Musings of a Daydreaming Wanderer

Just got your driving licence? Wanna rent a car? No problem!…as long as you are above 23 years old, that is.

Let me explain. After scouring numerous local carsharing sites, most of them require you to be 23 and above, most likely with 1 to 3 years of driving experience as well. Now the problem here is that “streetwise and smart” people will start learning at the tender age of 18, and will not reach 23 in 5 years’ time. what can they do? They can get their own car, or wait for a chance to drive their parent’s/relative’s/friend’s car.

Either there is a spastic problem with their target audience based on data collected from their marketing research group, or they assume that (for most guys) we will finish our NS after polytechnic and then start learning to drive - or they could be plain old kiasee. Most of these carsharing companies will think that you’re out for Carmageddon with their company asset, committing Grand Theft Auto: Singapore, doing a Initial D on corners, or having a Need For Speed on the highways. There is some truth to this however, for I have seen a few P-platers screwing up their situational assesment on the road before. However, this is mainly a minority - most P-platers are no more harmless than an egotistic driver whose car has been “zhng-ed”, just that they signal alot more often and hardly ever speed, cut into other lanes, or do high-speed corners. Another “strange” thing that most P-platers are more patient and road courteous than older, more experienced drivers, although they stall their engines sometimes or wait just a little while longer at a junction.

One other aspect which carsharing companies like is your driving experience. I personally agree on this, as I personally believe that experience is the most important aspect in driving - experience teaches you skills and choices to make when you encounter a similar situation again on the road. However, it’s a vicious cycle for carsharing, even though you are of eligible age to join a carsharing company - because you have no experience you can’t join the company. But in order to get experience, you need to drive a car, which you can’t because you don’t have a membership. In order to get a membership, you need to have experience, and because you have no experience…you get the idea.

In short, if you can get frequent access to a car without going through car rental, by all means go ahead. Otherwise, be prepared to wait an eternity to be “eligible” to apply as a member of a carsharing company.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 1st, 2006 at 11:18 pm and is filed under Rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.