Letter from Boston

Why I Don'T Drive

By MASAKO YAMADA

Like most teenagers in the state of New Jersey, I got my driver's license when I was seventeen. Unlike most teenagers, however, I've never relished the freedom of being able to drive.

In Hollywood movies, packs of youngsters go out to have fun at the mall or the movie theater. Young couples drive to scenic places to "park". Older teenagers carpool their younger siblings to soccer practice or piano lessons. Loners zoom along the highway when they're feeling blue.

I've never done any of the above. In fact, I never drive a car by myself, and for the past seven years, I haven't driven at all.

I don't know if it's because I didn't feel the need to escape my surroundings, but it never really bothered me that my mom wouldn't let me drive the car. I was annoyed that she didn't trust my driving, but the fact is that I didn't trust my driving, either. I definitely didn't feel like doing something that I didn't want to do just for the sake of rebelling against authority. So I never learned to drive on the road.

I've renewed my license twice already. There is, however, no need to retake the driving test to renew a license, so I've been granted permission to operate heavy and dangerous machinery even though I don't have any experience.

I really prefer to walk, bike or take public transportation to get from one place to another. I suppose I can only say this because I live in an urban area.

It only takes me 15 minutes to walk from my laboratory to the Museum of Fine Arts and 20 minutes to walk to Symphony Hall. There is a large mall that is only a 10 minute walk away. There are dozens of restaurants and shops within walking distance of my home. By subway or bus I can reach almost any city location that is not within walking distance.

It's true that with a car, I would be able to go to places like New York at a moment's notice.It's also true that there are many suburban shopping centers that sell things like lumber , garden supplies and large furniture items that are inaccessible using public transportation. But so what?

Buses to New York leave every 30 minutes from Boston. The bus fare seems to cost a lot more than driving there, but if one considers monthly payments, insurance premiums, tolls, parking fees, mechanic costs, and gasoline, maintaining a car is not cheap, either. Besides, I like the idea of sitting on a bus and letting the scenery pass by.

So what if it takes an hour longer than taking the shortest path from New York to Boston and zooming through? I like being able to read a book and then fall asleep. I don't even like riding in cars with other people driving them, because I feel obligated to engage in conversation during the entire trip.

A researcher I know once came to the university with severe scars on his face. Apparently, he'd been in some kind of accident in which he was hit by a car while he was riding his bike. My boyfriend has also had his bicycle completely run over by a car (he jumped off).

Actually, this is the main reason I don't like to drive. Although I'm afraid of getting into a car accident and getting hurt, I'm much more afraid of hitting a small child, a biker or an animal. I'm also not comfortable with the idea of driving around others, since I might get them into an accident.

I recently found out that one of my local friends has never had a driver's license. I was proud of my staunch non-driving stance before that, but he obviously beat me. I was impressed that he had such an urban attitude even though he grew up in a suburb outside Boston (I guess I grew up in a suburb outside New York, too).

I asked him whether he ever missed driving around as a teenager. He said when he was a teenager, he and his friends moved around the city by subway. I then asked him whether he wasn't missing out on a lot of job opportunities by not being able to drive to far-flung sites. He told me that it was his policy to find work within walking distance of his home. He said the reduction in stress was worth having fewer work options. I liked hearing him talk. It reminded me of the reasons I don't drive.

Shukan ST: Aug. 18, 2000

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