DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Ashley At Carnegie Free Library

Q: Hi Ashley. Thanks for participating in Defend Your Ride Pittsburgh. You look like one of the younger drivers I've interviewed. Have you been driving long?

A: Actually, less than a year.

Q: What's your main use of your car?

A: My parents gave it to me so I could drive back and forth from home to school. Slippery Rock University. I'm a freshman there. I'm undecided right now, but I want to become a social worker. I plan to major in social work and minor in nonprofit management.

Q: I bet you're very popular with your friends since you have a car. Do they always ask you to drive them places?

A: No one has really asked me to drive them anywhere yet. All of my friends at school have cars too. So it's not that big of a deal.

Q: You said your parents gave you this car. Did they buy it for you or was it a hand-me-down?

A: It was a hand-me-down. They gave it to me to use for school. But when my brother, Joey, gets his license, I have to give it back.

Q: Ah, that stinks. When is he going to get his license?

A: He just turned 16, but he hasn't gotten his permit yet. So it'll be at least six months. Either way, I'll have it until the end of the school year. Then I'll get my own car, hopefully!

Q: Any idea of what kind of car you'll get?

A: A cheap car! I don't have any specific make or model in mind, just something safe and reliable that doesn't cost too much to buy or keep up.

Q: Sounds sensible. What if you weren't sensible? What would you get?

A: A Jeep! A regular, green Jeep with a light brown, soft top roof. I don't like convertibles, but I rode in a Jeep once with the top down. I absolutely loved it!

Q: What's the farthest you've driven since you got your license?

A: Ocean City, Maryland. I drove the entire drive home. I made stops and stuff, but I drove the whole distance. It took about eight hours. I drove to Disneyland in Florida, too. But I didn't drive the whole time. I took turns back and forth with my parents.

Q: Any part of Pittsburgh you don't like driving in?

A: Downtown. I hate driving downtown, just because people don't care and walk wherever they want to walk. You have to constantly watch out for careless pedestrians because if you hit them, it's your fault. That's the scariest part of Pittsburgh for me.

Q: Last question: Does your car have a nickname?

A: My brother called it Bertha once. I don't know why. Maybe because Bertha is an old lady's name and the car is so old!