Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who didn’t get his driver’s license at 16 :mad: I have my license now, and in the grand scheme of things, those three extra years of driving would not have made any significant difference for me.
Some people make it out to be this superflous rite of passage for teenagers. That may be all well and good, but it can put unfair pressure on those teens who do not have immediate resources for getting a license. I didn’t even have a car until I was 18 (when I got my permit), and before that there was no way in hell either of my parents would let me drive. My mom was too timid to teach me, so she handed the task off to her boyfriend, who while helpful about it, was a busy guy. So I had not gotten many opportunities to practice. Sometimes my dad’s family can be kind of rude about it; perhaps they think I was lazy about the whole thing when in truth I simply did not have acess to the resources a driver needs to build up experience and confidence behind the wheel.
But like I said, it doesn’t really matter- it wasn’t that important for me to be driving back then anyway, and as it turns out, my best friend was in a similar situation. He was a year younger than me, and so I helped him with getting his license, and he also got it at 19. His roomate is 22 and currently getting her license, because up until now she was in the same rut I had been- no car, nobody available to help. I think its great if a family can provide a vehicle for a teenager and spend the time to help them be a safe driver, but the fact is not every family is able to do that. In my family, money was tight, and I had a decent bicycle to get me around.
Any other dopers get their license a little later on down the line?
I’ll be turning 24 this Friday, and I still haven’t gotten a driver’s license yet. I have no desire to drive either; the illusory prospect of added convenience doesn’t seem to justify the additional stress that driving would entail. As long as my transportation needs are sufficiently served by walking or cycling, I see no need to own a car or learn to drive one.
I’m 31 and just got my learners permit. I first got a license back when I was 18 so I could go on a roadtrip with friends. When I got back I lost it in the laundry, I had it probably a total of a month. Never missed it one bit, the beauty of living in NYC. I’m getting it again to help out my girlfriend with driving, in case she gets tired or something. I forgot how fun it is too!
A bit later than most in my peer group (who were getting cars at 16).
For me it wasn’t means, it was desire. I had an … unpleasent driving lesson and went out straight after and bought a bicycle with my savings.
Eventually got it towards the end of my high school years, but I’m in the “didn’t miss much” by not having it group. By then, my desire to participate in extra cirrucular activities was pretty well squashed so there was no need to drive.
I also still haven’t gotten my license, and I’m 20. My housemate hasn’t either. I live in a downtown area, so everything I need is within walking distance or a bus trip away.
There are times when I wished I had a car for visiting family/friends or road-trips, but the additional costs of finding a driving school, dealing with the dmv, buying a car, etc. just aren’t worth it right now.
I was 21 when I got mine. There were a few ill-fated attempts to teach me as a teen, but they all started out, “Okay, Dung Beetle, you’re in the driver’s seat. Just remember that this vehicle is a deadly weapon and you hold both our lives and the lives of all the people around you in your trembling inexperienced hands. Start the car!” I was petrified. Eventually my mom hired a driving instructor for me and I found it far easier to learn from a stranger.
I was 22. I lived in the city and was close to everything, so there wasn’t really a need. But when I turned 22 I moved to the 'burbs. I still don’t like driving all that much–prefer to walk whenever I can.
I was 25. Lack of inclination/initiative on my part was the main problem. I also figured my parents would not provide me with a car to drive. I took driver’s ed at 16, then moved half way across the country 2 weeks later. Different state requirements caused a problem, plus Mom wanted to drive so she’d learn her way around. Then my little brother was old enough to learn, and he got his license promptly, well allowing for the fact it required 3 road tests. He got to drive Mom’s car often enough to keep him happy.
I went to college, then grad school and functioned just fine without a car. 6 monthes after leaving grad school, without a degree, I took 4 lessons from a professional instructer. Then just before my mom was due to leave town for a month, I took the road test. Two weeks later I had the car of my dreams.
If I ever have kids, I will strongly encourage them to get their licenses before graduating from high school. While not driving was more symptom than cause of other problems, it did sometimes make me feel inadequate and thus CONTRIBUTED to why I’m dreading my upcoming birthday (30, and I’m still not a real adult with a real job and everything. But don’t worry, I’m in grad school again and am on the right track, I’m just not there yet. ).
I grew up in a remote town where, for a male, to be a pedestrian was a vow of celibacy.
Even so, I had a big chip on my shoulder, and the school authorities and police always used the drivers license as a threat: they’d take it away for misbehavior, poor academics, etc. So my attitude was “F**k it - I won’t get my license.”
Later, a group of us were stopped while out road-drinking. all the other guys had their licenses pulled. When the judge got to me, he seemed confused by my lack of one, so he said that whenever I did eventually get one, it would be pulled for six months (now that I’m a father of a teenager, I see how she has to endure this same paper tigerism almost daily).
I win! I was 32 when I got my license. Never could afford car payments , always had roommates and brothers and friends, so it wasn’t much of a loss. I had gotten a better paying job, was getting a place by myself, and had saved up enough to by a car outright at 32. I got the car, got a learner’s permit, and got my driver’s license, all within a period of about two weeks.
That was eight years ago, I still have the same car. Probably always will!
My mother was 36 when she first got her license. She grew up in Queens, where she didn’t really need one, then when she married my father did the driving.
Once they divorced, she needed to drive. Now at 57, she no longer drives. Her bf drives her to work, etc.
My son will be 18 in March and he hasn’t applied for a permit or anything. We have a pretty good city bus system, so I figure when he’s ready, he’s ready. I’m certainly in no hurry to worry about him driving around.
I’m almost 21 and just got it a few months ago. I had been putting it off for years due to lack of interest, but I finally got it just in case of an emergency that would require me to drive (incidentally, right after I got my license we had a couple of those). Even after getting more comfortable behind the wheel, I still don’t like driving much and will be happy to avoid it whenever I can.
I’m 25 and still can’t drive. I’ve never had any urge to drive. The only person to teach me would be my Mum, even though she’s been driving for 40 years, she’s still awful. The thought of her nagging at me while I learned and even if I passed (there’s no way she’d let me have the car by myself) just didn’t seem the hassle. There’s absolutely no way I can afford lessons/car/road tax/insurance and petrol and the moment, nor for the forseeable future. Finglands £3 bus pass it is for me!
I got my learner’s permit when I was 16. I also got married at 16 (eek) and between that and having babies (two of them) by the time I was 19, I never got around to getting my driver’s license. That didn’t stop me from driving though–my husband (now my ex) taught me, and I for many years, I did quite well. Fast forward to the time I was 23–I was at that time, divorced, and working (yep, and I owned my own car and was insured). One afternoon I was sitting at a stop light and someone plowed into the front of my car. When the police arrived on the scene, they realized that I had a learner’s permit, not an actual license, and no, I didn’t have a license driver over the age of 21 in the front seat with me. I then, at 23 had to go and take my driver’s test, which I passed and the citation was dropped.
I didn’t get mine till I was 23. I have anxiety disorders, so I never had that feeling of being invulnerable that most teenage drivers (supposedly) have. The social anxiety I have made it really hard for me to deal with driving lessons with anyone who was even mildly critical, too. Add to that the fact that I’m not very good at spatial thinking.
I finally figured out ways to get around the spatial thinking in my own way (knowing what I should see in the mirrors while parallel parking, for example). Now that I drive, I mostly avoid situations where a really good spatial sense is needed- I don’t parallel park in really tight spaces, for example. Once I got past that, I had a lot more confidence and was able to get my driver’s license. I was glad I was 23, though, so nobody made it into a huge rite of passage. I don’t like things like that because I don’t like being the center of attention.
I still prefer to walk places than to drive if I have a choice. Don’t know if that has anything to do with any of the above.
Funny thing is I have 4 other girl friends the same age as me who don’t drive either and one girl friend in her 40’s who’s never got a license either.
All of us live close to the downtown cores of the cities we live in and in a way living in the core - we don’t necessarily need to drive, but I’d say it has to do more with the lifestyle that we were a part of and that all of us have always had boyfriends who could drive if a car was needed for some reason.