On Driving, Traffic and Cars

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I was wondering about driving cars the other day.

I have a driver's license (for several years now), but I don't drive. I don't have a car of my own, but I could borrow my brother's ride if I wanted to, whenever I needed it. However, the thought never crosses my mind.
This might be a mistake (most people tell me so), but I feel no real desire to drive - except when I'm waiting for a bus mid-winter.

I have no real need for a car, since all the places I go to are easily reachable on foot, by bike and by bus, so that could be one of the reasons why not.
The main reason, however, is probably that I find traffic... frightening. I enjoy driving my grandfather's old yugo, because I'm relaxed while doing it, but I get awfully nervous when I'm asked to drive any other, newer vehicle (tractors and agricultural machinery excluded - those I can handle ).

The fact that a lot of people break the rules routinely in traffic isn't helping. I'm scared of getting into a situation, regardless whether the fault would be mine or someone else's, in which I would react the wrong way, or too slowly. So... I avoid driving all together.

Also, I am not interested in owning car, not even a little bit. Maybe, just maybe if it were some kind of a "green" solution vehicle (even if it travels at snail speed ).
I believe that there are too many cars in the world as it is, and that public transport could be organised far better. I realise that there are situations in which cars are a necessity, but they are being over used.

Ford Prefect's mistake is not hard to understand.

How about you, guys?

Do you drive? Do you like driving? Do you have a car/would you like to own one? Thoughts on traffic and safety.

Discuss. Share thoughts. (Rant if you must, but try not to. )

 

I feel much the same way. I've not had my licence for as long but I have no desire to own a car and the thought of ever driving never really crosses my mind either. Maybe if the roads were empty I would be able to enjoy it more, but as it is I do slightly fear traffic as well, not for fear that I will make a mistake, but that someone else around me will. It's not that I'm petrified by the very idea of going on the roads, I mean I got my licence and have driven a few times since, but the idea does make me slightly uncomfortable.
I don't have anything angainst cars though, there could be less on the road, but I'm a long time fan of F1, so would struggle to make a strong case against them.

 

I used to drive but haven't done so in a while (no need to in Edinburgh, really). I can understand your fear of traffic and other people's bad driving. I liked night driving precisely because there were fewer people on the road.

 

Oh geez, i'm a typical southern redneck, be it the car, truck, atv, boat, motorcycle the faster the better.
If your atv wont do a hundred, you need a bigger engine!
Speed may kill but d@mn it's fun ! !

 

I used to be the proud owner of a good ol '85 Ranger. Until I ended up in two accidents in the same day. For the record, I was unscathed, but my poor Ranger suffered some serious damage, and it's beyond all repairs now. Fortunately, I was able to scavenge still good parts, and when money's a little better, I'm looking into getting another truck and making a decent whip out of it. (Again, for the record, 'whip' refers to a (very) customized car. If you want to see exactly what a whip is about, try googling "west coast choppers whips".)

The one thing that pisses me off about the Ranger is the fact the paint and paint scheme were unique. Now I have to redo the Mad Scientist part until I get the exact same tone the custom paint I had prepared for the '85. At least now cash is doing a little better, so expect a big House of Kolor order pretty soon...

And I also own a 99 Kawasaki Katana. Killer bike, period. Unfortunately, I can't use this beautiful beast all year long, so for this Winter, it's gonna either be an old crappy pickup truck which I will NOT start customizing until Spring, or public transportation.

Hell yeah!!

 

Driving rocks -- don't have to wait for idiot bus drivers, don't have filthy slobs with bad BO stepping on your foot on public transport, you don't have to take 2.5 hours to get somewhere that in a car takes you 30 minutes . . . the benefits go on.

Costs are sucky, it's true, and dealing with idiot drivers is always a hassle, but the benefits outweigh the negatives for me.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I know that Tal and BTA have a point about driving getting easier the more it's done. It's very sound advice.

However, chances are that more driving would in my case involve more driving with my father in the car too, and that can get... stressful. (Let's just say that all objections are stated loudly and repeated several times ).
I'm not exactly petrified of driving, since I actually enjoy the process when traffic is scarce, but I very, very rarely do it.

(Meh, enough about me. Talk on, people.)

 

Another problem you may have(i think you are european right?) is that some European roads are narrow! Here in the states the lanes vary from 9' to 12' wide. I know in britian the are very narrow for an american driver(not to mention on the other side!!)

I would never think of taking my truck over seas, the darn thing is 84"(2.1M) wide & the wheelbase is 172"(4.3M). Definitely made for the american roads

 

I don't own a car and I don't drive much, it's mostly due to me being a student and can't really afford having one. However everytime I visit home I tend to take a drive with my parents' car. Currently I have no desire of owning one but in the future it might be necessary. There are plenty of people of my age who don't even bother getting a license because they feel that they don't need it. So I suppose some people just prefer to think that they don't need one.

 

I can't say that I particularly enjoy driving (with the occasional exception), but I'm not too worried about other drivers most of the time. Being a student, I only drive when I'm back at home in the holidays as there really is no need to take a car down to the uni with me.

I recently passed my motorbike test and, while I don't own my own bike yet, I enjoy it more than driving a car. On the other hand, you do feel much more exposed and vulnerable to the poor driving of others while on a bike, so I haven't completely relaxed yet.

 

Yep, you have to be double cautious on a motorcycle decados. I've had drivers look my square in the eye(close enough that i could tell what color theirs' were) & then just turn in front of me like they didn't see me! Had 2 bikes wrecked that way. Just remember if they stop in front of you & you aren't able to slide it in, pop yourself up as high as you can so that you (hopefully) clear the fairing without tearing up your legs too bad

 

I love driving, but I do not have a car, because having one is too expensive and I do not really need one. The train goes everywhere that I need to go to and it is free. If I ever have the extra money, I will buy a car though and I mean *a car*, not a vehicle with four wheels.

 

I should probably keep my mouth closed, but.....what the hell.

I love driving, when I can actually *drive* and not be on the constant lookout for morons. You see, Utah has some pretty lousy drivers, which is due in part to the fact that the DL test is open book. I learned how to drive in So. California...so I consider myself an expert on driving in rush hour traffic.

One of the many tings my dad taught me, was how to steer with my knees so I can eat something on my way to work. I'm quite good at it, and for the past 7 years or so, there has never been an "Oh S***!" moment.

As for being nervous...I only felt nervous behind the wheel for the first month of driving. I've never really been afraid of the other cars on the road. When some dumb redneck tries to bully me on the road (I drive a VW Jetta, which is tiny compared to a Ford F350 with a lift kit), I just respond by swerving into their lane or something similar...truth be told, they don't want a scratch on their precious redneck-mobile as much as you don't want one on your ride...if you show them that you're not afraid of f***ing up what they're driving, they'll quickly back off.

I own a bike, however, it's completely rusted through and through, as it has done nothing bust sit against a wall in my parent's back yard for the past 7 years. I'm not going to buy a new one anytime soon either...as bikes are useless between mid-October to late April here. Riding a bike in the rain or snow is not fun. Also, all the places I need to go are 5+ miles from me, and I'm waaaaay too lazy to pedal that far.

As for public transportation...it sucks here. They slashed the budget last year, so now the busses only come once every 30-45 minutes, and for some routes, they only come once an hour (they *used* to come every 15 minutes for almost all routes). In my area, the N-S routes get all the attention...but there isn't an E-W solution yet. They plan on expanding the light-rail line to go to the west side of the valley within 5-8 years or so...but that planned rail line is still 8-10 miles from where I live.

 

I have a Learners License. In NZ, licenses are split into three groups: Learners, Restricted, and Full. Learners you can get from when you're 15, and you have to past a writing test. You can only drive when there's someone else in the car with a full license Restricted, you have to past a driving test and you can only apply 12 months after you get Learners. Thereotically, you can only drive yourself, or someone else if they have full licenses (the numerous teenage car crashes, however, prove that this is just theory). Full is just full license and 18 months from Restricted.

Technically, I posess a car - a Mazda Infini (silver) left by my aunty when she left NZ. It's nice and shiny, but I don't drive it. First is because I'm insecure; second is because there's no need to. I live quite a ways from the city, and so every day I take my dad's car to and from Uni as he goes to work. Occasionally I drive home, and I drive decently (I think). Otherwise I'm happy to get around by bus, as our city has a pretty decent bus system.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned fuel yet. That's one of the main reasons why I'm not more motivated to get my Restricted - what's the point? It'll just mean that our family will drive two cars instead of just one EVERY DAY and thus double the fuel cost. Why bother when you can transport two people for the price of one?

(Although that being said I sure would like to drive if only to avoid being woken up at 7 every bloody morning)

 

I have the license, but don't have a car, because I can't afford one. Not that I need one. Public transportation is so good here, I don't know why people even bother driving themselves.

 

I love driving but hate other drives as they never pay attention to the road; their cell phone, map, CD's, etc... are more important than the other drivers on the road. Because others lack the needed skill to drive I have been hit at least four if not five times now. I have had two vehicles totaled because people on the road do not pay attention to the road. Thankfully my driving skill saved my life twice and my wife's life once. If there is one thing I would band from cars is cell phones, followed by the radio and than paper. Yes, paper; too many idiots looking at directions when driving; with GPS or a passenger these days there should be no need to for the driver to use the printed directions.

As stated, I love driving and will continue to drive; however, there are idiots out there who care more about the things in the car than others who are also using the road.

I should have been hit closer to 100+ times; thanks to me paying attention to the road and not my cell phone I have only been hit four or five times. Every single vehicle that has hit me; the owner was on their cell phone or looking for their cell phone. All the other close calls, you could see the owner was on the phone or looking for something in the car.

As for driving, I love it and drive roughly 60-70 miles each day and wouldn't have it any other way.

There is limited public transportation where I live; I also work 30 miles from my house without any form of public transportation, so I have to drive.

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