I met a good friend for lunch the other day – after catching up with our news we then caught up with the gossip on her 15-year-old daughter.

Rampant parties, smoking and the latest expensive must-have gadget aside, it also transpired that she hadn’t used her bicycle in the best part of a year!

I was shocked – not about the partying, smoking and cost of her new phone – no, I was shocked that a perfectly healthy, clever young teenager was catching the bus on a regular basis from Summertown to the High Street to meet her friends.

That’s under two miles, literally a half-hour walk or a 10-minute bike ride.

And what with waiting for the bus to arrive and probably the odd minute stuck in traffic, perhaps quicker by the first two means.

It seemed ludicrous that the young lady in question was spending her hard-gotten pocket money on unnecessary public transport.

I offered to show her a quiet route on the back streets by bicycle – perhaps she didn’t like to navigate the busy Banbury Road into town?

But no, her mother told me it was pure laziness and there was no reasoning on this ride.

But we car owners can all be guilty of a bit of laziness, can’t we?

If the weather is lashing or that cup of tea needs its milk in a hurry, even I have been known on occasion to pop in the car and drive what would have been a half-hour walk or short bike ride.

Admittedly I feel terrible about it and it probably only happens once a year. I certainly don’t beat myself up too much as I only have to watch my close neighbour, who regularly drives to the corner shop, to feel better. Yes, my neighbour jumps in and drives all of 0.2 miles to get her milk.

It makes you wonder what the roads would be like if we all behaved like this. My friend’s daughter may not be making too much impact yet but what about when she passes her driving test and gets her own motor?

Last week London would have got a taste of this predicament when Drive to Work day got under way. Yes, you read that right, cyclists, walkers and public transport users were urged to join the car commuters to see what they were missing.

Organised by David Dansky of Cycle Training UK, tongue in cheek he poses on his website: Worried by the War on the Motorist?

P***** off by the price of petrol?

Annoyed by the arrogance of cyclists and bus users?

Leave your bike at home, your Oyster card in the drawer, your walking shoes in the cupboard and join thousands of others for London’s own Drive to Work Day.

Well, I thought it was quite witty. I am not sure it was that well received, looking at some comments on the internet, but I expect if done en masse it could be quite an eye-opener.

Perhaps if done in Oxford it would propel my friend’s daughter back on her bicycle for a day, which may be all it takes to remind her of the pleasures of being your own transport.