Comment by kenrick95 5 days ago
I want to learn driving.
I live in a city with well-connected public transport (Singapore) so I don't feel the need to learn. However, this year I travelled to some rural areas in Japan and started to feel the pain of relying solely on public transport which is either extremely sparse, or sometimes non-existent which limits the places I want to visit. That's why I felt like if I obtain this skill, I can explore more places in my travels
Automatic transmissions (for EU where manual is popular - I guess this doesn’t apply in countries where everyone drives automatics already) are generally only available with higher trim levels and yet don’t cost much more to rent, so this might be an option to get a “nicer” rental.
I learned this year at 45 - before that I only had a moped license and used a moped. I am not a "car person" and did not expect I'd like driving. I turned out wrong! I enjoy it and especially enjoy the benefits and freedom a car gives you. You'll most likely not regret it too.
Great idea!
Although I have "known" how to drive for a long time, I didn't get my formal license until much later in life than most people, for similar reasons to yours.
Now that I have it, I kick myself for not doing this earlier, but as they say: the best time was ten years ago, the second-best time is now.
Owing to the city life I often go up to six months without driving anywhere, but when I finally get out on the road again it feels great. Country driving is amazing, in any country where people drive safely. It's even pretty nice where they don't. City driving still stresses me out, but I'm determined to get better at it.
Good luck! If you find yourself having trouble getting the license in Singapore, there are other countries where you could get a license more easily, and with that license you could drive in third countries.
> I want to learn driving.
Two low-risk and cheap ways to develop relevant driving skills are bumper cars[0] and go-karts[1]. This may appear to be silly at first, but both involve the same hand-eye coordination and decision skills of vehicular driving (though the latter is no where nearly as fun as the others).
The real way is just to ride a bike. You can ride it on the road so you'll learn how the road works as well as how to operate a vehicle. When I got in a car the only things that took time to learn were operating the clutch and manoeuvres in tight spaces (you need to develop spacial awareness that you won't get from cycling). If I had learnt to drive an auto it would have been trivially easy after years of cycling.
The biggest pro of a bike is it teaches you to read the road and traffic ahead for energy conservation (and defensive driving).
On a bike, this mostly reduces pedaling; in a car this can reduce unnecessary braking, safer driving distances, which make you a more predictable driver.
It also gives you a lifelong respect for people so if you do drive you won't treat humans like annoying obstacles that might ruin your paintwork if you hit them.
I believe 100% that nobody should be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle before obtaining cycling proficiency.
Honestly I found it the other way around, learning to drive made me a significantly better and safer cyclist as I realised what drivers are expecting to happen, and actually had to learn the rules of the road. Before I learned to drive I didn't really know what was expected or legal in a lot of situations in the city especially.
It should be taught really, but unfortunately car-centric society means road=car for a lot of people. Cycling is more advanced because road positioning is much more important, plus you have to deal with cars. So it's kinda ridiculous we don't teach it in schools. Apparently they used to back in my parents' day (it was called cycling proficiency).
> This is a curious suggestion. Higher end go-karts I can't contest, but I've never found bumper cars to be anything like operating a car.
A unique simulation bumper cars can provide is in collision avoidance and real-time steering/acceleration/braking skills. The value of this is relative and dependent upon a person using time in a bumper car with intent to hone driving skills.
I've been driving for about a year (with my first car too) when I drove a bunch of friends to an out-of-town amusement park. It's some kind of car-warming thing for me. It's about an hour-long drive without traffic.
In the park, I made it a hard point not to ride the bumper cars because I thought it would mess with my muscle-memory as the designated driver. If not for that, I really love bumper cars. However, I've found that responsiveness of bumper cars vary a lot per park; it either depends on the maintenance or the maker of the rides. And IME, none of them are really comparable to even the shittiest cars I've driven (e.g., the ones from the driving school, the assigned car for my license test).
But my bigger concern that day was the fact that the bumper car mindset is not the roadcar driver mindset. For learners, the free-for-all chaotic nature of the track is not even a good simulation! Not even if you're driving somewhere like India or China.
Speaking of simulation, I really want an affordable but legit way to practice dealing with outlier driving scenarios. Like, what if my brake fails in the highway, what if I get a flat while doing 100KPH---stuff even the safest, most defensive drivers can't entirely rule out. Anyone know of games that might fit the bill?
This is a great idea. Countryside driving is lovely in many places in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia. Since you are based in Singapore, you can easily go across the border in JB, rent a car and drive into the countryside. There so much beauty in a slow drive through the Malaysian countryside. I use Google Maps (satellite view) to find interesting nature, then try to drive to it.
Same here! I lived in big cities all my life and am used to the convenience of good public transport. Want to travel and rent a nice car, just when needed.