[OracleInaCoracle]

I like public transport. ds loves trains and the bus may take longer, but he sees more of our town than he would in a car.

running a car is bloody expensive.

we should all be reducing our carbon footprint, this is one of my contributions.

we walk, a LOT. ds is very fit and healthy and sees/hears/smells things first hand.

i CHOOSE not to drive, it is not a rite of passage or a necessity, so less of the shock please!

Or not learning how to walk/cycle more than 2 miles in any direction.

Only kidding, but much as I hate cars I am now learning to drive.

I love how car drivers are pilloried these days - like smokers.

But nary a word breathed about the huge commercial industries belching out pollution that drawfs that of people in cars to bring people cheap consumer products.

Don't understand your point madamez?

I'm not sure I really understand why some people seem smug about their inability to drive (not suggesting that the OP is like this). It's not as though knowing how to drive prevents you from walking or getting the bus if that's what you want to do. Surely it's better to maximise your choices in life, not to limit them.

No pillorying here, expat. I suppose it's like the recycling, water saving etc. etc. debate- not making short unnecessary journeys is a good thing, no? People are going to have to change- petrol is getting soo expensive. FWIW I do campaign for more environmental controls on industry, and believe that we should all try to consume less, generally.

It's not about being smug- it's about putting a different perspective on something, that's all, as far as I'm concerned.

But then, Morningpaper, you'd get even more threads here on Mumsnet complaining about anyone over the age of about 50 who dares to still be driving!

im definately not smug about not driving, i just dont see how its a necessity. it may be a handy life skill, but then so is speaking several languages fluently.

my life is not impinged by not driving, it has taught me a certain level of self-reliance.

MP: the point is that elderly people frequently can't drive, not because of not having learned or not wanting to, but because they are not medically safe to do so.

and a lot of elderly people may be nervous about driving.

I'm one of those who relies on (admittedly very good) public transport or my own two feet. I am NEVER late for anything. I do not rely on anyone for lifts but will happily accept one if offered. I would do anything to avoid having to have a car and that's not about smugness or environmentalism, just that in London I think driving and parking and worrying about getting your car vandalised or stolen is really stressful. I have loads of friends though who hate using public transport with their children.

yanbu i cant drive and it doesnt affect my life in anyway i walk or use public transport and for someone to say you are weird because you cant or have not learned to drive is just plain silly.
my mum even offered to pay for lessons when i was younger but i turned her down because im happy as i am,
dp is learning to drive but he needs to have transport for work at the min he drives a motorcycle but without that he would have to catch the bus and at 4am on a sunday there are not any about!i catch bus to work which is easy for me.

not being able to drive is without a doubt one of the biggest pains in the arse in my life. I started learning when i was younger but after being made redundant had to spend the money on rent, life moved on i got by then here i am with 2 young children and an oh who doesnt actually want me to learn (the expence of paying for me to run a car!) with noone who would actually look after the children when i would need a lesson and dependant on my oh for everything, going to the docs, hospital appts, going to the supermarket where i have to endure the "can we go yet" and checking what im putting in the trolley (how much chocs and wine!) i bloody hate in and to be perfectly frank as long as i dont drive i really feel ive lost some control and freedom of my life especially knowing there is no hope of ever learning in the near future. really looking forward to walking my dd to nursery in the pissing rain. its at the top of a hill at the end of my village and its not going to be fun. sigh. moan over.

why doesnt oh want you to learn?

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Janni - same in Paris . Car + baby + pushchair is a no-go area - all the parking is underground and the lifts are either out-of-order or don't go all the way to the surface...

Oh, I don't do it out of principle, just never got round to it. I do like public transport (espcially without buggy) in London. I think if I hadn't grown up in London/city, I would have learnt by now. I might eventually.

Dh learnt to drive last year (aged 35) and tbh it has been fantastically useful. He still cycles to work mostly but we just got back from hols to Cornwall that would have been hard without a car. Mind you, his mum has never learnt and has lived all over - and coped in a rural village...

but cod, i do! i am very odd (after all i pour pretend cups of tea in a pretend tea shop ) but using public transport isnt that bad.

our buses go around the towns and through the more rural areas (there are quick buses that go from A-B) and ds loves it

The only parents at my daughter's school who do the school run by car have chauffeurs [green] - there is no parking....

"If you live in a city with good access to public transport and you and all your family are able-bodied, then unless you have a job or hobby that necessitates transporting tons of bulky awkward crap around all the time you don't need a car, you';re just being lazy and precious if you have one"

Non-driver here so I agree with most of that, madamez, but although we live in a city with good public transport, it's only good if you want to get to certain parts or into the centre. DW's job (teacher) means she has to take at least a bag and a box in every day, which would be do-able but really annoying on the bus, and she'd have to get two or three buses given where we live and where she teaches.

(And yes, men get more flak for it than women - people look at you as if you are a bit funny and ask if you have started driving yet.)

I'm 42 and have never learnt to drive. Originally it was just a result of circumstances and lack of money, followed by living in London where there was no need, and then when I reached a point that I might have gone for it (mid 20s), DS1 got hit by a car. He's alive and well today but I have never really got over it - I can still remember the whole thing painfully clearly. It is a complete pain in the neck and one of these days I need to deal with it, but not yet.