Women Who Don't Drive

Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Women who don't drive kind of fascinate me. Maybe because not so very long ago, I was one. Ever a reluctant driver, I didn't bother to get my license until age 21. Sometimes I wonder why I bothered then.

I know exactly two women who don't drive at all. One is my aunt. She used to drive back in the day, but my now she gets around courtesy of my uncle, grandfather, and coworkers. The other, the manager at the restaurant where I worked the winter before last. Thanks to friends and her life partner, she manages to live in the middle of nowhere sans car. I don't blame them at all. Honestly, driving makes me feel like this:

You might remember back in May, the newly deceased Corolla (RIP) was replaced by the sporty Subaru Baja. The Subaru Baja with a manual transmission.  The manual transmission that I had a very limited idea of how to operate.

Over the summer, thanks to various independent berry picking voyages, I've gotten really good at driving Andy's schmancy truck, but driving what is technically my car still fills me with dread. All summer, I've basically been a woman who doesn't drive. Why fight with the sticky clutch and risk my life when I could just have Andy chauffeur me around my errands?

But there come a time when the codependency has to end. When the grocery store is an hour away and your and your significant other haven't had a shared day off in, oh, I don't know, a month, and since things like eggs and milk are nice to have on hand, there sometimes comes a time when a solo trip to town is necessary.

Today I drove to town. There was a commentary to record, some groceries to get and the car needed gas. The drive wasn't pretty and it wasn't flawless, but I made it and once again, I've joined the ranks of women who do drive.

11 comments:

  1. I love driving but changing from an automatic to a manual made me a bit bonkers till I got use to it. Then again having a chaufer is really nice at times. Glad your trip was successful and welcome back to the world of female drivers.

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  2. Good job on driving! I was reluctant to drive and never got my license until it was absolutely necessary to have it, to get to my job. My 95 year old auntie still doesn't drive. She's never been married, her also unmarried, 85 year old sister does the driving. They've lived together for basically their entire lives. I don't know if I could manage living with a sibling that long.

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  3. It's funny, I only drive twice a week to work! Ever since my fiancé and i got really serious he just does the driving, and I enjoy being a passenger very much so!
    Stay safe with that manual though! I give you major props!

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  4. My Aunt did not drive for like 28 years. And my Grandma never got her license. She never drove of the farm and simply saw no need for a drivers license. My Aunt now probably can't imagine not have her little truck.

    I think if it works for you and your family it is ok for one of you to not drive. But having a license just in case is always a good thing.

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  5. My Grandma never learned how to drive, which was always hard for me to understand. My Grandparents owned a car, but my Grandpa always drove her places.

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  6. Ada, you know 3 people who dont drive. I dont like driving and since I forgot to renew a hardly ever used drivers license, I didnt bother anymore.

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  7. Well, add me to your list because I'm a female who doesn't drive and I don't plan on it. I'm 23 and have no intention on learning how to drive. I don't really see the need - just the expense of having a car and realizing how terrible drivers people are is deterrent enough. People who drive see it as a sign of independence but - WHATEVER. It's good I'm a city girl as I love public transit and actually being able to walk places.

    I never want to own a car. Ever.

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  8. good job on driving! I don't drive and I dont have licence .. and I am 29 years old ... ^_^ my dad always bugs me to get licence..probably I will .. but I dont know.. if I have licence, then I have to buy a car...then if my friends know i'm driving then I don't have any excuse not to hang out with them often..which I don't mind but still.. I like my own time .. I can be a bit anti-social.. hehe... Wish me luck-if I ever want to drive.. ^_^

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  9. Good for you! I never did get the hang of a manual... always ended up stalling it at the most inopportune moments.

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  10. Since my I became quite dependent on my husband, I have let him drive, and I'm quite happy to let him do so. If possible, I'd like to spend the rest of my life letting him drive!

    Before that, when I was quite independent, I loved driving. It was a great, great bit of head space, solitary, independent. Driving was liberating.

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  11. I got sidetracked dreaming about the baja...

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