Guilt Trip

I don't have a car. I've never had one. It is unlikely that I will ever have one. I don't want one.

I have chosen not to have a car because I believe:

1. there are already too many cars on Britain's roads;
2. the environment is generally more pleasant when there are fewer cars around.

Not having a car is my own personal choice. I have no desire to force my beliefs or choices on anyone else. I don't get a self-righteous glow from not having a car.

I don't regard not having a car as a sacrifice. I am quite happy living my life without a car. There are only a few occasions each year when having a car might be useful, so it's really not worth the expense and trouble of owning one.

What I find fascinating is the way that some people react when they find out that I don't have a car. Their reactions usually fall into one of three categories:

1. pity
2. fear
3. guilt

The pitying people assume I don't have a car because there's something wrong with me. Perhaps I'm just too poor or too stupid to own one. Maybe I have a medical condition that means I'm not allowed to drive. Worse still, perhaps I've been banned for drink-driving... best not to ask!

The pitiers insist on offering me lifts, even when it's not particularly convenient for them to do so. I'm not churlish; I'm quite happy to accept a lift if someone is going my way. The people who really bug me are the ones who make big deal of offering me a lift, then keep me hanging around when I could just have easily caught the bus.

The fearful folk regard me as a dangerous freak: a card-carrying lentil fascist who wants to force them to eat muesli at every meal and bathe in recycled dishwater. When I say I don't have a car, they react as if I've just announced that I'm the local rep for the Taliban.

The guilty ones usually start babbling about how they'd really love to give up using their car but it just isn't practical... they have to drive to work because the buses are just not reliable... they only have a car because of the kids. All this without any prompting from me! The tone of their protestations is very similar to that of smokers who know that they should give up but...

---

About 10 years ago a friend told me "You can't possibly lead a modern lifestyle without a car."

I'm still trying to work out what he meant by that.

Comments

[Pete]

I must admit I'd find the lack of a car highly restrictive. It would add a good 1.25 hours to getting to/from work for a start.

Thanks for the comment on the bumbleebees. I'd written it badly. I was questioning the money being spend on the crane reintroduction

[simon]

"The people who really bug me are the ones who make big deal of offering me a lift, then keep me hanging around when I could just have easily caught the bus."

Back in the day...that really used to piss me off an' all.

And would that modern lifestyle chappie be the same one that ended up as a crofter somewhere in the Hebrides?

[Aydin]

I enjoyed this post & just put a link to it from my blog:
http://snailstales.blogspot.com/2006/08/to-drive-or-not-to-drive.html

[Roger B.]

Aydin: Thanks very much!

Simon: No, the modern lifestyle chappie works in a museum!

[Jim]

I dont own a car either, and havn't had one for the last 20 years, for more or less exactly the same reasons as you.

keep the faith!