= 27d567bc2d48d9f40e9ccc20ea370b15)
handoflixue comments on The True Rejection Challenge - Less Wrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
= 783df68a0f980790206b9ea87794c5b6)
Loading…= b715d02e85f7b3b4ae65ca3d3e450868)
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Powered by Reddit
= f037147d6e6c911a85753b9abdedda8d)
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (532)
I should learn to drive and get my license.
Reasons I don't:
I originally took driving lessons in grade 12, when they were competing for my time with homework, working at the pool, scholarship applications, and actual sleep. Being in control of a large, potentially dangerous vehicle, and being clumsy with slow reaction times, was already stressful for me to begin with, and I think I developed a "driving=stress" association that causes mild anxiety every time I think about it, and major anxiety when I actually get in a car.
I don't live at home at the moment and have no easy access to a car to practice in. (I will be living at home in the fall.)
My parents' current car is a standard transmission. When I started learning over 2 years ago, it was in an automatic transmission car. My mother and I are both dubious that I can handle the multitasking involved without becoming freaked out.
Paying for lessons would involve spending money. I hate spending money.
I don't think I'll ever enjoy driving unless I do it enough to overcome the anxiety, and I probably won't for various reasons. (Cars and insurance and gas are expensive, bad for the environment, I can get more exercise if I bike, etc.) So it drops on my priority list.
Long-winded address to #1 and #3:
I'm currently learning to drive, and I've found breaking it down in to steps has helped a lot. "Learn to drive" is a crazy insane task that I could never do, after all :)
I started by addressing your #3, since the only person I had available to teach me was a friend with a manual. We spent a couple hours in an empty lot, braking and turning off the car any time someone drove even vaguely near me, just starting and stopping the car and getting used to the clutch.
Once that was done, we found a corporate lot, where we could wind around buildings and generally do things slightly more dynamic than "start and stop" while still not having any traffic to worry about (we did this on a weekend evening). That got me more comfortable with steering, handling the shift between 1st and 2nd gear, and more experience with the clutch. Since it was mostly 10-20 MPH, and a fairly empty lot, there wasn't a lot of risk. I also didn't hesitate to just slam the break and stop the car if I ever got uncomfortable.
Between these two, I had an environment where I could safely freak out while still learning the skill. Once I was actually on the road, I was a lot more comfortable because I knew I could at least do the basics, and about the worst I'd generally result in is another driver being a few minutes late to wherever they were going. Practicing on weekend evenings also helps, because generally people aren't in a hurry then, and traffic is lighter.
2) This one solves itself come Autumn and you don't seem to be particularly eager. Wait until then :)
4) Can your parents or a friend spend a couple hours a week teaching you? I will say that a calm instructor is very useful in helping to dissolve the "driving = stress" reaction. I only practice an hour or two each week, and it works fine for me. Generally we drive until I get exhausted or over-stressed, and then I hand the keys over and she drives us back :)
5) My main reason for driving is simply so that I can offer to do it on long trips and in emergencies. I occasionally go on 12+ hour drives with friends, and I'd feel better being able to do some of the work for them, especially when it's obvious that they're exhausted. Learning to drive is useful even if you don't do it often, and you don't have to enjoy it for it to be a useful skill.