NOT A BABY DRIVER

How old is too old? This is a question that's probably asked more often than we realise on an array of topics. Without upsetting the apple cart too much, we wondered, when are you too old to learn how to drive?

- MEGAN PAULSE

I learned to drive when I was in my 20s. It was something that I had put off for as long as possible, but eventually no longer could. Mind you, this was in a time before Uber or any other such services were available, so public transport and relying on friends and family to get to where I needed to be was generally how I got from place to place. Despite the colourful stories that I now have stashed in my memory banks about jumping into a taxi, bus and, later, train, it was by no means my favourite way of getting around. Often, I would find myself practically, and involuntarily, pushing my foot through the floor of the vehicle in an attempt to pump the brake on my journey to or from varsity. As my time drew closer to enter the workforce, I could no longer truly depend on getting to where I needed with public transport, often on short notice and so, it was time for me to get behind the wheel of a car.

My nerves were shot! I recall not remembering which road to turn down to get to my own house the first few occasions that I was actually on the road, constantly asking the licensed driver who was with me 'Here? Must I turn here?' Thankfully, my nerves eventually subsided and I succeeded at passing my driver's test on my second attempt. Today, despite traffic and the price of petrol, I can't imagine not being able to just get behind the wheel of a car and go. It's in moments when I get the feeling of the freedom of being able to do so, that I find myself wondering why more people, and women in particular, don't learn to drive...