Grown Men who can't drive. Do you find them weird?

The One Doctor · 20-02-2014 04:34PM

I'm 34 and didn't drive until 2 years ago. Never needed to. My girlfriend was in the same position. Not sure what the first poster is saying, but if they think it's weird not to have a drain on their resources sitting outside their door then i suggest that their definition of 'weird' is not exactly normal.

bnt · 20-02-2014 04:51PM

I don't drive, since I've lived in large cities since 1991. A few years before that, I was living in a rural area of South Africa, and spent more time on horseback than behind the wheel.

Do you folks really have no sense of history? A hundred years ago, cars were mostly for the elite, most people couldn't afford them. The Ford Model T was gaining ground in the USA, and 600 were sold in Irelznd by 1913, but it wasn't until 1917 that Ford opened their first factory outside the USA, in Cork (of all places)

We've grown up with cars, and think that's "normal". I think it's weird that there are grown men and women who don't know how to ride a horse. :cool:

Bog Standard User · 20-02-2014 04:54PM

HooohRaaah wrote: »

Personally I find it odd if a grown man can't drive. Would anybody else share that opinion? There just seems to something really strange if a man is over 24 years of age and can't drive.

a friend of mine is 37 and cant drive

my granny is 85 has a full license and has never driven a car in her entire life. she bought her license back in the days when you didnt have to do a test and has renewed it every since.

Also Starring LeVar Burton · 20-02-2014 05:07PM

bnt wrote: »

We've grown up with cars, and think that's "normal". I think it's weird that there are grown men and women who don't know how to ride a horse. :cool:

I'd actually love to take horseriding lessons. Horses scare the beejaysus out of me though, so it may take me some time to pluck up the courage.

Jester252 · 20-02-2014 05:41PM

I find it odd that I'm one of a few people in the group of 20 something friend who has done the theory test, let alone drive.

Badly Drunk Boy · 20-02-2014 05:50PM

I'm one of those weirdos. I'm 41 and can't drive. The thing is...I don't need to drive. Even though I don't live in a metropolis, I get by fine without a car. Where I work is a 15 minute walk from my house, although I often cycle. If I want to go to a gig in Dublin, I usually just get the bus. Why would a need a car?

I could easily afford to buy a car (probably because I don't have a car

) but cars bore me. Any time I'm in the presence of a certain acquaintance in the pub, he starts talking about cars ("Did you see the new XQ7^a model that can go from zero to 60 in -7 seconds?"), and I automatically zone out.

The fact that my father never had a car may have been a factor but 3 of my 4 siblings drive. I think being able to drive is a handy skill and I nearly decided to learn in the past, but even if I did, I wouldn't buy a car. Who wants to kill the planet? :P

By the way, I don't depend on lifts from other people either. I sometimes get lifts, mainly from my brother, but I usually have to have my arm twisted.

DeVore · 20-02-2014 06:50PM

Similarly I'm 43 and dont drive. I decided against driving after a hilariously bad driving test but since then have decided not to drive mostly for financial and stress reasons.

Firstly owning a car cost somewhere in the region of 6k a year when you consider all the costs (and they are numerous). Parking alone is eyewateringly expensive in Dublin.

Now, I work at home so at least half the days of the week I wouldnt go anywhere. If I do, its into town and out again. A taxi ride of 15 euros each way but usually I would only take a taxi home (late at night).

Considering I have 6k in the bank from NOT owning a car, I can take such a taxi EVERY SINGLE DAY and still have enough left for a holiday.

In addition, I can get as drunk as I like and not worry about travel. I used to get very stressed at all the f*cking idiots on the road and the mental things they would do whereas now I read twitter in the back seat as I'm chauffeured around.

If I go to a "wedding down the country" I take a train which is very nice, has wifi and a shop etc, and when I get there, there's always a taxi waiting at the station for "the dublin train!".

America is the only place that actually causes me any bother as their idea of public transport is abysmal in general.

The only reason I am even considering learning to drive is because my parents are aging and soon will not be able to drive for themselves and I'd like to be able to drive for them.... but even then I'm thinking I'd just get us all a cab!

MultiUmm · 20-02-2014 07:00PM

I'm 19 and can't drive. I'd like to but I'm far too broke for the expense of a car. And I imagine I'd be a jittery driver. Oh well. :P

MammaZita · 20-02-2014 07:06PM

Find it very weird that any man or woman over the age of 30 can't drive.

Yes there's public transport but what about grocery shopping, popping across the city to see friends or famiky, going on weekends away exploring other parts of our beautiful country, staying in beautiful hotels in far away places?

Agree cars are not necessary every day and I walk where ever possible, but just feel my life would be so limited and restricted if I didn't drive.

LoganRice · 20-02-2014 07:26PM

No it is fine

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 20-02-2014 07:29PM

MammaZita wrote: »

Find it very weird that any man or woman over the age of 30 can't drive.

Yes there's public transport but what about grocery shopping, popping across the city to see friends or famiky, going on weekends away exploring other parts of our beautiful country, staying in beautiful hotels in far away places?

Agree cars are not necessary every day and I walk where ever possible, but just feel my life would be so limited and restricted if I didn't drive.

When I think of the amount of money i save by NOT driving, I have far more freedom. I'd also be about 5 stone heavier if I drove to book.

You see more, notice more and experiece more when you don't drive.

I can call on friends if I need something moved and pay for the petrol, I can get cheap and effective pubic transport where I am and go on road trips all the time (just not with me driving!).

I know in some parts of Ireland you do need a car to get around, but that's more reflective of a modern country that can't arrange integrated and effeciient public transport that on a grown man that can't drive.

Jester252 · 20-02-2014 07:36PM

Seen as I lost a job, that was still advertised 3 months after I got the PFO, because I didn't drive made me learn. I be damned if my driving ability is going to screw me out of a job again.

thegreatgonzo · 20-02-2014 09:07PM

Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »

I'd actually love to take horseriding lessons. Horses scare the beejaysus out of me though, so it may take me some time to pluck up the courage.

I was a bit nervous of horses too before I started learning. The fear goes away pretty soon and it's so much fun I wish I'd started years ago.

Pug160 · 20-02-2014 11:32PM

Ray Palmer wrote: »

It doesn't come across as patronising it is patronising. There is no denial, who are you to say somebody should learn to drive. Do you tell them when to buy a house , get married or have kids?

Do they tell you to better educate yourself, drink less exercise more? If you are doing this to each other you aren't friends

I was talking to a friend who was out of work for quite some time and I said to him that getting a driver's licence would help to increase the amount jobs he could potentially apply for. I was just stating the obvious and he did end up agreeing with me anyway. As others have said, a lack of desire in one area can sometimes indicate a lack of desire in other areas. Not all the time but in some cases.

Sh1tbag OToole · 20-02-2014 11:37PM

30 year old who cant drive is more likely to be a sensitive, sheltered metrosexual city boy than not.

Also Starring LeVar Burton · 20-02-2014 11:44PM

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

30 year old who cant drive is more likely to be a sensitive, sheltered metrosexual city boy than not.

Your username is apt.

DeVore · 21-02-2014 12:14AM

MammaZita wrote: »

Find it very weird that any man or woman over the age of 30 can't drive.

Yes there's public transport but what about grocery shopping,

tesco.ie

popping across the city to see friends or famiky,

Buses

going on weekends away exploring other parts of our beautiful country,

Trains

staying in beautiful hotels in far away places?

Aeroplanes.

Actually, what REALLY helps with traveling to parts foreign and domestic is a fat wodge of cash in my back pocket

You arent gonna drive to Malta now are you!

Agree cars are not necessary every day and I walk where ever possible, but just feel my life would be so limited and restricted if I didn't drive.

Your life would be LESS limited and restricted. You'd have more cash to do lots of fun things.

What your life would be, is slightly more complicated. You have to plan ahead just a little more and thats what most people cant do and hence want an expensive car for.
When people say "I couldnt do without my car" what they really mean is "I'm too lazy to be bothered doing without my car and I'm willing to pay not to have to".

In the end of the day, any time I need a car for a short period of time for some unexpected, unmanageable situation... I just grab a taxi. If you havent noticed, every third car is one these days

The only people who I give a pass to on this are fathers/mothers of more than one small child. They just couldnt do the general running around and lifting and dropping without a car. Even one child probably makes things worth getting a car.

Everyone else might choose to have a car, its a valid choice, spend your money on whatever you want to and I know friends of mine who treat their car like a hobby and invest time and money into it on that basis, but dont tell me its "weird" not to drive..... mostly driving stems from laziness imho.

MJ23 · 21-02-2014 12:20AM

It's just as bad as someone who can't swim. There's no excuse for it, unless you've a physical disability.

Femme_Fatale · 21-02-2014 12:24AM

Meh, I learned to swim years and years ago, so I can swim a bit... yet I have never ever needed it. So I'd disagree not driving is as bad as not swimming, as they're not particularly comparable.

claredelight · 21-02-2014 12:27AM

N0-there s enough posers going around using their car as a substitute for a personality. Everything in this country revolves around cars and no thought has ever been put into a decent public transport system.

Fox_In_Socks · 21-02-2014 12:28AM

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Meh, I learned to swim years and years ago, so I can swim a bit... yet I have never ever needed it. So I'd disagree not driving is as bad as not swimming, as they're not particularly comparable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jahuMNUQ9_4

fr336 · 21-02-2014 12:28AM

Fox_In_Socks wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jahuMNUQ9_4

Embedding disabled

:(:(

fr336 · 21-02-2014 12:29AM

I can't drive. I can lift a car though WHO'S THE DADDY NOW

DeVore · 21-02-2014 12:31AM

MJ23 wrote: »

It's just as bad as someone who can't swim. There's no excuse for it, unless you've a physical disability.

I've never heard of anyone drowning on a path.

MJ23 · 21-02-2014 12:34AM

DeVore wrote: »

I've never heard of anyone drowning on a path.

Good.

thegreatgonzo · 21-02-2014 12:34AM

DeVore wrote: »

When people say "I couldnt do without my car" what they really mean is "I'm too lazy to be bothered doing without my car and I'm willing to pay not to have to".

No that's not true. I can't do without my car. I'm dependant on it to get to and from college unless I want to bother my elderly mother to drive me 12 miles to the bus stop after I visit for the weekend. I also need it to drive to work on Saturdays, no public transport goes near it. As work placement is a large part of my course I would be lost without the car as I might be in a remote area or even have to be on call in the middle of the night.
Outside of that, I like outdoorsy things like hillwalking and horse riding so having the car just makes it possible to just drive to where I need to go, public transport is not an option if you want to start climbing early in the morning in Connemara and have a load of gear with you.

Maximus Alexander · 21-02-2014 12:35AM

I think it's a bit weird yeah, but for any grown adult, not just men.

Same way I would find it odd if I found out someone couldn't ride a bicycle, operate a washing machine or change a fuse. They're commonplace things that I just sort of expect grown adults to know how to do.

fr336 · 21-02-2014 12:36AM

Car ****

Femme_Fatale · 21-02-2014 12:38AM

DeVore wrote: »

When people say "I couldnt do without my car" what they really mean is "I'm too lazy to be bothered doing without my car and I'm willing to pay not to have to"...

dont tell me its "weird" not to drive..... mostly driving stems from laziness imho.

Meh, you object to people saying it's weird not to drive (and I agree with you) by making a passive-aggressive comment about drivers then yourself.

I understand defensiveness but not throwing insults back.

It's grand if a person doesn't drive and doesn't wish to drive and doesn't find it inconveniencing and doesn't need lifts from others a lot... but please don't tell people who do drive and would prefer it to not driving, how they don't need it.
If you want to travel a lot off your own bat and public transport isn't great, and the big one: if you have kids, it is necessary.

Whatever floats your boat/drives your car/cycles your bike.

fr336 · 21-02-2014 12:41AM

fr336 wrote: »

Car ****

I should point out that this post was in relation to a British sitcom called The Inbetweeners. My lawyers thank you for reading.

Grown Men who can't drive. Do you find them weird?

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