When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency

Over 30% of Americans do not have a driver's license. Many others have a restricted license, or have one but can't or don't use it. Reasons why range from disability to age to money. For these people, public transportation and other non-driving methods of getting around are not just nice to have - they are a requirement for participation in society. Zivarts herself is vision-impaired and cannot ever drive a car - and neither will her young son. She founded the Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington where she documented the experiences of non-drivers and made sure they had representation in local governments and other decision-making bodies. This book presents not only their situations and needs, but also what show more society can do to make the world an accessible place for those who can’t just drive everywhere, and how that truly benefits everyone.

I am lucky enough to live in a place with decent public transportation so I don’t have to spend a lot of time worrying about it, but I am one of the involuntary nondrivers this book is about. I have never owned a car or had a driver’s license, and I never will. It’s never really a concern for me until someone else makes it one - a shocked look on someone’s face when I mention it, or an HR form at a job needing to be formally altered when I question whether a driver’s license is actually a requirement for a desk job. But I still felt very seen by this book, because nondrivers are my people. And we deserve to fully participate in society without having to worry about whether we can rely on or afford a ride, or make it down a street with patchwork sidewalk. While I found it to be a little bit Washington-centric, I highly recommend checking out this book, especially if learning that a third of Americans can’t drive shocked you. Nondrivers are all around you. show less