It takes me an extra 16 years

[dreaminghope]

I don't understand why all the drivers out there aren't terrified every time they get behind the wheel. You are hurtling along in tons of steel, glass, and plastic at speeds much faster than people were ever meant to go. There's danger and distraction at every turn. Conditions are constantly changing, and a moment's inattention could result in damage, pain, injury, or death.

Yes, I know there's some irony in me saying that.

When I turned 16, I never even considered getting my driver's license. I know myself pretty well, and I know I am the kind of person who should not drive. I'm anxious and nervous. I have a bad sense of direction and poor depth perception. I truly believe that not everyone should drive, and that if more people like me made that choice, we'd have fewer accidents on the road. I live in a city, I've always been patient - crucial to using public transportation - and I love to walk, so doing without a license has never been a problem. Then I took up paragliding...

I've been having some trouble landing on target without help. After a couple of near-disasters (more on that another time), we realised that part of the problem is that there's no other time in my life that I move that fast under my own control. I have no experience at steering or at judging distances at 35 or more kilometers an hour. I haven't even been on a bicycle in more than two decades.

At the age of 31, I need to learn to drive in order to fly better and more safely.

I've also realised that I will be a much better part of my flying "team" if I can drive. If Russ, Craig, and I fly together, it means two flights and one drive per person (someone's got to drive everyone up to the launch site and back to the landing zone to get everyone after; you can pay other flyers to take you up, but then you are dependent on the luck of other people being there with vehicles). Some of the roads to launch sites are very interesting. The best ones are logging roads: steep, potholed, tight curves with sharp drop-offs. They apparently get worse from there.

I need to learn to drive a four-by-four on very rough roads, and I may need to learn to drive standard too.

It's my do it anyway project for 2011: learn to drive. Scary!

Comments

[awehla.livejournal.com]

Good luck. I know how difficult it can be for nervous people to learn to drive - my advice is not to give up because really if millions of other people do it (many of whom are less smart than you are) you can too.

Lisa
x

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

Well, good for you for learning.

I'm lucky, I already learned, and then promptly decided I sucked too much at it to keep going, so I let my new driver's license expire many years ago. Smartest thing I ever did, so I'm in awe of anybody who's managed to avoid learning all these years and is actually going to do it now.

[dsignrmom.livejournal.com]

I am SO proud of/for you. Once we get past the age at which teens normally get their license the urgency to do it lessens. I got mine at 18, and am not a good driver. I admit it. I don't understand the concept of driving defensively...I argue that driving NORMALLY so as not to force others on the road to have to get our of your way is the best way to do it.
Where we live now it's almost a speed race track kind of contest, and I drive a tiny little car. I doubt I'm seen many times by the large vehicles on the road.
All THAT said...you are still young enough to learn and master the process, and to do it to learn to fly better sounds like a great idea. Both (flying and driving) skills will help you with the other.

[edableme.livejournal.com]

I was super scared to learn as well. My advise to you is to start in parking lots of closed malls. There are lots if lines to drive in between but no cars to worry about hitting. I did quite a few hours of parking lot driving before hitting a real street. Good luck!

[cinnamonsqueak.livejournal.com]

When I had to learn stick, it was a bit of a fiasco. But then we decided to teach me the fundemantals of drving on an automatic, letting me get used to part of driving, before moving onto standard. It worked better for me that way, don't know if it will help you.

~hugs~