So how odd is it to be 26 years old and never had a license or car?

[Melkane]

..Well I'll be 26 years old in about two and a half weeks.


When I was 16, for a time I had a learners permit, but my mother wouldn't take me out to practice and I refused to spend $300 for a driving school course (I was never all that fond of the idea of driving) at 18 my mothers boyfriend she just moved in with kicked me out of the house the first chance he got. On my own I found it more convenient to take Reno's excellent bus system around town, saving what little money I did have to buy things I enjoyed, video games, wrestling PPVs...etc. My apartment was across the street from the mall and my job was 15minutes away on the bus. Paying money for a car and insurance always seemed like a waste of money for me and would have left me broke all the time.

Now do to circumstances beyond my control I'm in this horrid place called Indianapolis with a horrid bus system and everything so spread out I have to drive. I've got a learners permit and I get out every Sunday to practice driving...but I don't know when I'll be ready for the test or when i will get a car.

Is it highly odd to be this old without ever having a license or car?

[ghosty]

it's not as common these days, but it happens, im in almost the same situation. Im 21 with no lisence.

I had one, but I got in a few accidents. The last one, although not my fault, was a bad one, and I was under my parent's insurance plan. The insurance company was going to jack up the rates really high for my parents because of the accident. I felt really bad about this and didnt want them to be paying for the things that happened because of me, and the only way for them not to go up was for me to not drive anymore. So according to the insurance company and the state of Minnesota, the only way to proove i wasnt driving was to voluntarily give up my lisence... so it's been about 2 and a half years now, but I've actually started to realize benefits of not having to pay for a car all the time.

[REEFERDREAMZ]

ODD

[birdgirl73]

That's not odd, Melkane. There are people who live in our country's big cities, like NYC and San Francisco and other metropolitan areas with good public transportation ,who go their entire lives without getting a license or a car. I think it's rather nice that that can happen.

Sounds like you're no longer in one of those accommodating places anymore. Good luck with the driver training and with getting a car. At 26, you're also far less of an actuarial risk on the road than you would have been 10 years before.

[RaoulDuke45]

its not too odd if you were from nyc, but it sucks to live in indy with out a car, everythings far away and we have pretty much no public transportation

[slowburn420]

think of it this way, at least your not polluting.....

[jdmarcus59]

hey good luck on getting your D. L., you can do it.its fun.

[whitewolfofsc]

I am an albino and we are usually legally blind. I am. I was able to see enough to drive back in 1986. After that year, I have been riding mopeds and scooters all my life. Fortunately I find women who dont mind driving when we go out. My current lady drives us all over, and no, i do not feel like less of a man. Less of a PERSON, maybe...

Peace,
White Wolf

[fasterspider]

If you live in Manhatten, it is not all that unusual.
People live their whole life in New York City without ever driving a car.
Why? Because they are friggin idiots that like to live like roaches in an over crowded city that has over 300 miles of subway tunnels, over 10,000 medallion cabs, untold amount of gypsy cabs and busses out the yin yang so driving a car there just makes no sense.
You want unusual?
I have not had a license in 21.5 years, almost as long as you have been alive. Now I am finally trying to get it back and the 21 years worth of tickets was a staggering amount of money but I paid it and am only waiting on the reply from the New York DMV so I can goto the Cali DMV and get my license.
Go and get a license but do not get a car/cage. Buy yourself a motorcycle and really enjoy the roads.

[VaporDaddy]

To be honest, when I meet a person in your situation I think weird, mental block, frozen with fear etc... BUT I live in a place where public transport is not much of an option. and besides these are just my preconcieved notions, who cares what I (or anyone else) think. Good luck!

and please don't smoke and drive.

[rastaman79]

in america its weird,but in the uk it doesnt come so free and easy.for starters ive had a provisional and already been banned,oops.and also i drink like a fish so i rather be driven.

[slipknotpsycho]

wife was 25 before she got hers.

[LuckyG]

I'm almost 21 without one. I don't know if I really have a reason not to, other than A) cars are money holes - gas, insurance, registration, maintenance, etc. - and if I can drive, I will probably drive to other places and spend money on things that I wouldn't normally buy and B) I don't like being only 50% responsible for what happens to me on the road. I've known a lot of bad drivers, including my dad, and frankly I am scared to be on the road with them. I'm moving to the city next year, where public transportation will render my problem moot. And of course, there's always my trusty bike, which gets me where I need to go and gives me exercise!

[bluntblaze]

my grandma's 67 and she's never driven a car in her life

[thcbongman]

I have a friend who is 26 and does not have a license nor does he have the urge too. Not odd at all, at least in my book. I want to get to a point where I don't have to drive ever. I just bike and take public transportation. But it's not convenient in the USA.