I have never had a driver’s license – just a new driver’s permit that I got in high school and which expired in 2003.
There is one practical reason why I have never acquired the legal authority to drive a vehicle on my own. While I can understand the justification for it, the new graduated licensing systems used in British Columbia and Ontario make getting a full license a big pain. There is a written test, multiple road tests, and progressively diminishing restrictions on what you can do with each kind of license. To begin with, you can only drive at certain hours and with a limited number of passengers of a pre-selected type. In high school, I had access to a vehicle and parents who were willing to practice driving with me. While away at university doing my undergraduate degree, I was a long bus ride away from those things and quite busy to boot. That has remained true as I went to Oxford for my M.Phil and came to Ottawa to work.
There is also a non-practical reason for my situation: I hate cars. They may actually be the one thing in life that makes me the most angry. Twice in Ottawa, I have been hit by moving cars while riding my bike. Taxi drivers are especially reckless and dangerous. Countless times, I have nearly been hit as a pedestrian. I have frequently been splashed with puddle water, slush, or mud by passing motorists. I have been kept awake countless nights by the growl of cars passing near my bedroom. I have frequently been annoyed by what an enormous percentage of the total space in city centres is devoted to the requirements of these dirty, dangerous vehicles. I have breathed toxic fumes from countless automobiles, and will suffer along with everybody else from the climate change they are causing.
To me, choosing to drive a car seems callous and selfish. It suggests that you put your own comfort and convenience ahead of the health and safety of the people around you, who you endanger with toxic emissions, greenhouse gases, and the ever-present possibility that your multi-tonne hulk of steel and glass will smash them to death. If I had my way, nobody would be allowed to drive in city centres. Rather, they could park at the edge and rely on some combination of non-motorized and public transport within the urban core.
One day, it may be necessary to get a license. There are a frustrating number of places that see a driver’s license as the preferred form of identification, and who will only accept a passport or health card after much effort and cajoling. A license would be useful for moving, for exploring the outdoors, for camping, and for travel. If the opportunity arises – and I have easy access to a vehicle and willing teacher – I will probably put in the hours and effort to get certified. But I will not aspire to drive often.
You think way too much pal, and you talk like a girl. I bet you live at home with your Mom. Get a life.
Can you get another new driver’s permit and use that for ID? I’ve been using my UK provisional driving license as primary ID for years, and have just renewed it.
One of the many things that I admire about you, Milan, is that you
walk the walk and talk the talk with regards to environmentalism. You
and your father are truly an inspiration as cyclists. I feel ashamed
about owning a car.
I recognize that it probably isn’t healthy to actually hate cars. I don’t recommend it.
Still, it’s a feeling built up from hundreds of little bad experiences, and an awareness of the harm they cause in aggregate.
Motor Vehicles also provides a photo ID for non-drivers and it is just like a license of ID purposes.
Although I admire your determination to not use cars personally, you will always have to rely on others if you want to go camping or move from place to place. If you choose to live in a city like New York or Washington, you may never have to drive. Paul Gordon just came back from Australia and he said that not having a license was his biggest impediment to getting a job when he was away from the cities. In fact, he ended up having to drive for some of his work and is going to get a license now that he is at home and can use his parents car.
I think that most people do not like cars these days, but find them necessary to manage the many aspects of their lives and to get away to beautiful and remote places to get away from it all. That is quite ironic.