Should I give up my car

Quokka

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

And yet whenever I watch Police Interceptors (quite often when I’m knitting in the afternoon) the person who is eventually stopped for driving like a complete idiot - dangerously, recklessly, super-speeding, etc. - is almost always a young, very young, or middle-aged male.

In your circumstances I would give it up like a shot.
I can't as there is no public transport where I live.

I would hesitate to give up my car unless compelled. We have a very poor bus service here, the nearest hospital is a half hour drive but there is no direct bus service and only one small taxi firm which means one has to advance book. It's a small market town with a rail station located out of town. Even if there were good bus services I would fear future government cuts.

Quokka

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

Absolutely!

Given my late 80's neighbour with dementia is STILL driving (despite me having told her son). Don't know whether he didn't dare tell her to stop - but she's a very "entitled" person anyway ("entitled" to come into my garden, "entitled" to be regarded as Someone though she's just another person).

Bearing in mind some drivers with dementia have killed people. Bearing in mind my mother wouldn't let my father give up driving when it was obvious he should then there seriously needs to be competence tests and 70 sounds like a pretty good sort of age to do so and a further one at, say, 80 and taken off the road regardless at 90 (unless they pay for and prove they're one of the very few....).

Yep...there's a backlog of learners waiting for tests (Lockdown - I'm looking at you as the cause of that) but everyone's safety comes first and then younger peoples personal wish to have a driving licence.

Us still having a car is a safety net, a way of being able to help family and friends at very short notice ie collecting sick GC from school when parents are working - collecting passengers when a friends car has broken down and awaiting roadside recovery - helping out with an airport run when the taxi failed to turn up. All this along with being able to go out at a moments notice justifies the expense for us.

Quokka

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

That sounds ok in theory, but seeing as learner drivers are having to book tests several months in advance because of a shortage in examiners or whatever, I don’t see how yet more tests are going to be accommodated.

Perhaps start with the over 80’s?

Due to health issues I am no longer able to drive and I struggle to use buses, but I have found the perfect solution.... I have a younger friend who is early retired through ill health, lives nearby and cannot afford to run a car on his small pension. So now he is the "keeper" of my car while I remain the owner and pay for the tax, Insurance, MOT, repairs, etc. and we share fuel costs. He drives me to town for shopping, medical appointments, etc. and he also uses the car for his own purposes including visiting his elderly parents who live some distance away. This version of Car Sharing suits us both and I would recommend it to anyone with similar circumstances.

I will be giving up my car very soon. I want the decision to be mine and not made for me. I am making use of the car to take stuff to the charity shop etc. Luckily I do a lot of online shopping.

I have mobility issues and my bus stop with a fabulous service is 1/4 of a mile away. I need a few rests to get there!

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

It sounds like you are well covered public transport wise and for essential things you could take a taxi. It also seems you already made up your mind to give up your car.
For me I still enjoy the freedom my car allows me so until the time comes I will keep mine. It’s personal choice isn’t it so make up your mind and go for it with no regrets.

Same here Georgesgran- my children don’t live miles away. They are all in the same town , in 3 different directions. I will need to change 2 buses to get to any of them. I do not have the energy or the patience to do that. Roughly £100 pm is not a great price to pay for the freedom. I’d rather cut down on something else

I’d like to qualify that last sentence. I’d rather give up other things, rather than sacrifice my car.

I couldn’t be without my car. For a start, both my DDs live 25 miles away, which is half an hour by car. It would take me 2 buses and 2 hours to do the same trip door to door.
Earlier this year, due to illness, I did that journey 9 times in 12 days - without a car would’ve been impossible. Also, I feel safer on 4 wheels in the bad weather, than on 2 feet!
Saving money doesn’t come into the equation for me.

Due to health issues I was forced to be without a car for about eighteen months
I had a mobility scooter which gave me some independence when the weather was good
Living in a rural area one bus service was ever half hour but now is every one and a half hours. From a differential stop it is every hour. Both stop running early and are at least a 15 minute walk
Oh the joys of driving again. The independence. But it all depends on your position and circumstances think long and hard before making a decision and make sure it is the right one for you

I gave up my car in June after a flare up of neurological condition which affected the feeling in my feet. I couldn't feel the pedals and after hitting the accelerator instead of the brake I realised that I was a danger on the roads.
Since then I have adapted to being car free. Weekly food delivery,frequent bus service into town, doctors within walking distance. I have enjoyed trips with Uber taxis which I think are reasonably priced with some lovely chatty drivers. I took a hour trip to Reading railway station when my line was flooded a few weeks ago. It cost £40 which I thought was acceptable for door to door service.Also researched local community volunteer drivers who are happy to do the trips to the hospitals there is no direct bus service from where I live.
Yes I miss the car but it had to go .

I have just given up my car and am saving £1.200 per year before I even fill up with fuel.. I've got a great bus service and a senior railcard and by booking tickets on-line I've managed some really low priced tickets..
there are times when I really miss being able to just go for a drive in the countryside but overall, given that I have parking permits where I live and rarely a parking place nearby, it is a relief to have sold it..

I used to tell my mother that with what she was saving from not running a car (tax, servicing, petrol) - never mind the sale price - she could take a great many taxis.
Alas she never did - in her mind they were still a great extravagance.

Nannarose

MissAdventure

You could try not using the car for say, three months, and then decide?

We have had posters who have done this. If you have somewhere off road to keep the car, you can do a SORN declaration and stop paying the car tax, and get a big reduction on the insurance (you might like to keep the basic fire & theft part)

I have one suggestion that I know has been useful to others. If you live in an area where taxis are not plentiful, then make sure to use one service every so often, so they get to know you. Then if you need one in an emergency, you are a known customer, and they may prioritise you.

Agreed re the taxi service. We only really have one taxi service in the town I live in now. But they do know me by now and know that every so often I'll ring up and go "I'm stuck at so-and-so location and give its name (or even just describe it if it hasnt got a name). Can you come and fetch me please?" and they duly come and find me and bring me home and a fair number of the drivers know my address by now.

I wouldn’t want to lose my var, but everyone is different. As suggested above, try not using it for a while and see how you get on. Then decide.

Helenlouise3

My dad gave up his car when his eyesight became a little dodgy. He missed it at first, but it doesn't bother him at all now. Like you he has a good bus service and also a train service. Sadly when the time comes for hubby to give up, it'll be missed dreadfully. We only have a bus every 2 hours and the last one is at 5.40.

That is very much why some people can't do so. I live in that sort of area now - and thank goodness I at least picked a town (that though small) has a noticeable number of facilities (as I could see the bus service was very poor when I moved here - and it's now since Lockdown pretty much as bad as yours!!!!!).

So, I manage to a large extent - with some facilities here and with Amazon to order goods I can't find here. But it does restrict my social life - as the definition of "social life radius" in this area in the group I mix in is "up to 1 hour drive to get there and ditto back again". If one is in a "small town" small town the need is greater - ie because of a large proportion of locals being relatives to each other or gone to school with each other - and so there's a side to the social life within the town itself that is pretty inaccessible to anyone moving there.

If, on the other hand, one lives in a city (even a small one) public transport will probably be good enough and there'll be a variety of taxi firms if need be as back-up. So yep....when I lived in a small city I literally didn't understand why so many people kept cars/used cars.

So - very much depends on the environment you live in.

My car is now 12 years old and rarely gives a problem. It's a great run around. But I know the time will come when repair bills become an big issue and the car will have to go. Then I will have to adjust to good planning. I will miss jumping in the car on impulse to go the garden centre for instance etc. But the money I save on fuel, tax, insurance, service, mot I could use an occasional taxi or maybe even here a car for a day.

MissAdventure

You could try not using the car for say, three months, and then decide?

We have had posters who have done this. If you have somewhere off road to keep the car, you can do a SORN declaration and stop paying the car tax, and get a big reduction on the insurance (you might like to keep the basic fire & theft part)

I have one suggestion that I know has been useful to others. If you live in an area where taxis are not plentiful, then make sure to use one service every so often, so they get to know you. Then if you need one in an emergency, you are a known customer, and they may prioritise you.

Do you have family and friends you visit, or stay with?
How late do the buses run?

The ones here change to one an hour after about 7pm, and take slightly different routes.

After 10pm, it ain't happening!

My dad gave up his car when his eyesight became a little dodgy. He missed it at first, but it doesn't bother him at all now. Like you he has a good bus service and also a train service. Sadly when the time comes for hubby to give up, it'll be missed dreadfully. We only have a bus every 2 hours and the last one is at 5.40.

I am very grateful for all your comments they are very helpful.
I never drive at night,and the bus will take me to the city and hospital if needed