First driver's license (over 21)? (Minneapolis: transfer, vs., safe)

[audadvnc]

That car=freedom thing is a very midwestern perspective, and is by no means the norm in other places.

In any case, I believe that knowing how to drive (and having the license to prove it) is one of those basic skills necessary to get around in modern society.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

I think it's a good idea to obtain a driver's license and know how to drive as you never know when it'll come in handy. I also agree that the necessity of car ownership is completely dependant on the individual and circumstances. One of my good friends lives near the loop in Chicago and he got rid of his car about 5 years ago because he never used it and it was getting to be a nuisance to store. He gets by just fine by biking and using public transportation. When he needs to drive somewhere he just rents a car.

[uptown_urbanist]

I don't have a license. I am 32. I know how to drive (although not well), and I have never had a license. I've held permits in three states. More recently I had some health issues and would have had a temporary restriction on my license; I felt lucky that unlike so many others in that situation, it made absolutely no impact on my life. It's true that it limits my life in some ways (I would not be able to live or work conveniently in, say, Lakeville, for example), but since I don't want the expense of maintaining a car in the first place, I'm not concerned. And in the meantime, I think I have a better-than-average ability to get myself around without a car; that's another basic skill that those who have been raised only using cars often lack. Yes, ideally most people will learn how to drive and will have a license on hand just in case, but there's nothing wrong with them if they haven't.

In any case, the OP didn't ask for unsolicited opinions about adults who don't drive. It's really not that unusual to be 20-something without a license; I have several friends who were also in that position here in Minneapolis. When they decided that they needed to get one, they did. As for me, I'm not about to risk being a new driver with my son with me, and I still have some medical concerns. I get around just fine for the most part, and in any case, we're moving soon.

[Glenfield]

I have a friend from NYC. He's fifty, lived there all his life, and has never had a driver's license. I said to him, "Sal, so how do you rent a car when you go on vacation?" and he replied, "I only vacation in Miami and they got cabs."

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

I have a friend from NYC. He's fifty, lived there all his life, and has never had a driver's license. I said to him, "Sal, so how do you rent a car when you go on vacation?" and he replied, "I only vacation in Miami and they got cabs."

I picture your friend looking like Danny DeVito in Taxi. Am I in the ballpark?

[Globe199]

I once dated a girl who didn't have a license. That affair didn't last long.

I also was friends with a guy in his late-30s with no license. Both scenarios were just plain annoying. They can get around OK w/o a car by themselves, but they'll glom on to you since you DO have a car. It is almost always more convenient, and they know it. Then you're the chauffeur, always picking them up, etc, etc.

I can understand not having a license if you grow up and live in a situation that does not demand one (e.g., Manhattan). But I gotta believe that those situations are exceptionally rare in Minnesota. Both people I mentioned above were rather weird in their own ways and I haven't talked to either of them in more than ten years. I think their weirdness was a cause (or symptom) of not having a license.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Globe199

I picture your friend looking like Danny DeVito in Taxi. Am I in the ballpark?

Picture a tall, thin version of Danny DeVito and you've got it. Here's another "Sal" story.

Sal is a lifelong Vikings fan. He grew up watching them on TV, loved the uniforms, and that's how we became friends. Not how we met but how we became buddies. So, we're at like our umpteenth Vikings game together, the Vikings score a TD, and the sound system starts blasting, "Skol Vikings." Sal turns to me and (remember he's heard this song like a hundred times)' "Hey, what's 'skol'?" I said, " It's like salut in Swedish." and Sal says, "I get it. Salut Vikings!" Since then, everything the Vikings score, he yells, "Salut, Vikings!"

[west336]

My wife got her license when she was 25. She took the road test twice (failed the first time) and I taught her everything she knows and we went from barely crawling at 10 mph to parallel parking and 90 degree turn parking (you have to do these on the road test!). She failed the road test the first time (because she rolled through EVERY stop sign -- like I do), and then passed the 2nd time. It's not a cakewalk by any means, though! There is no grace period in which you have to be on the road before you can take the road test if you are over 18, I believe. Once she started taking initiative about driving (with baby on the way) she learned how to drive in about 3 months. The only thing she doesn't willingly do is go on the freeways because she hates the interchanges, but no road test makes you go on the freeway.

Hope that helps!

[Glenfield]

My advice to the OP is to check with your insurance company to see what the premiums will be if she goes straight to the road test as opposed to taking a formal driver's training course. It is likely that the premiums will be lower if there's been a formal course taken. You can compare the savings to the cost of the driver's training and make a decision based on that.

[west336]

I've NEVER heard that. What difference does it make how somebody learns? How do you value school training vs. road training? In my experience, you learn 3 times faster on the road than you do in the classroom. That classroom training was one of THE most boring experiences of my entire life -- and that's saying something!