I am 23 and am finally pursuing driving. Has anyone else had struggles learning to drive at an earlier age?
Good for you Unfortunately, I'm 20 and still don't have my license. I started learning how to drive around 16 like all my peers. I thought I would just go through the motions and get my license like everyone else. But one day, during a paid lesson, I almost crashed. I don't remember exactly what I did, but it was enough that the instructor was shaken. I remember crying and refusing to continue. The instructor had to drive me home at that point. I was traumatized and I haven't sat in the driver's seat of a car since. I hope some day I can gather up the courage to try again. I live in a place where you can hardly get by without driving.
Well I started when I was 18 ran out of money and didn't get the chance again till I had finished all my college courses which would have made me 26. In my experience it's more about getting the right instructor for you.
Yes. I too live in an area with poor public transportation.... So I need to learn. I'm getting all the info and looking around as far as where to go.
Yay! Driving isn't so bad. As a teen the thought of it alone was enough to terrify me. I avoided signing up for after school lessons as part of driver's ed. I figured I'd wait until I got a job. As a result, I didn't get my license until I was 19. And I failed the driving portion the first time. My testing lady even smirked when she saw how upset I was that I didn't pass. But I went back to the DMV a week later and succeeded. And that same lady was there to witness it. Ha!
Driving is cool I got my license at 18 (the earliest age at which I could (I'm a huge car geek)), but some people around me are getting there licenses only now. A friend of mine is 28, she just started taking lessions, and is doing quite well. So I guess you'll do great too
You have to be 18 to learn over here, so that wasn't an option lol. On the other hand we mostly use a proper transmission system sic so there is more to think about Eta: seriously though driving is a lot of fun, and being older it'll be cheaper for you.
No struggles, I choose not to. Very expensive to learn and even more expensive to actually drive. One of my friends learnt to drive recently and he's 22. The driving age in the UK is 17 btw.
I imagine it depends on where you live though. I'm assuming that since the UK is more densely populated and smaller, that public transportation is better and driving is maybe not as expected as it is, say, in California, which is one state out of 50 and alone is 70,000 square miles bigger than the entire UK. Commuting an hour (sometimes more) to work is not uncommon here. Somehow I imagine that is less common in the UK.
Not really uncommon. Traffic is horrendous so it might take an hour to commute 4 miles, possibly longer. One more reason why I don't want to drive.
Heh. True, didn't factor in traffic. I meant an hour without traffic, though. With traffic, it can be a couple hours at best. People I know live in Fairfield and commute to San Francisco--that's an hour away without traffic.
See, that's what we don't have here. Good trains. The trains around here that are any bit quick and efficient only go short distances. The minute you want to head out of the Bay Area by train, you're on the slowest train in the world and it may not even go where you want to go. But given California's other problems, I don't think we're going to be improving the trains any time soon.
I got my full license at the start of this year . I got my L-plates (learner) at 16, L-plates just mean i had to drive with someone who has a full license for 1 year (which sucks). I got my P-plates (provisional) at 17. for me I didn't have a choice of choosing to get a license, because I live 15km from town, so if i wanted to go somewhere mum would have to drive me and that was not going to happen lol. Tbh I still get nervous driving through the city, it's 100x more hectic than driving around country towns.
You'd think so wouldn't you. But most employers prefer people who can drive. Then you have the school runs etc. Then you have your shopping which yes you can do online in part, but not completely. Plus public transport is good for some things but not others. Realistically those who don't drive tend to be at a disadvantage
^^ Most households in London are car-free. Whether a car is useful or not depends entirely on where you live, and how far away you live from your place of work. I would say that driving is still relatively important in more suburban areas but in major cities the number of car-free households is increasing. It's just more hassle than its worth.
^That is true for a lot of people who live in San Francisco as well. Given that SF is fairly condensed and has a wide and elaborate system of public transportation, and given that sometimes it can cost over $100 a month to have a parking space there and that traffic is inevitable everywhere you go in the city, it's natural that some don't see the need to have a car. A few friends I know who recently moved to SF left their cars in the suburbs.