Driving

Do you have a car or a driver's license?

I say 'or' and not 'and' because driving is possible even without a driver's license. It is strange that a lot of money has to be paid for driving lessons and exams if you consider this was not the case when the first cars were invented.

If it comes to the driver let's be honest, many are a danger on the road (especially those who believe that those who obey the traffic rules cannot drive properly) even with a driver's license.

Starting a car and driving away is not an art in itself.

Most people can learn this trick and those who cannot handle a manual transmission can always drive an automatic. An automatic is just like a bumper car at the fair, accelerating, steering and braking.

If a car is not possible, horse and carriage is still an option. Now and then I see a man going to the supermarket with his horse and carriage. To be honest, I envy him. A horse or donkey is a smart animal and, just like in the children's song "A cart that drove on a dirt road", knows the way home. A horse as a driver feels like a great option to me, it's safer than those self-driving electric cars. A horse makes it possible to let me drive in a relaxed manner while enjoying the landscape.

I don't care about speeding, never cared about joy-riding either. Driving like a madman only causes unnecessary stress and, rarely, you arrive earlier and win time by driving faster.

For several years I drove around in a light yellow Ford - 1970. This van had been converted as a camper, it was like a doll's house on the inside, but a sturdy car on the outside. Driving with it was bliss, it felt like going back in time, the maximum speed was 80 kilometres an hour. If you know this is the max you no longer care about speeding and ignore those who show you the middle finger. It's all about old-fashioned touring on back roads, enjoying, no stress, and slowly crawling uphill at Siebengebirge and the mountains in Austria. If I felt tired or not feeling well, I parked my classic car and went to sleep while my children slept, read or played a game. If I look back at that time it's with nostalgia to the car that once housed my heart and soul.

Nowadays I drive a lot less, which is the advantage of children with a driver's license. They achieved this much earlier than I did. I saved from the day of their birth to make this happen.

Times have changed and the minimum age has been lowered with 5 years, as has the age of majority (3 years). Is that bad? I don't think so, you don't learn how to drive well by taking a few lessons and traffic insight is something you get after years of driving under different circumstances, in different countries and cars. I for example only learned how to manoeuvre vans through the busy old city centre, with mainly one-way traffic, when I started driving the animal ambulance at that time navigation systems or google maps didn't show the way which is a plus. As a driver, you are more focused on driving, traffic signs, road descriptions and other traffic. No driving teacher ever taught me what I learned during those years I drove under different (weather) circumstances and of all those times my car broke down.

I never really liked driving lessons, although things got better when I switched to another driving school. I don't really like men who constantly make misogynistic jokes and can't keep their hands to themselves. Unfortunately, pawing among driving instructors is quite common. So I have kept a close eye on this with my children. The eldest had a good driving teacher of Turkish origin, number 2 had a woman and I also had the youngest two change driving instructors. I asked for a woman for my son because he lives among women (mom and sisters) and since the youngest was had a teacher who kept scolding her (never do that to one of my children!) I made a complaint and asked my son's teacher to teach her. She agreed with me both of my children had lazy, lousy teachers and I drove around with my child and her to keep an eye on what was taught. This lady is an excellent instructor whom many driving instructors can learn from. Teaching is not only about knowing how to start a car but also about explaining in a way each student understands what to do.

It is a myth that women cannot drive.

Just as much of a myth as saying they are bad at math or leadership. It is a fact that men have many more car accidents than women and we have insurance policies that reward this with a lower premium.

I would like to roam around by car again like I did last year with my friend, but preferably for at least six weeks and not a pitiful ten days. This is not possible for the time being. So if I want to travel a greater distance, I take the bus or plane.

The petrol costs are extremely high and I cannot sit for long at the moment (nor can I stand or lie down, let alone crawl into a tent and walk long distances).

I have never been crazy about car holidays and I can still suffer from motion sickness, but driving myself is still fun and I have always been good at driving long distances.

For years I drove daily over 130 kilometers to work and the same distance back. I also drove 1,700 kilometres several times a year to be somewhere for one day and next, I drove back. Such a trip took me an average of 18 hours, including refuelling, toilet visit, stretching my legs or sleeping for an hour. I would still like to drive such distances, but not if I have to rush and be there within a day. Driving should be fun and otherwise, it's better to leave it alone. There is already enough aggression on the road.