The only reason I'm not getting mine is because I'm broke, and have already spent thousands on it.
I wasn't able to get a licence though I wanted to. I failed the exam twice because of sheer panic in 2001 and it took me more than six years to save enough money for another try.
Chyron8472, you're underestimating the monetary aspect of getting a licence in some countries.
My third and finally successful try cost me nearly € 1150 (that's almost $ 1480) and I could not have saved that amount without my family supporting me.
So I do see why someone wouldn't be able to get a driver's licence if they desired to have one.
In France, the basic registration is €1,500, which includes 20 hours of driving lessons, but that's the minimum you have to take and most people need more. Like in other places in Europe, all the driving classes have to be taken in a special car with an instructor, and you can't just drive a friend or relative's car out in public until you do have your license.
Money IS a big issue for getting a license, but my main problem is that I'm in a different country, and so I can't get a license here because I'm not a resident, and I can't get one there right now because I'm not there.
They've also been making the tests increasingly difficult, meaning it's pretty rare to pass on your first try, which of course multiplies the costs.
I wasn't able to get a licence though I wanted to. I failed the exam twice because of sheer panic in 2001 and it took me more than six years to save enough money for another try.
Chyron8472, you're underestimating the monetary aspect of getting a licence in some countries.
My third and finally successful try cost me nearly € 1150 (that's almost $ 1480) and I could not have saved that amount without my family supporting me.
So I do see why someone wouldn't be able to get a driver's licence if they desired to have one.
Why does it cost so much to get a license there?
The fee here to get your license is like $25 or something. I'm confused why it would be so blasted high there.
If you had to take a driving class, or if you're including having to pay to register your vehicle, then maybe that might make more sense.... but $1400 to get a driver's license?!?
Here, you have to take a driving class if you're under 16, but if you're over 16 then you don't.
A lot of European countries try hard to discourage driving. They really want people to walk, bike, or take public transport. For the Earth and all, y'know. That's why the gas taxes are so high, too.
I wasn't able to get a licence though I wanted to. I failed the exam twice because of sheer panic in 2001 and it took me more than six years to save enough money for another try.
Chyron8472, you're underestimating the monetary aspect of getting a licence in some countries.
My third and finally successful try cost me nearly € 1150 (that's almost $ 1480) and I could not have saved that amount without my family supporting me.
I got my driver's license financed by my mother. Entirely. Succeeded in the first attempt also, although it took me quite a while to get ready for the final test. But because of an equally sheer panic - having been involved in two car related accidents before the age of 8 - I haven't driven a car for 13 years now. And I hope I will never have to again.
The fee here to get your license is like $25 or something. I'm confused why it would be so blasted high there.
If you had to take a driving class, or if you're including having to pay to register your vehicle, then maybe that might make more sense.... but $1400 to get a driver's license?!?
You HAVE to take driving lessons. By law. Quite a lot, to be precise. In assorted circumstances, including night and Autobahn. The kind of parentally 'guided' driving you're used to is illegal in Germany. If you're behind the wheel of a car in Germany and don't have a license, it HAS to be a driving school car - and the co-driver has a certificate and his own brake pedal.
The fee here to get your license is like $25 or something. I'm confused why it would be so blasted high there.
If you had to take a driving class, or if you're including having to pay to register your vehicle, then maybe that might make more sense.... but $1400 to get a driver's license?!?
Here, you have to take a driving class if you're under 16, but if you're over 16 then you don't.
lol I was thinking the same thing. ALTHOUGH they might be onto something since I'm of the opinion this country would be a lot better off if less people were driving around in their own cars.
What if I was immortal and I could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I couldn't age or die in anyway/ And no matter what tests they do no one can find out how it works or to transfer it. Would the government just have to let me live forever free and just ignore it.
I guess it should be noted however that it's a lot easier to get around in Europe without a car. Most of the US's infrastructure was built after the introduction of the automobiles, and while it's doable to live without a car, it's quite a bit harder.
Not only is it easier to get around in Europe without a car (better public transit, smaller distances to go), it's also harder to get around with one.
They ran experiments in Paris comparing how long it takes to get from point A to point B is you're taking the bus, subway, a bike or driving your own car.
Driving your own car arrived last. The bike arrived first, the subway second, the bus third. I believe the order wasn't always exactly the same but the car was always last.
And then you have to find a place to park, pay for parking, remember to get gas, pay for car insurance and for the car itself... they calculated that for the monthly price of just owning a car, before you pay for its gas (so, just the insurance + the price of the car divided by the time you'll have it), you could get a public transit pass, take a cab twice a week (or one round trip) and take the train once.
And that's before the cost of gas or parking. Or repairs. The fact is, if you're living in a city in Europe, there is a high chance that using a car is more expensive, takes more time and is less practical that relying on public transit would be.
However many people use them for their work, or drive into a city or out from it, where public transit is usually less straightforward.
Anyway, with all this being said, when I lived in Canada, which is 14 times the size of France and has only half the population, I got by fine without a car. I lived in a city and used public transit, and I lived in a small town and walked everywhere. Both were very doable, and more practical than obtaining and maintaining a car would have been.
They ran experiments in Paris comparing how long it takes to get from point A to point B is you're taking the bus, subway, a bike or driving your own car.
What I heard about French drivers that's not surprising at all.
Someone had made pumpkin pie filling that turned out too watery and with my suggestion, managed to turn it around. The feeling of being useful is nice.
I feel like burning this thread to the ground. And I suspect I'll have to on the new forums, or else it'll be crushed under its own weight.
Lifting the weight instead of burning it all seems an option. This is the place for rather short lived thoughts and discussions, nothing that has to be preserved for eternity. Maybe we could kill off this one and just start a new one.
Of course, the honor would be yours.
Chances are that the post count isn't really important or even displayed in the new forum. In that case, the whole post slut stigma is off the table and Whatever might not even have to be banned to some random place where less people find it.
To be honest, no thread ever embodied the idea of a "general chat" more than "Whatever". I'd rather have this thing instead of 800 additional threads...
Comments
I gotta say, you'd have to pay one hell of a premium. Especially if you lived in New York or the American Southwest.
I wasn't able to get a licence though I wanted to. I failed the exam twice because of sheer panic in 2001 and it took me more than six years to save enough money for another try.
Chyron8472, you're underestimating the monetary aspect of getting a licence in some countries.
My third and finally successful try cost me nearly € 1150 (that's almost $ 1480) and I could not have saved that amount without my family supporting me.
So I do see why someone wouldn't be able to get a driver's licence if they desired to have one.
Money IS a big issue for getting a license, but my main problem is that I'm in a different country, and so I can't get a license here because I'm not a resident, and I can't get one there right now because I'm not there.
They've also been making the tests increasingly difficult, meaning it's pretty rare to pass on your first try, which of course multiplies the costs.
Why does it cost so much to get a license there?
The fee here to get your license is like $25 or something. I'm confused why it would be so blasted high there.
If you had to take a driving class, or if you're including having to pay to register your vehicle, then maybe that might make more sense.... but $1400 to get a driver's license?!?
Here, you have to take a driving class if you're under 16, but if you're over 16 then you don't.
I got my driver's license financed by my mother. Entirely. Succeeded in the first attempt also, although it took me quite a while to get ready for the final test. But because of an equally sheer panic - having been involved in two car related accidents before the age of 8 - I haven't driven a car for 13 years now. And I hope I will never have to again.
You HAVE to take driving lessons. By law. Quite a lot, to be precise. In assorted circumstances, including night and Autobahn. The kind of parentally 'guided' driving you're used to is illegal in Germany. If you're behind the wheel of a car in Germany and don't have a license, it HAS to be a driving school car - and the co-driver has a certificate and his own brake pedal.
lol I was thinking the same thing. ALTHOUGH they might be onto something since I'm of the opinion this country would be a lot better off if less people were driving around in their own cars.
Also, this movie shows your life would be pretty depressing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_Earth
Also this one, tangentially:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Fell_to_Earth_%28film%29
I don't knowhat.....eejust.....gimme a minute here....gonna.....make a body....I'M GONNA BUILD ME A MAN WITH A STRONG JAW AND NO TAN.
Body base made.
They ran experiments in Paris comparing how long it takes to get from point A to point B is you're taking the bus, subway, a bike or driving your own car.
Driving your own car arrived last. The bike arrived first, the subway second, the bus third. I believe the order wasn't always exactly the same but the car was always last.
And then you have to find a place to park, pay for parking, remember to get gas, pay for car insurance and for the car itself... they calculated that for the monthly price of just owning a car, before you pay for its gas (so, just the insurance + the price of the car divided by the time you'll have it), you could get a public transit pass, take a cab twice a week (or one round trip) and take the train once.
And that's before the cost of gas or parking. Or repairs. The fact is, if you're living in a city in Europe, there is a high chance that using a car is more expensive, takes more time and is less practical that relying on public transit would be.
However many people use them for their work, or drive into a city or out from it, where public transit is usually less straightforward.
Anyway, with all this being said, when I lived in Canada, which is 14 times the size of France and has only half the population, I got by fine without a car. I lived in a city and used public transit, and I lived in a small town and walked everywhere. Both were very doable, and more practical than obtaining and maintaining a car would have been.
What I heard about French drivers that's not surprising at all.
Well at least I can hide here until I decide. Either that or just post some crap on some thread. Like normal. Hmmm.
*not that it matters plus it's really not many posts considering how long I've been a member. oh well.
Do you still feel that way?
My dad and I spent Thanksgiving with my sister's boyfriend's family. It was nice.
Granted, most of those pies were tiny individual pies, but I digress.
Do it. For all of us.
Lifting the weight instead of burning it all seems an option. This is the place for rather short lived thoughts and discussions, nothing that has to be preserved for eternity. Maybe we could kill off this one and just start a new one.
Of course, the honor would be yours.
Chances are that the post count isn't really important or even displayed in the new forum. In that case, the whole post slut stigma is off the table and Whatever might not even have to be banned to some random place where less people find it.
To be honest, no thread ever embodied the idea of a "general chat" more than "Whatever". I'd rather have this thing instead of 800 additional threads...
Actually... I would prefer that to be the other way around.