Question for non-drivers

[Garrovick]

I can't drive because I'm almost blind and can't pass the eye exam and can't find a Doctor to fake an eye exam.

And the disease makes me uncoordinated too.

And to top it all off, I've been stopped three times in the last two years for "walking while drunk". And then the Deputes ask to see my driver's license.

So, I walk the quarter mile to the corner to where all of the stores and the bus stop is at.

 

[Plecostomus]

I went for six years without a car. The bus-service while craptastic was a boon in bad weather, better than walking.

For some reason though around 2005 everyone went batshit spastic about hiring people without cars. I found it very hard to maintain employment as a machine operator/programmer/setup monkey. The excuse was "what if we need you to run an errand" and the other excuse was "we wouldn't want to be responsible if a coworker ran you over in the parking lot by accident." I heard both of those excuses quite a few times.

Normally when companies do something like that you can find some kind of media event or trigger for their behavior, in this situation it just blindsided me... came out of nowhere.

For the first excuse, if I'm running a machine or setting one up you are not going to ask me to drop my tools and run to the store for another roll of TP. That's what you ask the idle operator who is waiting on my services to do. The second one, you wouldn't be any more responsible for a bike rider than a normal pedestrian so why the excuse?

References at the two companies that employed me for most of my biking-times clearly show I came to work rain or shine, snow or wind, every day... on time/early for my shift and I worked overtime as requested even if I had to bike home at night

*shrug* Their loss. Frankly someone who bikes to work is healthier and more fit than the slob who drives an SUV a quarter-mile to the plant gate. But hey, that person has an SUV not a bike so clearly he/she is the superior worker.

...well that nonsense is behind me I'm driving again and I won't willingly give it up without a fight this time. There is too much in the way of ageism out there I don't need the added "excuse" of biking to work on top of that.

 

[Crewman47]

Had to give up my car in August past because of financial reasons and then had to start relying on the bus to get anywhere which was a shock to my system. Hopefully I'll be buying myself a car at the end of this year and finally get back out opn the road as someone said above to go anywhere you have to work a schedule round the bus or train timetable.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

At the risk of further cementing my trademark of 'missing the point by a mile':

For those without driver's licenses (for whatever reason), what do you use for ID? Meaning, when you do things like write checks, buy booze, fly on airplanes, get talked to by the fuzz, etc. and they ask for ID, what do you give them?

 

[thestrangequark]

^I have a NY state ID. State ID's don't have to be driver's licenses.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^I have a NY state ID. State ID's don't have to be driver's licenses.

Ah. Coolness. I take it that these state IDs are considered just as valid as a driver's license, for official purposes such as the aforementioned airplane travel?

Me, I don't think I'd willingly let my license expire, even if I lived in a place like NYC where you don't need a car (I would definitely sell mine if I moved there). I might need to drive somebody *else's* car, like when visiting relatives. And you never know what might happen in an emergency.

 

[Miss Chicken]

At the risk of further cementing my trademark of 'missing the point by a mile':

For those without driver's licenses (for whatever reason), what do you use for ID? Meaning, when you do things like write checks, buy booze, fly on airplanes, get talked to by the fuzz, etc. and they ask for ID, what do you give them?

I have never written a check in my entire life - I have never needed to.

I am 50 years old, it has been many many years since I have been asked my age to buy booze.

The last time I caught a plane (interstate) I just showed them my pension card and my bank card. They were happy with that. Before I fly again I will probably get a state photo ID. I been meaning to do this for a while but it isn't that often I get asked for photo ID.

The police have never asked me for ID.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I am 50 years old, it has been many many years since I have been asked my age to buy booze.

Next time you're in the US? Come to my store, I will card you.

The last time I caught a plane (interstate) I just showed them my pension card and my bank card. They were happy with that. Before I fly again I will probably get a state photo ID. I been meaning to do this for a while but it isn't that often I get asked for photo ID.

The police have never asked me for ID.

See, I don't think you'd be that lucky in the US. I'm guessing that whoever handles airport security in Australia is not quite as gung-ho as our TSA. We pretty much have to have our IDs out all the time whenever we fly. And the cop thing - I admit, it's usually drivers who get asked to show IDs. Even our cops can't just walk up to you on the street and ask for one.

I have never written a check in my entire life - I have never needed to.

On that note, you are *very* lucky.

 

[Ethros]

I do drive as I need to for work and the area I live in has almost zero public transport.
I'm a guy in my early 20s yet I really don't care about cars and have never been interested in them. And I find nothing more boring and dull than young folk obsessing about cars and talking about them nonstop, looking through Auto Trader magazine like it's the Bible or something. Blabbing on about engines, wheeltrims, horsepower, etc. I haven't got a clue what they're talking about

 

[Miss Chicken]

See, I don't think you'd be that lucky in the US. I'm guessing that whoever handles airport security in Australia is not quite as gung-ho as our TSA.

I imagine security might be tougher if I was flying to or from Sydney, Canberra or Melbourne but I only fly to visit my sister in Adelaide. I don't think Adelaide would be very high on the terrorist hit list, and I imagine Hobart even less so.

 

[Timby]

^I have a NY state ID. State ID's don't have to be driver's licenses.

Ah. Coolness. I take it that these state IDs are considered just as valid as a driver's license, for official purposes such as the aforementioned airplane travel?

A state ID is identical to a driver's license (down to the age / identity verification requirements and getting it at the DMV), except it says "Identification Card" (in Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, at least) instead of "Driver's License."

 

[Miss Chicken]

On that note, you are *very* lucky.

I think that Australians use direct deposit far more often that Americans do (do Americans even use it at all?). Most of my eBaying has used direct deposit - both as a buyer and a seller.

I also use BPay, my debit card, direct debit and PayPal so I have no need to pay anything by check.

 

[trampledamage]

Is it just the time of day, or are there a disproportionate number of British posters who are non-drivers?

It is certainly a lot easier to survive without a car in Britain than either America or Canada outside of the cities, because everything is that much closer together and the bus and rail services cover more places. The sheer scale of distance in North America makes it more of a requirement that you have your own transport if you need to travel outside of city limits. (Plus the weather, waiting for a bus in -40? Not fun )

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

On that note, you are *very* lucky.

I think that Australians use direct deposit far more often that Americans do (do Americans even use it at all?).

I do. Every paycheck I've gotten for the last 12 years has been direct deposit. It's fairly common here as well, although probably not quite as much as elsewhere.

 

[Mr. B]

a) yes

b) I've already taken lessons and know the rules of the road, just never gotten a license

c) not especially, but it would if I had a meaningful social life

 

[Canadave]

a) Yes and no. I am perfectly happy being a non-driver in Ottawa, but lack the financial resources to buy a car, so I don't really have that option.

b) Yes, I have my full license and drive my parents cars when I visit them, since transit is virtually nonexistent in my hometown.

c) On occasion. We recently had a 51-day transit strike here in Ottawa, so there were points where it would have come in handy. As well, it would be convenient to have one for trips outside the city... our interurban transportation networks are unfortunately underdeveloped in Canada.

 

[Miss Chicken]

On that note, you are *very* lucky.

I think that Australians use direct deposit far more often that Americans do (do Americans even use it at all?).

I do. Every paycheck I've gotten for the last 12 years has been direct deposit. It's fairly common here as well, although probably not quite as much as elsewhere.

I was really referring to buying stuff by direct deposit. It is more popular on Australian ebay than using PayPal. In fact when Australian eBay tried to stop direct deposit as a payment method there was considerable protest with many buyers (including myself) and sellers leaving eBay and joining a rival auction site. In the end eBay relented and had to allow direct deposit again.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ I use my VISA debit card for pretty much everything. The only time I use cash is at the car wash here at home, or at Katz's Deli in NYC (they don't take cards ) or when somebody gives me cash and I don't have time to get to the bank and deposit it.

 

[Canadave]

^ I think not taking debit is just a sign of a good deli.

Schwartz's in Montreal doesn't take it, either, as I recall.

 

[Mitty]

a) are you a non-driver through choice?

yes. sold my car in early 07 and never looked back (though still have a licence).

b) If you have never learnt to drive, so you think you ever will?

see above.

c) Do you find being a non-driver inconvenient?

only very occasionally. We have great public transport (well, when it's not bloody hot), I love next to a train station and near three different tram lines so I am spoilt for choice. Everything I need is nearby and convenient most of the time. Plus I don't feel guilty about using lots of power as by selling my car I'm sure I'm in the black for carbon footprint