why don't people drive??? I am surprised at the number of mnetters who can't drive..why don't you?

[brimfull]

genuinely would like to know

lol exactly!

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1. Didn't like it when learning.
2. Don't have the money anyway.
3. Prefer to walk.

DH drives but we had to get rid of our car last year as it was getting too expensive to run and DH walks most places anyway so the car was just sat parked up for most of the week.

I must admit, I do love walking (just as well really as I am too lazy for any other exercise ). Am hoping that once I get my license I won't start just driving everywhere for the sake of it...

"I know some people are just being kind, but it's as though they've forgotten we all have legs"

Haha! Yes, exactly. Really odd, IMO.

I get the odd thing standing outside school.
They're all freezing their body parts off because they came in nice warm car and aren't dressed sufficiently for the weather and I'm nice and snug.
Then they complain because their children were made to do something outside that took five minutes. The one thing they do manage is to dress their children properly and the kids don't care as they don't notice the cold.

I was a late learner and i passed my test 1st time just 13 months ago(i am 33).The reason i left it so long to learn was partly due to a bad experience with lessons when i was 17 and then the cost was a factor and i was so incredibly nervous you wouldnt believe.
Despite finally becoming a driver i still am very nervous and avoid certain situations like parking in certain places because i cant basically.I am not a natural driver and cant say that i enjoy it either but i think that with experience i could learn to like it.

Meant to add that when i was a non driver i was made to feel like an outcast at times.

Can't afford to and I am abit scared now!

DS is starting a new pre-school possibly in March (on waiting list) that's not walking distance so that's my deadline. I took lessons a few years ago and even passed my theory, but didn't finish. I stupidly lost all my 'paperwork' too, so need a big layout of birth cert, marriage cert, then passport before I even get a new provisional.

I love driving - I would hate to not be able to

It's hideously expensive, and often less practical than Clarkson et. al. would have you believe, given the traffic and scarcity of parking in cities.

It's also rather stressful to anyone who isn't one of life's natural drivers.

I speak as a car owner/driver, BTW.

Technically, I can drive, but haven't done so for about 20 years. I have always lived in places with good public transport, and I never liked driving much. Also, I like to be able to wander off and come home a different way etc, can't be arsed with having to go back to where the car is parked (never mind all the aggro of parking a car in the first place).
Finally, I like to have a drink when out and about.

Because I can almost always get where I want to go on public transport. Because I hated the unexpected bills associated with owning a car. Because I never ever have to find somewhere to park. Because walking keeps me fit. Because I meet interesting people on the bus. Because I like to read books on the tube. Because I think it is important to support the environment. Because I hate car fumes and noise. Because my DD cries uncontrollably when strapped into a car seat.

I can't imagine a scenario in which I wanted to own a car, honestly.

It's a necessity in this rural area.

I live in a village in rural north norfolk. We made sure we bought in a village with at least some sort of bus service so it wasn't necessary to drive.

Necessity here too, but a breeze compared to the stress and eejits in Central London. People let you out, there's always parking, never traffic jams ... bliss

MrsDoylesmole, it will get easier and you will become less nervous, just give it time. I was a relatively late learner, at the age of 28, and DH even later, at the age of 35. I was really nervous and not a "natural driver" for probably the first three years after passing my test, but now it is second nature. Before that, we didn't drive for financial reasons, because I was scared too, and because we didn't really need to. I learnt after we moved to the isle of wight, which is obviously much more rural.

We can't afford to buy at all and never will. The rent in the city, and council tax, was FAR more expensive than running a car, but we also have an older car that we own outright.

those who already have a license but are afraid of driving, automatics are becoming more common. you can drive one on your full UK license.

I do, but only for 5 and half years.

Can't afford the lessons, let alone the running and upkeep of a car. Having said that, I live pretty much centrally so I can walk wherever we need to get to, and for the times when I am heavily pg and have SPD, or just being plain lazy, there is a bus stop right outside my house. Would be completely different if I weren't in a city though. And in fairness, it made my day extremely stressful when I was working full time. In all weather I had to get dd to nursery (about a mile and up a massive hill) then run down the hill to get a bus to work which took about an hour to do a journey which in a car would take about 10 minutes.

I didn't have a lesson until I was 30. I never really wanted to, living in a city I could get the bus or cycle. I Cycled everywhere for years. Then I came into some money and as I knkew I might end up moving I decided to learn.

I didn't get my provisonal licence until I was 30. Only one of my friends in school learned as a teen.

DH uses the car to get to work, and we can't afford a second car. Environmentally I feel happier walking or using public transport, and I live in a city so not miles from anywhere.

And Riven has been in my car, and I'm sure would vouch that I'm not exactly a 'natural driver'...

i am blind in me left eye and pretty unaware of anything on that side!

that scares me, what if a kid jumped out and i didn't see it etc etc.

stupid really as i am sure many people who are blind in one eye do drive.

i really want to learn but i think i'd need a VERY patient teacher. i'm sure i'd drive as slow as an old dear