Driving up the price of driving

My 17-year-old youngest granddaughter, Ciara, is currently half way through her series of compulsory driving lessons. Just as her older sister and brother have already done, Ciara wants to pass her driving test and be able to drive their shared car on the public road.

I suppose that learning to drive and passing the driving test is a rite of passage for most teenagers. It isn’t easy for a lot of kids with the cost of obtaining that precious little card having sky-rocketed in recent years due to mandatory professional driving tuition. My grandkids were flabbergasted to hear that when I purchased my first car at the age of 19 (anyone want to know the number?!) I had never driven a car beforehand and I didn’t have to do any test to obtain a licence – which set me back a mere 10 shillings!

Passing your driving test is a great thrill (I’m told!) Well actually, Lads, I later obtained a PSV bus drivers licence in England and also passed my driving test in Canada… so there!

For a young, recently qualified driver, it is much more than just getting from A to B. It is about achievement, status and a claim towards adulthood. But I wonder if the ability to be able to drive a car will have the same significance in the future. One thing for certain is that alternatives are already on the horizon. The driverless car, driven by AI, and the robot taxi are already being wheeled out (nice pun, Bernie) in far-flung places.

The cost of obtaining a driving licence has become a major factor and for many people delaying or perhaps abandoning any thoughts of being an independent driver. Right now in Britain there is an increasing number of young people deleting car driving from their to do lists. One in five believe that the experience isn’t worth it, according to a survey by the Price Comparison website. A separate study by Prima Insurance found that 70% of British adults who do not hold a full driving licence believe that learning to drive is unaffordable.

It is reckoned that obtaining that precious right to drive in the UK costs more than £1,000. A quick tot tells me that it is around the same here in Ireland – or three times more than what that Ford Anglia Deluxe number CI9849 (one of the last registered in that format) cost me – including the 10 shillings! We won’t talk about the jaw-dropping cost of insurance today for a young driver starting off. Also the spiralling cost of motor fuel has to be a consideration when first timers are pondering car ownership.

I have read about a student group in England who have vowed never to drive a car, being so convinced of the harm cars are doing to the planet. I’m sure some of these idealistic young people may change their minds, but it does show that thinking away from the car is taking legs (ahem).

So what are the best alternatives to being able to slide in behind your own steering wheel? Let’s forget about what might be coming down the road (we’re on a pun parade!) by way of driverless cars and so on. How can we manage for now?

Those of us who have travelled a bit in the UK would have to envy their rail, underground and general public transport. In America it is the opposite; unless you are looking at an airport, you are stranded without a car.

Here in Ireland we are in the middle league when it comes to public transport; not too bad, but could be better – and of course much depends on where you live. Towns like Athlone or Maynooth can get you out of there real quick, but it isn’t easy to manage without a car in a lot of rural Ireland.

People travelling to work in Dublin or other cities are nowadays taking bus and rail stations into account when buying their first houses. We all need to get better at car-pooling like they do in other countries. You don’t have to drive to the shop any more due to the modern method of shopping online and home delivery from supermarkets.

The most cost efficient mode of travel is the two legs that God gave us. If where you are going is within walking distance, and you are not carrying a heavy load, well then, walk it! Don’t forget the humble bicycle we wrote about previously. It served us well in the past and can do so again.

In the meantime, all my Mayo granddaughter wants is to be able to drive a car!

Don’t Forget

A man begins to show his age at about the same time he begins to show pictures of his grandchildren.