I Hate Driving
 

I'm a teenager that has just gotten his permit and I was pretty excited to be getting behind the wheel of a car at first. Then it happened and... Well, I hated every single moment of it. It might be because I'm inexperienced or something but I just do not enjoy it at all. If I could, I'd never drive again in my life but that's not something I can afford to do in this day's world.

Any ways to help the driving experience?

Take the bus. Problem solved! End thread.

I used to hate driving. It took me a while after getting my license to not hate it. I still don't enjoy it, I don't really see what the big deal with having some chunk of metal under your ass to get you where you want to go is.

Something that'll help your driving experience? I dunno, music perhaps? But I assume you already tried that, haven't you? At least it can distract you from the worst of it. You could also get some busty blondes to sit beside you and compliment your physique or something.

I'm not into busty blondes myself, though. So maybe you aren't either. You prefer brunettes? Redheads? Men?
Petite build? Large?

All up to you, man.

Driving is obnoxious.

But then you get used to it and it's still obnoxious.

But then your car breaks down and you start having to rely on friends and public transportation to get you places, and suddenly you really really wish you could drive again.

And then you get your car fixed and driving is pretty great.

And then driving is obnoxious again.

I liked driving for the pure fact that it combines being alone with being in charge of where the fuck I want to go.

As long as the car isn't a piece of shit that you don't want to be seen in then there shouldn't be much problem. (My area has very few accidents and a driver's ed program that's successful despite budget cuts.) And I don't live in a big enough city to hate traffic and therefore hate any driving whatsoever.

It's a bit of a POS.

This.

It gets even more obnoxious if you don't know any other drivers and you wind up playing taxi.

Busses for half-hour trip.
Trains for trips that take longer (or trips that are just more convenient via train. Sadly pricier, though...)
Neither train nor bus running there and it's close enough? Well, hello mister Bicycle! How do you, this fine day? Let's go for a ride, shall we?

No car needed, and I'm a happy guy for it. =3

I mainly hate busses and trains because they make me get up earlier, and I really can't stand being robbed of my precious sleep. Driving myself is just the lesser of two evils, really.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...m/IMG_0018.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...m/IMG_0017.jpg
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I love driving.
This is my cat
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/jaxm/dusty3.jpg

Does the cat also love driving?

As for me, I hate driving because I was essentially handed a car and said: If it breaks, we can't afford to fix it, and insurance premiums mean we might be in the red for a few months. But don't worry about all that!

That, and I was expected to get a job to pay for gas and insurance on a car I would rarely ever use anyway.

So, whenever I drove, I drove as if there was a bomb strapped to the underside of the car, because if I so much as scratched the thing, or rubbed bumpers, HELL would pour down on me. My parents didn't understand why I was so freaked out, and my siblings were like "Man, if I had the car I'd do all this shit", but I'd rather not risk it. I hated being in that car, because there's no forgiveness when you have an accident, not in the real world. If you crash in a bike, people may be slightly annoyed about their hedges, or maybe if you crashed into their car there could be a problem, but people are always unhappy when something happens to their car.

Lot of bad juju, if you get my drift. So I only used the car for small errands and going to college, small stuff. I only went on the highway for a long drive once, and that was last month, and needless to say I was freaking the fuck out.

Also, the first car I drove in, after I stopped using it when I went to my next college, My sister used it primarily, and she wrecked it. Within three months. Drove it off a bridge into a ditch. Drunk off her ass.

I may be needlessly afraid of getting into a crash, but at least I can say I have never had my car in an accident or occasion ever, and I don't plan to in the near future.

It's always been a love-hate relationship here. Sometimes it's great to just get away for a while... then again... there's the traffic. And nothing's worse then watching some snail you passed a mile back pass you while you're sitting in a traffic jam.

I like driving! Until I hit traffic. Or until I get stuck behind someone who DOESN'T KNOW THE FUCKING SPEED LIMIT OH MY FUCKING GOD COULD YOU GO ANY FUCKING SLOWER MY FARTS TRAVEL FASTER THAN YOU!!

But the actual act of driving, especially going really quite fast? Exquisite.

Though it did take me 5 attempts to actually pass my test, but I blame random chance, a slightly crap instructor and my own fear of failure on that. Though when your first ever act of ever actually driving is performing a hill start, at night, on a main road during heavy traffic, you know you're going to have a hard time during lessons.

Best advice I can give you is to be very attentive to everything around you till you get more comfortable driving, especially on the high-ways.

Try driving up some steep hills so you can get used to pushing harder on the accelerator, and on your way back you'll get used to going down steep hills probably.

Another good tip is to find an empty parking lot, like a commuter lot for a bus system if you're in the suburbs, and use the parking spots as your measuring guides. try speeding up to around 35-40 mph(or what ever the general street speed is in your area) and try stopping once you hit the third (or so) to the last space so that you stop before the end of the spaces. This should help you get used to speeding up quickly and braking hard in a hurry when traffic surprises you in a hurry. You could also practice this during the rain to get used to wet road conditions a little bit, I probably would've avoided accidents early on if I'd done that more.

Ultimately just practice to build your confidence behind the wheel and remember to be a defensive driver rather than an aggressive driver. eventually you'll get used to it and it'll be...less of a chore. Best of luck, don't kill anyone.

Question: What about places that tend to be very flat, such as Florida?

Smart Answer: It's probably not very important to get used to that, then.
Ass Answer: Hurrrrr garbl hraa
Smart-Ass Answer: Move to San Francisco.

That's pretty much it. It's a big metal death trap that you are responsible and everyone acts like it's no big deal. It's a huge hunk of metal that goes at high speeds. It's kind of a big deal to me and my family just doesn't get it. I have to older sister and they've both wrecked their cars within the same month and I'm the only one who seems to have a little apprehension about getting behind the wheel of something that some jerk can just slam into at any moment.

In America we don't believe in your pinko commie public transportation.

Seriously though, I get to places faster by walking than taking the bus. And it would be so awesome if we had a passenger train through here. We have the tracks. Passenger trains run through my town, we just don't have a station.

Driving is ok until you start spending most of your life in your car. I have a 40 mile commute to work each way in fucking Long Island/Queens traffic which can sometimes take the better part of 1.5 hours. Also, once I get to work, I plant myself in the driver's seat of a larger more rickety death trap that is an ambulance.

As for you my young driver friend, allow me to give you some advice:

1- If you hear sirens, pull to the right, there's a fast zoomy giant ambulance of literal death behind you.

2- When the death truck passes, don't follow it 3 inches from the bumper. That's called tailgating and that's illegal, especially with an emergency vehicle. If I happen to be driving, I will slam on my brakes and you will then enjoy paying for fixing my truck and your car for the rest of your life.

3- Ambulances get to do all these fun things like parting traffic and going on the other side of the road. You however, are not able to do that. So don't try and get around a traffic jam by following me.

Other than that, if you like going fast and making noise and driving large assault vehicles that save lives, consider becoming an EMT.

So some idiot knocked off my driver side-view mirror meaning I have to look over my shoulder to see to my left now.

A few days ago I got smashed in the face by a ceiling tile and my left eye was swollen shut for a bit. That was a nightmare. I was basically blind on my entire left side!

I like the move to San Fransisco answer. ^_^

But yeah, I suppose it wouldn't be an issue there. Really if there are any particular climate/topographical issues about the roads in your area it's always a good idea to get comfortable with them.

What kind of hazards are there in Florida anyhow? Hurricanes? Alligators? Herds of the elderly blocking traffic? I'm actually kinda curious now.

I actually had some ass try to pull that one on the highway once (traffic in both lanes was stop and go from an accident a little ahead) so I pulled back out right after the Ambulance passed and hit the brakes trapping him behind me. I like to think I performed a civic duty.

Bad drivers. Flooding. Fish. Old people. Turtles with sharp shells that will give you a flat tire if you run over them.

Not gonna lie here. My very first thought was Shredder standing outside of a station wagon with a flat tire shouting "OH WHAT THE HELL!" and a smirking turtle slowly crossing the road.

Ho. Ly. FUUUUUUCK.


I just drove from Okotoks to Saskatoon so that I can go back to school. I ended up leaving at noon. This involves me going north through Calgary, then swinging straight east for a province. Normally this drive takes about six and a half hours. I had planned to go supper with my grandparents and family. This fucking thing took me 8 and a half hours. EIGHT AND A FUCKING HALF. I ran into construction on three occasions. The first was a traffic jam because the main northbound highway through Calgary was backed up from Airdrie all the way to the airport. For those of you keeping track at home, that is THREE municipalities long. This was because, due to repaving, it goes down to one lane instead of three.

So I finally get east on the Alberta highway 9. I find out that the highway from a place called Beiseker to a place called Drumheller was in the process of being twinned. This meant it was down to one gravel lane for 25 kilometers. TWENTY. FIVE. Normally this takes me about 12 minutes. It ended up taking me 45 minutes because of the fucking construction.

So I get past Drumheller. I go past Hannah, or as I like to call it the hellpit that spawned Nickelback. Then I discover that ANOTHER chunk of highway is having it's top resealed. Another twenty five kilometers with only one lane and a speed limit of 50km/h.

FUCK. DRIVING.

*ragequit*

I manage fine without a car. I walk and go on the bus for the most part. It's very unstressful. Plus, you know, the trees and the flowers like you. Understandably, a lot of people have no choice but to drive, they're trapped by work and school and stuff and need to get around fast. to make more money to afford more stuff to do things faster and to relieve stress. Well, they seem to think they have no choice, anyway. Have you really thought it through, drivers?

Ah, to see those roads quiet, empty apart from the occasional ambulance flaring by. . .

I have an excuse for destroying the planet. Okay? The place I'll be working in starting Wednesday is too far from the train station. To get there in time by walking from there I'd have to ride a train the day before and then wait a few hours. No buses go there. Which is kinda strange, because it's a hospital and I reckon a lot of people without access to cars have to go there from time to time.

I destroy the planet for your occasional ambulances that may save people. You can thank me later.

EDIT: Sooooo, did I mention I don't even have a car?

Yeah I rode Shuttle buses to all through college for classes and it was amazingly easy to get around and know the schedule. Unfortunately where I live there's just about no public transportation to where I need to go. This is the price I pay for living in the Sub-urbs where I don't have to pay room and board. But I miss the easy exercise of walking everywhere.

welp, my car just died. Now I hate driving :/

Torque: You really shouldn't use the pictures of you parking on the front lawn as an example of "DURR I DO DRIVING GOOD" :p

This right here. My family gets on my ass about my refusal to get my license, but I get around just fine with my feet. Sadly there's little public transportation in my area, which usually means I walk anywhere I want to go because fuck bikes no seriously why do I still manage to fall this is embarassing.

Basically, once I finish up with college I'm moving back to Seattle. Public transportation there is nice.

LOL good call, good call. But if it helps, it was REALLY REALLY hard to GET on the lawn, as you can see, much of it is surrounded by ditches, and other vehicles, and that is not what I would call an 'off-road' vehicle

I enjoy driving like a total asshole.

EDIT: I even have a whole suite of quasi-Randroid excuses for why driving like an asshole actually makes me an excellent and moral human being.

Hell yeah. The Northwest has that shit figured out.

Yeah, when I visited Redmond everybody rode bikes everywhere, it's like a biking capitol. They also have a nice bussing system.

Anyway, Gunslinger, if you are aware of the importance of safe driving and take great care not to get in wrecks, obey the speed limit, constantly check your mirrors, etc. you are already smarter than 99% of new drivers so personally I think you are going to be fine at driving. If you feel literal physical anxiety while driving, though, you may want to try and chill out a little bit. Just pay attention to the road and speed limit check your mirrors and blind spots, and follow all the posted signs and so on and you'll be fine.

I'd like to point out that insurance premiums only go up if you cause the accident, by the way, and usually the people who cause accidents are either being careless or they're jackasses who drive too fast. Rarely is it just a sheer accident, like running a stop sign hidden behind a blind corner or something. Like one family who had a bunch of sons I was friends with growing up seemed way too willing to buy their kids a used car every time they wrecked the last one (and when they wreck one, they wreck that shit, the one has had at least three turn-overs, the last one speeding up a winding road in an ice storm like an idiot), like their parents showed no concern for good driving or the cost, and I see some people saying things like that. You already have an advantage in that despite whatever your parents think you are concerned about your driving.

Anyway, the fact that you are concerned about it personally I think makes you more ready than most 16 year olds.

EDIT: As for why people enjoy driving, hit the interstate sometime and take it up to 70 (just watch your blind spots if you have to pass, don't drive in the passing lane, and don't pass on the right). I wasn't too exciting about driving either but I recently got a used Thunderbird, so that probably has something to do with it, but I enjoy driving our old Taurus too.

Keep shit in your car. Good music system, plug your ipod into it, keep snacks, drinks, ect. Perhaps a ballpit in the backseat.

We're trying to reduce accidents, Lev!

I do like the ballpit idea, though, I think that has legs, especially if you drove a truck, you could make the entire bed into a fun area complete with climbing nets and slide besides ballpit.

EDIT: I like that SK's standards are so low you only have to get 60% on the written part of the test. I can imagine then that you only have to get 80% of the driving part right and you're good to go! Also, way to add to the stereotype surrounding female Asian drivers, Cha Sa-soon! Keep not fighting the power with your lack of achievement!

Here in PA you have to get a 90% on the written and 100% on the driving.

ANOTHER EDIT: Actually the 60% on the 50 question test seems somewhat comparable, since here in PA it only has 20 questions. At least until you realize that is only 30 questions out of 50.

I'd prefer a hot tub in the bed of a pickup. Here's a how-to video!

In Canada, we banned sticking things in your ear while driving.

What if you have a fever and you need to take your temperature with one of those ear thermometers?

EDIT:

Man, Canadian justice is pretty hardcore at making you not actually use their court system.

It took me a long time to get used to driving. I was actually forced to now that I think about it. As a senior in high school, yes I waited until I was eighteen, I had the oppertunity to take post-secondary classes at a nearby university. The classes would count for both high school and college, and they would be free, even the books. My father, however, told me that I had to get my licence and my own car, because he would not be able to drive me to school four or five days a week. Getting my licence was tough because I had to use my stepsister's '87 New Yorker, which was a small boat pretending to be a car. It took me 4 times to pass that darn manuverability part, and the people at the DMV sarted to know me by name. I passed it though, and on my first licence I looked happy and angry at the same time, kind of like a serial killer. I then had to find my car, and all I could afford was an '82 Le Baron Convertable, with no air conditioning and barely enough heat to allow me to survive winters in Northeast Ohio. (God I miss that car.) Anyway, I basically got over my reluctance to drive out of sheer necessity. Not that it has been wonderful since then. I have had two accidents, one because I was stressed by driving through an unfamilliar area, and the other because of it being five in the morning, foggy, and the car being in the middle of the road without any flashers on. I also had a tire blow out, in the middle of West Virginia, with no cell phone. The turnpike workers were very nice to me that day. Despite all of that, and the fact that I had two cars die on me, I still like driving. Just keep a level head, and pay attention to the other drivers, you never know what idiotic things they might do on the road.

At the party I went to this weekend we drove around in a white convertible cadillac with flags on it and a ballpit in the back with red leather cushioned seating.

We then went to superstore, bought $400 of delicious unhealthy food (meat, deep fryable things, chai ingredients, packed them all in the trunk with 6 people in the seats and drove off, then gunned it up a 50degree hill (literally), so expecting sparks to fly from the sagged back.

I love driving, its actually my hobby.

My car is getting repaired over the weekend so I can't drive :(

I miss my car, but I can't wait to crank the AC to Sub-Arctic and frost my windows from the inside.