I turn 22 this year and I haven't touched a steering wheel since I was 15 and in drivers ed (and it was frightening to me). I never go anywhere anyway.

I can drive just fine, I just don't do it anymore by choice, nothing outside worth driving to anyway.

I had no problem at all picking it up and passing my test, without taking drivers education classes.
I practiced on the day of my test by playing gtasa.
I found the written test was mostly just common sense questions, and I didn't really need to study for it.
I think I took to the driving part naturally becuase I liked to play tons of racing/driving game.

I did however bang up my car a few times in the first year I had it, but I blame that on my shitty job that had me driving long distances while sleep deprived.
I once fell asleep while driving on a highway, and was woken up when my car hit the center divider, and wrecked the tire.
Got towed off to a street with low traffic, and had to wait around my car in the mid summers day, all day for my folks to show up, boss didn't give a damn.

Post edited on 18th Apr 2012, 6:18pm

I'm 20 years old (going to 21 next month) and I don't know how to drive. I never really had much of an incentive to drive or go anywhere anyway, so it's sort of a waste of time to learn. However, I've played all kinds of games and have played driving games before, so it should be pretty easy to pick up, especially since I'm a quick learner. All I need to do is get a grasp of how fast the car drives with the push of the pedal and understand which moves are needed for which actions.

27 and I can't drive either.

I spent 2 years getting pressured to drive while in highschool, finally got the required hours to get a license and haven't driven since.

I got my license at 16, but only because I hated relying on my unreliable parents to pick me up or take me places. They never really pushed it; I had to force myself to learn and get it lest being alone for long periods of time at the front of school waiting (private school, no buses).

Anyway, the first few weeks were nerve wracking, especially on highways, but it definitely gets easier. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and have an invisible space bubble around your vehicle that you need to adjust for.

It's definitely not uncommon to get your license after 20. If you live in a city where you can walk everywhere, there really isn't a point in getting a license or car.

I did start taking lessons because my parents demanded it, but I hated it with a passion so I quit.

No, but I have a learner's permit. I don't like driving because I think cars are extremely expensive, but I want to know how to drive because it makes getting a job easier. Its just so hard to avoid using cars when everyone else uses them.

21, don't have one. Never touched a steeting wheel as I never had any interest in it.

I don't drive.

Mainly my issues are pretty simple; nobody takes me out to practice. Also if I get a license I never have a car to drive anyways, what's the point?

It is annoying as hell living in the middle of nowhere though, I have to walk two hours to get to the nearest convinience store.

I can drive but I don't like doing it because it makes me incredibly nervous. I also don't know how to go many places since I can't remember street names and just know where things are by whats around them.

>>14470

cars aren't all that expensive if you buy used cars that have been taken care of decently, they're still expensive then but nothing to the $20-40K a new one is.

Driving is the only thing I am actually good at, I work as a truck driver hauling stuff across Canada. Got my license when I was 16 but I was scared to death and very nervous but after a while it all just came naturally. Don't think it is even worth having a car anymore with gas prices just rising anyway and taking public transportation is loads more cheaper.

Still driving down a empty highway at night is the only time I feel at peace or happy anymore.

>>14478

I've considered doing this before, of all jobs it seems the most realistic I could do with minimal more schooling needed that wouldn't be horrible. However I've had two accidents in the past, which make me think it'd make getting the job a lot more difficult. Not to mention driving makes me nervous, but I imagine after being made to do it enough I'd get used to it.

How hard is it to get started doing this in my situation?

No.
I don't want to have a car while I have the choice not to have one. Last year my father almost drowned in debts for the maintenance of his(though his expending habits aren't really a good example in general). Besides, it isn't possible to just sit and read a book while driving, and my spatial coordination is shit.

>>14474
Mum has a decent paying job and she's still paying off debts from the maintainance of her last car, nevermind her current Jeep.

My price range is below $2000, and even that is with some financial help from two grandparents and my father. I was hoping to get a RHD Jeep that was $2500, but that fell through. Now I just want a Toyota or Honda, and actually take care of it.

I am pretty much functionally blind thanks to my luck in obtaining a somewhat rare brain defect that runs in my family. My eyes jiggle left to right constantly.

At 29 I have never driven a car, and never will. Yes, I do feel like a loser, even though it isn't my fault.

It is so isolating, and I have to rely on my mom still to go places which is beyond embarrassing.

Well I did attempt to drive once a couple years ago. My brother thought it would be funny to try and teach me. 30 minutes of stalling the damn thing out (manual) and then curb checking it on one of the few successful attempts to get the thing going, the lesson ended.

I just walk or take my bicycle when I can.

>>14488
>I have to rely on my mom still to go places which is beyond embarrassing.

I don't really mind, besides not going out much, the rear windows of my car are very heavaly tinted, so no one can see in, and I installed a power inverter in the car so I can use my laptop in the backseat to watch anime and stuff while she drives.
one way of looking at it, is as a privilege, like having your own personal driver.
Rich people aren't embarrassed to be driven around in limos or whatever right?

Near 28 here. I cannot drive...

What is more: I can't even ride a bike. So, apart from rides, I depend entirely on public transport and taxi; both of them quite dangerous, where I live. Yet, or maybe because of that very same reason (I've been in a few crashes, alright), the responsability of driving is something I'm simply NEVER willing to take...

So yeah: fuck it.

>>14491
Just buy a cheap bike for like $15 in a garage sale or pawn shop or online (they're so cheap because they get stolen all the time) and you'll learn soon enough.

>>14502

This is quite true, it's not hard.

You should try it out.

>>14507
yeah, most important thing to remember, is to just keep the bike moving forward, it involves a bit of trust, in that the bike will keep you up while moving forward, provided you keep the bike moving at a adequate speed.
also, don't jerk the handles around to much, you'll lose your balance easy doing that.

I've tried applying for my permit a few times and I fail on the exam over driving laws. Damn it, why can't I pass it? It should be easy! ;_;

At least I enjoy walking and riding bikes, and I'm not afraid to ride the bus... otherwise, it'd be hard for me to get anywhere.

>>14502
>>14507
>>14508
. . .

ok. I'll think about it...
man, I'm gonna die painfully.

>>14512
yes you will

>>14515
only if you try the do or die approach where you go down a steep hill.

Once you learn how to balance yourself, you will never forget. I went ten years not riding, picked up a new bike and was fine.

Remember that turning requires very little movement of the handlebars, and don't take turns fast because you have a rater high center of gravity. Go easy on the front brake as it is much more powerful and you could crash rather painfully if you grab it too hard.

If you can find a cruiser bike, go with that. They are the easiest to operate, have very wide tires that make balancing easier, and are typically single speed or 7 speed with just one shifter.

No license, 2 months until I'm 20.

I've driven my father's car a few times though, With him giving some direction, and nobody else on the road.

Not embarrassed at all though, I have a great excuse since I live next to a few stores and less then a minute from a bus stop.

>>14468
>>It's definitely not uncommon to get your license after 20. If you live in a city where you can walk everywhere, there really isn't a point in getting a license or car.

Ditto, I do. But I get fucked at times if I end up in a suburb for some odd shitty reason - and the people there sometimes do shitty things.....

>>14510
they're shitting up the drivers laws. e.g. more stringent shit, "driving is a priviledge", drunk driving laws, those stupid gradations where you cant drive with other teenagers from 16-18 (at least in illinois) and now they're planning on banning night driving if you're younger? What fucking bullshit. And I'm 21.

I can't drive, neither do I want to.

My dad is constantly complaining about spending hundreds of dollars on repairing his car. My brother is younger than me and he has owned at least 4 cars. And the cost of gas...I could afford it but it doesnt seem worthwhile so I never learned to drive. I'm in my late 20s, btw.

>I know the inability to drive is often associated with losers in general

Yeah I get that impression too. But I doubt the people I see on the train every day own cars and most of them seem to be doing fine.

>>14546
All of this is bullshit. People depend on cars for things like getting to work, etc. You get your license taken away for being in the passenger seat drunk in some states, in most, even being drunk in a parked car is considered drunk driving. Having an open container in a vehicle, while not being drunk, is also means to have your life fucked up by the cops. 

I could imagine some poor sap with no friends living in a rural area, driving to the dump to get rid of a half-empty bottle of sucky vodka, being pulled over and BAM. The cops arrest him and the judge hands down a heavy as fuck sentence, and basically that man has been told he cannot eat for two years. 

Since when was a first world nation on par with Saudi Arabia for restrictions on alcohol? Highest age limit in the world for drinking age, based on one inconclusive experiment on one sickly kid's liver in 197X. Yet there is a higher death rate by driving under influence in the US than any other country in the world, including those with drinking ages in the 16-18 range. Where the fuck do they go wrong? Could it be that Americans, who learn scarcely the value of moderation, never got to learn how to consume alcohol in moderation until they were too old to retain such knowledge?

That's my number one complaint about this culture; nobody knows how to be in the middle, or think in the middle, in shades of gray. Black and white. Always or never. All or nothing. Good or evil. Rich or poor. Win or lose. Friend or foe. Dieting hard as fuck or not caring about what you eat at all. Big mac with 40 oz coke and large fries, or a piece of lettuce dusted with pepper and a thimbleful of water. Sitting on the couch all day or running twenty miles. Be able to drive or do nothing because you can't get there. An entire chocolate cake in two days or eating nothing for a week. $7.25 an hour or $15,000,000 per game/movie/advertisement. For Haruhi's sake, while a Japanese CEO makes 2.5 times the money his employees do, an American CEO makes, on average, 600 times the money his employees do. When all factored in, if there were no such thing as credit or mortgages in America, nobody but the very rich would be able to own a house. This is a giga setup for failure. 

>>14560
>>That's my number one complaint about this culture; nobody knows how to be in the middle, or think in the middle, in shades of gray

I doubt that....

>>14559
>>Yeah I get that impression too. But I doubt the people I see on the train every day own cars and most of them seem to be doing fine.

The people going from the suburbs into the city on commuter rail likely own cars, they commute using the train because driving in a congested-ass city core is fucking annoying for them and stressful and expensive with parking fees - so they just take the train

I got my license when I was 17, am now 21. I dislike driving immensely, so I typically only leave the house when it's absolutely required.

I avoid the highway whenever possible. It scares the shit out of me.

Luckily I was born in the age of the handheld GPS, or I wouldn't want to go anywhere.

>>14562
>I doubt that....

Well, there are, but they are smart enough to know that it's pointless dealing with the vast majority who do have moderation issues, so you never see them.

>>14560
The higher incidence of drunk driving deaths might simply be because more Americans own cars and drive everywhere compared to other nations.

I've also always heard that the legal drinking age was changed to twenty-one because so many teenagers were killing themselves and others drunk driving after cars became ubiquitous in the fifties. I don't really know, though.

I can drive and many have the permission to.

What irritates me is that most people do not have the skill to drive. Horrible turning, over breaking, lane hogging, on coming traffic blinding, texting, discourteous, completely complacent idiots.

If driving was a skill in an RPG with a max level of 100 I'd say I'm about a 92 where almost every single American is in the 30s and pickup drivers in the teens.

>>14568
In school we learnt that the drinking age was brought to 21 due to an experiment on liver development, saying that drinking liquor during the development of liver will cause it to be faulty, and that livers develop fully at age 21.

Apparently that experiment was inconclusive, but when I mentioned that I researched this "science" in my health class, the teacher sent me to the front office and demanded I attend an after school class on teenage drunkenness. I was asked why she said this, I said that it was because I did research, and they asked me if I was a drinker. I said no, and they basically told her to fuck off, because she did this kind of thing a lot.

>>14571
ha ha ha

apparently some science teacher doesn't know JACK SHIT about science.

>>14572
Most teachers know jack shit about what they're teaching.

>>14574

One of my HS science teachers literally said that he doubted the theory of gravity.

Not evolution, gravity.

>>14575
there are some things that are not well explained by our current theory of gravity

>>14572
I don't know about most schools, but the one I went to, health and wellness classes were taught by gym teachers.

Literally, all we did was colour in pictures, make cards for people in retirement homes, and write down notes in terrible grammar.

I would have learned to drive if I actually had use for a car. My country's public transportation system, although broken down and decaying, still works adequately enough to safely transport me from point A to B for an affordable price.

If I really need a personal vehicle in the future, I'd get a motorcycle or something.

So how "hard" is driving anyway? I'm terrified of getting my licence, but I guess it's time I get it.

I mostly think it's worth getting, so I can find a job easier.

>>14660
It's hard at first, when you have to learn to deal with all the traffic. It quickly becomes second nature, however. I got used to it after about two weeks.

I love driving at night just blaring music. Merging into lanes with a lot of traffic around me still scares the shit out of me though.

>>14722
>I love driving at night just blaring music

Not in residential areas I hope, those people are the worst

I'll have my driving exam soon. I don't live with my parents and public transport sucks ass so it will make things easier to me, not particularly fond of the idea of driving through the shitload of traffic here.

I can't drive. Parents still attempting to teach me how to but after 2 years of failure to even get off the smallest roads I know I never will be able to get my license. I need to at least get an ID so I can get whatever I want without a parent with me everywhere I go. I even took some drivers ed classes last year too which was a disaster. I'm going to need to find transport to get around but I don't think I'll ever be able to get a job either.

I got my license about a year ago at age 19. I would have gotten it earlier were it not for my mom being lazy.

I actually enjoy driving. I like going out at night, since there are few cars on the road, everyone at home is asleep, and the stores aren't very crowded.

I'm 22 and I can't drive either. I can't even swim! My methods of transportation are pretty limited.

I cannot drive, and I'm not interested either. Actually, no one from my family has ever owned a car, mostly because we can't afford it.

>>14924
Exactly what this anon said, down to the last detail.

>>14924
>>14928

Pfft, I can't even ride a bike. Get on my level.

I got my license at 18; you don't have to jump through as many bullshit hoops to get your license as an adult. To any of you who can't drive, I highly recommend learning. There's basically no downside to having a driver's license, other than the frankly negligible time and effort to acquire it.

Pictured is my lovely waifu. The last days of her life were made far more meaningful because of the possibility to travel long distances in a car. She died holding a driver's license, though she did not know how to drive. This is just a personal note, of course, but from my perspective it underlines the independence and freedom that can come with the ability to drive.

>>14938
Bro... I'm >>14491

>>15087
That would be lovely, indeed: to take your waifu with you and run away on a last long ride...
My most respectful affection to Setsumi, BTW.