21 & Still Not Driving...

I am 21 years old and I am still not a licensed driver, though not for lack of trying. Like many others, I took SEG 1 in High School through Sears, but it was never because I wanted to or was ready to, it was because a friend was taking it at the same time & I could hitch a ride to class with her. I passed the written just fine, but due to some major misunderstandings between the instructor and myself ( or downright trickery, according to my mother) I technically failed the driving bit and was slapped with a little pink temporary permit. I renewed this as many times as possible before it expired, but because my confidence was so poor I never went back until after I turned 18. I then took both SEG 1&2 again through another company (infinitely better experience), but the permit once again expired (living in a 2 breadwinner household makes finding driving time difficult). I finally went back and got a permit through the SOS, but failed parking when I finally felt confident enough to attempt the test, & I've been too nervous/busy to go back since. Now that I'm a Junior in college, I feel that I HAVE to do this, even if it's just to shut other people up.

What I can never understand is how pressure society puts on me to drive. When I mention that I commute by bus or carpool ( while contributing gas money) to get to where I need to go, people seem to think I'm somehow a less intelligent person simply because I can't and do not enjoy driving. I really prefer a public-transport commute because it's cheaper and less stressful (unlike other folks my age, I actually have a decent sized savings since I don't have to pay for vehicle maitinence). Even though Winter here is harsh and our system isn't the best. It's extremely frustrating for me, and while I understand the value of being able to drive in emergency situations, I don't understand why it's suddenly everyone else's business. I never felt the itch to learn to drive when I was in High School, and since being involved in an automobile accident (in which I was a the space between the front & back door on a car away from being a far more sobering Driver's Training statistic), and that's not likely to change. if I ever manage this so-called rite of passage (which I find to be complete BS), I fear it will be for the entirely wrong reason: not to give myself more freedom, but to please other people.

Also, a hint to Driving Schools everywhere: operating on the assumption that a student's parents broke the law and taught them the basics of driving somewhere, and bombarding them with every negative driving consequence you can think of in graphic detail before you even begin their education is unwise. Speaking from personal experience, being told to go out on to a busy street during the evening rush hour my first time behind the wheel after being shown nothing but images of all the horrible things that can happen to you and others if you screw up likely contributed significantly to my driving anxiety. Instruction through fear does not ensure competence. It only breeds mor fear.