Not Driving Enough? No Such Thing

Undriver #2,611:  Ann Rodgers

“Perhaps you can help me with my conundrum,” Ann Rodgers wrote in an email to Undriving last week, after reading about the program in the Ballard News Tribune. “I’m an Undriver, even though I didn’t know there was such a thing!”

Ann was having trouble with her emission test for her 2000 Subaru.  “I didn’t pass, and I didn’t fail,” she said.  “They told me it wasn’t registering – because my car hasn’t been driven enough!”

At age 70, Ann’s vision isn’t what it used to be.  She doesn’t drive on the freeway any more, and she only uses her car for short trips around town.  She tries to walk 11 miles every week.  She regularly covers 15-20 blocks to the bank or library on foot with her service dog.  “It’s good for both of us to be out walking,” she said, “and it’s great to have a destination.” She also takes the bus frequently, sometimes combining walking and busing in the same round trip.

When gas prices shot up, Ann thought about our dependence on oil and decided to see what more she could do.  “I started a contest with myself,” she said, “to see how long I could go without filling the tank.”  She was up to two months on one tank when her license tabs renewal came in the mail.

After Ann made two unsuccessful attempts at the emissions station, her daughter-in-law volunteered to drive the car to Everett and back.  This meant refilling the gas tank – but afterwards, the car finally passed.

Now, with her new tabs and her own Undriver License, Ann is going to try to beat her two-month record.  And after that?  “Who knows – my next pledge might be to not own a car,” she said.  “We’ll see.”

Thanks, Ann, for Undriving!  —Julia Field