Need to learn to drive

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:45 pm

Must become psychotic getaway driver soon.

Addl · Post by **Addl** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 1:04 am

Drive what? Truck? Tank? Bicycle?

Post by **Hound** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 4:20 am

Airship.

Rack 'n Ruin · Post by **Rack 'n Ruin** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:37 am

I'm guessing one of three red, white and blue Minis.

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:31 pm

Have you already got books? Have a few relevant ones still on the shelf.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:56 pm

I can actually drive fairly well, I just don't have the attention span for all the checking mirrors, traffic lights and so on - my argument is if everyone looks where they're going it'll all be fine, but that doesn't tend to cut it with instructors. Too much GP2/GTA.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 10:34 pm

I just added a new endorsement/class to my license last month. I'm now licensed for cars, motorcycles, class C commercial vehicles (Under 26,000 lbs), and school buses. I also have "no air brakes" and "must wear glasses" restrictions, so my license has all sorts of numbers and letters all over it. And a lousy picture, of course.

Summerhayes · Post by **Summerhayes** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 10:34 pm

I'm in a similar boat. I've gotten so close to taking a test so many times, but just never bother to go through with it. If we found ourselves in a Terminator-esque apocalypse, I think I could competently drive any abandoned vehicles I came across.

Addl · Post by **Addl** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 12:51 am

To get this straight:

You two are talking about drivers license for passenger cars. You know how to drive, but never got around doing the test.
How did you manage the past some 15 - 20 years of your life?

Public transportation as you live and work only in urban area?

I also did not drive for the past 9 months, as I use subway here in shanghai, but in Germany I know noone without a car and license, as it is very unusual there not to have this and you need a car as we mostly live on the country side but work in the city.

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 1:28 am

Took me two years to pass my test but only drove for one before I went to uni and it wasn't worth paying the insurance. Still stuck with the terrible photo with hair to my shoulders though.

Drive an automatic because its easy.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 1:36 am

In South Dakota, you can get a school-hours driver's license at the age of 14. Driving serious distances is just a part of life. On Thursday, I drove a 57 mile school bus route, then drove 140 miles for a lunch meeting, returned home, drove the afternoon bus route, then drove 20 miles to a Bible study and 20 back home again. Thankfully it's all open highway driving, so no traffic to deal with, and you can usually make a safe estimate of one mile=one minute.

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 2:05 am

Notabot wrote: Thankfully it's all open highway driving, so no traffic to deal with, and you can usually make a safe estimate of one mile=one minute.

You're very lucky. My commute used to take me through one of Europe's busiest freight routes and a city center so the highest speed limit was 40mph. I'm now living in a city built mostly by Romans and Vikings so roads and parking are less than suited to car ownership. Luckily most amenities are within walking distance and my job is on a bus route.

Post by **Sades** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 7:06 am

I need to drive because my daily commute is 2 hours long, both ways. So a grand total of 12 hours of my day is dedicated to work.

I took a cab home today. Know how long it took? A half hour. /sadpanda

Post by **Warcry** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 7:25 am

Notabot's story sounds very familiar to me. There's lots of highway driving to be done in Manitoba unless you plan on never leaving our one medium-sized city.

Cliffjumper wrote:I can actually drive fairly well, I just don't have the attention span for all the checking mirrors, traffic lights and so on - my argument is if everyone looks where they're going it'll all be fine, but that doesn't tend to cut it with instructors. Too much GP2/GTA.

The problem is that 90% of the other drivers on the road are driving the same way, or paying even less attention to what's going on because they're dicking around with their cell phones, eating or putting on makeup while they're driving. Or drunk. You never know when someone else is going to do something really, really stupid.

That's why I hate city driving, and why I'm so glad that I live on a bus route where I can get to work in under fifteen minutes most days. Highway driving I like, but whenever I can let someone else deal with the congested city streets filled with ignorant tunnel-blind yahoos I jump at the chance.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 7:28 am

With my monovision and corresponding inability to judge distances driving would probably be suicide on wheels.

Post by **Hound** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:05 am

inflatable dalek wrote:With my monovision and corresponding inability to judge distances driving would probably be suicide on wheels.

Ditto

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:12 am

Hound wrote:Ditto

We should team up, with one good eye each we could probably go in a straight line.

Summerhayes · Post by **Summerhayes** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 1:57 pm

Addl wrote: How did you manage the past some 15 - 20 years of your life?

Well, I'm only 22 so for a good chunk of the past 15-20 years, it wasn't an issue.

Public transportation as you live and work only in urban area?

More or less. I've never lived more than a 10/15 minute walk from work. It is actually considered pretty unusual here as well, and I will get round to it.

RUNAMOK · Post by **RUNAMOK** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 2:48 pm

I have had a drivers license for a few years now, but I don’t have all that much actual driving experience due to lack of necessity.

Post by **Denyer** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 6:47 pm

Addl wrote:Public transportation as you live and work only in urban area?

Certainly works okay in most of the UK, although I'll drive if I've got meetings outside the town centre anywhere that wouldn't be better done by train.