Can many of you here drive? I can't

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i'm not the world's best driver by far.

haven't caused any accidents or anything but i get lost a lot... in fact, i hate driving unless i know where i'm going. i will always take my "tried-n-true" route to a destination versus trying a new shortcut... even if i am looking at a map and see that the shortcut will definitely work.

maintaining speed and driving straight... i got. switching lanes.... last second directional decisions (like when someon's GIVING me directions)... feeling nervious cause i can't see very much with multiple people in the back... any kind of wet weather conditions... parallel parking/backing out of places.... bad.

i need a chauffer (sp? lol)

stevek, try fiddling with little toys and stress balls in meetings. that's what i do in my college classes. try www.officeplayground.com they have wonderful things under balls, stress relievers, and squishy things.!

I can't, and quite frankly, I don't really care.

Modern cars aren't very tactile: you can't really tell what the car is up to. The whole driving experience is somewhat remote.

I think Aspies are often quite good at practical things. If we could regain that sense of hands-on skill which old cars require, I think we'd be happier and more confident as drivers.

So... buy an old car. A Morris Minor, MGB, Mini, Rover P4, Hillman Avenger. Anything like that. Drive it with the windows down so you become attuned to the sound of the engine and have a real sense of speed and location (by which I mean, you can see, smell and hear the world around you). Don't worry if you don't like going fast, because the car is a good excuse not to. Learn how to select awkward gears, correct tail slides, and stop with brakes which are rubbish.

Either you'll enjoy it and learn a lot, or you'll hate it and learn a lot. No matter. The point is that classic cars (even very very cheap ones) offer a much more direct driving experience, and the lessons learned will stay with you if you do decide to drive something more modern.

Personally I think original Minis are the most fun that can be had on the public road. Driving a Mini at 60mph is like driving any other car at 90. Hilarious.

I'm also a big fan of second-hand Alfa Romeos. They cost next to nothing, they go like stink and they break down quite a lot. They suit a slightly random style of driving.

They're charismatic, quirky, contradictory, attention-seeking and somewhat fragile, but on a good day they're fantastic. A bit like some of you guys, I'd say....

I am a good driver more or less, but there are some limitations.

1) I take forever to turn into traffic. There can be plenty of room, but I'm never sure.

2) I can't navigate. If I know an area very well, I'm okay, but it takes me a while. I've been living in the Greater Richmond area since 2000, and I'm only just now getting to the point where I can find most things. Indivdual houses, of course, require detailed intructions. I have very bad judgment of time and distance, and I tend to go into autopilot. I have trouble paying attention to anything that's not the road or on the road. I drive slowly.

3) I hate stopping for anything if I'm the one drving.

4) Traffic makes me nervous.g

I do, however, ENOJY driving. I put an audiobook on my iPod (right now I'm listening to Animals in Translation) or I just zone out. I have over an hour drive to work, but I work nights, so I either deal with no traffic or traffic that's going the other way. It's me time, and I've come to appreciate it. And I get a lot of "Reading" done.

I drive but I hate crossing intersections or roads without any stop lights. so I try avoiding it as much as possible. If I do have to do it, I go out into the middle of the road where you drive into to turn. I do that and then turn into the lane I want to get into. I just break it up into small pieces when I'm in big towns or cities. I just focus what's in my lane and when i want to switch lanes, I just turn on my signal and look behind me in the other lane for an opening. I use stop lights which makes it easier for me.

Despite my poor judgement in distance, it doesn't doesn't stop me from dirving. I just learned to adapt.

I never switch a tape or a CD while driving. I stop and do it. But I do use my cell pohne while driving. I just open it to answeer it. It's the answering setting I have it at to make it easier.

I've had a few errors happen to me while driving but I learned from them.

I'm at a disadvantage in that both my OCD and Asperger's inhibits me from driving. The Asperger's comes into play from having to plan and predict what other people are going to do. Plus, I have visual-spatial and directional deficits from my Asperger's, which isn't a good thing when you have to know which way to turn the wheel when backing up. The OCD stops me because I'm petrified of killing somebody, or even just damaging something. I took driving lessons in the summer of '05. Disaster. I drove twice in the parking lot. That was quite enough. Totally nervewracking. It'll be a long, long time before I get behind the wheel again...
-OddDuckNash99-

I can't drive either so don't feel bad; I haven't even taken driver's ed.! lol I've been wanting to take driver's ed. for awhile and my mom and dad kept talking about it, but my brother Colin is taking it right now. The thing that stinks about that is that he's younger than me and I think I should get to drive first, but I don't want to let jealousy get in the way. I doubt that I'm going to drive for awhile because I don't even want a car until after college so that I could afford it, but still I want to learn how to drive before I graduate high school and whatnot. Anyways, I don't know how much I would like driving since I've never even driven a car before. I'm a little scared about it but I think it would be nice to have that experience so that when I want a car I wouldn't have to take driver's ed. or anything beforehand; plus it's nice for some other jobs that require driving and in college you need any job you can get to keep money coming in.

I have trouble driving. I find it overwhelming, I'm not so good at multitasking, which seems to be necessary in order to drive. I haven't got much practice in, so I don't know how I'd do with more practice. I just really hate it, and wish it wasn't necessary where I live. Plus there's so many crazy drivers here in California. I have no idea when I will get my license.

When I first started driving (at 18), I was a hazard to the road, unable to judge distance, driving over curbs, getting into one big accident because my mind was elsewhere and I turned when I shouldn't have. As I drove more, I learned to compensate. I go slow and keep car lengths away from cars in front of me. I haven't had an accident since the first one. I didn't know I had any form of ASD and I made myself learn to drive. If I knew then what I know now, I may never have tried because I have a very poor judgment of distance and can only drive if I give myself a wide berth, which I do. My son is 13. He states he's afraid to drive. I will probably see how he does in empty parking lots before deciding whether or not to have him go for it, but I will respect his judgment on the matter.

If I'm remembering correctly, I got my first permit when I was 17, my license when I was 22 to get my parents off my back, and now at 28 I haven't driven in at least 2 years. When I did drive (which was rare), I was never alone in the car except for backing out of the driveway a couple times. I know the rules, I know how to operate the car, but in even light traffic I feel so completely overwhelmed. Everything happens so fast and my depth perception could be better. I don't want to hurt anyone.