I fear the highway...

19 years old. Still don't have a license. I have an identification card that suffices as a form of id. The public transportation suffices as far as getting me places goes. Its ironic. I listen to nothing but classic rock. Good ol' highway cruising tunes, and I doubt I'll ever feel the music behind the wheel.

All kinds of excuses come up, depending on who asks me. If its the parent of a new girlfriend its "Oh well I cant get a car to test with", if its a person at the workplace its "Oh well I just cant seem to get the money together" I have a stance against loans as well, so that excuse works quite nicely. People look down on a man with no will or ability to drive one of these wretched things. The real reason I don't drive is I'm scared to death, and with good reason.

40,000 are killed in car accidents each year. Neglectful people? Bad driving laws? Maybe. I'm convinced its just because we shouldn't be driving the things anyways. Half the people i've been with in a car are in no way actually qualified to be in control of 2 tons of metal and material. Their motor skills are terrible and I don't believe in putting myself in that kind of persons path just because i'll get to work 40 minutes earlier than usual.

There's the issue. What I'm wondering is... Is it wrong to not drive a car for these reasons? Is being judged for not having a car really as barbaric as it seems?(considering the risks and facts)

I just want a few opinions, throw em at me.

 

I had some driving lessons years ago, and to be frank driving in traffic scared me shitless. I just dont seem to have the eye-brain-hand co-ordination necessery.

So I decided not to take the test, never got behind the wheel since, and never really regretted it.

I still manage to get around and dont have all the fuel, tax, maintainance worries.



.

 

If you do not feel comfortable behind the wheel, don't force it. I didn't even drive til i was 23 because I didn't need to and never drove before anyways. Just get a friend let you fuck around in a parking lot a few times, set up cones, or frisbees or cups and try to maneuver them. you'll get it.

 

Dude, I'm 35 and have never had my licence. I have ADD and eye/hand coordination problems. Whenever somebody asks me why I don't drive my response is "Public Safety" then explain the ADD, Eye/Hand Issues, and the fact that I nearly have panic attacks when I'm behind the wheel and that usually suffices.

The fact of the matter is that there are some people on this earth who shouldn't fucking be behind the wheel. Unfortunately our culture is partially based around driving. We hav movies and commercials that tell us that we are losers if we don't drive and that our worth is determined by the car we drive. The world would be safer if the people who shouldn't drive didn't.

Stay Brown,
Rev J

 

I didn't get my license 'til I was 30. Before then, I knew I wasn't ready and wouldn't be a good driver. Don't try to force it. The time will (or won't) come when you'll feel differently.

 

There's nothing wrong with not driving. Who gives a shit what other people think. You don't feel comfortable doing it and you're doing your part for the well-being of the environment. Fuck what anyone else thinks.

 

I'm terrified of driving too. It's mostly because I'm horrible with directions, I'm scared I'd end up on a highway and realize I'm going the wrong way and I'd have to go too far before I can turn back and then have no fucking clue where I am. Awful.

 

There's nothing wrong with not driving.

However, you should get a friend to teach you to drive in a lot somewhere or something. It's a skill that you should have in case of emergency, if it's possible for you.

Most people drive very unsafely. If at some point you need to drive, keep in mind that you don't have to drive like that. It's quite possible to drive quite safely.

 

Thanks for the input. Your tales of late age driving have been a comfort. Mr. Frankenstein made a great point, the maintenance and insurance costs suck as well. I'm sure it will feel alright eventually.

I remember reading a story once, Marc Bolan of the band 'T.Rex' refused to drive cars his entire life. He claimed he had dreams of dying in a car wreck...guess what happened in late 1977. Funny eh?

Thanks to you guys and girls so much!

 

I was terrified to drive, especially on highways. The fear went away when I was required to drive all over for work, but I am still a very cautious driver...

Although, I wouldn't let this stop you from driving in general...sometimes you have to face that fear and learn what it is to be a good driver. It took me a few years, but the fear has diminished...now I only start to panic when I'm stuck in traffic

 

Dont feel bad for being nervous. I race my car most weekends at the local track and have a lot of time behind the wheel and I still get nervous on public roads. Driving can be dangerous, especially considering other people are usually doing stupid things like texting while they drive. If you get by comfortably without driving, then I dont see a problem for you.

 

i no longer drive at all, after years of doing so professionally

i was a very good driver, but my anger at those who were not began to frighten me

 

Right?

All my friends text and shit while driving... shit pisses me off, if I'm riding with them. I literally pull over to text. And I've been almost hit by a bunch of people doing stupid shit like that. And then almost hit by a bunch of people just being stupid, with no phone for an excuse.

However, it's a skill that I think the OP should have. You never know what's going to happen, and when it does happen, you want to be able to escape, or carry yourself or someone else who might be injured, or whatever the case may be.

As for the rest of the time, I love my 12 speed.

 

I can't stand people who do that! I don't even use my phone for calls when I'm driving. My boyfriend is very good at texting and driving while driving my truck and I go ape shit when he does it because he'll go off the road and almost hit shit...ugh!

I think every cell phone should power down when the car is on...I can't even stand playing with the radio sometimes just because I need to focus on the road

 

First Off there is no reason to drive if you don't want to, in fact you're polluting less and probable saving money

it's true you should learn, it's like knowing how to swim in this day and age.

While driving I've consciously know I've avoided 3 times where another car was desperate to crash into me. Two lane changes directly into me had to go in the middle yellow and one supreme cut off, parked car i was at 40mph

the reason i'm speaking is I found the things that makes driving on the highway the easiest is speeding. When you're going faster than traffic it makes it so easy to lane change, don't have to wait for other people, you see your hole and just accelerate through. Of course I think I have pretty high hand eye coordination, fast reflexes, good vision and had good instruction since childhood. The hardest thing about driving is making sure cops aren't behind you, and watching other cars. you'll see when they start to switch. If the guy is incompetent (riding the braille, poor reaction time, ) I'll always keep my hand over the horn when I'm racing through his blind spot to get past him, that has saved me many a time (honk, you're not going to cut me off today)

also just got to say if you can't drive and hold cell phone then you probable can't drive a manual car, just saying so annoying I can't hold my cell phone because that other hand isn't doing anything useful. (I'm US, Ca)

 

When I first started driving (17) I was a bit apprehensive about driving on the interstate and limited my activity to my neighborhood going to and from the local store.

But as I gained more & more confidence I expanded my range to eventually include the highway, and from there I would actually drive 4 ½ hours to New York City just to test my new found skills during rush hour in midtown Manhattan





Hotwater

 

Dude, seriously?

I've almost died because of shits like you multipule times. Where do you get the idea that other people are incompetent because they don't drive like bats outta' hell?

I guess I'm glad that you've found how to make freeway driving easy for you, at the expense of the ease and safety of everyone else on the road.

Also, you're obviously not a prepared driver, or even a good one, if you don't have both your hands free, for everything from being forced to change gears (still possible in an automatic) to using the parking/e-brake, to being forced to turn in a way you did not expect and can't do as well with one hand. Hell, the fact that you're driving an automatic in the first place pretty much categorizes you as "incompetent".

 

I was with you till the end. Fuck, I hate standard.

 

Oh god... learn to drive one, it's not even the same thing at all, after you learn it will feel like someone else is driving you around when you're in an automatic. Automatics feel impersonal and sanitized, and faintly out of control.

There are some times I'd rather drive an automatic, and they're few and far between. I'm not the worlds greatest driver, so for larger vehicles in stop and go traffic or off road, I'd rather automatic.

But everything else, especialy every thing else in small cars, standard is way more fun to drive, easier to drive, easier on your wallet(both in terms of service and gas) and just..... fucking better

The rest of the world drives standards. Why? because they're flat out better. in many countries you can't get a full license if you don't take the test in a standard. The US went to automatic because our major industry includes car companies, and we're overall a pretty rich nation, and americans where suckers with money who would buy automatics.

Do yourself a favor and learn to drive one, you'll never want to touch another automatic.

Also, FUCK those steptronic things.... It's like an automatic, but EVEN less practical.

 

Fear the parking lot............ lots of low velocity impacts.

Driving......It's overated........much rather be canoeing.