They have a choice, it's called be a responsible adult and don't get a car. There is public transport, there are cabs, they can get a motorised bike which doesn't require a licence nor insurance.

Not once you are out of the city.... and I wouldnt fancy my chances of survival on any kind of bike on the roads of rural ontario in the last 4 or 5 months.... Winter is not kind to bikers.

If you know you are not going to have a car, then you would ensure that you lived somewhere that you could use public transport or cabs.

There is a public transport network that goes City to City.

Sorry, but I have no tolerance for people that think they are entitled to break the law because it inconveniences them.

Exactly.

Not quite the same, but we only have the one car. I'm on foot 5 1/2 days a week with 2 little ones. The bus rules for strollers here mean that's not an option for us. We do this because we can't afford to run and insure a second vehicle. We don't have any options for leaving this town except by car. It's not been fun this year but at no point have we considered it our right or option to break the law because it's inconvenient.

Sure, if you know, but if you already are set up in a rural idyll and then lose your license, or something happens and you cant afford the ridiculous premiums then I can see why people might do what they have to do....

Public transport in much of Canada is a sad and unfunny joke. There is no bus where I live, 15 minutes north of town. There is limited busing in Trenton and a more widespread service in Belleville. Between those two the population is 100000+, so not a tiny base. My wife drives an access bus in the community to help the needy get to appointments. It works for the elderly to get to dialysis or to take meth addicts to get their meds, but if you wanted to use it to get to and from work, forget it. Its primarily funded by charity (Lions / United Way) and the township. The township I suspect only funds it as a requirement to access Ontario gas tax funds.

Comparing that to my Dad in the UK who lives in a village 15 mins north of Bedford, (which has a similar population), he is more than able to get around by public transit, he goes all over the place by bus. Here we run 2 cars.

The only exception to this, that I can think of in this context, is a life or death situation. The specific example I'm thinking of is an unlicensed friend who took the wheel & drove his seriously ill wife to the nearest hospital from a remote area, where & when communications were sporadic at best, & he had been advised that air/land ambulance services were suspended due to adverse weather conditions.

SB

I don't want to seem too assimilated here but haven't we all been in the postion of coming out of the pub, looking at the car, deciding we're all too drunk to operate it legally, and then lifting the one without a license behind the wheel on the basis that he, of she, has less to lose?

That is what cabs are for.

I have no tolerance for people that think they are entitled to break the law because it inconveniences them.

Nope. Never. Always planned ahead for that, not really rocket science.

If you live in a location that means you rely on a car then you should perhaps think about this before doing whatever it is that you did to have your license taken away from you in the first place.

So, You are unlucky, someone hits you a couple of times in a month. Neither is your fault but your premium goes up several thousand as a consequence. You cant afford the jump, but you need to drive to get to work....

Just saying, its not always black and white.

But in this situation the driver being hit wouldn't have had their license taken away from them. I was addressing drivers having their license taken away as you had previously said:

Sure, if you know, but if you already are set up in a rural idyll and then lose your license

If you couldn't afford increased premiums then lifestyle changes would have to be made in order to be able to afford it. It may not be your fault, but that's just the way things are sometimes. It may happen to me one day who knows, but that doesn't mean I will suddenly become above the law.

The bit you quoted also said, "or something happens and you cant afford the ridiculous premiums"

Some of the working poor I know have lifestyles that dont appear to have much fat in them to cut to pay for a big jump in premiums.

Yes, it happens, however there are ways to get around the problem if you have a mind to - nobody forces you to break the law.

A young girl I know had 2 accidents and didn't pay her premium one month (she had insufficient funds to cover the direct payment, didn't realise). Her insurance was immediately cancelled (she was in Montreal on vacation when it happened) and she had to get whatever insurance she could so that she could get home. Her premiums went up to over $600 a month because there was only one company willing to insure her.

She works at two locations, neither on a direct bus route.

After a year of paying the over-the-top premiums (and having to work two jobs to cover them) she decided to take her car off the road as she couldn't afford to pay the premiums any longer. She was responsible enough to take her car off the road and not disregard the law.

Now she gets to work by a combination of rides from her co-workers, buses - which means she changes 3 times - or else she gets a bus as far as she can and then gets a cab the rest of the way. It's still cheaper than the premiums she was paying.

Not everyone feels entitled to break the law so as not to inconvenience themselves.

Yes, and I addressed the lose your license part of the quote. What is your justification for someone driving unlicensed when they have done something (or several things) to have their license taken away from them...?