Are some people not cut out to drive?

[Bletchleyite]

Hire companies buy new cars and keep them for only a couple of years. It won't be long before you can't buy an ICE-only car, and most hybrids and all EVs are automatic*.

* Well, an EV or a series hybrid doesn't have a changeable gearbox because the electric motor handles that.

 

[Ediswan]

Hire companies buy new cars and keep them for only a couple of years. It won't be long before you can't buy an ICE-only car, and most hybrids and all EVs are automatic*.

* Well, an EV or a series hybrid doesn't have a changeable gearbox because the electric motor handles that.

I see Toyota have spotted an upcoming gap in the market:
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/357350/toyota-patents-simulated-manual-gearbox-electric-cars

The company’s engineers recently filed a patent for a simulated manual gearbox, which uses a fake gear stick, a faux clutch pedal and some clever software to control the amount of torque from an electric motor and make the powertrain act and drive like a traditional petrol car.

Whether there will be a big enough market for this to make its way into production is a different question.

 

[route101]

I do drive but not a fan of it. Busy roads etc and the road rage. I have noticed I have poor coordination with bite point and holding the car on hills, I try and use the handbrake where possible.

 

[DC1989]

I can get by ok without driving, but it is frowned upon (not so much on this forum), for a man to be a non driver.

Maybe this is generational or because of location (or both) but in my early thirties I barely know anyone that drives who are my age and younger. I'm in outer London as well so I can only imagine that inner London it's even more pronounced

Everyone simply gets the tube / bus or if they ever need a car then an uber. A few people that have then moved out to Essex etc to start families then have decided to learn however, so it's perhaps a very london centric view.

Pretty much every new housing development in London has no parking provision (per the new London plan) so I think that it will become even more common

 

[AlterEgo]

I have noticed I have poor coordination with bite point and holding the car on hills, I try and use the handbrake where possible.

I was taught to use the handbrake on hills but I am a lazy driver and often don't. I'm lucky to have a car with a good biting point (VW Polo, nicely in the middle of the pedal travel). I rented a Peugeot 108 in Malta and hated the very high biting point on it; a tough car to drive nicely.

 

[krus_aragon]

Maybe this is generational or because of location (or both) but in my early thirties I barely know anyone that drives who are my age and younger. I'm in outer London as well so I can only imagine that inner London it's even more pronounced

Location is a lot ofit: I teach classes of students in their late teens / early 20s, and learning to drive is a strong rite of passage to many. Up here in North Wales, if your house and your destination aren't well-aligned with the axes of public transport, you're likely to want a car.

 

[PeterC]

Maybe this is generational or because of location (or both) but in my early thirties I barely know anyone that drives who are my age and younger. I'm in outer London as well so I can only imagine that inner London it's even more pronounced

Everyone simply gets the tube / bus or if they ever need a car then an uber. A few people that have then moved out to Essex etc to start families then have decided to learn however, so it's perhaps a very london centric view.

Pretty much every new housing development in London has no parking provision (per the new London plan) so I think that it will become even more common

The logistics of travelling with children are a game changer. Before that you build your life around your travel options and your social circle develops accordingly.

 

[hvordan]

I rented a Peugeot 108 in Malta and hated the very high biting point on it; a tough car to drive nicely.

Lol, I have one of these and I agree its not the easiest car to drive smoothly. I hate the high bite so much, however other than that its a brilliant little run around

 

[John Webb]

This thread reminds me of my father. Born 1913, he learnt to drive in the mid-1930s. But after WW2, and starting to raise a family, steadfastly refused to get a car on the grounds that the roads in the late 1940s had become too busy for him to drive safely! We lived in SE London close to bus routes and when we went on holiday used a local taxi firm to get us to our local station and back again.

 

[mmh]

Maybe this is generational or because of location (or both) but in my early thirties I barely know anyone that drives who are my age and younger. I'm in outer London as well so I can only imagine that inner London it's even more pronounced

Everyone simply gets the tube / bus or if they ever need a car then an uber. A few people that have then moved out to Essex etc to start families then have decided to learn however, so it's perhaps a very london centric view.

Pretty much every new housing development in London has no parking provision (per the new London plan) so I think that it will become even more common

Occupation comes into it too. I lived in London in my twenties and thirties and I knew lots of people who worked on the railway or were "tradesmen" - builders, plumbers etc. Invariably they drove regardless of their age. Office worker friends were far less likely to drive.

I now (again) live in North Wales and as @krus_aragon mentions driving is usual. When I was a kid applying for your provisional licence as you turned 17 was pretty much an automatic thing for everyone, and I'd be surprised if that has changed very much.

 

[DC1989]

I now (again) live in North Wales and as @krus_aragon mentions driving is usual. When I was a kid applying for your provisional licence as you turned 17 was pretty much an automatic thing for everyone, and I'd be surprised if that has changed very much.

I believe the last statistics showed the number of 17-21 year olds with a license decreased from 50% in 1994 to 29% in 2014. If anything this would be lower now - but probably to do with cost more than anything else

 

[cactustwirly]

Learning to drive is difficult.
When I first learnt to drive I found the clutch control very difficult. I used to stall the car a lot.
After a lot of practice, especially in car parks etc. I got the hang of it..

My confidence has improved massively since I've been commuting to work full time in the car.

 

[Ediswan]

When I first learnt to drive I found the clutch control very difficult. I used to stall the car a lot.

I stalled twice on my test (1979), still passed. The examiner seemed more interested in what I did next. I don't know if current standards would allow that.

 

[miklcct]

I stalled twice on my test (1979), still passed. The examiner seemed more interested in what I did next. I don't know if current standards would allow that.

In Hong Kong, stalling the car is a minor mistake. A test is failed if there is 1 major mistake or 3 minor mistakes of the same kind.

 

[Gloster]

I stalled twice on my test (1979), still passed. The examiner seemed more interested in what I did next. I don't know if current standards would allow that.

I made a mess of the three-point turn (or was it reversing round the corner) and had to start again, but still passed. I think it was probably because I remained calm.

A friend had an accident during his test: when he made the emergency stop a car shot out from a side road and bumped the rear of his car. He still passed as, after details had been taken (probably unnecessarily due to there being no major damage), the examiner told him that he could either go straight back to the test centre and book another test free or continue, but no allowance could be made for the incident. As he had had a few minutes to calm down, my friend felt quite confident and continued on with the test.

 

[Ediswan]

A friend had an accident during his test: when he made the emergency stop a car shot out from a side road and bumped the rear of his car.

I would put that down to the examiner picking a poor place to call for the emergency stop.

 

[Cloud Strife]

but no allowance could be made for the incident.

I suppose in practice, the vast majority of examiners would grant a lot of leeway unless something very serious happened.

 

[scotrail158713]

I stalled twice on my test (1979), still passed. The examiner seemed more interested in what I did next. I don't know if current standards would allow that.

It's pretty much still the same. I've just recently passed my test - being able to drive isn't something I've ever been hugely interested in (and I still am not) but I ended up doing it in the end just so it's something I've got/can do should the need arise. The message given to me before the test was along the lines of "keep everyone safe" instead of "don't make any mistakes". So basically it's not a disaster if you stall as long as it's not dangerous eg you're not halfway out of a junction.
In fact as another example, in my test I ended up in the wrong lane at a roundabout for the exit I was meant to take however I just had to safely follow the directions to take the appropriate exit and it was up to the examiner to adjust the route after. I may have got a minor for it but it wasn't the huge disaster it seemed in my head at the time

 

[james4578]

Must say I have never been particularly interested in driving , have poor coordination anyway so was always going to be a challenge and just thought I would rather avoid some stressful situations in any case. Imagine some still regard it as a "a bit strange",though attitudes have moved on but it has not concerned me. Public Transport links are fairly decent to the city centre and main attractions and usually use trains for further afiield. May not visit as many rural areas as others though may get some lifts on the odd ocassion.

 

[Dave W]

I was millimetres from the kerb on my parallel park in my test, but the examiner passed me. I didn’t pass at 17 and it was only a bit of a windfall (tax rebate from university jobs) that funded me - as a result I learned in Hendon and Barnet. I find driving in London a lot less stressful than anywhere else, oddly, as I’m used to confident and assertive road users, so the hesitancy that’s a little more prevalent outside the M25 spooks me.

This is an interesting thread, with a few themes coming out about the changing nature of cars and indeed society. I don’t really need to drive, and my car has only done 14000 miles in 3 years, but as long as you’re willing to take the cost of it on it’s such a convenience to have a working car you know well at your disposal, so I persist.

I drove in the States a few weeks back and I’d have hated having a manual gearbox to factor in to all of the other ”novel” experiences. It was also my first experience of driving a hybrid (Prius, not your basic Uber model, one of the modern all-in types) and I was so taken with it that I came home with the intention of upgrading my car sooner than I was expecting.

 

[DustyBin]

If you have an interest in something and enjoy doing it, as a general rule you’ll be (or become) pretty good at it I find. This applies to lots of things from sports, to cooking, or indeed driving. There are “levels” of course as a result of an individual’s raw talent (or lack thereof!), but competence can often be born out of pure enthusiasm and determination.

There are certainly “natural” drivers, I’d consider myself to be one having learnt at 13 years old and taken to it straight away, and at the same time there are people who never will get to grips with it but I think they’re a very small minority. For most it’s simply a lack of interest, enjoyment or as has been mentioned numerous times already, confidence.

I certainly don’t think anybody should feel as though they’re under pressure to learn to drive just for the sake of it. If however you’re struggling and feel like it’s holding you back in life I think it’s worth persevering. Find the underlying issue and try to address it (which I appreciate is often easier said than done).

 

[route101]

Things will have to change rapidly for that to be the case 'very soon'. As an experiment I went to the Hertz website and checked what cars they have on 4 July at Heathrow for one day.

Kia Picanto (or similar) - manual £238 (unlimited miles)
Vauxhall Corsa (or similar) - manual £250 (unlimited miles)
Vauxhall Astra (or similar) - manual £254 (unlimited miles)
Volvo XC90 (guaranteed model) - auto £324 (unlimited miles)
Tesla Model 3 (guaranteed model) - auto £350 (24p per mile extra after 150 miles)
Tesla Model Y LR (guaranteed model) - auto £420 (24p per mile extra after 150 miles)

Was trying to hire a car few days ago. The prices were sky high and mostly on vans available to hire.

With driving I struggle sometimes with co-ordination with the bite when waiting on at junctions at hills. It seems my car has a thin line between stalling and rolling forward! I often use the handbrake instead.

 

[Joe Paxton]

Was trying to hire a car few days ago. The prices were sky high and mostly on vans available to hire.
[...]

Knock-on effect from the pandemic. Hire firms sold on a lot of their stock without replacing it, waiting for better times. Better times arrived, but with that a worldwide shortage in new cars because of the automotive industry microchip shortage. Hire fims have fewer cars in their stock, and buying new ones is expensive (even for them with their volume deals with manufacturers). Hence hire prices are sky high.

[...]
There are certainly “natural” drivers, I’d consider myself to be one having learnt at 13 years old and taken to it straight away, and at the same time there are people who never will get to grips with it but I think they’re a very small minority. For most it’s simply a lack of interest, enjoyment or as has been mentioned numerous times already, confidence.
[...]

There's also finance, or lack of it. Owning a car carries a substantial cost, as does driving someone else's car (insurance etc), and learning to drive with a driving instructor (which I'd recommend) isn't a free activity.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Was trying to hire a car few days ago. The prices were sky high and mostly on vans available to hire.

Same story everywhere. I'm going to a conference soon, and I thought I'd hire a car so I could look round in the evenings.

120 Euro/day for a bog standard car. No thank you.

 

[DustyBin]

There's also finance, or lack of it. Owning a car carries a substantial cost, as does driving someone else's car (insurance etc), and learning to drive with a driving instructor (which I'd recommend) isn't a free activity.

You’re not wrong, my post however was aimed more at those who can afford to learn to drive and own a car, but struggle with the actual driving part.

 

[miklcct]

Same story everywhere. I'm going to a conference soon, and I thought I'd hire a car so I could look round in the evenings.

120 Euro/day for a bog standard car. No thank you.

I have joined a car club. £25 joining fee and £5 / month membership fee.

If I need a car I just pay £4.75 / hour to grab it immediately whenever there is availability.

Those traditional car hire companies at airports are tourist rip offs - normally people go to city centre or other locations to get more "reasonable" hire rates at low one hundred per day.

 

[4SubAsociation]

As altoego mentioned on here previously. My driving instructor was very honest to people if you could not. They had a case where a person had been with several instructors before and they had to break it to them.

Also know quite a few people i know who have not taken a driving lesson or test (to my knowledge), two moved out of the country and one moved north to where they are now located.

Where i used to live (Romney Marsh) the public transport was not great. It would take about 1hr to get from my village to the nearest major town (had to do this whilst learning to drive, 9 months in total). If you want to go to other towns at the very least it was 1hr 30mins if not longer and bus changes. So esstentially i lived in a area where having a motorised vechile is the only realistic choice to get anywhere. Without having a car i could not of have got the job where i am now (too long by public transport), also the role i do voluenteering (sales officer for the 4SUB) would be a impossiblity due to moving the stuff around without a vechile would be tricky (railtour is a slightly different matter) and costly.

 

[simonw]

Was trying to hire a car few days ago. The prices were sky high and mostly on vans available to hire.

With driving I struggle sometimes with co-ordination with the bite when waiting on at junctions at hills. It seems my car has a thin line between stalling and rolling forward! I often use the handbrake instead.

that's what you should be doing - using the handbrake.

 

[LOL The Irony]

I rented a Peugeot 108 in Malta and hated the very high biting point on it; a tough car to drive nicely.

Aygo/107/108/C1 gearboxes are notoriously crap for getting into lower gears, especially when cold. That, and they're too small for me

 

[DustyBin]

that's what you should be doing - using the handbrake.

Correct. If coming to a stop for more than a second or two you should be using the handbrake and disengaging the clutch, and if you know you’re going to be standing still for any length of time, selecting neutral.