I'm 21 and still have my learner's permit. Considering I live a suburban area outside a city where the extent of public transport are taxis and Uber, I should be a little embarrassed. As stated before, I loved London because there was great access to public transport, not to mention I could just walk to "town" if I wanted. I suppose the best thing to do now would to be to learn to drive... But I REALLY don't want to. This is why.
1. Unpredictability and risk.
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Well, sure, I could always be mugged on public transport, or a train could crash or something, but it's pretty rare to see that kind of thing in the news, as opposed to car crashes. And usually they happen because you never know for sure what other people are going to do. It seems in my state, it's socially acceptable to not use your blinker. How am I supposed to know if you're changing lanes or turning? Or how will you know if someone got behind the wheel drowsy or drunk? How are you supposed to get out of that?
2. It's all up to me.
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Of course, survival on the road isn't all on guessing what other people will do, it's on me too. So... Let me get this straight... I have to know the right gear (If not an automatic), keep a steady speed, but also not go too fast and at the same time not too slow to make sure I don't rear ended. Then of course, there's the wipers, climate control, checking the mirrors, the blind spot, knowing where I'm going- There goes my brain.
3. Parking
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And not even parallel parking. Just... parking. It can be incredibly annoying if you don't at least get a decent spot, and maybe I can't get to said place outside a peak time, and definitely don't want waste time looking for a spot. Not to mention that not all places have free parking, and who knows how long I'm supposed to be gone?
4. Economics
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I'm not exactly in the position where I need a new car right now, but even a decent used one is expensive. I could use other ones now, but there's still the matter of insurance, fuel, and being that my anxiety's more than likely going to get me into trouble someday, repairs, tires, etc. A MetroCard would be considerably more economical... Oh wait, I live in small city.
5. Rudeness
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Yeah, I mentioned people doing stuff that could potentially put others in danger, but there are things people do on the road that are just plain rude. No, honking your horn in traffic is not going to magically make everyone in front of you move. Tailing just shows how incredibly impatient and petty you are. And when people do anything else BUT it's just one time... Just a simple mistake, CALM YOURSELF! Honestly, people these days... STOP LOOKING AT THAT ACCIDENT AND MOVE ALREADY!
6. Rush hour
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Sure, it's universal, but still, if you've been in a car stuck in traffic before, it's incredibly annoying to be sitting in the same spot for a long time. Here, I kind of understand why people suffer some of the side effects of road rage. You could be nowhere near the exit, therefore nowhere to try to take an alternative route. It's not like you can just pull over either... No switching lanes, and even if you're there, people will stop and stare, aaaand you just made it worse.
So, no. I'm not exactly ecstatic about anyone trying to finally get me to drive this summer.
