Wondering if anyone esle has the same problem while driving.

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Driving can be a problem for some of us, and we often end up getting our license later in life than what is "typical". Anyway I have been really working hard to finally get mine at the tender young age of 26 but I am having some issues and I was wondering if anyone can share any tips or if others have this same issue.

I can for the most part manage and react to things and stay with he flow of traffic and drive where I am comfortable now, I can even parallel park, but I am having two problems I can't seem to shake.

Number 1 is I have a hard time recognizing and memorizing locations and routes. For example I might recognize a road from one direction, but not from the other direction, or if I enter it from a different spot. This is a bigger issue in rural areas than cities though I do have this problem some in cities. I don't normally struggle with being able to remember stuff so I am at a loss here.

Number 2 is that on certain intersections I have a hard time recognizing which lane is my lane and I sometimes switch lanes on accident. That is the biggest one. It happens when it is a large 4 way intersection with a large non-painted gap in the middle that all the traffic passes through, and the road ahead is a long extended curve -not straight. The other time this happens is when dealing with an intersection where the road has an elevation in the middle so that where I am turning in is bellow the hill, and the rest of the road is below the other side of the small hill so that I can't see ahead until I am on top of the hill. The issue happens when either turning into it from a different direction, or the direction ahead (below the hill) curves to one side or the other. This sort of situation is common in my area. If I have cars in front it is easier but when I am in front I have trouble with this. I have almost wrecked a few times because of this, and have done it when there were luckily no cars behind me a few other times.

Any tips with either of these problems will be much appreciated.

My experience hasn't been like that at all. My biggest issue is people constantly tailgating me despite me usually going 5-10 above the speed limit. x.x

Not recognizing places is a problem - places look completely different because of time of day, weather and season. I love my SatNav
Learning which lane to be in is pure experience keep on trying you will get it right eventually.

I don't go 10 over but I'll go 5 over if it isn't prudent to stay right on the speed limit. When they get all on top of me like that I just pay attention to the road ahead and they will eventually pass or get frustrated and turn off somewhere.

I hope you are right. I have been attempting to get my license off and on since I was 18 and the lane thing has been a problem a long time.

I appreciate your response.

I have exatcly the same problem. Its amazing ill have friends in my car and when we go to a location a few times they have to direct me their 3-4 times (depending on the distance) before I remember it, and i dont think im dumb... Just a combination of never feeling 100% certain of anything and the fact that often places dont look the same, or because i concintrate on driving im not concentrating on remembering things. Its a problem caused by our disorder im sure.

I think your second problem just is lack of experience. I may have screwed up 1 or 2 times myself with this, but got better. Just remember, stay to the right of the yellow line(s), .

Ohh yeah I know exactly what you mean. Driving new places makes me so nervous because I have a horrible sense of direction and I am so afraid of getting lost that I just get shaky and don't want to do it. I would NEVER drive in a huge city even if my life depended on it.

YA, RYFT, ive been their, navagating in a big city, i could not takt o much going on around me, i had to use every bit of energy to focus on being a safe driver. I cannot have passengers talking to me at that time, i vow only to go thru that if I must, for fear I could hurt someone accidently or I could get hurt, i dont wish to cause an accident because i got distracted, and it can happen so easy when chaos is all around.

well, i solved the first problem by getting a good GPS unit... i take this thing everywhere with me and i'm no longer afraid to travel outside my comfort zone...

your second problem is a bit more difficult, but what i find works is to line up the lines in the road on a spot on the hood, or the hood ornament... for example, when driving on most roads i find that the line on the right of the road will line up with the hood ornament when i'm in the center of the lane... for spaces without lines, the car on the left or the right will provide a reference for following the curve of the road, and if i have to slow down or speed up to get next to another car I'll do that, and then i'll just keep my distance constant relative to that car... of course, if that car happens to drive off the road, i guess i'm screwed...

Yea I use a GPS too, solved a lot of problems for me

GOt my license at 16. Took me three times. Theoretically HFA, autie traits + no speech until 3.

i cant drive if my life depended on it. theres too much going on and i dont obey any of the traffic laws or know when to go exept at a stop light

When i first started to drive i had some of those problems. Sometimes i would even pull out of a gas station and start driving on the wrong side of the road! I totaled my first car going thru a red light. I drive fine now thou you just gotta keep getting back up on the horse.

I memorize street names so I use those and that's how I get around the city easily. Plus I have good sense of direction.
I hate crossing the roads without the stop lights so I perfer turning onto the road and then getting off and then turning back onto it going the other direction.

I've had this happen to me too, but I read about a method that keeps tailgaters away from you. Slamming on the brakes to scare the person behind you works only in the short-term, but it may cause him to start tailgating you again, or worse, make him retaliate in some way. The actual method involves tapping on the brake pedal a couple of times to make your brake lights flash rapidly. This sends a discreet signal to the person: "hey, dude, you're following too closely!" This method often worked wonders for me, and the person either passed me or backed off. The psychology behind it is that you're not doing anything drastic, but you're doing just enough to make the tailgating feel uncomfortable for him. This method works in most of the US, where tailgating is looked down upon.

One of my special interests is highway design. So when lane markings, signs, or the design of an intersection are incorrect or unusual I take notice.

There is a rather interesting intersection nearby that is between two four-lane highways. Because it relies on stop signs instead of a traffic signal, much of the traffic flow is left up to the drivers. There is a rule that the first carat the stop sign waits until the cars at all the other signs leave, but I am still not sure exactly how this works for a four-lane. Do you wait for each car to go in each lane, or just each car from each direction to go? Luckily, one of the roads is not burdened with a lot of traffic and only one lane is being used, so this is usually not a problem. (An example of where a four-lane highway is simply redundant.) Some drivers are either unused to this particular intersection or cannot comprehend how its traffic is supposed to flow. I have noticed other drivers hesitate or appear confused at it.