Is it embarrassing for a man to not know how to drive a car?

[swalter]

If he doesn't want to get a car and drive regularly, that's cool. But I believe it's quite another thing to not know how to drive, or have the capability if needed. In 2014, the ability to drive is as important as the ability to walk.

[Anonymous]

I live in a big city and there are lots of public transport that also goes to other cities, so basically I don't need licence.

It's just that I always feel this pressing from people who are close to me. I don't think I should do something just because everyone else does. I know I cannot drive. What's the point of wasting my money, time and nerves getting a driver's license if I know very well that it'll be just one more paper that I'll put on my shelf and never use it? I don't want to kill myself or someone else.

[Cuddly]

Everybody I knew took their driver's license as soon as they could. I didn't. I was so terrified of controlling such a machine out on the roads with other machines. I had multiple nightmares about having to drive in emergency situations as a child. Literally dreams of running over my mum and not being able to stop.
But I took it at 20, 2 years later than EVERYBODY. It was horrifying to get behind the wheel the first times, but I had a good instructor and am now driving every day.

What's weird is that my father taught me how to use real machines for deforresting when I was very young. I could drive the lawnmower, the tractor, the diggermachine, the treepicker and the treefeller by 14. The last three are colossal machines. I guess it came down to cars being for growm-ups and me forever feeling as if I'm 16...

[CellarDweller]

Some people just don't like to drive. If you have good public transport in your city, and you are able to get to where you need to be, then don't worry about it.

[davearoo]

The same type of therapy that some people get to overcome their fear of flying might help with your fear of driving. Just an idea...

[Jahed]

You're lucky, if your family etc will pay for the insurance and car & lessons etc. First thing I'm going to do when I hit 17 is aim to get drivers license, I need wheels asap.

[sillyboy86]

I live in a big city and there are lots of public transport that also goes to other cities, so basically I don't need licence.

I totally agree, and that's why after living in London I'm driving only a little, and I don't like the idea of drive a lot everyday. If I can I use my feet.
In the past I used to drove every day to go to work, see my friends, go to the train, the cinema etc etc etc...

Also I know some guys who doesn't have the driving license and to me there's nothing strange in a choice like that. Maybe is not the most useful choice ever, but is not a problem at all.

[East]

There is one thing you said...and it was the first thing...that suggests to me that you should listen to yourself and not pay any attention to the people who tell you to get over it. You said that all your life you never wanted to learn to drive.....

I don't mind driving but there are three very specific places in the San Francisco Bay Area where I HATE to drive. I don't know why but I usually go with my feelings and I stopped questioning them many years ago.

One of the places was this overpass stretch of the freeway in Oakland which collapsed in the earthquake in 1989 and so they built a new one which I had the same feeling about BUT my well meaning friends convinced me that I probably just had a foreboding about the freeway and so I should confront my fear and go over it again when I wanted to go to Petaluma. So...I did one morning against my better judgment. I kept thinking NOOOOOOOOOOO...I do not want to go over the damn road but I went anyway just to say I did it and get everyone off my back.....

As I was getting to the split which begins the overpass you can either go on the overpass one way or the Bay bridge the other way and it was maybe 3:30 in the morning and I was about 1/2 mile from being on the overpass when I saw sirens in the back of me and flashing lights and I slowed down thinking they were either chasing someone or thought I was someone else and in front of me they spun around facing me...scared the shit out of me.....
They waved me to go on the Bay Bridge which meant I had to go into San Francisco and again over the Golden Gate Bridge to continue my journey which is another 45 minutes...grrrrrrr....
...and off to the side my bf noticed alot of smoke and flames and we couldn't figure out what was on fire because there is nothing there except for the waterfront and a maze of freeways....flames and smoke went too high for it to be a car...

...and we found out later that this tanker had crashed and melted part of the freeway so we would have either died or gone off the edge....

F*CK everyone and their "good advice" on fears now. My gut had it right all along......

I think you should pay attention to your instincts.

[ChadCoxRox]

I live in a big city and there are lots of public transport that also goes to other cities, so basically I don't need licence.

It's just that I always feel this pressing from people who are close to me. I don't think I should do something just because everyone else does. I know I cannot drive. What's the point of wasting my money, time and nerves getting a driver's license if I know very well that it'll be just one more paper that I'll put on my shelf and never use it? I don't want to kill myself or someone else.

You are quite young compared to me. You never know how things may change about wanting to drive. BUT for now, F*CK it and don't worry about it. I still stand behind my previous reply. Glad you clarified. I feel better. I saw SWalter said it is an essential skill and sad not to have such (in so many words), I think that's true to an extent but culturally biased. There are MANY men who go through life never having learned to drive. Actually I'd bet there are MORE who have not than those who have! It's a bigger world out there than you know and despite that so many share the same issues.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

I have read in several articles that your generation is the generation that apparently hates the automobile. A rather high percentage (as compared to earlier generations) haven't bothered to get a license, learn how to drive and those who do have the ability don't bother with buying a car.

https://www.google.com/#q=millennials+ge...%27t+drive has a few sites that break this horrific news to my generation - Mine apparently being the last that loved the automobile, the open road, cheap gasoline....smog.... ah the good old days.