4 ms·

My wife and I have friends who can't get their children to learn to drive despite cars being available to them with gas and maintenance paid by their parents.

• ghaff 4y ago
  Owning a car/not owning a car is to at least some degree an economic decision. But I literally could not have done my first job without being able to drive to job sites. And I couldn't really have worked at the next company in an office park either. To say nothing of countless recreational activities and vacations I've done that required me to drive. I've spoken to friends with teenagers and they've told me their kids aren't excited about getting a driver's license but understand it's a probably a practical necessity.
  • earthling8118 4y ago
    If a job requires you to drive between many places with your own vehicle you are effectively taking a pay cut. They are offloading the costs of their job onto you. To me your statement logically is worded something like: "I require a car because I require a car"
    • ghaff 4y ago
      Whenever I've had to drive on business--other than commuting--there's always been a mileage allowance which I expensed. Or I had a rental car and was paid for rental and gas. But, yes, there are also many company locations out in suburban office parks that are generally not accessible if you don't have a car. Even if I had a company car, I'd still have to be able to drive. Lots of jobs require being able to drive. A great many teenagers will be in situations (especially after college) where they want or even need to drive a car. So it makes sense to "encourage" them to get a driver's license before there's an urgent need.
• kspacewalk2 4y ago
  Why do they want their children to learn to drive?
  • zeku 4y ago
    If they're American, then there is something like a 95%+ chance that they NEED to know how to drive.
  • ch4s3 4y ago
    Probably so they don't have to personally drive them everywhere. My mother has a coworker who has a 22 year old daughter who is essentially unemployable because she can't drive and therefore can't get to work and can't afford to move to a place where walking/transit is an option. The family has a spare car.
    • kspacewalk2 4y ago
      The problem in your example is quite clearly not whether she currently knows how to drive. This is a skill that is trivial to acquire (given that there's a spare car, and if it's North America, driving schools are plentiful and a barely detectable pulse is sufficient qualifications for a driver's licence). The actual problem is two-fold: parents who enable this dependency by offering rides and don't charge rent; and the daughter who evidently has no personal need whatsoever for a driver's licence. If she doesn't want a job, why would she care that she can't drive to one?
      • notch898a 4y ago
        The vast, vast, majority of the population lives within biking or public transport distance of some shit corner store for a kid to work in. Right now most of them are hiring. 10 weeks of part time labor is enough to buy a fairly old 49cc scooter, which in many states requires no license.
  • ghaff 4y ago
    Because, per my other comment, whether or not they want to/need to own a car, being able to drive one is a pretty essential life skill. If nothing else, if you can't/won't drive, you'll be cut off from a lot of employment opportunities.
• Aperocky 4y ago
  Should just let things happen naturally, forcing things on children tend to push them against the idea. When they wanted to drive, then they'll learn to drive with great passion.
• zeku 4y ago
  I have a friend who only reluctantly learned to drive at 22 despite living in a car dependent suburb. It blew my mind.
• randcraw 4y ago
  I'm guessing your friends still chauffeur their kids around. If they stopped, I bet the kids would learn to drive, since their alternative to taking the wheel is to sit at home. Now that it's become clear that services like lyft/uber are unsustainable at their current prices, the days of cheap taxis are numbered. Soon, unless you live in an urban center (or university), the only choices will be: drive yourself or walk. I wish bikes were among the viable alternatives. But with their theft wildly out of control, pedal pushing just can't become a mainstream alternative to cars.
  • throwaway71271 4y ago
    in the netherlands people just bike or take public transport, most of the time its faster than car (up to 12km or so bike is actually much faster) walk is actually fine as well
    • HPsquared 4y ago
      I don't understand how bike can be faster than car. Does it take a long time to get parked or something?
      • lotsofpulp 4y ago
        Yes. If you prioritize the environment for people over vehicles, then vehicles take longer to store and travel at slower speeds.
      • Xylakant 4y ago
        The average speed for a car in cities is often under 20km/hour, especially in rush-hour. My average commute is 9km, I do that in just shy of 30 minutes, so something approaching 20km/hour. Plus, with the bike, I can take a few shortcuts that are unavailable to a car. I also park right in front of the building on both ends. My commute is faster and more predictable by bike than by car.
      • harvey9 4y ago
        That statistic is in a specific context, I'd guess city driving in the daytime. Nederlands has a lot of cycle infrastructure and is mostly flat so it's very convenient to ride. But lots of people still drive for all the usual practicality reasons.