Ty0604

I love this forum!

I'm 23 and I've never had my license and never plan to have it. I had my permit once but decided it wasn't for me. My mom was 57 when she passed away this year and never had hers. I live in a place where public transit is easily accessible and I bike otherwise. Who else on here has never had a license or never renewed it after it expired? How old are you?

Machka 

What do you use for photo identification?

Ty0604

US Passport Card. Allows entry into Canada, Mexico etc! Good for 10 years.

Ekdog

Cool! I didn't know those existed. Definitely looks easier than carrying a passport around with you. A good option for those of us who are driver's license-free.

Ty0604

Much easier. Same size as your regular ID card. Has a chip that stores everything on it.

wolfchild

Everybody should have a drivers license...There are many benefits to having a drivers license, there are absolutely zero benefits to not having one.

SHBR

No.

If anything, the criteria for getting a license should be much higher.

People seem to forget that driving is one of the leading causes of death.

Ekdog

Good point. I don't want to participate in the slaughter.

Roody

My DL expired a couple years ago and I never got it renewed. I haven't driven since before I got it renewed last time, so I couldn't justify the expense of renewing it. My state, like all states, issues a photo ID that by law must be accepted for ID purposes.

DrIsotope

I'm watching to see if we get anyone in here living life-long license-less in the state of California... because I reckon it impossible. We have a skeleton of a mass transit system, 90% of the roads have no accommodations for cyclists, and (I know this gets thrown around a lot) but everything is too spread out. My wife has a short commute to work-- just 28 miles one way, by freeway. I rode it on the bike, it's 33 by surface streets, and I was in a bike line for less than 5 of those miles.

So California, two kids, work commute... yeah, we need licenses. I maybe could have lived car free at 23, though. But I drove to Vegas to get married at 20, so I guess maybe I couldn't.

Roody

Los Angeles and San Francisco actually rank among the highest for carfree populations in North America.

L.A.?s Real Growth Is in Car-Free and Car-Lite Families | Streetsblog Los Angeles

Car-Free Households Are Booming in San Francisco | Streetsblog San Francisco

DrIsotope

That does nothing but prove my point. Downtown L.A. is 70 miles from me-- a little over a traffic-free hour by car, or a paltry 4 hours by public transit-- and the S.F. Metro is only 450 miles away. The L.A. metro without a car sounds terrifying. If one were to live in the S.F. area, they could presumably live without a car... but have you been to San Francisco? No thanks.

I-Like-To-Bike

Even those who don't live in S.F. area should have no problem with a car free commute to a job in S.F. All they have to do is find an affordable second home () close to the job in the S.F. area.

Roody

One thing that strikes me is the wide range of spaces where people live a carfree life. Hang around here for a while and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the areas where people are happily carfree. I really hope that some of the lurkers from California will pop out and tell us about it!

1983

Yes, an awesome city. Had I enough to live there with my current standard of living I would start looking for a permanent lat move.

bikinglife

It's been 18 months that I've been drivers license free.
I live in Montreal, which is a city with quite solid public transportation.
I'm also an avid bike commuter.

Long story short, using the subway, train and bike, I can get around the entire metropolitan area (I'm talking more than just the inner city core) without ever getting onto a bus. My commute times are comparable to someone travelling by car.

It's worked for me.

Then again, cars are also hugely useful to society, and I'm not about to suggest we eliminate them.

Ekdog

I was car-free for many years in my hometown, San Diego. Also lived sans automobile in Tijuana, L.A., San Francisco, Berkeley and Santa Cruz, among other places.

Ekdog

How about reducing their numbers?

Walter S

I'm car free but have no intention of becoming license free. I want to guard against an important reason to drive a car NOW. As it stands I could go rent a car and be on the road to a place in the middle of nowhere in a short time. I might go on a business trip to a place where I need a car. Or I might come to the aid of a family member in need for example. It's convenient identification and inexpensive insurance should I need it.

Machka 

+1

I go some time without using mine ... but it does come in handy now and then.

For example ... I drove for the first time in a long time (a year maybe?) a couple months ago because Rowan had surgery and needed someone to drive him home. We drove the route a few days before the actual event so that I felt a little more comfortable with it, and then I drove him home on the day.

I suppose we could have gone with a taxi if it had really been necessary, but that would have been quite expensive getting out to where we live.

Darth Lefty 

You can't have this park bench, it's mine

wolfchild

I am still waiting for somebody to explain to me what's so great about not having a DL, what are the advantages of not having a DL ??...I really believe that every normal adult should have a valid DL....I just fail to see any advantages of not having a DL

Walter S

You can avoid learning to drive. Not worth the sacrifice IMO.

fietsbob

At 23 I had already been at the helm of a Ballistic Missile Nuclear Submarine , before I had my Land Lubbers Driving licence.

cooker

Any interest in pursuing a car-free lifestyle? You'd likely have to move.