Platy

Does a person need to drive occasionally to refresh and maintain his/her ability to operate a motor vehicle? How often?

lyeinyoureye

Find a friend who autox's and do some runs every now and then.

fat_bike_nut

I would think so. A car feels like an alien contraption when I step into one to drive after 3 months off (I don't drive much during the summer).

Artkansas 

Rent a car.

I rented a car last June for some local driving, but I had to rent a car for work three weeks ago. They sent me halfway across the country to headquarters, and the hq was 30 miles from the airport.

It was interesting. The steering is easy, auto matic tranny no problem and its a rental so naturally you have to search for the headlights and wiper controls.

The real challenge was dealing with operating a car at speed, manuvering in high density traffic and reading all the drivers around you, and watching for all the signs and notices on the highway, and doing this all at once. You forget how busy driving is. I guess cell phone users do too.

I was driving slowly at first, but after a while it all came back.

One thing I did notice is that aggressive driving can be addictive. It's an adrenaline rush. Do it once out of need and you find yourself tempted to do it again.

Platy

Yeah, I just rented a car for an out of town trip. I'm hyper alert right now though with 30+ years of driving experience I expect that will soon go away. I feel sensory deprived, not being able to hear and feel the road situation very well. So much visibility is blocked when you're in the car. It's like some kind of video game experience.

gerv 

Do you find yourself driving along at 20mph and rolling through stop signs? That's why I notice if I haven't been behind a wheel in a while...

gwd

Yes. Occasionally a friend will ask me to drive her through the city and I need to resist the urge to scoot between lines of stopped cars. But I think I'm more cautious now.

gwd

No. My parents drove regularly right up to the time a few months ago when they both decided they were a hazard and turned their drivers liscenses in to the DMV.
Their doctor helped by providing tons of information about senior ride programs. Public transport seems almost non-existent where they live because you don't notice these vans carrying disabled and elderly. They don't have big logos on them. Apparently the state and county see a huge benefit in encouraging elderly people to give up their cars rather than drive to the bitter end. I never knew. My parents were worried that they'd have to move out of their suburban house when they became unfit to drive.

wahoonc

Based on the driving skills I see displayed on our roadways on a daily basis...I doubt it would make any difference

Aaron

-=(8)=-

Aaron,
When we were sure our move to NC was a 'Go'
we researched this stuff and the NC Dept of Trans
says that some out-of-state drivers might need to be
retested to get a licence for NC. I Can only imagine some of
the "wobbly sno-bird in a Buick LeSabre trying to negotiate
the roadage outside of Asheville" episodes that
precipitated this law

Roody

I really worry when I find myslf squeezing my hands on the steering wheel in order to make a quick stop!

Nightshade

As you age your abilty to "switch horses" gets a lot slower. I notice that when I drive in
cities I have to be hyper-aware all the time because I live and drive/ride in a small sleepy
midwestern town that is very low risk al'round. If I were not to drive for an extended period
of time I'd be a complete basket case the next time I slid behind the wheel!!

Artkansas 

Just make sure you don't try to trackstand the car up on two wheels.

mikancic

I know it's getting bad if I am about to turn left and I hit the driver's window with my hand (in an attempt to signal the left turn with an outstretched arm)

wheel

I put my bicycle in the back seat so I don't get lonely

It takes a few days for me.
I drive slower.

I try to rent a car at the end of every semestor.

recursive

I have an urge to turn the steering wheel left as I come to a stop.

krazygluon

so you're all saying that driving a car isn't quite like riding a bike? (in that whole you never really forget how cause its a kinesthetic skill kinda idea)

But seriously, my fiance (who I taught to drive a few years back) is now disturbed by how markedly bad my driving has apparently become whenever she sees me drive. I think this is more because most of when I do drive its usually a manual at work but she only sees me drive our car which is an automatic.

I keep an odd deathgrip on the automatic's shifter...

ken cummings

After I had been car free for 3 years I got a job where I hard to drive a Fed vehicle long distances occasionally. Quickly my partners took over the driving as they said I made them nervous. Seems I kept drifting over to the right shoulder. Took me months to get over the habit. I had a much worse time when I moved to a country where they drove on the left. A neighbor loaned me his car one day to drive to work before dawn. Found myself driving directly towards a pair of headlights. Oops!

Roody

Driving is a great skill to lose.

heywood

If you want to keep your drivers license i'd recommend driving a car at least once per month or every other month to keep your skills up. Outside of that I wouldn't worry about it too much...I think my Space Shuttle license has expired but I don't plan on going to the Space Station anytime soon.

People who voluntarily turn in thier drivers license because they think they may be a hazard on the road should be commended and there's no reason they can't gravitate to another vehicle (segway comes to mind). Pilots do this all the time, sometimes it 's nice to move to the passengers seat, also you know you still have the self awarness to retire gracefully in the interest of others (wise people).

Cheers!

Roody

Segway? What's wrong with graduating to a bike?

fat_bike_nut

Segways don't have to be pedaled