>>So if I'm riding in a car I'm in control of it?
>
>(Sigh), I somehow missed out the "on" from "sit on" above, but as I already and originally said, something you sit on -you ride, whether in control of it or not (think bucking bronco).

Originally... c'mon, I don't claim to be original each time. And I think I heard this one before. I just wanted to make this clear in my head - is the difference between driving and riding in the intent (riding being closer to "joyride" and driving closer to "getting from A to B") or is it in where and how you sit.

Ah, but what about the vehicles where you stand, like rollers, scateboards, or the Segway two-wheelers?

>Again, do you say "drive a bike"? If so then another linguistic difference between the 2 countries.

We also say so, as you may have guessed.