Out our way we have the METEC driving school which is really good so you could do a refresher there. My DD's went there before they got their licences and the instructor they had was excellent.
My neighbour was in her 40s before she learnt to drive, still got lost but she didn't know why she didn't do it years ago. I think her reasons were similar to yours, she lived in Richmond so didn't need one.
I stayed on my L's for ages because I didn't need a car in the inner-city.
Once I moved to the 'burbs and started breeding it became more practical to have my own car and get a licence.
TBH I wish I'd done it ages ago - I like driving and it's much easier to be spontaneous when you don't need to use public transport.
I did not get my licence till I was about 22. I wanted to get one along with everyone else when I was 17, but no-one really wanted to take me for lessons. The one lesson my step father gave me there was my mother screaming in the back, so very stressful. My mother did not drive, so I basically grew up using public transport, walking and taxis if need be. When I was no longer at home I always made sure I lived on the edge of the CBD so I could walk to most places, or at least have a cheap taxi ride home. Ended up buying a car when I was 22 and taking lessons. Whilst there were many places I could go without a car, I still wanted to go to others and was tired of relying on others for lifts or trying to carry large items home. Once I got my licence I was still cautious with driving, I had left it a bit late and lost my teenage confidence, so I still walked most places like work etc I did end up with a couple of jobs where I needed a car, so I suddenly made up for the lateness in starting.
When I was 24 we moved to Melbourne and I stopped driving. We had DH's (then DP) car, I was just not comfortable driving it, also driving in Melbourne scared the crap out me. So different to Tassie driving. Melbourne was good with public transport and I always made sure we lived near a train line and that my work was in the CBD. We survived quite well with just DH driving. There were the odd times though he got quite crabby with me for not driving and that got worse when DD1 was born. He really wanted me to drive in case she had to go to hospital. Of course there were times where he wanted to have a drink.
Finally one day after about 10 years of not driving I just had to one day, thankfully we had an auto by then. Even though I had started in a manual, getting into an auto made it much easier after such a long break. DH had been out for his big work Christmas party and the next day we really needed to go to the supermarket, well he was too drunk to drive so I had to. I was a nervous wreck, but at least he was beside me telling me where to turn and change lanes etc After that I stuck to local areas and places we drove to a lot.
I am glad I started to drive again, it opened up many things for me, especially after having kids. So good not having to drag a pram onto public transport and calm a screaming child. I look back to things I missed out on as I had to rely on DH to drive me. I would have caught up with my sister a lot more before she died, as I could have just left him at home.
Driving again enabled us to move out of the city, down here driving is such a necessity.
I will admit that I am still crap at parking and do try to avoid driving in Melbourne when we are up there and still stick to known areas when I do.
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